LAW 805 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - United States Constitution, Damages, White-Collar Crime
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
LAW 805
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Week 1
What is Law?
Laws discourage or encourage behavior. (Jaywalking vs Charitable Contributions)
The law tells us how society expects us how to behave. How do we expect corporations or individuals to
behave? They must be rules that the government can enforce.
Law is an ethical code for the society.
Basic principles are often established through religion.
How Law Reflects Ethical Norms
Contract Law- keep your promise
Tort Law- Do’t deeie. Do’t har others. At Carefully.
Employment Law- Treat others fairly. Decisions should be made based on merit and not superficial
traits.
Intellectual Property- A idiidual’s reatie ideas elog to that idiidual. Do’t steal.
These tend to be universal concepts.
Natural law is considered universal and basic. (Crimes against humanity and the like)
Sources of American Law
Constitution
State constitutions cannot provide for less rights or go against federal constitution.
Statutes/Legislation (3 levels- Federal, State, Local)
Administrative Law
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Agencies that put the nuts and bolts in laws. They establish the regulations that support the
ore geeral las like, Do’t pollute the eiroet ith your usiess. Do’t ake residets i the
area sik.
Case Law and Common Law
The development of laws to settle disputes and address grievances (judge-made).
Analyze situations and apply existing laws and principles. What have courts done in similar
situations? (Precedent) Judges are bound to precedent (Stare decisis). Precedence is only applicable if it
is within the court’s hierarhy. If there is o preious rulig ithi the hierarhy ut there is a siilar
ruling outside the hierarchy (like in a different state) then that is not binding but can be used as a
reference. Consistency is key. HOWEVER, law is not static (see Brown v. The Board of Education, Roe v.
Wade, Miranda v. Arizona, etc.).
Case Citations
Plaintiff=Initiator (First person in case citations)
Geographically reported recorded. First number is volume. Second is Page.
Parenthesis specifies the location further (State, City, etc.)
How to Read a Case
Who is suing whom? Legal relationships? Domestic partners, Employer, Customer, etc.
What is the dispute about?
What are the relevant facts?
Who won? At trial? On appeal?
What was the justification for the ruling?
Did the court follow previous decisions or did they distinguish them?
What as the rule of la or holdig of this ase?
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Laws discourage or encourage behavior. (jaywalking vs charitable contributions) The law tells us how society expects us how to behave. They must be rules that the government can enforce. Law is an ethical code for the society. Decisions should be made based on merit and not superficial traits. Intellectual property- a(cid:374) i(cid:374)di(cid:448)idual"s (cid:272)reati(cid:448)e ideas (cid:271)elo(cid:374)g to that i(cid:374)di(cid:448)idual. Natural law is considered universal and basic. (crimes against humanity and the like) State constitutions cannot provide for less rights or go against federal constitution. Agencies that put the nuts and bolts in laws. They establish the regulations that support the (cid:373)ore ge(cid:374)eral la(cid:449)s like, (cid:862)do(cid:374)"t pollute the e(cid:374)(cid:448)iro(cid:374)(cid:373)e(cid:374)t (cid:449)ith your (cid:271)usi(cid:374)ess. The development of laws to settle disputes and address grievances (judge-made). Analyze situations and apply existing laws and principles. What have courts done in similar situations? (precedent) judges are bound to precedent (stare decisis). Precedence is only applicable if it is within the court"s hierar(cid:272)hy.
