SMG LA 245 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Summary Judgment, Precedent
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
LA245 - Lecture 1 Notes
Business Law- Professor David Randall
-Chapter 1: What is Law?
•Law embodies a constant tension between predictability and flexibility.
•The law needs to be able to handle facts in new situations
•(Intent can be a very difficult to prove)
-How does it achieve predictability?
•Ensure through precedence
-How does it achieve flexibility?
•We can amend laws/statutes
5 Steps to Legal Analysis
1. Facts - Identify “material facts”
2. Issue - Identify key issue(s) to resolve
3. Law - Identify law governing resolution of key issue(s)
4. Analysis -Apply the relevant law to the facts
5. Holding - Reach a conclusion(s)
What makes a fact “material?”
To a lawyer, something that a fact “Could” change the outcome…
How do lawyers/judges/courts identify the law governing resolution of key issue(s)?
Lawyer’s answer is always “it depends.”
Precedent *- prior decision of a court that is relevant to determining the outcome
of the case. You have to follow a previous decision. Refer back to past cases that were
similar.
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find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Chapter 1: what is law: law embodies a constant tension between predictability and exibility, the law needs to be able to handle facts in new situations, (intent can be a very dif cult to prove) How does it achieve predictability: ensure through precedence. How does it achieve exibility: we can amend laws/statutes. Law - identify law governing resolution of key issue(s) Analysis -apply the relevant law to the facts. To a lawyer, something that a fact could change the outcome . Precedent *- prior decision of a court that is relevant to determining the outcome of the case. Refer back to past cases that were similar. The plaintiff = the person who is suing. Holding = a statement of who wins and who loses. * jury - ruled in favor of kuehn awarded him for damages. * judge outstanding the verdict- you applied the law incorrectly.
