Intro To Law Final

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Additur

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a motion made by a prevailing party by in state court asking that the trial court award the plaintiff an additional sum of money because the jury’s verdict is grossly inadequate.

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Adversarial system

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Both sides fighting sleazily for there clients.

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Answer

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A pleading in which a civil defendant responds to the allegations of the complaint and states the defenses on whish he/she intends to rely.

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Appellate courts

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a court with the power to review and reverse the decisions of lower courts

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Best evidence

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A rule of evidence that requires the production of original documents in court unless they are unobtainable.

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Bills of Attainder

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A legislative act that declares a person guilty of a crime and imposes punishment (generally capital punishment). Used in lieu of the judicial process

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Civil law

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between 2 people involving either a breach of an agreement or duty imposed by law.

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Common Law

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based on custom and precedent, unwritten in statute or code

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Comparative negligence

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The approach to determining damages in negligence cases followed by most states. These states apportion damages between the plaintiff and de defendant in proportion to each party’s contributory fault. Thus the tier of fact in a case determines the total damages and then assigns a percentage of the total fault to the plaintiff, as well as the defendant; the plaintiff’s total damage award is usually reduced by the percentage.

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Compensatory damages

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Damages awarded to compensate the plaintiff for actual monetary losses resulting from the defendant’s conduct.

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Contingency fees

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A method of compensation for lawyers. The lawyer takes a contractually agreed upon percentage of the damages collected in lieu of other forms of compensation. The attorney receives nothing for his or her time if the client recovers nothing.

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Contract

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A legally enforceable agreement containing one or more promises.

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Contributory negligence

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1) the failure to exercise care by the plaintiff, which contributed to the plaintiff’s injury. 2) Conduct on the part of a plaintiff that falls below the standard to which the plaintiff should conform for his or her own protection

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Criminal Law

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brought by government against an individual who has allegedly committed a crime

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Cross/direct examination

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questioning witnesses; cross leading questions; direct is first by person how called the witness.

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Cruel and unusual punishment

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a clause in the 8th amendment to the US constitution

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CSA

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Controlled substance act; forbidding licensed physicians in Oregon from giving drugs to assist in suicide

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Default judgment

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The failure to plead or otherwise defend an action, by a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought.

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Depositions

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a written record of oral testimony, made before a public officer for use in lawsuits. Used for the purpose of discovery of information, or for the purpose of being read as evidence at a trial, or for both purposes.

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Dictum

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a statement by a judge concerning a point of law that is not necessary for the decision of the case in which it is sated.

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Discovery

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A pliant method by which the opposing parties to a lawsuit may obtain full and exact factual information concerning the entire area of their controversy, via depositions, interrogations, requests for admissions, inspection of books and documents, physical and metal examination, and inspection of land.

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Diversity jurisdiction

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for this type of jurisdiction to exist the lawsuit must be between citizens of different states or between a citizen of a state and an alien, and the amount in controversy must exceed $ 75,000

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Due process

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traditionally stood for the notion that government has to treat people fairly when attempting to deprive them of “life, liberty, or property.”

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Erie Doctrine

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This policy provides that where federal jurisdiction is based on diversity of citizenship, a federal court should normally apply the substantive law that would be applied in the state courts of the district in which the federal court is situated.

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Ex post facto laws

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laws that make acts criminal that were not criminal at the time they were committed

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Full faith and credit-

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the requirement that the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every state shall be given the same effect by the courts of another state that have by law and usage in the state of origin.

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Garnishment

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a judgment enforcement process that results in the debtor’s employer being ordered to deduct a percentage of the debtor’s earnings from each paycheck

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Good Samaritan Laws

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If someone sees a crime they have to report it, 2 states

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Hearsay

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a statement other than one made by the declaring while testifying at the trail or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Such evidence is usually inadmissible.

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Holding

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the rule of law that the court says applies to the facts of the case.

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Immunities

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Preferential protection from lawsuits

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In rem jurisdiction

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Jurisdiction over property

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Inter-mediate scrutiny

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applied by courts deciding constitutional issues through judicial review.

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appellate court

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determines whether the trial court acted in accordance with the law.

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JNOV

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Judge can overrule or amend the juries ruling.

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Judicial review

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the power of the courts to annul the acts of the executive and/or the legislative power where it finds them incompatible with a higher norm

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Leading questions-

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an improper question on direct examination that suggests the answer to the witness.

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Materiality

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Evidence that has significant probative value.

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Megan’s law

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sex offenders have to register

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Misprision of felony

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a common law crime in which the accused failed to tell authorities about the commission of a felony of which the person had knowledge.

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Motion to dismiss (demurrer)

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a motion used to challenge perceived defects in the plaintiff’s complaint.

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Natural Law

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adherents of this philosophical approach believe that every person possesses a moral barometer that gives them the capacity to discover independently moral truth.

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Personal jurisdiction

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showing that the party was served within the boundaries of the state in which the lawsuit was filed.

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Police Power

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a flexible term for the authority of state legislatures to enact laws regulation and restraining private rights and occupations for the promotions of public health, safety, welfare, and morals.

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Positive law

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law created by the government; whatever we wanted it to be

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Privileges

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when a person is entitled to refuse to testify or to block some other

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Punitive damages

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damages awarded in excess of the general damages or economic loss, intended solely to punish the offender.

