Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A central
Awards of
authority figure
money or goods Court systems
Individuals take revenge for wrongs done to them intervenes to
are substituted are formed
prevent and
for revenge
punish wrongs
This situation
often leads to one
Laws are issued to
individual seizing
Gang-related Elders or priests punish behaviors
Personal revenge power and
shootings preside over court that injure others
exerting control
in certain ways
to bring peace to
the society
Laws reflect wisdom (or lack thereof) of
their creators
Jury
• uniform
• its ability to adapt to changes in society
Advantages • system of the law in the US is based on the English
Common law
English courts carefully followed precedent
(used prior cases as a guide for deciding similar
new cases)
constitutional law:
law
law made when Supreme Court is the
Defines and allocates
constitutions are final interpreter for
You are governed by (distributes) powers
adopted or amended, the Federal
three ways
or when courts Constitution
interpret constitutions
The Constitution of
State Constitution
the United States
Allocation of Power Between
People and Their Governments
Federal
Bill of Rights
Constitution
Allocation of Power Between Federal and
State Governments
System of checks
Courts conduct
and balances: no
trials, not
branch too
Congress
powerful
Statutes:
Statutes laws enacted by legislatures
authorized to
Federal Social
County’s create
Security State DMV hearings, fact
zoning administrative
Administration
laws
Judicial branch of governments creates case law
Case law:
law law made after a trial has ended and one of the parties has appealed the result to a higher court:
Stare decisis: the legal doctrine that requires lower courts to follow established case law in deciding similar
cases (“to adhere to decided cases”)
Requires lower courts to follow established Case law – carefully established and rarely
Does not bind supreme courts
case law in deciding similar cases. revoked
Constitutions and Validity
Any federal,
Unconstitutional:
Unconstitutional Appropriate
Federal state, or local
a law that is supreme court
constitution is law is not valid if
invalid because determines if a
the supreme law it conflicts with
it conflicts with a law is
of the land the federal
constitution. unconstitutional
Constitution
Statutes and Validity
Statutes ordinance
must be constitutional Courts determine
to be valid
constitutionality of
particular ordinances exceed the scope of
statutes and
powers delegated
ordinances
If crime is
It disrupts the
When one person committed and the
stable environment Conviction can be
has a right to sue person responsible
that we all depend fine, imprisonment,
another person can be found, the
upon to make and execution
(tenant v. landlord) government will
civilization work
prosecute
Procedural v. Substantive Laws
Procedural law:
law laws dealing with methods
of enforcing legal rights and duties
criminal procedure
civil procedure
Substantive law
duties of conduct except enforcing the law when been violated, only
those involved in someone is charged private offenses
enforcement with a crime
all rules of conduct
except those involved in
enforcement
•definite offenses
•murder
•theft
•vehicular homicide
•breach of contract
•Negligence
Business Law
Business law:
law laws that Torts:
Torts private wrongs
apply to business situations against people or
and transactions organizations
Governs
Aspects of Leases of
sales of
banking goods
goods