Law 11Introduction

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Sources of American Law

o Constitutions – federal plus every state; everyone in U.S. subject to federal constitution plus one state constitution at all times; creates government powers/structure and guarantees individual rights.

o Statutes – federal, state and local; also called ordinances, regulations and codes.

o Common or case law – decisions by judges, who interpret constitutions, statutes and/or prior cases (“precedent”) to make decision of current dispute; stare decisis ordinarily requires judges to follow past decisions, which creates predictability and stability in legal and business matters.

o Administrative law – decisions and rules of federal, state and local administrative entities (e.g., IRS, DMV); important since many laws require a hearing by an administrative agency before being able to file a case in court (note that courts often give great deference to administrative agency’s decision).

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The American Court Systemo “Dual” court system in the United States –

federal court system plus each state has its own court system.

o Cases generally filed/commenced in trial courts – District Court in the federal court system; Superior Court in California.

o Appeal by right from trial courts to intermediate appellate courts – Court of Appeals (federal – 13 circuits); Court of Appeal (California – 6 districts).

o Appeal from intermediate appellate courts to supreme courts per discretion – United States Supreme Court and California Supreme Court.

o Appeal from California Supreme Court to United States Supreme Court per only discretion and if case involves federal question.

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Chart re: the American Court System

Federal Court System California State Court System

United States District Court for the [region, if any] District of [state]; e.g., Central District of California

Superior Court for the County of [all 58 counties have Superior Court]; e.g., Los Angeles County Superior Court

Court of Appeals for the [1st-11th, D.C. or Fed.] Circuit; e.g., Ninth Circuit

Court of Appeal of the [1st-6th] Appellate District, Division ___; e.g., Fourth Appellate District, Division Three

United States Supreme Court

California Supreme Court

Boundaries of U.S. Courts of Appeal

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Case Precedents and Case Reporters

o Precedents are judicial decisions that give rise to legal principles that can be applied in future cases based upon similar facts.

o Precedents and other forms of law, such as statutes, constitutions, and regulations are referred to as binding authorities and must be followed.

o Today, cases are published or ‘reported’ in books called reporters

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Categories of Law

o Substantive and procedural – substantive law defines legal rights/limitations; procedural law provides the methods for seeking or defending legal rights/limitations.

o Public and private – public law involves matters of public interest; private law pertains to the parties to a dispute only.

o Civil and criminal – civil law relates to duties between individuals, businesses and/or government; criminal law relates to wrongs against society and is investigated, prosecuted and administered by government.

o Law and equity – actions at law involve money; actions in equity involve non-monetary relief (e.g., injunction, specific performance); jury trial available in actions at law only.

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Stare Decisis and Legal Reasoning

o Method used by judges to reach a decision.

o Many courts and attorneys frame decisions and briefs using the IRAC format: Issue, Rule, Application (Analysis) and Conclusion.o What are the key facts and issues?o What rules or laws apply?o How do the rules of law apply to these

facts?

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How to Read & Understand Case Law

o Legal cases are identified by a “legal citation” (or a “cite”) as the example below:

D.A.B.E., Inc. v. City of Toledo, 393 F.3d 692 (6th Cir. 2005).

Title: First Party is Plaintiff, second party is Defendant. The parties are

either italicized or underlined.

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How to Read & Understand Case Law

o Legal cases are identified by a “legal citation” (or a “cite”) as the example below:

D.A.B.E., Inc. v. City of Toledo, 393 F.3d 692 (6th Cir. 2005).

Citation: Case is found in Federal Supplement 3rd, Volume 393, page 692.

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How to Read & Understand Case Law

o Legal cases are identified by a “legal citation” (or a “cite”) as the example below:

D.A.B.E., Inc. v. City of Toledo, 393 F.3d 692 (6th Cir. 2005).

Case was decided by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, 2005.

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Stages of Litigation

o Informal Negotiations.o Pleadings.o Service of Process.o Defendant’s Response.o Discovery.o Pre-Trial.o Trial.o Post-Trial.