| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Public law | - Includes those laws enacted by some authorized governmental body. |
| Private law | - On the other hand, is developed by individuals, an example of this is like that regulations of tenants |
| Criminal law | - This is a wrong against society and it may result in fines or imprisonment. |
| Civil law | - This is a violation against another person or persons, and in this occurrence one may be required to pay damages. |
| Common law | - This is proper law, and it has been in existence since 1066, in saying this common law originated in England at the time William the conqueror sought one common set of laws to govern the once divided England. (how we own and pass on property are two major areas still controlled by English common law) |
| State decisis | Let the decision stand |
| Statuary law | This is codified law, written and passed by a governmental entity. |
| Equity | This is a body of law that attempts to do justice when the law |
| Injunctions | This could be issued by courts of equity and they would prohibit a particular conduct |
| Purposes of law | keeping order, influencing conduct, honoring expectations, promoting equiality |
| Characteristics of law | Flexibility, Consistency, Pervasiveness |
| Natural law theory | - Laws authority comes from a higher authority and any law that violates natural laws is morally wrong |
| Power theory | Law is whatever those who are in charge say law should be. |
| Order theory | A theory that believes that only those laws that serve to create and preserve order are valid. |
| Constitutions | - Cannot be amended, added to or repealed with the same ease as can statues |
| Cite (citation) | Statues are cited by a form of legal shorthand. |
| Code of federal regulation (CFR) | Contains all of the federal agencies regulations such as the rules and forms required for consumer loans |
| Executive orders | - These are laws of the executive branch of the federal government and deal with those matters under the direct control of that branch. |
| State codes | - Contain the states' criminal laws, laws for incorporation, laws governing partnerships, and contract laws. |
| Uniform laws | - These laws are drafted by groups of business people, scholars, and lawyers in an effort to make interstate business less complicated. |
| Uniform commercial code | - This is a code that has been adopted in 49 states. This particular code governs contacts for the sale of goods, commercial paper, security interests and other types of commercial interests, and other types of commercial transactions. |
| Ordinances | - These are laws passed by local government with regard to issues such as zoning. |
| Customs | - Every country has its boundaries for allowable behavior, and these boundaries are unwritten recognized laws. |
| Treaty | - This is an agreement between nations on a subject of international law. |
| Party autonomy | - Allows firms to operate uniformly throughout the world if their contracts are recognized as valid in most countries. |
| Act of state doctrine | - Theory that protects governments from reviews of their actions by courts in other countries |
| Expropriation | This is the taking of private property |
| State statues | Laws passed by state legislators. |
| Arbitration | - This provides a means for handling disputes in a less out of court in a less formal setting than trial |
| Mediation | - This is a process by which both parties meet with neutral mediator who listens to each side while they explain their story. |
| Medarb | - This is a form of mediation where an arbitrator begins by attempting to negotiate between the two parties |
| The Mini-trial | - The parties have their lawyers present the strongest aspects of their case to senior officials in the presence of a neutral advisor or a judge |
| Rent-A-Judge | - This is a private court system, and the fundamental idea behind using a private system is the speed at which the case will be held. |
| Summary jury trial | This is often a resolution proposed after litigation and discovery |
| Peer review | Has become popular particularly for disputes between employers and employees |
| Trial court | This is a place in the judicial system where the facts of a case are presented. |
| Appellate court | - Reviews a trial court decision to check the conduct of the judge, the trial and the jury. |
| The process of judicial review | composed of four main areas, brief ->Appellate brief->Oral argument->Dissenting opinion |
| The role of appellate courts: checking for error | composed of four parts, Reversible error, Remand, Affirms, Modify |
| Setting precedent | - When a court reviews the decisions of lower courts, that court looks to previous decisions. |
| The quality of a precedent | - Where a case originated is one of the factors that influence the application of precedent. |
| The purpose of precedent | The ______________ are the same as the purposes of law. |
| The interpretation of precedent | - Every case decision has two parts. One is the actual rule of law, which technically is the precedential part. However, judges never offer just a rule of law in a case. |
| Inpersonam jurisdiction | Jurisdiction over the person which controls the location of the court. |
| Federal district court | Is the general trial court of the federal system |
| Jurisdiction | Juris means law, and diction means to speak. |
| Concurrent jurisdiction | - In diversity cases, state and federal courts have ____________________, this means that two courts have the authority to hear a case |
