Ch 1 The Nature of Law Types of Law 7 types 1 Constitutions exist at state and federal levels have two functions a Function 1 set up the structure of govt for the political unit thy control state or fed govt i Creating branches and subdivisions of the govt ii Stating powers given and denied to each iii Separation of powers the U S constitution establishes the congress and gives it power to make law in certain areas provides for chief executive president who enforces the laws and helps create a federal judiciary to interpret laws iv Federalism states power to make laws in certain areas b Function 2 Prevent other units of govt from taking certain actions or passing certain laws Ex bill of rights to the constitution 2 Statutes laws created by elected representatives in congress or state legislature a They re stated in authoritative form in statute books or codes b State statutes were originally drafted as uniform acts c Uniform acts model statutes drafted by private bodies of lawyers and scholars that do not become law until legislature enacts them i Aim to produce state by state uniformity EX uniform commercial code revised uniform partnership act and revised model business corporation act 3 Common Law judge made law or case law is law made and applied by judges as they decide cases not governed by statutes or other types of law a Exists only at the state level but both state and federal courts are involved in applying it b Precedents when judges follow the decisions of other judges in c Stare decisis meanOs let the decision stand but its flexible enough to allow common law to evolve to meet changing social d The rules of tort contract and agency are mainly common law rules e Torts contracts and agency chapters refer to the restatement on a similar cases conditions particular subject i Restatements collections of common law rules covering various areas of the law promulgated by the American Law Institute rather than by courts thus restatements are not law and do not bind courts ii Judge made rules of common law apply only when there is no applicable statute or other type of law thus common law fills in gaps left by other legal rules iii Judges serve as policy makes in formulating the content of the 4 Case law reasoning when courts engage when they make and apply common law common law rules Young v Beck 5 Family purpose doctrine exists by common law in many states but not all states follow it but some still recognize it Represents a social policy generated in response to the problem presented my massive use of the automobile a The doctrine subjects a vehicle s owner to liability for a family members negligence in operating the vehicle if the owner has provided the vehicle for family use and if the negligent driver was using the vehicle for a family purpose at the time of the accident 6 Beck was the kid to cause the accident and young was trying to sue A lower court ruled in Young s favor but the Becks appealed it because they said the family purpose doctrine did not apply because Jason violated their restriction against transporting friends And they argued that the doctrine should be abolished The court of appeals rejected those arguments and upheld the lower courts decision Then Becks appealed to a higher court Supreme Court of Arizona Court of appeals decision affirmed 1919 7 Originally adopted the family purpose doctrine in Benton v Regeser a In this case this court upheld a judgment holding a parent liable for his minor sons negligent driving b There is liability not because the head of the family is faulty but because of the relationship between the head and the driver of the 8 Equity accomplishing rough justice when common law rules would family car produce unfair results a Equity courts provided several remedies not available in the common law courts i Injunction a court order forbidding a party to do some act of commanding him to perform some act ii Specific performance a party is ordered to perform according to the terms of her contract iii Reformation the court rewrites the contract s terms to reflect the parties real intentions iv Rescission a cancellation of a contract and a return of the parties to their precontractual position b The once sharp line between law and equity has become blurred 9 Administrative Regulations and Decisions a Major reason for the rise of administrative agencies was the collection of social and economic problems created by the industrialization of the U S in the late 19th century b Administrative agencies obtain the ability to make law through delegation of power from the legislature c 2 types of law made by administrative agencies i Administrative regulations appear in precise form in one authoritative source differ from statutes because the body enacting regulations is not an elected body ii Agency decisions legally binding appeals sometimes allowed 10 Treaties are made by the president with foreign governments and approved by two thirds of the U S senate become the supreme law of the land Sometimes invalidate inconsistent state and federal laws 11 Ordinances the enactments of counties and municipalities 12 Executive orders normally results from a legislative decision not the president or states governor Priority Rules 1 Federal supremacy the U S constitution federal laws enacted pursuant to it and treaties are the supreme law of the land Federal law defeats conflicting state law 2 Constitutions defeat other types of law within their domain A state constitution defeats all other state laws inconsistent with it The U S constitution defeats inconsistent laws of whatever type 3 When a treaty conflicts with a federal statute over a purely domestic matter the measure that is later in time usually prevails 4 Within state or federal domain statutes defeat conflicting laws that depend on a legislative delegation for their validity EX a state statute defeats an inconsistent state administrative regulation 5 Statutes and any laws derived from them by delegation defeat inconsistent common law rules Either a statue or an administrative regulation defeats a conflicting common law rule Shown in Trentadue v Gorton 6 Trentadue v Gorton Lecture 1 1 7 types of law a Constitutional law 51 constitutions in this country D C has a charter but not as authoritative b Statutory law statute law law that are enacted at federal or state level either comes from congress or from the state level from a state legislature i Uniform acts model statutes that are drafted by
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