SOCI 1160 1st Edition Exam 1 Study Guide Lectures 1 9 Lecture 1 Jan 13th Sources of American Law A Constitutional B Statutory 1 Federal This is Washington based Courts located in the U S Supreme Court 2 State State laws vary from state to state i e laws on gambling marijuana driving rules 3 Local certain areas of the state i e no fireworks in the city limits no burning trash American Law Institute they come up with uniform law and take it to each one of the 50 state legislatures UCC Uniform Commercial Code governs commercial transactions i e bank deposits sale of goods this has been adopted by all fifty states C Administrative Law these are rules and orders of administrative agency which is a government agency that has been created to perform a specific function Makes rules and regulations i e Environmental Protection Agency Lecture 2 Jan 15th D Case Law Common Law Case Law is decisions of the court what the judges have to say judge made law which is also Common Law Statements of judges Common law is not set in stone it can be changed Can be changed by statutes administrative law or judges will change it themselves American law is based on the English Common law English wanted to make laws uniform so they came up with a body of general rules and that is how common law developed Our system is a common law system We inherited it from England Judges will apply principals applied in earlier cases with similar facts E Courts of Law and Common 1 Legal Remedy Damages money if you are injured and you have to pay out of pocket money is a remedy for that Remedy is a legal means to recover a right or redress a wrong What if they wanted something other than money English courts couldn t provide it Could only award money and property F Courts of Equity they awarded equitable remedies This branch of law was founded on justice not based on money 1 Equitable Remedies Specific Performance when you sue and ask for this you want the judge to force the party to perform the agreement as promised You can only do it if it is unique i e land artwork rare coins Injunction you want the judge to order the other party to stop engaging in a certain activity Rescission to make it like something never happened Finding a way out of a contract in court G Doctrine of Stare Decisis the common law practice of judges basing their decision of a case of past cases Means to stand on decided cases 1 Stare Decisis and the Common Law 2 Legal Precedents prior case with similar facts within jurisdiction Controlling Precedent case with similar facts from a higher court within your jurisdiction Persuasive Precedent following out of state case 3 Departures from Precedent a court will decide that the precedent is incorrect and they depart from it Things such changes in technology in societies attitudes about issues Lecture 2 Jan 20th Classification of Law A Substantive all the laws that describe or create legal rights and obligations i e MPH in school zones Procedural law suit rules or law suit procedures B Civil concerned with the rights and duties that exist between persons Criminal concerned with offenses against society as a whole a wrong perpetrator against a public How to Read Case Law C Case title Plaintiff v Defendant person who brings appeal is called appellant those against appeal is called appellee D Decisions Options 1 Unanimous all agree Written for the whole court 2 Majority majority of judges are the winner majority will write and opinion and give the reasons 3 Concurring written by one of the majority who agrees on the outcome but for different legal reasons 4 Dissent they don t agree with outcome and think majority is wrong and write the reason why They might publish a dissenting opinion Why publish it then Might be used years later in a similar case Dissents might be useful later E Judiciaries Role in American Court MO Trial Mo Court of Appeals Mo Sup Court Federal US court Appeals U S S C F Interpret and Apply Law apply to specific situations brought to court house after interpreting it G Judicial Review means that judiciary get to decide whether the laws or actions of the other two branches of government are constitutional or not acts as a check on executive and legislative regarding the constitution 1 Recall Marbury v Madison H Basic Judicial Requirements Lecture 5 Jan 22nd I Jurisdiction all about power power to hear and decide a case comes from Latin word power to speak the law who or what does this court have power over 1 Over persons in personam a court can exercise this personal jurisdiction in a geographical area For instance the Greene County Circuit court area since we live here Longarm Statute court can exercise jurisdiction over the out of state people based on their activities within the state Minimum contacts to justify jurisdiction 2 Corporations legal person who can sue and be sued must incorporate in a state and do business in other states they can be sued if they advertise have a contract place their goods into the stream of commerce 3 Over property in rem property in subject i e a farm in Lawrence county since it is in Missouri Lecture 6 Jan 27th Basic Judicial Requirements A Jurisdiction Power to speak the law Who do they have power over B Subject matter jurisdiction limitation on types of cases court can hear Limited can only hear certain things probate court limited to probate cases bankruptcy C Federal Jurisdiction subject matter kinds of cases they will hear is limited by the constitution They can hear cases that involve a federal question Also handle cases diversity of citizenship for money D Federal Question 1 US Constitution some government body is depriving you of your rights violation of equal protection 2 Treaty with the US government 3 Federal Statute broad category 4 US is party is the USA suing you or you suing them E Diversity of Citizenship even if it doesn t involve federal question 1 Plaintiff v Defendant from different states 2 Has to be greater or equal to 75 000 Dollar amount in controversy F Exclusive only in fed or state Concurrent jurisdiction bring it in any court G Jurisdiction in Cyberspace doesn t have geographical boundaries H Venue Most appropriate location for trial should be in geographical area where the incident occurred or parties reside I Standing before a party can bring a lawsuit in court they must have standing to sue Have a tangible and legally stake in the litigation J Justiciable Controversy real and substantial not hypothetical Lecture 7 Jan 29th