Classification of the law according to source Judge Made Law Common Law Equity Law Essay Topics Constitutional Law Based on a constitution state or national and is developed through court decisions Administrative Law Composed of rules and regulations issued by executive departments and agencies Statutory Law Consists of acts passed by a legislative body Structure of federal courts basic functions how decisions are reached jurisdiction Court Supreme Court Geographic Area Country 12 Circuit of Appeals District 12 Regions 94 judicial districts Jurisdiction Disputes between 2 or more states but mostly appeals Strictly appeals Original jurisdiction over most cases Decisions 9 judge panel Usually 3 judge panels Jury Trials 1 Majority Opinion Types of Opinions Required for a decision to be reached Chief Justice can write or appoint someone to write it If Chief Justice is not member of the majority then the senior justice does Agrees with basic decision of majority but not with the underlying reasoning Doesn t agree with the decision of the majority 2 Concurring Opinion 3 Dissenting Opinion Judicial Activism v Judicial Restraint Judicial Activism loose interpretation of the constitution Make the Constitution relevant to contemporary needs right to privacy came from Activism as did abortion Judicial Restraint make rulings only when there is a CLEAR constitutional basis for the ruling Leave it to the legislation Nationalization of the Bill of Rights Barron v Baltimore Gitlow v New York and Palko v Connecticut Doctrine of Selective Incorporation 1 What is the nationalization of the Bill of Rights NBR is the process whereby most of the Bill of Rights was held applicable to the states through the due process clause of the 14th amendment 2 What is the doctrine of selective incorporation A doctrine that holds that certain parts of the BR those critical to a democracy much be considered to be included within the meaning of due process and held applicable to the states through the 14th amendment 3 What is the significance of Barron v Baltimore established the precedent or rule that the BR applied only to the nation govt not state govts Gitlow v N Y A First time the court applies the BR to the states B The SC ruled that Freedom of Speech and the press were of such basic fundamental importance that they must be considered to be included within the meaning of due process and applicable to the states throught the 14 th amendment due process law Palko v Connecticut SC established the Doctrine of Selective Incorporation which holds that certain parts of the BR those critical to a democracy much be considered to be included within the meaning of due process and held applicable to the states through the 14th amendment 4 What are some of the important legal rights incorporated by the Supreme Court A Freedom of Religion B Freedom of Speech C Freedom of the Press D Right to Privacy E Freedom of Assembly Freedom to Petition Right against cruel and unusual punishment F G Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures H Free exercise of religion beliefs I J Right to counsel K Right against self incriminations L Right to confront witnesses M Right to impartial jury N Right to speedy trial O Right to compulsory process for obtaining witnesses P Right to trial jury Q Right against double jeopardy R Right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation 5 What are some that have not been incorporated a Right to bear arms b Quartering o f troops c Right ti indictment by Grand Jury d Right against excessive bail fines e Trial jury in a civil case Supreme Court Interpretation of certain provisions of the Bill of Rights What are the requirements of petit and grand juries in state and federal courts Exclusionary rule State Grand Up to 23 members Petit Min 6 but varies Unanimous not needed Federal Grand Up to 23 6 What is the basic rule contained in the exclusionary rule Petit Must have 12 jurors Unanimous verdict evidence obtained without a search warrant or through a process that violates an individual s right to privact is inadmissible in court in a criminal case 7 What are the important exceptions to the basic rule A Evidence obtained illegally from someone other than the admissible B If the police are in a place they have a right to be evidence in plain sight may be seized without a search warrant and used in a criminal trial C Evidence obtained in an emergency without a search warrant in admissible D Good Faith exception If the policed acted in good faith but a technical mistake was made the evidence may be admissible Speech not constitutionally protected 8 What are some important tests used by the Court in cases involving freedom of speech A Bad Tendency legislatures may forbid speech that has a tendency to corrupt public morals incite to crime and B Clear and Present Danger With immenence They are about to go out and do something Right before they walk 9 What 3 types of speech are not constitutionally protected disturb the public peace out of the door A Libel or slander B Fighting words C Pornography or obscene speech 10 Why has the Court had so much difficulty dealing with obscenity It is subjective One man s trash is another man s treasure art 11 What are some of the important rulings on obscenity 1966 A Memoirs v Massachusetts Obscene if utterly without redeeming social value B Miller v California MOST RECENT Obscene if a The work taken as a whole appeals to purient interests 1973 b The work portrays sexual conduct in a patently offensive way c The work taken as a whole lacks serious literary artistic political or scientific value Local community standards govern the first and second criteria Censorship attempts may be appealed to a local judge For the third requirement the court used the term reasonable person as opposed to average person C Segregation cases Plessy v Ferguson 1896 Separate but equal is permissible Sweatt v Painter 1950 Sweatt applied to University of Texas Law School and they denied him because he was black Supreme Court ruled that the school had to let him in because their separate but equal school wasn t equal Brown v Board of Education 1954 Separate but equal is now gone integration must begin Right to privacy abortion Roe v Wade 1973 A B C In the first trimester the state may not interfere with a woman s right to abortion In the second trimester the state may place restrictions on abortions such as requiring a fetal viability test to determine if the fetus can live outside the