Chapter 1 Notes – The United States Legal System

What is the Law?

 The law in the tribe is the practices or customs of a community considered by the members of
that community to be binding. How the binding practices will be enforced is often left to the
tribal elders.
 A national organization dictates through a constitution and bylaws the requirements the
individual chapters are to follow; such laws also clearly set out penalties and consequences for
violations.
 A contract or agreement brings with it certain rights and responsibilities, not only those terms
dictated in the contract itself, but also the broader dictates that society has formally recognized
as governing contracts.
 Law – the regime that orders human activities and relations through systematic application of
the force of a politically organized society.

The U.S. Legal System

 Understanding the Federalist System

o The U.S. is a federalist system of government
 A strong federal government operates alongside a parallel state system of
government
o U.S. Constitution is at the center of the legal system; foundation upon which all other
laws are enacted and interpreted
o State constitutions
o Elected U.S. senators and representatives enact federal laws, elected state officials
enact state laws
o Founders had to create a workable system of government that balanced the concerns of
those who remained wary of a strong central authority with the recognition that the
individual colonies could only continue to survive and grow through concerted action.
o Federalist system brought the two systems of government together, each side ideally
operating with a clear understanding of its rights and responsibilities.
o The boundary line between federal and state authority was unclear at the country’s
founding and to a certain extent remains unclear today, resulting in an endless tug-of-
war between federal control and state authority.

Sources of Law

 The U.S. Constitution

o “the supreme law of the land”
o Framers had to create a strong and effective national government but at the same time
ensure that the national government did not infringe on the rights of the states or the
rights of individuals
o Three equal branches of government with each intended to serve as a check on the
others
o Bill of Rights are a statement of individual rights within the Constitution itself
  Treaties
o Treaties are agreements entered into between two or more nations
o Bilateral or multilateral
o May address a variety of issues
 Trade relations, taxation, immigration, human rights, etc.
o In U.S., treaties are negotiated through the Department of State and must be ratified or
endorsed by the U.S. Senate to have the force of law.
 Statutory Law
o Those laws adopted through the legislative process
o Adopted and approved by Congress
o To become statutory law, proposed legislation must be approved by a majority of the
members of both houses of Congress
o Laws passed by Congress and signed by the president become part of the U.S. Code
o U.S. Code is divided into 5 Titles (subject matter categories) governing a broad array of
issues
 Food and drug safety, taxation, protection of intellectual property, labor,
agriculture, etc.
o The official version of the U.S. Code is published by the Office of the Law Revision
Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives.
 Administrative Law
o Standing alone, statutory law often does not contain the level of detail needed to
implement its mandates. In those situations, the task of determining how the law is to
be implemented and enforced is left to federal administrative regulations
o Published in the Code of Federal Regulations
 Case Law
o The U.S. is a common law system with roots in the English common law system. In
addition to the Constitution and statutory law, the U.S. legal system also rests on judicial
decisions interpreting the law.
o Relying on the doctrine of stare decisis, judges place great weight on the need to follow
the precedent established by previous court decisions. Cases decided today will be
decided in accordance with past cases involving the same legal issues.

Understanding the Branches of Government and the Balance of Power

 The U.S. system of government operates through a balance of separate powers designed to
prevent any one branch from becoming dominant: each branch serves as a check on the other’s
authority.
 The legislative branch enacts statutory laws.
 The executive branch enforces the laws through federal administrative agencies.
o The president also has limited authority to enact law through the use of executive
orders.
 The judicial branch applies and interprets the laws in resolving disputes.
  State governments also rely on the balance of power: state legislatures make the laws; the state
executive branch, enforces the laws, and the state court system applies and interprets the laws
in resolving disputes.

The Court System

 The Federal Court System

o The majority of federal judges are appointed for life terms by the president with
approval of the Senate to ensure the independence of the judicial branch.
o Can only be removed by Congress for substantial cause
o Compensation of federal judges can never be reduced
 District Court
o The trial court of the federal system
o Often the court in which cases are initially heard
o Judges determine how the law applies to a particular set of facts, but to ascertain the
exact facts and circumstances of the dispute, judges may rely on a jury, witnesses,
expert witness testimony, and other admissible evidence submitted by the parties.
o 94 district courts; a U.S. bankruptcy court within each district
 Court of Appeals
o District courts are divided into regional circuits, each of which has one court of appeals
o U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
o The appeals court hears cases on appeal from the District Court and the other
specialized courts.
o 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 have a bankruptcy appellate judge panel
 Three-judge panels hear appeals of bankruptcy court cases
 The U.S. Supreme Court
o The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the federal system
o Composed of one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices
o Article III, section 1 of the Constitution confers broad powers on the Court to hear all
cases, in law and equity, arising under the Constitution, the laws of the United States,
and treaties.
o For the Court to hear a case, a petitioner must file a petition for the writ of certiorari.
 Four of the nine judges must agree to hear the case before a writ will be
granted.
 The State Court System
o Entry-Level Courts
 The trial court of general jurisdiction is the main trial court of the state and
hears both civil and criminal cases not heard by the courts of limited
jurisdiction.
 Cases in the general jurisdiction court are heard by one judge, usually in the
presence of a jury
 The courts of limited jurisdiction don’t use a jury
o Intermediate Appellate Court
 Appeals are considered a matter of right
  Panel of either two or three judges
 Hear appeals as to whether procedural error was made or whether the law was
applied incorrectly by the trial court.
o Highest Court
 Supreme court, court of appeals, supreme judicial court, supreme court of
appeals
 Panels of judges, which varies in number
 In states with an intermediate appellate court, the highest court may exercise
discretion on whether to hear a case.
 In states without an intermediate appellate court, appeal to the highest court is
considered a matter of right.
o Rich of Appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court
 Certain state cases are eligible for review by the U.S. Supreme Court

