STUDENT OUTLINE ADV 3352 MASS MEDIA LAW CHAPTER 1 The American Legal System I SOURCES OF THE LAW A COMMON LAW i An inductive system in which a legal rule and legal standards are arrived at after consideration of many cases involving similar facts 1 Deals with small individual problems 2 Common law cannot anticipate forsee problems 3 Common law crimes no longer exist in this country 4 Common law is collected in reports 5 Customs of the area customary laws justice made laws ii History 1 Developed in England 2 Replaced Anglo Saxon custom with a system of judges and jurists III Stare decisis let the decision stand resolve problems as they were resolved in past decisions iv Precedent An established rule of law set by a previous case courts should follow precedent when it is advisable and possible this builds predictability and consistency I Four options for handling precedents 1 ADV 3352 MASS MEDIA LAW 1 Accept Follow adopts a prior court ruling follows STUDENT OUTLINE it for guidance 2 Modify Update modifies old court ruling and updates to todays understanding 3 Distinguish distinguish prior case because new case involves different facts 4 Overrule declaring prior decision wrong VI Damages Money awarded to winning party in civil suit VII Case reporter book containing a chronological collection of opinions rendered by the court VII Citation reflects the name of the report in which the case can be found the volume of that reporter and on what exact page it can be found on Ex Furman v Georgia 408 U S 238 1972 VIII JURISPRUDENCE JUDGE DECIDES CASE ON GUT FEELING THEN CHECKS PRECEDENTS TO SUPPORT DECISION B EQUITY LAW i Definition Definition system of jurisprudence in which courts are empowered to decide cases on the basis of equity or fairness Far more flexible than common law ex girls aged 12 were sexting eachother judge wanted them to get in trouble for this but they were able to argue their 1st amendment freedom of expression rights 1 BASED ON FAIRNESS 2 JURY IS NOT INVOLVED 3 SMALL CLAIM COURTS 2 ADV 3352 MASS MEDIA LAW STUDENT OUTLINE II Judicial decrees declaration of court announcing legal consequences of facts found to be true i e restraining orders can be found preventative if you follow your restraint or remedial aka corrective educational C STATUTORY LAW i Definition created by elected legislative bodies at the local state and federal levels to anticipate problems that may affect large numbers a Deals with large problems b Can anticipate problems c Deals with criminal laws d Collected in codes and law books e Ex billboard with don t text and drive ii Statutory construction The process undertaken by courts to interpret or construe the meaning of statutes iii Legislative intent what the legislation meant intended when the law was passed NOT what they think it should mean D CONSTITUIONAL LAW i Definition written outline of the organization of a government that provides for both the rights and responsibilities of various branches and limits the power of government a Provide plan for establishment b Outline duties of various elements of government c Guarantee basic rights to people 3 ADV 3352 MASS MEDIA LAW ii Constitutions A written outline of the organization of a STUDENT OUTLINE government that provides for both the rights and responsibilities of various branches of the government and the limits of the power of the government a Most IMPORTANT source of US Law b Tend to be short and infrequently amended c Changes are also very uncommon iii State constitutions give more greater rights to citizens than provided under the U S constitution a Approved changed by direct vote of people b State constitutions can give more and greater rights to their citizens than provided under the US constitution iv U S Constitution the supreme law of the land Any law or other constitution that conflicts with the US constitution is unenforceable a 27 amendments are appended b the first 10 are known as the Bill of Rights guarantee basic human rights to all citizens v Void for Vagueness Doctrine law can be struck down and unconstitutional if a person of reasonable and ordinary intelligence would not be able to tell form looking at its terms what speech is allowed and what speech is prohibited Problematic because a Don t provide fair notice of what speech is permitted 4 ADV 3352 MASS MEDIA LAW b Can be enforced unfairly and discriminatorily because they STUDENT OUTLINE give too much discretion due to vague terms to those who enforce them vi Overbreadth Doctrine A statute or regulation will be declared unconstitutional if it sweeps up and bans a substantial amount of protected speech in the process of targeting unprotected speech in other words the doctrine prohibits the government from banning unprotected speech if a substantial amount of protected speech is prohibited or chilled in the same process vii United States v Stevens 2010 to criminalize the commercial creation sale or possession of certain depictions of animal cruelty The statute addresses only portrayals of harmful acts not the underlying conduct Is substantially overbroad and therefore invalid under the First Amendment E EXECUTIVE ORDERS AND ADMINISTRATIVE RULES i Two streams a Orders issued by elected officers aka executive orders b Rules generated by administrative agencies ii Administrative agencies specialized federal administrative agencies that deal with a specific set of problems too technical or too large for the legislative branch to handle iii Example FCC Created by congress in 1934 It regulates broadcasting and other telecommunication in the US iv FCC Member criteria 1 Members must be US citizens 2 Must be appointed by the president 5 ADV 3352 MASS MEDIA LAW 3 No more than 3 of the 5 individuals on the STUDENT OUTLINE commission can be from the same political party 4 Senate must confirm appointments v Courts can overturn rulings if a If the original act that established the commission or agency is unconstitutional b If the commission agency exceeds its authority c If the commission agency violates its own rules d If there is no evidentiary basis whatsoever to support the ruling vi Reason for limitations agencies were created to bring expert knowledge to bear on complex problems and the purpose for their creation would be defeated if judges with no special expertise in a given area could reverse agency ruling merely because they had a diff solution II THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM A FACT VERSUS THE LAW i Each system is divided into two courts
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