| Exclusive jurisdiction | This means that only one court has the authority to hear the case |
| Federal circuits | - All of the federal district courts are grouped into federal circuits according to their geographic location. |
| Small claims court | Here civil cases with minimum damages are tried |
| Minimum contracts | - This is a fairness standard, which was established by the US supreme court in 1945 |
| Long arm statutes | - These statutes give courts the power to extend their arms of jurisdiction into other states |
| Plaintiffs | - These are the parties who initiate a lawsuit and are speaking some type of recovery |
| Defendants (respondents) | - Are the ones from whom the plaintiffs want recovery, thus they are charged with some violation of civil rights of the plaintiff. |
| Attorney-client privilege | - This keeps the relationship confidential and assures that others have limited access to lawyer client conversations. |
| Judges | - Judges control the proceedings in a case, and, in some cases, the outcome. |
| Appellant | This is the man who is appealing the case |
| Complaint (petition) | This must be filed within certain time limits of filing the case |
| Summons | This must be given to the officer of the court |
| Process servers | This is a private firm that delivers the summons |
| Derivative suit | - Another form of class action is a derivative suit, whereby shareholders sue a company to recover damages for its actions taken by the corporation |
| The answer | composed of four major parts, Pleadings, Answer, Default, Counterclaim |
| Discovery | - The court-supervised process of gathering evidence is called discovery |
| Request for admissions | Where one asks the other side to admit a certain fact |
| Depositions | - These are the oral testimony of parties or witnesses that are taken under oath but outside the courtroom before the trial. |
| Work product | - This consists of the attorney research, thoughts, analysis and strategy |
| Request for production | - Requires the other side to produce documents that have not already been given under the new discovery rules. |
| Peremptory challenge | - Right to strike jurors with or without cause; lawyer's discretionary tool in selecting a jury; number of peremptory challenges is usually limited. |
| Opening statement | - In a trial, each side's overview of the case and the evidence that will be presented |
| Burden of proof | - This is the responsibility of the party for proving the facts needed to recover in a lawsuit. |
| Direct examination | - This is s term that describes a party's questioning of her own witness |
| Cross-examination | - Questioning by opposing parties of a witness in court; that is, defendant cross-examines plaintiff's witnesses and plaintiff cross-examines defendant's witnesses. |
| Prima facie case | - A case establishing all the necessary elements; without rebuttal evidence from the defendant, en titles the plaintiff to a verdict |
| Directed verdict | - This is a verdict entered by a judge upon motion of a party after the presentation of either side's case. |
| Tort | - A tort is some type of interference with someone or with someone's property that results in injury. |
| Intentional torts | - These are torts that involve deliberate actions, such as hitting another person. |
| Negligence | - This is a tort whereby one inflicts injury, which is not deliberate however it is careless. |
| Strict tort liability | - This implies for conduct that carries inherent dangers, an example of this may be when contractors use dynamite to raze a building. |
| Defamation | - This is an untrue statement made by one party to another about a third party, can be a slander or libel. |
| Slander | This is an oral spoken defamation. |
| Libel | This is a written or broadcast defamation. |
| Product defamation | - This is the defamation of a product, an example of this may be consumer reports |
| Damages | - Defamation requires proof of damages, such as lost business, lost profits or some economic effect that has resulted from the defamatory statements. |
| Malice | - Defamation cases that involve public figures require proof of malice. |
| Truth | - A statement may be damaging, but, if it is the truth, it is not defamation. |
| Privileged speech | - Some speech is privileged; that is, the speech is protected from defamation claims regardless of whether it is true. An example of this is the absolute privilege that members of congress have, or the qualified privilege the media has. |
| False imprisonment | - This is the detention of a person for any period of time against his or her will. |
| Shop keeper's privilege | - This privilege allows a shopkeeper to detain a suspected shoplifter for a reasonable period of time. |
| Intentional inflection of emotional distress | - This is used in various instances where debtors are harassed beyond standards of decency by creditors. |
| Ordinary and reasonably prudent person in all circumstances | - Each day every one of us has the duty to act like an ordinary and reasonable prudent person in all circumstances. |
| Contributory negligence | - A plaintiff who is negligent gives the defendant the opportunity to raise the defense of contributory negligence |
| Assumption of risk | - This is a defense that requires the defendant to prove that the plaintiff knew there was a risk of injury in the conduct he or she undertook. |
| Strict liability | - This is absolute liability for conduct with few, if any, defenses available. |
Combine with other sets
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