Transcript Document
Laws and Their Ethical Foundation Chp 1 Section 1-2 Section 1-2 – Types of Laws in the U.S. system - laws created at all three levels of government in the U.S. 1. federal 2. state 3. local - Forms of law in the U.S. include: constitutional, statutes, ordinances, case law, and administrative law Laws and Their Ethical Foundation Chp 1 Section 1-2 1. - - Constitution Document that sets forth the framework of a government and its relationship to the people it governs. Consitutional law is made when the constitution is amended or when courts interpret constitutions. Americans have both the U.S. constitution and a state constitution U.S. constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land any federal, state, or local law is NOT valid if it conflicts with the federal constitution Supreme Court is the final interpreter of the U.S. constitution Laws and Their Ethical Foundation Chp 1 Section 1-2 Constitutions, cont. - Allocate powers 1. between the people and their governments Bill of Rights, reserves the rights of citizens and protects them from actions of their governments 2. between states governments and the federal government Example: * federal government has power to regulate both foreign and interstate commerce * state government has power to regulate intrastate commerce Laws and Their Ethical Foundation Chp 1 Section 1-2 Constitutions, cont. 3. among the branches of the government there is a system of checks and balances executive - executive can veto laws legislative - congress passes laws and establishes courts judicial - courts decide constitutionality of laws Laws and Their Ethical Foundation Chp 1 Section 1-2 Statutes - Laws enacted by the legislature: Congress at the federal level Legislature at the state level Ordinances - Pieces of legislation created by a town or city council or by a county board or commission only effective within boundary of that local government Laws and Their Ethical Foundation Chp 1 Section 1-2 Case Law - Created by the judicial branch of a government Made after a trial has ended and one of the parties has appealed the result to a higher court Based on legal issues arising from rulings made by the lower court New or more appropriate rules for future similar cases may be stated in the courts published ruling stare decisis - “let the decision stand” lower courts must follow established case law in similar cases Laws and Their Ethical Foundation Chp 1 Section 1-2 Example of Case Law, p11 Carol borrowed her stepfather’s car without his express permission. The police stopped her and discovered the car was not registered in her name. They then phoned her stepfather. When he said he did not know where his car was, Carol was arrested. At her trial, carol and her stepfather testified that she had his permission to use the car without asking each time. The trial judge nevertheless found Carol guilty of auto theft, which, the judge stated, occurs when one person takes the car of another without expressly asking permission. Carol appealed. The appellate court issued an opinion stating implied permission is enough, and, therefore, Carol’s conviction was overturned. The appellate court’s ruling concerning implied permission then became state case law to be applied in similar cases. Laws and Their Ethical Foundation Chp 1 Section 1-2 Administrative Law - - Administrative agencies are governmental bodies formed to carry out particular laws. created by federal, state, and local legislatures ie: Social Security Admin., Food & Drug Admin., WSDOT, Kitsap County Dept. of Community Development usually controlled by the executive branch If given legislative power: 1. they are authorized to create administrative laws called rules and regulations 2. able to hold hearings, make determinations of fact, and apply the law to particular cases Laws and Their Ethical Foundation Chp 1 Section 1-2 Types of Law 1. - Civil Law When private legal rights of an individual(s) are violated Allows individuals to seek legal remedies for wrongs done to them Police do not take action in civil matters Defendants are the accused Plaintiffs are the accusers, the ones who had a loss Liable – term used if the defendant loses the case have to pay compensation for loss If a person is injured by another it is referred to as a tort. We will cover these later in the semester. Laws and Their Ethical Foundation Chp 1 Section 1-2 2. - Criminal Law Offense against society rather than an individual(s) The government investigates and alleged wrongdoing in the name of all people (society) Government will be the prosecutor if there is a crime and a suspect(s) can be found Defendants are the accused Verdict - term used for the outcome of the trial A guilty verdict will result in a fine, imprisonment, and in some states execution An act can be a crime and civil offense since private injuries may be inflicted during a crime Laws and Their Ethical Foundation Chp 1 Section 1-2 What’s Your Verdict Joe was a respiratory therapist in a nursing home. He controlled the ventilation equipment that kept some of his patients breathing. One day, to show the importance of his job to his girlfriend, Joe, without permission or warning, completely cut off the ventilator support to a severely ill patient. Within a few moments, the patient began to gasp for air and nearly lost consciousness before a nurse ordered Joe to restore the ventilator’s function. Did Joe violate civil law or criminal law or both? Be prepared to explain/backup your answer. Laws and Their Ethical Foundation Chp 1 Section 1-2 3. - Procedural Law sets forth how rights and responsibilities can be legally exercised and enforced through the legal system Determine what remedies are available in a lawsuit Determine whether equitable remedies are available, ie: injunction Stare decisis is a procedural law (let the decision stand) 1. Civil Procedure – defines the process for enforcing the law when someone has committed a private offense 2. Criminal Procedure – defines the process for enforcing the law when someone is charged with a crime Laws and Their Ethical Foundation Chp 1 Section 1-2 4. 5. - Substantive Law Defines rights and duties Concerned with all rules of conduct except those involved with enforcement Defines the offenses, ie: murder, theft, breach of contract, etc. Business Law covers rules that apply to business situations and transactions most business transactions involve a merchant and a consumer mainly concerned with civil laws governing contracts, property, and many other business-related areas sometimes governed by criminal law, ie: price fixing or employee theft of material items Laws and Their Ethical Foundation Chp 1 Section 1-2 6. Uniform Business Laws - Committees of legal experts have written model laws covering are such as sales, certain credit transactions, and business forms. - States then had the opportunity to adopt these models in place of their current codes - Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) – widely adopted set of laws pertaining to business. (We’ll do more with this later.)