Chapter s 1 2 3 4 and 5 and the Enron movie Bul3310 Test 1 81 Questions 16 question on the Enron Movie Chapter 1 1 Definition of Law Law rules and regulations established by government and applied to people in order for civilization to exist The law is not static it is always CHANGING The basic purpose of law To maintain order Resolve disputes Offer remedies when one person wrongs another Law Law has also been defined as rules and principles applied by the courts to decide controversies Rules and Principles Legislative Law Laws that include federal constitution and state constitution s that have been passed by legislative bodies Judicial Pronouncements legal statements made by the courts They can be interpretation of statues or they can be based on common law principals that were created by the courts decades or centuries ago Procedural Law product of legislative branch amid at determining how lawsuits are handled in the courts These laws include matters such as rules of evidence and related issues Aristotle Law is reason unaffected by desire Law shouldn t t be affected by emotions and feelings or desire Law embodies the story of a nation s development through many centuries Helps Oliver Wendell Holmes us predict the future Blackstone Defined law as that rule of action which is prescribed by some superior and which the inferior is bound to obey Ex tax laws that command the tax payer has to pay it 2 Classification of Legal Subjects Substantive law It regulates and controls the rights and duties of persons and is used to resolve the disputes Defines rights and responsibilities Procedural law laws that establish the process by which litigation is conducted It determines how trials is conducted how appeals are taken and how a judgment is enforced Means or procedures for enforcing substantive rights Public Law laws that affect the public generally Constitutional Law concerns itself with rights power and duties of federal and state government under the U S constitutions of varies states Administrative Law is concerned with the multitude of administrative agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission and the National Labor Relation Board Criminal Law statues that forbid certain conduct as being detrimental to the welfare of the state or the people and provides punishments for there actions Private Law laws pertaining to the relationship between individuals in an organized society Contracts sales commercial paper agency and business organization Torts primary source of ligation in this country Torts are wrongs committed by one person against another or another s property Property 3 Court Decisions Our laws comes from four basics sources The constitution prevails over statues statues prevail over common law Constitutions Legislations Rules regulations and decisions of administrative agencies Judicial decisions England England is where the concept of decided cases as a source of laws came from Common Law relies on case precedent as a source of law Is the LARGEST source of law its made by judges Common law is case law Began in England in 1066 and continues today Non statutory law Exists in court decisions Following case precedent or stare decisis let the decision stand Basically what is ruled in one court case has to stand in this case as well The English common law is the origin of the common law Louisiana has the strictest Ethic Law Civil Law a system of law based on legislation or codes and statues instead of cases Civil law seeks to resolve non criminal disputes such as disagreements over the meaning of contracts property ownership divorce child custody and damages for personal and property damage A civil court is a place where people can solve their problems with people peacefully The function of civil law is to provide a legal remedy to solve problems Sometimes civil law is based on a state or federal statute at other times civil law is based on a ruling by the court 4 Basic Constitutional Principles Federal law cannot violate the U S constitutions Doctrine of separation of powers Legislative executive and judicial branches of government function independently of one another and that each branch serves as check on the other Doctrine of judicial review the power of courts to declare laws and executive actions unconstitutional o Est in 1803 in the case of Marbury v madison by justices Marshall 5 Legislation Legislation Congress state assemblies city councils and other local governments bodies create legislation Statute legislation passed by congress or the legislative body of state Ordinances laws passed by local government Codes a collection of compilation of the statues passed by a legislative body on a particular subject o Ex Local traffic codes uniform commercial codes o Courts usually interpret legislation by resolving different problems 6 Interpreting legislation Statues are written is ambiguous language and mean different things to different people A statue means what the court says it means 7 Uniform state laws In the United States we have the federal system in which each state has its own substantial degree of autonomy Methods of achieving Uniformity in business law 1 Have federal legislation govern the business 2 Or have the states legislatures adopt uniform laws concerning at least certain phase of the business 8 Stare Decisis Stare Decisis The doctrine that law should adhere to decided cases and stand by the decision Stand by decision an not to disturb what is settled Precedents affect trial courts more than courts of review Unpopular court ruling can be changed be a statute Res Judicata the legal doctrine that once a dispute is ligated and resolved these parties are forever barred from litigating the same matter again The thing has been decided Only applies to the parties involved 9 Problems Inherent In Case Law Some of the problems with law today is there is so many precedent that it become difficult for the common person it know them all Another problems with the law is cases arise that have conflicting precedents that are presented by opposing lawyers Dicta Statement of the court that are not necessary to decide the controversy before the court 10 Rejection of Precedent Stare decisis sometimes must be changed if its out dated Private law uniformity and continuity are necessary Public law the doctrine is frequently ignored 11 Conflict of Laws The doctrine of Stare Decisis does not require that one state recognizes the precedent or rules of law of the other state
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