Chapter 1 Key Vocab and Concepts:

Liability: The state of being legally responsible (liable) for something, such as a debt or obligation.
Primary Sources of Law: 1) U.S. Constitution and State Constitutions 2) Statutory Law: The body of law enacted by legislative bodies 3)
Regulations passed by administrative agencies 4) Case law: The rules of law announced in court decisions. and Common law doctrine: The
body of law developed from custom or judicial decisions in English and U.S. courts, not attributable to legislature.
Secondary Sources of Law: Books and articles that summarize the primary sources of law ex) legal encyclopedias, compilations of law
(Restatements of the Law), treatises, and articles in law reviews.
Stare Decisis: A Latin phrase that means “to stand on decided cases;” judges are obligated to follow the precedents established in prior
decisions within their jurisdiction.
1. A court should not overturn its own precedents unless there is a compelling reason to do so.
2. Decisions made by a higher court are binding on lower courts (binding authority).
Precedent: Decision that furnishes an example or authority for deciding subsequent cases involving identical or similar legal principles or
facts. (Sue)
Civil Law: Spells out the rights and duties that exist between persons and their governments, as well as the relief available when a person's
rights are violated. (Prosecute)
Criminal Law: Concerned with the wrongs committed against the public as a whole.
Chapter 4 Key Vocab and Concepts:
Jurisdiction: “juris” means “law,” and “diction” means “to speak.” → The power to speak the law. Has to do with
whether a court has authority to hear a case involving a specific person's property, or subject matter.
a) Persona (in personam): Exists when: 1) A defendant is located in the court’s territorial boundaries 2) Qualifies under
state long arm statutes 3) Is a corporation doing business within the state, and/or 4) Advertises, sells, or places goods into
commerce within the state.
b) Property (in rem): Exists when the property that is subject to a lawsuit is located within the courts territorial
boundaries.
c) Long arm Statute: A state statute that permits a state to obtain personal jurisdiction over nonresident defendants. A
defendant must have “minimum contacts” with that state for the statute to apply.
d) Diversity of Citizenship (part of federal): Under Article 2, Section III of the Constitution, a basis for federal court
jurisdiction over a lawsuit between 1) citizens of different states, 2) a foreign country and citizens of a state or of different
states, or 3) citizens of a state and citizens or subjects of a foreign country. 1. The plaintiff and defendant must be residents
of different states 2. The dollar amount in controversy must exceed $75,000
dii) Federal: A federal court can also exercise jurisdiction when the plaintiff's cause of action involves a federal question
(is based at least in part on the U.S. Constitution, a treaty, or a federal law).
e) Admiralty: When a case occurs at sea or in US navigable waters.
f) Concurrent: Exists when both federal and state courts have authority to hear the same case.
g) Exclusive: Exists when only state courts or only federal courts have authority to hear the same case.
h) Cyberspace: The courts have developed a sliding-scale standard to use in determining when jurisdiction over a website
owner or operator in another state is proper.
i) Subject Matter: Limits the court’s jurisdictional authority to particular types of cases:
1. General Jurisdiction: Exists when a court can hear cases involving a broad array of issues.
2. Limited Jurisdiction: Exists when a court is limited to a specific subject matter, such as probate or
divorce.
j) Original: Exists when courts that have the authority to hear a case for the first time (trial and district courts).
k) Appellate: Exists when courts of appeal and review. Generally, appellate courts do not have original jurisdiction.
Venue: The most appropriate location for a trial; a case should be in the geographic neighborhood where the incident
occurred or where the parties reside (In civil law, it's where the defendant resides/does business, but in criminal law, it's
where the crime occurred).
Standing to Sue: an individual must have a sufficient stake in controversy before he or she can bring a lawsuit. The
plaintiff must demonstrate that he or she has been either injured or threatened with injury. 1. Harm: The party bringing the
action must have suffered harm - an invasion of a legally protected interest-or must face imminent harm. The controversy
must be real and substantial rather than hypothetical. 2. Causation: There must be a causal connection between the conduct
complained about and the injury. 3. Remedy: It must be likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that a favorable court
decision will remedy the injury suffered.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR):
1. Negotiation: In regard to dispute settlement, a process in which parties attempt to settle their dispute
without going to court, with or without attorneys to represent them.
2. Mediation: A method of settling disputes outside of the county by using the services of a mediator.
The mediator acts as a communication agent between the parties and suggests ways in which the party
can resolve their dispute.
3. Arbitration: The settling of a dispute by submitting it to a disinterested third party (other than a
court), who renders a decision, The decisions may or may not be legally binding. Often included as an
arbitration clause, which provides that in the event of a dispute, the parties will submit their dispute to
arbitration rather than litigate the dispute in court.
Note: A court will set aside an award only in the event of one of the following: 1. The arbitrators' conduct or “bad faith,”
substantially prejudiced the rights of one of the parties. 2. The award violates an established public policy. 3. The arbitrator
exceeded his or her powers-that is, arbitrated issues that the parties did not agree to submit to arbitration.
Chapter 6 Parts 1 and 2 Key Vocab and Concepts:
Torts: A civil wrong not arising from a breach of contract. A breach of a legal duty that proximately causes harm or injury to another.
Transferred Intent: Intent can be transferred when a defendant intends to harm one individual, but unintentionally harms a second
person.
Unintentional Torts, involving Negligence: 1) Duty: Whether the defendant owed a duty of care to plaintiff . A reasonable person would
consider 1) the burden of taking precautions, 2) the likelihood of harm, and 3) the seriousness of harm. A duty of care is the duty to act like
a reasonable person under the circumstances and applied to all foreseeable plaintiffs. 2) Breach: Whether or not the defendant breached the
duty of care to plaintiff. 3) Causation: Did the defendant's breach cause the injury? Two tests: 1) “but-for'' test: If not for the breach,
would the injury have happened anyway? 2) “Substantial factor” test: Where several causes bring about injury, any cause alone would be
enough to cause injury, plaintiff's conduct is the cause in fact if it was a substantial factor in causing the injury. 4) Damages: Was the
plaintiff injured?
Proximate Cause: Was the defendant's act’s the actual cause of plaintiff's injury?
Intentional Torts: A wrongful act knowingly committed.
Assault: Any word or action intended to make another person fearful of immediate physical harm; a reasonably believable threat.
Battery: The unprivileged, intentional touching of another.
Defamation: Any published or publicly spoken false statement that causes injury to another’s good name, reputation, or character.
1. Libel: Defamation in writing or in some other form (such as a digital recording) having the quality of permanence.
2. Slander: Breaching duty orally.
-Slander per se: Actionable with no proof of special damages required. Must be either: 1) A statement that has a
loathsome disease (such as a sexually transmitted disease). 2)
-Statements that must be unprivileged, published, false and defamatory, statements concerning another, (if public figure), with
malice.
Note: Truth is an absolute defense against a defamation charge:
False Imprisonment: Intentional confinement or restraint of another person's activities without justification; interferes with the freedom
to move without restraint. “Privilege to detain” is granted to merchants in most states; a merchant can use reasonable force to detain a
person or delay persons suspected of shoplifting and hold them for the police.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress: An intentional act that amounts to extreme and outrageous conduct resulting
in severe emotional distress to another. To be actionable, the act must be extreme and outrageous to the point that it exceeds
the bounds of decency accepted by society.
Business Torts: Wrongfully interfering with another's business rights. Three elements are necessary for wrongful
interference with a contractual relationship to occur: 1. A valid, enforceable contract must exist between two parties. 2. A
third party must know that this contract exists. 3. The third party must intentionally induce a part to the contract to breach
the contract.