Chapter 1
Laws and Their Ethical Foundation
Chapter 2
Constitutional Rights
Chapter 3
Court Systems
Chapter 4
Criminal Law
and Procedure
Chapter 5
Civil Law
and Procedure
Crime - offense against society
Tort - crime against an individual
1. Duty
2. Breach of Duty
3. Injury -(not just people)
4. Causation - (proof)
Contributory Negligence - you can't collect if you were liable for the loss as well
Comparative Negligence - A plaintiff in a case is partially at fault - awarded basec on your percentage of blame
Assumption of Risk - Plaintiff was aware of the danger and decided to subject themselves to the risk
1. Selection of Jury (if required)
2. Opening Statements
3.Submission of Evidence
4. Closing Arguments
5. Judge's Instructions
6. Jury's Deliberation
7. Return of the Verdict
8. Judge Passes Down Judgement
Chapter 6
Offer & Acceptance
Chapter 9
Legal Capacity
to Contract
Chapter 12
Contractual Aspects of
Marriage and Divorce
Chapter 13
Sales Contacts
Chapter 15
Consumer Protection
Chapter 16
Property and
Its Acquisition
Business Law Final Project
Legislative Branch
- Congress
- Senate
- House of Representatives
Executive Branch
- President
- Vice President
- Their Cabinet
1. Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion, & Assembly
2. Right to Bear Arms
3. No Housing Soldiers
4. Gotta Have A Warrant
5. Double Jeopardy
6. Right to A Trial
7. Right By Jury
8. Can't Be Treated Badly
9. Any Rights Not Listed
10. Power to States
District Court
- Lowest level of the Federal Court
- Trial Court (first to hear)
- Determines Facts
- Amount must be more that $75,000 to be tried
Judicial Branch
- Headed by Supreme Court of US
- Decided on the Constitutionality of a statute passed by Legislative Branch & signed by President
Trial Courts
- Circuit Courts - Criminal & Civil Matters
Court of Appeals
- Covers the US District Courts, Specialized for Federal Courts and Federal Agencies
- Doesn't accept new evidence
- 13 Federal courts of appeal
- 12 Circuit Courts & 1 Federal Circuit
Court Of Appeals
- Panel Judges
- No more than 3 judges
- Evaluates Records
- May Hear from Attorneys
- No New Evidence
- Can Apply the new law themselves or send it back for a new trial.
Procedural vs. Substantive Law
US Supreme Court
- Has bother Original & Appellate Jurisdiction
- Original Jurisdiction
- Ambassadors, Public Ministers, & States
- Appellate Jurisdiction
- Cases on appeal or from State Supreme court
Procedures need to be followed:
- Civil Procedures
- Criminal Procedures
Supreme Court
- Justice - titles given to judges who sit on supreme courts
Substantive define rights & duties
- It is concerned with all rules of conduct except in enforcement.
Specialized Courts - States
- Summer of 1787, the draft was to be for the government of the people, by the people, and for the people
- March 4, 1789, the Constitution was declared effective & binding
- Only 9 states ratified it
- 4 said it was against Human Rights
Stages in the Growth of Law
- Revenge
- Awards
- Courts
- Punishment of Prevention
- A crime is an offense against society
- A civil case is a private rights violation
- A issue with law can be both criminal and civil
Associate Circuit Court
- State Traffic Offenses
- Lawsuit Under $25,000
- Minor Criminal Cases
City or Municipal Court
- Traffic & Criminal Courts
Declaration of Independence
Juvenile Courts
- 13-18 years old
- Get all your rights
- All about rehabilitation
- Closed Court
- Records are sealed
- Can be tried as adult
- Review decisions of lower courts when the party claims an error was made
- No witnesses
- Usually NO new evidence
- Concerned with errors of law, not facts.
