The Legal Environment

1
Chapter 1

• The Legal Environment

2
What is law?

• Enforceable rules
• What is meant by enforceable?
• Examples
• Notice for quitting a job
• Tour de France
• Others

3
Sources of Law

• Constitutions (Treaties)
• Statutes
• Regulations
• Private law (contracts)
• Court cases (common law)
• Interpreting the above
• In situations where no other source

4
Uniform Laws

• Why needed
• Constitution
• Practical reasons
• Examples
• Drinking Age (Reason?)
• Contract
• Child support
• Probate

5
Adminstrative Law

• 1790 3 million people
• 2010 Over 300 million people
• Still, one president, one Congress, One Supreme
  Court
• Consequence Agencies
• Can perform all 3 functions of govt.

6
Common law

• Court decisions
• Become precedent for later similar cases (stare
  decisis)
• Goal is for the law to be common, or the same, in
  all courts of the jurisdiction
• Used where no statute
• Used where statute is vague or does not address a
  situation

7
Questions of Law v. Questions of Fact

• Questions of Law
• What the law means
• How the law applies
• Only judges can decide
• Questions of Fact
• What happened
• Juries can decide
• Judges decide if there is no jury

8
Precedent Example

• Former Montana speed limit
• reasonable and prudent
• Get ticket when going 90 mph
• What if found guilty?
• What if found not guilty?

9
Precedent Application

• In practice, no cases are identical.
• If difference is unimportant, the same result.
• If difference is important, possibly a different
  result
• Great judge discretion

10
Precendent

• Pros
• Similar treatment
• Predictability
• Cons
• Bad decisions can be repeated
• Expense of maintaining records and researching
  old cases

11
Must Judges Follow Precedent?

• Generally yes, unless
• Earlier decision was wrong
• Facts of current situation differ (2 degrees)
• Times and circumstances have changed
• Summer 2001 NC one free bite decision
• Judges are reluctant to not follow precedent

12
Brown v. Board of Education

• Court said precedent was wrong
• Prior case RR Cars
• Brown Schools
• Differences in schools v. RRs?
• What could court have done?
• What did court do?

13
Law v. Equity Courts

• Law Very technical limited remedies
• Equity Fairness where law courts would lead to
  unfair result
• In US, courts merged, but doctrines appear in
  remedies
• England still more separate

14
Civil Law System v. Common Law System

• Common
• Fewer written statutes
• Court cases become precedent
• Civil
• Detailed statutory codes
• Court decisions NOT precedent

15
Parties to a lawsuit

• Plaintiff
• Party who initiates a lawsuit
• Wants to change something
• In criminal case, usually called the Prosecution
• Defendant
• Party against whom suit is brought
• Wants to keep the status quo

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2 Kinds of cases

• Criminal Case
• Government v. individual
• Based on conduct
• A wrong against society
• Prove beyond a reasonable doubt
• Civil case
• Govt usually not a party can be
• Based on consequence
• Prove w/ preponderance of evidnce

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What is beyond a reasonable doubt?

• What percent sure would you need to be in order
  to vote guilty if you were on a criminal jury?

18
Car Break-in example

• In Boulder, your laptop computer is taken from
  your car
• Only evidence is blood left behind by thief
• DNA testing says statistically 99 sure that
  Billybob did it.
• Would you vote to convict?

19
Not Guilty of a crime, yet liable in civil case?

• Consistent?
• Criminal burden of proof Beyond a reasonable
  doubt
• Civil burden of proof Preponderance of the
  evidence (more than 50)

20
Criminal case civil case interplay

• Government can bring criminal case
• Victim can bring civil suit
• Each makes own decision
• Timing and interplay?