Business Law Exam 1 Notes Reference Rule of Law Nobody is higher than the source of law Law over everything Substantive Law Part of the law that creates and defines rights duties and powers of individuals ex the right to sue power to amend articles of incorporation Procedural Law the rules that prescribe the steps for having rights judicially enforced Process and mechanics for how rights and duties get resolved Public Law Constitutional Administrative and Criminal Private Law Business Law Contracts Torts Property Sources of Law Constitution est 1700s Precedent judges settle based fairly JUDICIARY BRANCH Legislature written laws from representatives Society norms change expectations change o Ex Constitution s meaning has changed radically over time always open Executive branch of government president and administrators can pass laws and to interpretation execute them Stare Decisis The idea that similar cases should be judged in similar ways Process of Litigation TRIAL COURT APPEALS COURT SUPREME COURT Laws are checked Laws are double checked Laws are made Supreme Court Only accepts 3 of appeals from potential cases What makes a crime a CRIME Crimes Deterrence wrongful actions against society Society initiates the action The state a strategy intended to prevent people from doing something by making the penalties very very high This is supposed to stop people from engaging in this behavior prosecutes not looking for money but for incarceration opportunity to pursue and pay the expenses The primary objective is to make the injured party whole through damages money Involves compensation Overall TORTS aim to make them pay CRIMES aim to just avoid everything in general Private party initiates the action An individual has the Civil Actions Torts Mill Harm s Principle of Crime People must be able to self protect Problem What defines harm Lord Patrick Delvin s Morality Principle of Crime The basis of criminal law is morality Society defines morality by saying you will be punished for partaking in this immoral act Problem not everybody has the same moral code o Ethics goes above and beyond legal law Law and Economics Perspective behavior because doing so would be too expensive Making sense of criminal enforcement means taking into consideration some of its costs The major issue is the efficient level of deterrence and the cost of enforcement We don t criminalize all types of immoral Standard of Proof This is usually the plaintiff who creates the case If there is no credible evidence you are innocent Innocent until proven guilty In order to make a case you must have the burden of proof Not absolute certainty Goal of the defendant s lawyer is to create as much uncertainty in the jury s mind as possible CRIMINAL STANDARD OF PROOF Beyond a Reasonable Doubt 75 CIVIL STANDARD OF PROOF More likely than not 50 Type 1 Error False Positives Some innocent people are proven guilty How do we reduce this By making a higher standard of proof to prove Type 2 Error By reducing type 1 error we increase type 2 error Some guilty people are proven innocent Natural Law Created by Aristotle takes precedent over manmade law Has to deal with the psychology of well being Similar to Maslow s Hierarchy of Needs Non competes prevent people from competing with the company ex Going off on their own and starting their own business Algorithm a bunch of steps together that we take to bring about a result or a goal ex Pandora s system of finding songs they think you will like 1 The judge Rules on matters of law asks as a referee Asks questions what are the legal elements of the offense Decides all matters of the law Has final say 2 The Jury The finder of fact did the defendant s technology infringe the plaintiff s patent 3 The Attorney Officer of the Court professional and ethical duty to represent their clients in the best legal way possible also have legal and ethical duties to the court Can not lie to the court risk being put in jail Is also the client s advocate 4 Client s Role Usually an executive or business owner in business law Two models of the attorney client relationship a Traditional Client delegates all knowledge and authority to the attorney only talk to lawyers when you need to b Participatory The client works with an attorney to further business goals The court can only reach a legal outcome if they have jurisdiction the authority to issue a legal decision on the case This authority can be gained from several different things Federal Jurisdiction States that courts shall have original jurisdiction of all civil actions where the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of 75 000 State Jurisdiction Anything not covered under federal law or diversity ex contracts torts real property The law is either Actual Law a specific past decision as to that situation Probable Law a guess as to a specific decision Litigation Known as the process of the law The end result should be a decision to decide the law legal issue Ultimately decides whether the person committed the crime or not Leads to justice Known as a legal resolution 3 Phases of Litigation 1 Pleadings Complaint Answer Motion If this doesn t work the case is taken into the discovery phase There are 2 basic kinds of torts 2 Discovery Most costly and time consuming stage Interrogation Subpoena Declarations Most cases stop here 3 Trial Verdict Judgment Less than 3 even make it to this stage Most cases are settled in discovery stage unintentional careless behavior that causes harm breach of a civil duty owed to an individual Wrongful actions 1 Negligence Intentional 2 individuals have rights Intentional torts deal with private law and individual citizens The goal of a tort is to make the injured party whole again Torts aim to prevent this kind of behavior from happening again triple damages are awarded for intentional wrongdoing versus Punitive Damages unintentional wrong doing rights are created Legal Duty A recognized standard of behavior defined by the court Arises when Mens Rea Very important term discussed in class Latin word meaning state of mind when a crime was committed This is often where the line is drawn between unintentional and intentional torts 4 STATES OF INTENT 4 Negligently One is unaware of a risk ex leaving an unlocked and loaded gun One is aware of the risks of his her actions ex speeding in a school Pre planned intentional ex homicide murder One doesn t hope for something to happen but is certain he she will 1 Purposely 2 Knowingly cause
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