Business Law I – Flashcards
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Business Law
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consists of enforceable rules of conduct that govern commercial relationships.
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Private Law
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regulates disputes between private individuals or groups
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Public Law
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controls disputes between private individuals or groups and their government=
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Civil Law
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delineates the rights and responsibilities implied in relationships between persons and between persons and their government
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Criminal Law
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regulates incidents in which someone commits an act against the public
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criminal law
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involve the person who is suspected of committing a crime and the public, such as state or federal government
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criminal law
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defendant must be found guilty beyond all reasonable doubt
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civil law
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involve either two individuals or two organizations
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civil law
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defendant must be found guilty by a preponderance of the evidence
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constitutional law
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the general limits and powers of a government as interpreted in their written constitution
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statutory law
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the assortment of rules and regulations put forth by legislatures; primary law under the constitution
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statutory law
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under state law, these laws are grouped by subject matter and referred to as codes; under fed law, these laws are organized by subject matter titles, under US code; under local government, these laws are usually within the city and county ordinances
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uniform law
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a law created to account for the variability of laws among states; serves to standardize the otherwise different interstate laws
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common law
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the collection of legal interpretations made by judges; considered to be law unless revoked by a statutory law
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precedent
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a tool used by judges to make rulings based on past decisions in similar cases that later guide decisions, thereby providing greater stability and predictability to the law
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stare decisis
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rulings made in higher courts become binding precedent for lower courts
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Roe v. Wade
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supreme court decided that until a fetus is "viable", a woman may terminate her pregnancy for any reason; associated with stare decisis
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Brown v. Board of Education
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abolished discriminatory policies for individuals of different racial backgrounds; stare decisis
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Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
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A white male who applied to UC Davis medical school for two years in a row and was denied both times, alleged the admissions process was discriminatory because 16 of 100 slots were reserved for members of minority races; stare decisis assigned by referencing Brown v. Board of Education
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Plessy v. Ferguson
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the court decided that separate accommodations for blacks and whites was acceptable as long as such separation was "separate but equal" ; ruling overturned by Brown v. Board of Education
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Administrative Law
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the collection of rules and decisions made by administrative agencies to fill in particular details missing from constitutions and statues
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Treaty
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a binding agreement between two states or international organizations
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Natural Law
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recognizes the existence of higher law, or law that is morally superior to human laws
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Legal Positivism
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our proper role is to obey the law; society requires authority, therefore a legal and authoritarian hierarchy should exist
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Identification with the Vulnerable
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pursuing change on the grounds that some higher law or body of moral principles connects all of us in the human community
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Legal Realism
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based on the idea that, when ruling on a case, judges need to consider more than just law; they also weigh factors such as social and economic conditions, since legal guidelines were designed by humans and exist in an ever-changing environment
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Cost-Benefit Analysis
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all costs and benefits of a law are given monetary values; those laws with the highest ratio of benefits to costs are then preferable to those with lower ratios
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ethics
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study and practice of decisions about what is good, or right
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Business Ethics
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the application of ethics to the special problems and opportunities experienced by business people.
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Ethical Dilemma
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a question about how a person should behave that requires the person to reflect about the advantages and disadvantages of the optional choices for various stakeholders
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Social Responsibility of Business
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the responsibility of firms doing business within a community to meet the expectations that the community imposes on them
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WPH Process of Ethical Decision Making
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Whom an action affects, the purpose of the action, and we view its morality
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Ethical Guidelines
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help determine whether an action is moral
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Stakeholders
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the many groups of people affected by the firm's decision
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Values
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positive abstractions that capture our sense of what is good or desirable
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Sarbanes-Oxley Act
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The Corporate and Criminal Accountability Act; Regulations passed by Congress in 2002 to try to reduce unethical corporate behavior.
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Jurisdiction
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the power of a court to hear cases and resolve disputes
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Trial Courts
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a court in which most civil or criminal cases start when they first enter the legal system; court of original jurisdiction
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Appellate Court
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a higher court, usually consisting of more than one judge, that reviews the decisions and results of a lower court when a losing party files for an appeal ; do not hold trials; issue written decisions
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Personal Jurisdiction
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the power of a court to require that a party (usually the defendant) or a witness come before the court; extends to the state's borders in the state court system and across the court's geographic district in the federal system.
