Business Law 250 Test #1

Front 1

Test #1

Back 1

Chapters 1-5, 8

Front 2

Chapter 1

Back 2

Introduction to Law

Front 3

Precedent

Back 3

-The tendency to decide current cases based on previous rulings

-This vital principal is the heart of American common law.

-Precedent ensures predictability.

Front 4

Common Law

Back 4

-Judge-made Law

-The accumulation of precedent, based on case after case, makes up the common law.

Front 5

United States Constitution

Back 5

-All law in the U.S. is subject to the United States Constitution, meaning that no state or federal law is valid if it violates the Constitution. Under the principle of judicial review, the U.S. Supreme Court determines the constitutionality of all laws.

-1787

-It is the supreme law of the land.

-Any law that conflicts with it is void.

-It does three basic things:
1. Establishes the national government of the U.S., with its three branches.
2. Creates a system of checks and balances among the branches.
3. Guarantees many basic rights to the American people.

Front 6

Branches of Government

Back 6

1. Legislative - makes the law.
-This power is given to the Congress (Senate + House).

2. Executive - executes or carries out the law.
-The authority to enforce laws.
-The President is the head of the executive branch of the government.

3. Judicial - interprets the law and determine its validity.
-Supreme Court is in charge of the judicial branch.
- Under the principle of judicial
review, the U.S. Supreme Court determines the constitutionality of all laws.
-Interpretive power is often underrated, but is extremely powerful (i.e. the supreme court ruling that women have the right to abortions.)

Front 7

Checks and Balances

Back 7

-Each branch of the government has some power over the other two branches.

-Check bottom paragraph of page 8 for some checks.

Front 8

Statues

Back 8

-A law created by a legislative body.

-Almost all statutes are created by the same method:

1. An idea for a new law is first proposed in congress (this idea is called a bill).

2. The House and Senate then both independently vote on the bill. The bill needs a simple majority vote in both of these chambers.

3. If congress passes a bill, it goes to the white house for the presidents approval. If the president signs it, a new statute is created. It is no longer a mere idea; it is the law of the land.

4. If the president vetos the bill, both the congress and house have to independently vote by a 2/3rds majority to overrule the veto. If the bill gets a 2/3rds vote by both chambers, it becomes a statue without the presidents signature.

Front 9

Stare Decisis

Back 9

-Let the decision stand

-It is the principle that precedent is binding on later cases.

-Precedent is only binding on lower courts.

Front 10

Court Order

Back 10

-Judges have the authority to issue court orders that place binding obligations on specific people or companies.

-An injunction, for example, is a court order to stop doing something.

-Courts have the authority to imprison or fine those who violate their authority.

Front 11

Administrative Law

Back 11

-Administrative agencies do the day-to-day work for the executive and legislative branches. (I.E. congress passes statutes about air safety, but senators are sitting in the air traffic towers passing out coffee to keep everyone awake)

-Most government agencies are created by Congress.

-Agencies have the power to create laws call Regulations.

Front 12

Treaties

Back 12

-President has the power to make treaties with foreign nations.

-These treaties must then be ratified by the Senate by a 2/3rd majority vote.

-When treaties are ratified, they are as binding upon all citizens as any federal statute.

Front 13

Criminal Law

Back 13

-Criminal law prohibits certain behavior

-The government itself prosecutes the wrongdoer, regardless of what the victim wants.

-A district attorney, paid by the government, brings the case to the court.

-Government will seek to punish the defendant with a prison sentence, a fine, or both.

-If there is a fine, the money goes to the state, not the injured party.

Front 14

Civil Law

Back 14

-Civil Law regulates the rights and duties between parties.

-The lease example in the 2nd to last paragraph on page 10.

Front 15

Jurisprudence

Back 15

-The philosophy of law.

Three main types:

1. Legal Positivism

2. Natural Law

3. Legal Realism

Front 16

Legal Positivism

Back 16

-Law is what the sovereign says it is.

-A legal positivist holds that whatever the sovereign declares to be the law IS the law, whether its right or wrong.

-Primary criticism of this is that it seems to leave no room for questions of morality.

Front 17

Sovereign

Back 17

-The recognized political power, whom citizens obey.

-In the U.S. both state and federal governments are sovereign.

Front 18

Natural Law

Back 18

-An unjust law is no law at all and need not be obeyed.

-St. Thomas Aquinas

Front 19

Legal Realism

Back 19

-They claim it does not matter what is written as law. What counts is who enforces that law and by what process.

-All of us are biased by issues such as income, race, education, etc, and that these personal characteristics determine which contracts will be enforced and which ignored, why some criminals will receive harsh sentences while others get off lightly, and so on.

Front 20

Plaintiff

Back 20

The party that is suing.

Front 21

Defendant

Back 21

The party being sued.

Front 22

The name of a case

Back 22

-The plaintiff's name usually appears before the defendants name (i.e. plaintiff v. defendant)

-However, when a defendant loses a trial and files an appeal, SOME courts reverse the names of the parties.

Front 23

Chapter 2

Back 23

Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

Front 24

Ethics

Back 24

-is the study of what is right or good for human beings.

-is the study of how people ought to act.

Front 25

Business Ethics

Back 25

-is the study of what is right and good in a business setting.

Front 26

Ethical Fundamentalism

Back 26

-individuals look to a central authority or set of rules to guide them in ethical decision making.

Front 27

Ethical Relativism

Back 27

actions must be judged by what individuals subjectively feel is right or wrong for themselves.

Front 28

Situational Ethics

Back 28

one must judge a person's actions by first putting oneself in the actor’s situation.

Front 29

Utilitarianism

Back 29

moral actions are those that produce the greatest net pleasure with the least net pain.

Front 30

Act Utilitarianism

Back 30

assesses each separate act according to
whether it maximizes pleasure over pain.

Front 31

Rule Utilitarianism

Back 31

supports rules that only balance and produce the greatest pleasure for society.

Front 32

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Back 32

quantifies the benefits and costs of alternatives.

Front 33

Deontology

Back 33

actions must be judged by their motives and means as well as their results.

Front 34

Social Ethics Theories

Back 34

focus is on a person's obligations to
other members in society and also on the individual's rights and obligations within society.

Front 35

Social Egalitarians

Back 35

believe that society should provide all its members with equal amounts of goods and services regardless of their relative contributions.

Front 36

Distributive Justice

Back 36

stresses equality of opportunity rather than results.

Front 37

Libertarians

Back 37

stress market outcomes as the basis for distributing society's rewards.

Front 38

Intuitionism

Back 38

a rational person possesses inherent power to assess the correctness of actions.

Front 39

Good Person

Back 39

individuals should seek out and emulate good role models.

Front 40

Chapter 3

Back 40

Dispute Resolution