Transcript 1-1 - NRCS Webpage Server 2

1-1
Our Laws and Legal System
Goals
• Explain the stages in the evolution of law
• Describe the differences between common
law and positive law
• Describe the difference between law
courts and equity courts
What is law?
• The enforceable rules of conduct in a
society that reflect the culture and
circumstances that create them
• Code
– Laws grouped into an organized form
• Similarities among different civilizations
• King Hammurabi of Babylon
– Created the first set of law code 4,000 years
ago
– Why would the codes still be needed today?
• People are still committing the same types of
offenses against others
Stages in the Growth of Law
4 distinct stages in forming legal systems:
1. Individuals take revenge for wrongs done
to them
2. Awards of money or goods are
substituted for revenge
3. Court systems are formed
4. A central authority figure intervenes to
prevent and punish wrongs
Common vs. Positive Law
• Laws should be flexible and predictable (stable
society)
• Too controlling and too rigid (overthrown)
• COMMON LAW
– Law based on current standards or customs of the
people (Judges)
• POSITIVE LAW
– Law based on the dictates of a central political
authority (sovereign)
• Sovereign – superior to all / ruler
• Jurisdiction
– The power to decide a case
• Equity
– Fairness
• Injunction
– Prohibits something from being done
• Precedent
– Courts use prior cases as a guide for deciding
similar new cases
1.2
Types of Laws
Goals
• Explain how constitutional, statutory, case,
and administrative laws are created
• Explain how to resolve conflicts between
constitutional, statutory, case, and
administrative laws
• Describe the differences between criminal
and civil, substantive and procedural, and
business and other forms of law
Constitutions
• Constitution
– Document that sets forth the framework of a
gov and its relationship to the people it
governs
• Constitutional Law
– Law made when constitutions are adopted or
amended, or when courts interpret
constitutions
• You are governed by both the constitution
of the US and the constitution of your state
Constitutions
• The US Supreme court is the final
interpreter of the federal constitution
• Each state SC has the final authority on
the meaning of its state constitution
• Federal & state define and allocate certain
powers in society
Constitutions allocate powers:
1. Between the people and their
governments
2. Between state governments and the
federal government
3. Among the branches of the government
Allocation of power between people
and government
• The first ten amendments
– Bill of Rights – protects people from actions of
their gov
• Freedom of religion
• Freedom of speech
• Right to remain silent if accused of a crime
Allocation of power between
federal and state governments
• Governmental powers over businesses
are divided between fed and state
• Interstate Commerce (two or more states)
& Foreign - Federal
• Intrastate Commerce (within one state)
- State
Allocation of power among the
branches of government
•
Allocate Governmental powers among 3
branches of gov:
1. Executive
2. Legislative
3. Judicial
– Creates a system of checks and
balances
– No branch of gov too powerful
Statutes
• The federal Constitution created the
Congress of the US
• State constitutions create state
legislatures
• State and fed legislatures are elected
• Statutes
– Laws enacted by legislatures
• State delegates some authority to local
gov (towns, cities, counties)
Statutes (cont)
• Ordinance
– Legislation enacted at the local level
Administrative Regulations
• Administrative agencies – Governmental
bodies created by federal, state, and local
legislatures to carry out particular laws
(rules/regulations)
– SS
– Division of motor vehicles
– County’s zoning commission
• Controlled by the executive branch
– President, Governor, Mayor
Cases
• Judicial branch creates case law
• Case Law
– Law made after a trial has ended and one of the
parties has appealed the result to a higher court
• Case law arises out of the doctrine of stare
decisis (“to adhere to decided cases”)
– The legal doctrine that requires lower courts to follow
established case law in deciding similar cases
– Does NOT bind Supreme Courts
– Pg 10
What happens when laws conflict?
• City vs. state (speed limit)
• Federal Constitution “the supreme law of the land”
– Fed, state, or local law are not valid if they conflict with the fed
const
• State constitution is supreme to all other state laws
• Unconstitutional
– A law that is invalid because it conflicts with a constitution
• Courts are not the ultimate authority
– People (through votes for representatives) have the power to
amend the constitution
What happens when laws conflict?
• Example (City)
• Illegal to sell gas for more than $1 per
gallon
– Conflicted with the federal constitution
(regulate commerce)
• The death penalty mandatory for persons
who commit murder within the city limits
– Only the state has the power to set penalties
for murder
Law classifications:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Civil Law
Criminal Law
Procedural Law
Substantive Law
Business Law
Criminal vs. Civil Law
• Civil Law
– The group of laws that redress wrongs
against individual persons
• Private legal rights of an individual are violated
• When one person has a right to sue another
person
• Ex – tenant fails to pay rent
• Crime
– An offense against society
Criminal vs. Civil Law
• Criminal Law
– Laws governing the citizens’ right to live in
peace
• Conviction of crime:
– Fine
– Imprisonment
– Execution (in some states)
Procedural vs. Substantive Laws
• Procedural Law
– Laws dealing with methods of enforcing legal
rights and duties
• Ex – How and when police can make arrests
• Substantive Law
– Laws defining rights and duties of conduct
except those involved in enforcement
• Define offenses such as murder, theft, vehicular
homicide, breach of contract, and negligence
Business Law
• Business Law
– Laws that apply to business situations and
transactions
• Largely concerned with civil law (contracts)
• Torts (civil offenses)
– Private wrongs against people or organizations
• Ex – Manufacturer makes defective products that injure
people
• UCC – Uniform Commercial Code (widely
adopted uniform business law)
Summary
• Constitutions – Government’s framework and
relationships to the people; governed by both
the US Constitution and state constitution; define
and allocate certain powers in our society
• Statutes – legislature-enacted laws
• Administrative Regulations – government bodies
formed to carry out laws
• Cases – created by judicial branch; made from
appeals to a higher court
Concepts in Brief
• Pg 14
Assignment
•
•
•
•
Pg 12 Law in the Media
Pg 13 #1-9, 10-12, 14
Pg 14 Vocabulary #1-14
Pg 15 Legal Concepts #16, 17, 18, 20, 22,
24, 27, 28
• Pg 16 – Pick one case