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Plaintiff
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the person or party who initiates a lawsuit before a court by filing a complaint with the clerk of the court against of the defendants
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Defendant
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the person, party, or entity against whom a civil or criminal lawsuit is filed in a court of law
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Complaint Summons
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a court order that notifies the defendant of the lawsuit and explains how and when to respond to the complaint
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Service of Process
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the procedure by which courts present these documents to defendants
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Personal Service
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the process in which an officer of the court hands legal documents, such as a summons or complaint, to the defendant
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Long Arm Statutes
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enable the court to serve defendants outside the state as long as the defendant has sufficient minimum contacts within the state and it seems fair to assert the statute over her
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Subject Matter Jurisdiction
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a courts's power to hear certain kinds of cases; determines which court system may hear a particular case; exclusive federal, state, concurrent federal jurisdiction
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Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction
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admiralty cases, bankruptcy cases,federal criminal prosecutions, lawsuits in which one state sues another state, claims against the United States, and cases involving federal copyrights patents or trademarks
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State Jurisdiction
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power to hear all cases not within the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal court system; adoption and divorce cases
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Concurrent Federal Jurisdiction
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both state and federal courts have jurisdiction over a case; covers federal-question and diversity-of-citizenship cases
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Federal-question Case
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requires an interpretation of the US Constitution, a federal statute, or a federal treaty; Challenge to the constitutionality of a state law
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Diversity-of-Citizenship Case
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Must satisfy two conditions: (1) the plaintiff(s) does (do) not reside in the same state as the defendant(s) (2) the controversy concerns an amount in excess of $75000 Must satisfy both to be brought into federal court
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Venue
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determines which trial court in the system will hear the case; the trial court where the defendant resides is most appropriate
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Standing
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the legal right to bring an action into court
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The Pretrial Stage
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Informal Negotiations --> Pleadings --> Service of Process --> Defendant's Respone --> Counterclaim --> Pretrial Motions --> Discovery --> Pretrial Conference
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Discovery
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enables the parties to learn about facts surrounding the case so that they are not surprised in the courtroom; consists of interrogatories, requests to produce documents, and depositions
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Interrogatories
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written questions that one party sends to the other to answer under oath
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A request to produce documents
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forces the opposing party to turn over certain information unless it is privileged or irrelevant to the case
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Deposition
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attorneys examine a witness under oath; a pretrial sworn and recorded testimony of a witness that is acquired out of court with no judge present; used for fact gathering; occurs in both civil and criminal cases
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writ of certiorari
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A Supreme Court order, issued after the Court decides to hear an appeal, mandating that the lower court send to the Supreme Court the record of the appealed case
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strict constructionism
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follows constitution and laws as they are written
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judicial activism
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doesn't follow constitution word by word; believe it is open to the interpretation of the judges
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Supreme Court justices
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nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate; serve for life
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Federal Court System
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Issues of law and fact --> District Court --> Circuit Court of Appeals --> Supreme Court and Issues of Law --> appellate courts
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Subject Matter Jurisdiction, Personal Jurisdiction, Venue
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For a civil court to issue a valid rule, there must be:
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MICRA
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limits noneconomic damages to $250,000; amount of damages can be reduced by insurance; arbitration; limits attorney fees in medical malpractice; defendant can force plaintiff into monthly payments rather than a lump sump
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1. minimum contacts in a state 2. due process - the ability to defend themselves 3. a fair trial
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In order to establish Personal Jurisdiction over a defendant, they must have a right to:
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tort
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One person's interference with another person's rights, either through intent, negligence, or strict liability; civil wrong; excludes breach of contract
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from the same state, elsewhere , defendant, minimum contact
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A case cannot be brought into federal court if both the plaintiff and the defendant are _____ ___ _____ ______ and the case is conducted _______, where the ________ has a _________ ____________.
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small claims courts
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for minor disputes
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motions to dismiss
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motions for summary judgments; gets rid of issue (lack of subject matter jurisdiction/personal jurisdiction)
