Business Law (Chapters 1-4)

Front 1

Definition of Law

Back 1

a rule of civil conduct prescribed by the supreme power in a state, commanding what is right and prohibiting what is wrong

Front 2

Functions of Law

Back 2

to maintain stability in the social, political, and economic system through dispute resolution protection of property, and the preservation of the state, while simultaneously permitting ordered change

Front 3

Laws & Morals

Back 3

are different but overlapping; law provides sanctions while morals do not

Front 4

Law & Justice

Back 4

are separate and distinct concepts; justice is the fair, equitable, and impartial treatment of competing interests with due regard for the common good

Front 5

Substantive Law

Back 5

law creating rights and duties

Front 6

Procedural Law

Back 6

rules for enforcing substantive law

Front 7

Public Law

Back 7

law dealing with the relationship between government and individuals

Front 8

Private Law

Back 8

law governing the relationships among individuals and legal entities

Front 9

Civil law

Back 9

law dealing with rights and duties, the violation of which constitutes a wrong against an individual or other legal entity

Front 10

Criminal Law

Back 10

law establishing duties that, if violated, constitute a wrong against the entire community

Front 11

Constitutional law

Back 11

fundamental law of a government establishing its powers and limitations

Front 12

Common Law

Back 12

body of law developed by the courts that serves a precedent for determination of later controversies

Front 13

Equity

Back 13

body of law based upon principles distinct from common law and providing remedies not available at law

Front 14

Treaties

Back 14

agreements between or among independent nations

Front 15

Executive orders

Back 15

laws issued by the president or by the governor of a state

Front 16

Administrative Law

Back 16

created by administrative agencies in the form of rules, regulations, orders, and decisions to carry out the regulatory powers and duties of those agencies

Front 17

Stare Decisis

Back 17

Legal principle that prior court decisions should be used as guiding precedents

Front 18

Ethical Fundamentalism

Back 18

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

Front 19

Ethical Relativism

Back 19

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

Front 20

Situational Ethics

Back 20

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

Front 21

Utilitarianism

Back 21

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

Front 22

Deontology

Back 22

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

Front 23

Social Egalitarians

Back 23

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

Front 24

Distributive Justice

Back 24

stresses equality of opportunity rather than results

Front 25

Libertarians

Back 25

stress market outcomes as the basis for distribution society's rewards

Front 26

District Court

Back 26

trial courts of general jurisdiction that can hear and decide most legal controversies in the federal system

Front 27

Courts of appeals

Back 27

hear appeals from the district courts and review orders of certain administrative agencies

Front 28

The supreme court

Back 28

the nation's highest court, whose principal function is to review decisions of the federal courts of appeals and the highest state courts

Front 29

Special Courts

Back 29

have jurisdiction over cases in a particular area of federal law and include the U.S. court of Federal Claims, U.S. tax court, U.S. bankruptcy courts, and court of appeals for the federal circuit

Front 30

Inferior trial courts

Back 30

hear minor criminal cases such as traffic offenses and civil cases involving small amounts of money and conduct preliminary hearings in more serious criminal cases

Front 31

Trial Courts

Back 31

have general jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases

Front 32

Special trial courts

Back 32

trial courts, such as probate courts and family courts, which have jurisdiction over a particular area of state law

Front 33

Appellate Courts

Back 33

include one or two levels; the higest court's decisions are final except in those cases review by the U.S. supreme court

Front 34

Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction

Back 34

federal courts have sole jurisdiction over federal crimes, bankruptcy, antitrust, patent, trademark, copyright, and other special cases

Front 35

Concurrent Federal Jurisdiction

Back 35

authority of more than one court to hear the same case; state and federal courts have concurrent jurisdiction over federal question cases and diversity of citizenship cases involving more than $75,000

Front 36

Exclusive state jurisdiciton

Back 36

state courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all matters to which the federal judicial power does not reach

Front 37

Federalism

Back 37

the division of governing power between the federal government and the states

Front 38

Federal Supremacy

Back 38

federal law takes precedence over conflicting state law

Front 39

Federal Preemption

Back 39

right of federal government to regulate matters within its power to the exclusion of regulation of states

Front 40

Judicial Review

Back 40

examination of governmental actions to determine whether they conform to u.s. constitution

Front 41

Separation of Powers

Back 41

allocation of powers among executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government

Front 42

State Action

Back 42

actions of governments to which constitutional provisions apply

Front 43

Federal Commerce Power

Back 43

exclusive power of federal government to regulate commerce with other nations and among the states

Front 44

State Regulation of commerce

Back 44

the commerce clause of the constitution restricts the states' power to regulate activities if the result obstructs interstate commerce

Front 45

Certiorari

Back 45

Rule of four: 4 people on supreme court have to decide its worth hearing, then can be appealed to supreme court

Front 46

Substantive Due Process

Back 46

determination of whether a particular governmental action is compatible with individual liberties

Front 47

Procedural Due Process

Back 47

requires the governmental decision-making process to be fair and impartial if it deprives a person of life, liberty, or property

Front 48

Rational Relationship Test

Back 48

Standard of review used to determine whether economic regulation satisfies the equal protection guarantee

Front 49

Strict Scrutiny Test

Back 49

exacting standard of rewview applicable to regulation affecting a fundamental right or involving a suspect classification

Front 50

Intermediate Test

Back 50

Standard of review applicable to regulation based on gender and legitimacy