BUL3310 Exam 1 Study Guide Business Law Course Tools 1 Semantics The branch of the science of language that deals with the meaning of words a Koikos Case in course documents A dispute over the meaning of occurrence in an insurance policy determined whether the policy would cover 500 000 or 1 000 000 The argument was that each gunshot was considered a separate occurrence but the insurance company said they would all be grouped into one occurrence The lack of unambiguous language in the policy determined each shot could be a separate occurrence 2 Logic extracting legal rules from past cases by inductive reasoning How judges make decisions Simple Example Law by statute A driver who runs a red light is at fault and liable in an incident Facts Driver A ran a red light causing a collision Conclusion Driver A is at fault and liable A Statute a law posted by the legislature In reference to the Daddy case Father made legal will entitling two of his four children to split the will between themselves Children A B split everything C D got nothing but the Father signed the will as Daddy So the other children tried to file a case in order to saw that the signature was invalid After a bunch of lawyer s fees and time the signature was deemed valid but Children A B got significantly less of their inheritance due to lawyers fees So it may have been more beneficial for the children to just settle w Children C D 3 Stare Decisis the doctrine of precedent What s occurred before Latin for to stand by that which is decided The principal that the precedent decisions are to be followed by the courts To abide or adhere to decided cases It is a general maxim that when a point has been settled by decision it forms a precedent which is not afterwards to be departed from The doctrine of stare decisis is not always to be relied upon for the courts find it necessary to overrule cases which have been hastily decided or contrary to principle Many hundreds of such overruled cases may be found in the American and English books of reports http www lectlaw com def2 s065 htm Advantages 1 Certainty in the law 2 Equality in the law 3 Makes Judicial Decision making easier judges don t have to reinvent the wheel every trial Disadvantages Stagnation in the law perpetuation a mistake Society is moving on while judges are not we must modernize the law 4 Common Sense the law is not an enemy of common sense When we judge people religion societies governments or history we have to start with well established principles and common sense When we plan for the future of our life or even death a good look at history will help us with established principles because they tell us what worked and what did not Common sense lets us analyze the logical consequences of what we plan on doing http www unitypublishing com Government RuleOfLaw htm The Florida State Court System I would suggest reading pages 4 7 in the Target Packet on your own multiple times to gather at the full idea of the courts and theirs components Here is a website link to an almost verbatim version Pages 4 7 in our notes READ BOTH IF POSSIBLE http www floridasupremecourt org pub info system2 shtml The Structure of the Florida Judicial Court System as of January 2012 Appellate Courts appeal Supreme Court sees about 100 150 cases District Courts of appeal Seven Justices serve six year terms each Merit retention re election Sits in Tallahassee Five Justices constitute a quorum but usually all 7 are present 62 judges w six year terms each no elections merit retention public chooses Five Districts 1st District Tallahassee 15 Judges 2nd District Lakeland 14 Judges 3rd District Miami 11 Judges 4th District West Palm Beach 12 Judges 5th District Daytona Beach 10 Judges Cases are reviewed by a 3 judge panel These are oral arguments not trials Trial Courts Circuit Courts FELONY 599 Judges six year terms ELECTIONS Twenty Judicial circuits JUDGES ARE DISTRIBUTED ACCORDING TO POPULATION Different number of judges in each circuit Judges preside individually County Courts misdemeanors 1 year or less in jail 322 Judges with six year terms At least one judge in each of the 67 counties Judges preside individually Handles all disputes 15 000 or less Small claims court do not need an attorney most people represent themselves Pyramidal System Su pr e m e C o ur t 1 C t o f ap peals 5 C ircu it C t 20 C o u nty C t 67 Categories of Law broad info meant to give a general idea the different categories law not required to know in detail 1 Criminal Criminal law is distinctive for the uniquely serious potential consequences or sanctions for failure to abide by its rules Dennis J Baker The Right Not to be Criminalized Demarcating Criminal Law s Authority Ashgate 2011 Every crime is composed of criminal elements Capital punishment may be imposed in some jurisdictions for the most serious crimes Physical or corporal punishment may be imposed such as whipping or caning although these punishments are prohibited in much of the world Individuals may be incarcerated in prison or jail in a variety of conditions depending on the jurisdiction Confinement may be solitary Length of incarceration may vary from a day to life Government supervision may be imposed including house arrest and convicts may be required to conform to particularized guidelines as part of a parole or probation regimen Fines also may be imposed seizing money or property from a person convicted of a crime Five objectives are widely accepted for enforcement of the criminal law by punishments retribution deterrence incapacitation rehabilitation and restitution Jurisdictions differ on the value to be placed on each Retribution Criminals ought to suffer in some way This is the most widely seen goal Criminals have taken improper advantage or inflicted unfair detriment upon others and consequently the criminal law will put criminals at some unpleasant disadvantage to balance the scales People submit to the law to receive the right not to be murdered and if people contravene these laws they surrender the rights granted to them by the law Thus one who murders may be murdered himself A related theory includes the idea of righting the balance Deterrence Individual deterrence is aimed toward the specific offender The aim is to impose a sufficient penalty to discourage the offender from criminal behavior General deterrence aims at society at large By imposing a penalty on those who commit offenses other individuals are discouraged from committing
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