Transcript Constitutional Law - Mercer University

Introduction to
Employment Law
Jody Blanke
Professor of Computer Information Systems
and Law
Mercer University
The Enumerated Powers Clause
 Art. 1 Sec. 8 of the Constitution
 Authorizes Congress







to collect taxes
to coin money
to establish a postal system
to raise and support Armies
to provide and maintain a Navy
to regulate interstate commerce
to protect the writings of authors and the
discoveries of inventors
Tenth Amendment
 The powers not delegated to the U.S.
are reserved to the states
 Most laws that effect us on a daily
basis are state laws, e.g., contract
law, property law, tort law, criminal
law, family law
Federal Court System
Federal Court System (cont.)
 Supreme Court
 appellate and original jurisdiction
 Courts of Appeal
 11 geographically divided courts (plus 2
specialty courts)
 appellate jurisdiction only
 District Courts
 94 courts (1 to 4 per state)
 original jurisdiction only
Federal District Court
 Criminal Cases
 Civil Cases
 Federal Question Jurisdiction
 Diversity Jurisdiction
 complete diversity of the parties
 amount in controversy greater than
$75,000
State Court Systems
 50 different systems
 Similar to federal
 “triangular” in shape
 many courts with limited jurisdiction
Pleadings
 Plaintiff files a complaint
 Defendant files an answer
 May also counterclaim or crossclaim
 Failure to answer may result in default
judgment
Motion to Dismiss
 Will be granted if
 Court lacks jurisdiction over the subject
matter or over the parties
 Plaintiff failed to properly serve the
complaint on the defendant
 Plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon
which relief can be granted
Motion for Summary Judgment
 Can be made by either party
 During discovery, i.e., after the
pleadings but before the trial
 Will be granted if there are no
genuine issues as to any material
fact, and the moving party is entitled
to judgment as a matter of law
 “Legal TKO”
Post Trial Motions
 Motion for judgment notwithstanding
the verdict (judgment n.o.v. – non
obstante veredicto)
 Motion for remittitur (additur)
 McDonald’s hot cup of coffee case
 Motion for a new trial
Appeals
 Appellate review focuses on errors of
law
 Appellate court may order a remand
 Findings of fact generally will be
reversed only if they are clearly
erroneous, i.e., not supported by the
evidence
Burden of Proof
 Criminal case
 “beyond a reasonable doubt”
 burden on prosecution, i.e., state
 Civil case
 “by a preponderance of the evidence”, i.e., more
likely than not
 burden on party making the claim, usually the
plaintiff
 Ex. O.J. Simpson; Hans Kraus; Andrea
Sneiderman
Federal Case Citations
 McDonald Douglas Corp. v. Green,
411 U.S. 792 (1973) [p. 89]
 EEOC v. Chicago Miniature Lamp
Works, 947 F.2d 292 (7th Cir. 1991)
[p. 113]
 Petruska v. Gannon University, 350
F.Supp.2d 666 (W.D. Pa. 2004) [p.
78]
State Case Citations
 Palmateer v. International Harvester,
85 Ill.2d 124, 421 N.E.2d 876 (1981)
[p. 33]
 Torosyan v. Boehringer
Pharmaceuticals, 662 A.2d 89 (Conn.
1995) [p. 41]
 Guz v. Bechtel Nat. Inc., 100
Cal.Rptr.2d 352 (Ca. 2000) [p. 37]