Understanding Jurisdiction

 Subject Matter Jurisdiction

o State courts have jurisdiction over family law matters, real estate cases, cases involving
contracts, most criminal actions, and personal injury cases.
o Federal courts have jurisdiction over cases involving a federal question (arise under the
Constitution, U.S. laws, and treaties); includes diversity jurisdiction
o Diversity jurisdiction exists when the parties to the case are domiciled in different states
and the amount in controversy exceeds the amount specified by federal law.
 Jurisdiction over Persons
o In personam jurisdiction, based on the presence of the person or a business in the
geographic region of the court
o To bring a nonresident defendant under the jurisdiction of the court, the court will
always ascertain whether the person has sufficiency minimum contacts within the state
that exercising jurisdiction over the person will “not offend traditional notions of fair
play and substantial justice.”
 Jurisdiction over Property
o In rem jurisdiction, it is the location of the property that determines which court has
jurisdiction
o Court judgment is enforced upon the property itself, rather than on the person.
 Online Jurisdiction
o The information age and the rapid growth of e-commerce has brought with it new
challenges in the area of jurisdiction.
 Venue and Standing to Sue
o The question of venue asks the court to consider which geographic location (county or
district) within a jurisdiction is the most appropriate physical location for a trial.
o “Standing to sue” considers whether the party has an actual tangible interest in the
dispute.

The Litigation Process

  The Pleadings
o A legal case commences when a plaintiff files a complaint with the court
o A complaint describes the harm caused by the defendant, the legal grounds of the
lawsuit, and a description of the recovery and amount of damages requested; must
include a statement explaining jurisdiction
o Service of process puts the defendant on notice that they must file an answer to this
complaint. The defendant must file an answer to the complaint within a certain period
of time.
o The defendant’s answer to the complaint must respond to each of the items raised by
the plaintiff in the complaint; can countersue
 Motions
o A motion is a request made to the court
o The defendant may file a motion with the court asking the judge to take action on the
case prior to trial (motion to dismiss)
o If both parties agree on the facts, the judge can apply the law to the facts of the case
and provide a judgment on the pleadings.
o Motion for summary judgment is a motion that either party can raise before trial or
during the trial that must convince the judge that no material facts in the case are in
dispute and that the party is entitle to judgment as a matter of law.
 Discovery
o Allows the parties to obtain relevant information from each other and also from third
parties about the facts and circumstances of the case.
o Information is gathered using a variety of methods
 Requests for documents, interrogatories, oral depositions
o Helps to clarify the case for both sides
 Trial
o Each party submits a brief to the court detailing the legal arguments in defense of their
position
o Trials may be conducted with or without a jury (bench trial)
o Witnesses are called and question, cross examination is allowed
o Once all evidence has been presented, each side makes a closing argument
o Motion with the court for judgment as a matter of law states that no reasonable jury
could find for the opposing party in the light of all the evidence
o Verdict is ruled
o Motion for a new trial, motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict
 Appeal
o If either party is dissatisfied with the outcome of the case, it has the right to appeal the
case to a higher court, seeking a reversal of the lower court decision.
o Appeals are generally limited to issues involving the procedural aspects of the trial itself.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

 Negotiation
o Parties to seek to settle their disputes between themselves through negotiation.
 o Allows the parties to control the process.
o Lawyers may or may not be involved in the process as determined by the preference of
the parties involved.
 Mediation
o A neutral third party, the mediator, helps to keep the lines of communication open
between the parties and helps them find common ground.
o A single mediator or a panel of mediators may be used.
o The mediator does not render a decision in the case.
 Arbitration
o Arbitration involves a neutral third party who will render a decision in a case.
o Arbitration permits a limited amount of discover and applies simplified rules of
evidence.
o The arbitrator will listen as both sides present their evidence and witnesses. The
arbitration may be guided by a single arbitrator or a panel of arbitrators. An award
issued through arbitration may be binding or nonbinding.
o In nonbinding arbitration, the parties retain the option to commence litigation after the
completion of the arbitration process.
o Although an agreement to arbitrate a claim is often upheld by the court, exceptions can
be made.