MGMT 3540 1nd Edition Exam 1 Study Guide Lectures 1 8 Lecture 1 August 27 What is a Law A body of rules enforced by a government What is The Rule of Law The concept that no one is above the law and that no one can be of breaking the law except as the law provides From the highest official to the lowliest member of society all are subject to the same laws What is a Contract A legally enforceable promise or set of promises What does it mean to have a Breach of Contract A fail to fulfill contractual obligations i e contract lawsuits What is a Tort A civil wrong other than a breach of contract for which the law provides a remedy What is Negligence An unintentional violation of a legal duty to use a standard of care What is Common Law A legal system of court made law where the rules are derived from previously decided cases called precedents What is the Stare Decisis The legal doctrine that requires courts to follow previous decisions called precedents What is the Judicial Review Doctrine that courts determine the constitutionality of statutes What is a Cause of Action A stated set of facts giving rise to a valid lawsuit Who is a Plaintiff The party that files a lawsuit against another party Who is a Defendant The person against whom a lawsuit is filed What are the Four Philosophical Schools of Law Describe each school 1 Natural Law School is the theory that law comes from unchangeable principles evident from nature or inspired by God Example Declaration of Independence 2 Positivist School believes that Government s rules are supreme Example definition of law above 3 Traditional Historical School believes that Law which has worked in the past is best suited to shape present law Example Stare Decisis 4 Legal Realist School believes there is no uniform way to interpret the law result oriented considering the impact on the parties and society many are semantic relativists Example Holmes the constitution is what the judges say it is What are some Problems in applying each of these laws Natural Law School whose versions of self evident law do you use Positivist School government atrocities acceptable Legal Realist Traditional should the constitution be what the judges say it is should precedent control or should the Constitution itself control What are three sources of Federal Law by priority 1 U S Constitution the supreme law of the land 2 Statutes and Treaties acts of Congress and treaties entered by the President and approved by the Senate 3 Administrative rules Laws adopted by administrative agencies What are four sources of State Law by priority 1 Constitution of the state 2 Statutes adopted by legislature 3 Administrative Rules 4 Municipal Ordinances What is Case Law Common Law Bottom of the priority list Case law is Court made law that is established by courts particularly in the areas of contract and tort law Case law is overruled by a contrary statute ordinance or rules unless the law involved is ruled unconstitutional What are the two types of Persuasive Authority 1 Uniform codes statutory schemes compiled by experts to be adopted by state legislatures to help insure consistency of the law in all the states These include codes such as commercial code and uniform probate code 2 Restatements common law schemes compiled by experts to influence courts and encourage nationwide consistency These include restatements such as restatement of contracts and restatement of torts What are agencies A unit of the executive branch regulating a certain area What is an Independent Agency An agency designed to be free from the direct authority of the president or governor i EXAMPLES FTC SEC What is an Executive Agency An executive agency is an agency whose head is directly subject to the president E g Cabinet level agencies IRS or EPA What are the three powers of many Independent Agencies Powers of all three branches of government held by in many administrative agencies These are the executive prosecute violations legislative make binding rules and judicial decide controversies What is Criminal Law Criminal law involves wrongs against society punished by the state through prosecution What is Civil Law Civil law involves wrongs against persons or entities enforced by lawsuits to obtain money or other remedies Substantive vs Procedural What is Substantive law Substantive law defines rights and duties What is Procedural law Procedural law defines the method or process by which violations of rights or duties will be enforced Statutory vs Case Law What is Statutory law Statutory law is law adopted by a legislative body Examples would be acts of Congress acts of state legislature municipal ordinances What is Case Law Case law is law created by court decision An example would be adoption of comparative fault Common Law vs Equity What are the origins of Common Law Courts Common law courts come from a uniform set of laws derived from following precedents in England What are the Origins of Equity Courts The king created equity courts because people whose problems could not be solved by common law courts would petition the king What is Common Law like today In common law people can sue for money damages or return of property and have the right to a jury trial to determine facts in question What is Equity like Today In equity today people can sue for a court order compelling an act or a change in status and a judge determines the facts in question Equity suits are now filed in the same courts and are heard by the same judges as common law suits Lecture 2 September 3 What is Res Judicata It s been decided An issue decided in one case between parties is binding upon the parties in another case between the parties It won t be litigated again What is Class Action Class action is when one or more members of a group of injured parties sue on behalf of the group class What is Standing In order to have standing a person needs a tangible interest in a lawsuit to sue or become a party For example Grandparents visitation rights to a custody case What is Jurisdiction to speak the law the authority of a court to decide a case What is Proper Venue The word venue means place Proper venue is the place where a case may be properly decided under the law What is Adjudication The process of litigation resulting in a binding enforceable final judgment What is an Adversary System A trial system where the evidence is presented by party opponents rather than through questions of a judge What is Evidence The testimony of witnesses