Part One Foundations of American Law Chapter 1 The Nature of Law Types and Classifications of Law The Types of Law Constitutions general functions o The Constitution which exists at the state and federal levels have two It first creates the structure of government for the state federal government by creating branches and subdivisions of government and also stating the powers given and denied by them The separation of powers gives each branch their own powers and restrictions The legislative branch Congress makes laws the executive branch President enforces laws and the judicial branch supreme court interprets laws The second function is prohibiting certain actions or passing of laws by other units of government that infringes on individual rights ex Bill of Rights Statutes Common Law Statutes are laws created by elected representatives in Congress or a state legislature Before they become law some state statutes are drafted as uniform acts or model statutes drafted by lawyers and scholars The purpose of uniform acts is to create state by state uniformity on the subjects they address law made and applied by judges as they decide cases not governed by statutes or other types of law some states have enacted into statute parts of the common law Judges follow the decisions of other judges in similar cases called precedents The Restatements are collections of common law rules covering various areas of law Usually rules followed by the majority of the states Common law fills in for gaps left by other legal rules or when there is no applicable statute Case law reasoning when courts engage when they make and apply common law rules Young v Beck Arizona Supreme Court 2011 o Jason Beck was given permission by his parents to drive to his friend s house after work using their car Instead of using it for that purpose he used it to cause mischief and got into a car accident with Ms Young Ms Young sued him and his parents for negligence under the family purpose doctrine o DECISION The family purpose doctrine was deemed inapplicable because Jason Beck used the vehicle for different purposes Equity o Concerned itself with accomplishing justice when common law rules o Separate equity courts would hear cases common law courts would not In equity courts procedures were flexible and rules were lenient Equity courts offered several remedies that common law courts did unfair results not Injunction a court order forbidding a party to do some act or commanding him to perform some act Specific performance where a party is ordered to perform according to the terms of her contract Reformation in which the court rewrites the contract s terms to reflect the parties real intentions Rescission a cancellation of a contract and a return of the parties to their pre contractual position Nowadays equity courts seem to exist and the remedies are mixed in with the remedies of the common law courts legal remedy of money damages Administrative Regulations and Decisions Administrative Agencies were created in the late 19th century because legislatures lacked the skills and time to deal with specific problems Agencies receive the power from legislature and are created by a statute that specifies the areas in which the agency can make laws The two types of law made by administrative agencies are Administrative regulations precise rules in one authoritative source Agencies have an internal courtlike structure that enables them to hear out cases arising under the regulations they enforce Differ from statutes because they are not enforced by an elected body Agency decisions legally binding but appeals are sometimes allowed Treaties Treaties made by the president with foreign governments and approved by two thirds of the U S Senate becomes the supreme law of the Land Ordinances o State governments have units that exercise certain functions Ex School districts have limited powers Counties townships exercise various governmental functions o Ordinances a piece of legislation passed by counties and municipalities Executive Orders o The President or state governors have limited power to issue laws called executive orders Enforcers and not law makers Priority Rules Land 1 Federal law defeats conflicting state law since they are the supreme law of the 2 The Constitution defeats other types of laws 1 state constitution defeats all other state laws inconsistent with it 2 The U S constitution defeats inconsistent laws of any type When a treaty conflicts with a federal statute over a domestic matter the one that is older prevails their validity 2 2 2 rule Statutes defeats conflicting laws that depend on a legislative delegation for 1 EX a state statute defeats an inconsistent state administrative regulation A statute or an administrative regulation defeats a conflicting common law Trentadue v Gorton Michigan Supreme Court 2007 o Margarette Eby was killed in 1986 and DNA evidence discovered in 2002 uncovered that Jeffrey Gorton employee of his parent s corporation which serviced the sprinkler system killed her Eby s daughter Dayle Trentadue sued Gorton and various people in the sprinkler corporation for negligent hiring and monitoring of Gorton The defendants claimed that Michigan s three year statute of limitations barred Trentadue s claims because the case was filed in a timely manner Trentadue asserted that the discovery rule should be applied to suspend the limitation period o DECISION The discovery rule was applied but other than Gorton the other defendants were not guilty due to the fact that Trentadue could not find evidence that showed their negligence Classifications of Law Criminal and Civil Law o Criminal law is the law under which the government prosecutes someone for committing a crime Penalties include imprisonment or fines Creates duties that pay back the society as a whole o Civil Law is the law applied when one private party sues another the government can also be a party to a civil case penalties include money damages or equitable relief o A person can violate both criminal and civil law and endure both punishments Substantive Law and Procedural Law o Substantive law sets the rights and duties of people as they act in society Ex A statute making murder a crime Jurisprudence views of law Legal Positivism Natural Law o Procedural law controls the behavior of government bodies mainly courts as they establish and enforce rules of substantive law Ex the rules describe the proper conduct of a trial Public and Private Law o