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Quantum meruit

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as much as you deserves.

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Relevance

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Evidence that logical tends to prove or disprove some issue of consequence that is in dispute at the trial or hearing.

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Remanded

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return of a case by an appellate court to a lower court with instructions to the lower court to take further specified action.

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Remittitur

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refers to a non-prevailing party’s post verdict motion to reduce a jury’s award of money damages.

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Standard (burden) of proof

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the duty of proving facts disputed in the trial of a case. Lies on the person who asserts the affirmative of an issue

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Stare Decisis

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in general a judicial policy that guides courts in making decisions.

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Statutes of limitations

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Various period of time, fixed by different state and federal statutes, within which a lawsuit must be commenced.

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Strict scrutiny

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test to see if a law is constitutional; compelling state interest

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Subpoena

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a writ requiring that a witness appear in court with a document that is in his or her possession

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Substituted service

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the summons and complaint are mailed to the defendant.

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Sufficient minimum contacts

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exist in the state in which the defendant is living.

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Summary Judgment

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to dispose of controversies that can be decided without a full trial because either no genuine issues of material fact exist or because facts necessary to prove the opponent’s case are not provable or are not true.

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Summons

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warns defendant that a default judgment can be awarded unless the defendant responds with an answer within a stated period of time

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complaint

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a document in which the plaintiff alleges jurisdiction, sets forth facts and demands relief.

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Supremacy clause

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Article VI, Section 2 of the federal constitution makes the US Constitution, federal laws, and treaties “the supreme law of the land” taking precedence over state laws.

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Tort

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a wrongful act, have to prove a duty, breach of duty, and there that there was harm caused by breach

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Trial courts

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hear and decide controversies by determining facts and applying appropriate rules.

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US Courts of Appeal

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11 circuits; review appeals from the US district courts

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US District Courts

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94; courts of original jurisdiction; serve as the trial court in the federal court system

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Venue

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The place where judicial authority should be exercised

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Voir dire

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A pretrial oral examination of prospective jurors conducted to determine their qualifications.

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Writ of certiorari

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to be more fully informed, on original writ or action whereby a cause is removed from an inferior to a superior court for review.

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Written interrogatories

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Written questions propounded on behalf of one party in an action to another part, or to someone who is not a part, before the trial thereof.

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case or controversies

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constitution requires that the plaintiff's claims are real and not hypothetical.

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standing

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to have standing a plaintiff must have a legally sufficient persona stake in the outcome of the litigation and must be adversley affected by the defeddnat's conduct.

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ripeness

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focuses on weather the case has been developed sufficiently to be before a court for adjudicaiton

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Mootness

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no reason to try a case unless there has been some direct adverse effect on some party. Outside the judicial power becuas there is no case or controversy.

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Res judicata

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provides that a final decision by a competent court on a lawsuit's merits concludes the liigation of the parties and constitutes a bar a new suit

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Habeas corpus

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a writ used to require that a detained person be brought before the court. the purpose is to test the liegality of the detention.

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Political questions

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Provides that the judicial branch is not entitled to decide questions that more properly should be decided by the executive and legislative branchs of the federal goverment.

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Act of state doctrine

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provides that American courts should not determine the validity of public acts committed by a foreign sovereign within its own territory.

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Statute of limitations

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time peroid, established by the legislature, within which an action must be brought upon claims or riaghts to be enforced.

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Immunity through contract

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parties agree not to sue through a contract.

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Laches

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can be used in some circumstances to deny a plaintiffan equitable remedy.

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Bar and merger

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A judicial doctrine which provides that claims made by the plaintiff and claims that could have made, but were not, merge into the judgment and are extinguished.

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privity

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partitipation in knowledge or interest.

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qualified immunity

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their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.

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interspousal immunity

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prevents suits in tort between husbands and wives.

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Punitive losses

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money awarded, in addition to compenstory damages, in order to punish a wrongdoer.

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mitigation

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a person who is injured must use whatever means are reasonable to avoid or minimize damages.

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benefit rule

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when a plaintiff is both damaged and benefited by the defeednat's conduct, the plaintiff's damage award should be reduced by teh amaount of the benefit conferred.

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General damages

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those that are the natural and neessary result of the wrongful act or omission, and thus can normally be expected to accompany the injury.

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Special damages

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are awarded for injuries that arise from special circumstances of the wrong.

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Hedonic damages

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the loss of enjoyment of life

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Nominal damages

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a trivial amount of money awarded where no actual loss resulted form a wrong(punnitive)

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Liquidated damages

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money awarded as per the parties' previous agreement

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Restitution

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restoration to the plaintiff of property in tteh possesion of the defendant.

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Declaratory judgement

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when someone seeks a judicial determination of the rights and obligations of the parties

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refomation

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Change a written instrument to reflect the actual agreement to the parties

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Recission

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cacellation of a contract due to raud or unilateral error re land or unique chattel.

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ejectment

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lawsuit to recover possession of land and damages

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replevin

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lawsuit to recover possession of chattels unlawfully taken

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Equitable remedies

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remedies developed and granted by the old courts of equity

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Injuctions

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judicial order directing the defendat to act or refrain from acting in a specified way.

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Ex Parte Injuction

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an injuction granted without notice to the part being enjoined.

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specific performance

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order requiring party to carry out a contract