- Examine the transcript
- Appellate briefs are read
Small Claims Court
- $2,500 or less issue
- Divorce
- Adopted July 4, 1776
- 13 Original colonies adopted it
- Wanted Independence from England
Decide Whether to:
A. - Affirm (uphold)
B. Reverse (overturn)
C. Amend (change)
D. Remand (send back for correction)
Probate Court
- Wills
- Estate of the deceased
Crimes Affecting Businesses
- First Court to hear a dispute
- ORIGINAL jurisdiction over a case
- Witnesses are present
- Present proof of facts
- Judge, Lawyers, Clerks, Sheriffs or Marshals, Bailiffs, and sometimes Jury Members
5 Main Types of Law
1. Civil Law
2. Criminal Law
3. Procedural Law
4. Substantive Law
5. Business Law
4 Sources of Law
1. Constitutional Law
-People & Government
2. Statutes
-Acting for Citizens
- Legislature Enacts These Laws
3. Cases
- Stare Decisis- higher people making official decisions
4. Administrative
- Federal Social Security
- Larceny
- Receiving Stolen Property
- False Pretenses
- Forgery
- Bribery
- Computer Crimes
- Extortion
- Conspiracy
- Arson
Crimes Against A Person
Crimes Against Property
Crimes Against Government & Admin of Justice
Crimes Against Public Peace & Order
Crimes Against Realty
Crimes Against Consumers
Crimes Against Decency
3 Elements of Criminal Acts
Procedural Defense
- Def: Defense that looks at how the evidence is obtained or the way an accused person is arrested, questioned, tried or punished
- Ignorance of Law is not a defense
- Officers have to be careful during arrests
- Whether you had a duty to do or not to do a certain thing
- Whether you performed an act or omission in violation of that duty
- whether or not you had criminal intent
Substantive Defense
- Def: disprove, justify, or excuse of alleged crime
- Self-Defense
- Criminal Insane
- Immunity
- Severalty
- Co-Ownership
- Joint Tenancy
- Tenancy in Common
- Tenancy by the Entireties
- Community Property
Let the Punishment fit the crime
- Def: any penalty provided by law and imposed by a court
Plea Bargaining - getting a lesser charger
- you give up the right to trial
- must be approved by the judge
- Ownership of Contract
- Ownership by Gift
- Ownership by Intellectual Labor
- Ownership by Inheritance
- Ownership by Accession
- Ownership by Finding
- Ownership by Occupancy
- Not to remedy the wrong - discipline the wrong doer
- Ranges from: Fines, Prison Time to Death
Classification of Property
Real Property - FIXED
- Example: Homes, Land, Buildings, and anything permanently fixed to them
Personal Property - anything that is not fixed
- Example: Intellectual property, copyrights, trademarks, clothing, car, patents, trade secrets
Def: Rights and interest we recognize in tangible and intangible things
My favorite chapter of Business Law was Chapter 3 dealing with the different courts. Going to court was a super fun experience and really helped to understand more about the chapter and what we were learning. I enjoyed learning the different parts of court and all the different courts there is. I also like Chapter 4 with the criminal law problems and learning all the different crimes there is and how severe they are.
- Tangible Examples: Car, Boat, Jewelry, Iphone
- Intangible Examples: Idea for an invention, trade secrets
4 Elements that must be proved for liability
- Express Warranty
- Full Warranty
- Limited Warranty
- Implied Warranty
- Warranty of Merchantability
Def: A defendant can be held liable if he/she engaged in an activity that resulted in injury regardless of whether or not he/she was negligent.
- Proof of both the activity and injury are proof of the violation
- Only applied when someone has engaged in dangerous activities
- Responsibility to compensate buyers, users, and even those standing nearby for injuries cause by a defective
- owning a dangerous animal
- sale of goods that are dangerous
- target practice
- blasting
- working with dangerous chemicals
- storing dangerous materials
- Caveat Emptor - let the BUYER beware!
- Local, state, and federal government have passed legislation to put consumers equal with sellers.
- Consumers can sue and make sellers subject to legal action by the government
- Caveat Venditor - let the SELLER beware!
- Control or Fixed Prices
- False and Misleading Advertisements
- Illegal Lotteries and Confidence Games
- Unfair Pricing and Service
- Mislabeled Goods
I really enjoyed this class and would so take it again (; I wouldn't change anything about how you taught the class, you did a FABULOUS job!
- Cease and desist order- a gov't agency acts on behalf of the injured consumer requiring the company to stop the specified conduct
- Consent order- voluntary, court- enforceable agreement to stop an illegal or questionable practice
- Restitution- permits a party to a contract to recover money or property given to the other party
Requirements for Legal Contracts
1. Offer & Acceptance
2. Genuine Assent
3. Legality
4. Consideration
5. Capacity
6. Writing
- Revocation of the offer
- Time stated in the offer
- Reasonable length of time
- Rejection by the offeree
- Counter offer
- Death or insanity of either offeror or offeree
- Destruction of the specific subject matter
Statute of Frauds Applying to Sales
Exceptions of Statues of Frauds For Sales Contracts
Effectiveness of Acceptances
- Remember that a sale of goods for more than $500 must be in writing to be enforceable
- If good practice, BOTH parties should sign a contract and get a copy, if only one signs, the other can't be sued
-Uniform Commercial Code-
- Goods received and accepted by the buyer
- Buyer pays for goods and seller accepts payments
- Goods specially made not suitable to sales to others
- Party against whom enforcement sought admits oral contract made
- The faster the communication the better
- The rule states if the offer has been made by reasonable means, it is effective
- Typically, it is best to specify how you want the acceptance to occur
- makes item offers binding for the time granted but no more than 3 months
Requirements of Acceptance
Def: Within the range of contractual acts the organizer has authorized them to be responsible for.
Unconscionable Sale Contracts
-Come from the person to whom the offer was made
-Matches the terms in an offer
-Be communicated to the offeror
Goods DO NOT Include:
- Money (not including rare coins
- Intangible Personal Property ( Legal Rights, Trademarks, Patents, Copyrights)
- Real Property (Land and Buildings)
- Unconscionable - GROSSLY UNFAIR!
- Don't have to be criminal
- Contracts of adhesion - contracts where one party has more power (take it or leave it contracts)
- IF UNFAIR:
- Refuse to enforce the contract
- Enforce without the "bad" part
- You should always make sure you are dealing with someone who has the rights to make contracts. This includes people who have been delegated to make contracts
- Already Married!
- Incestuous Marriages
- Mentally Incompetent
Misrepresentation of
Your Age
Marital Rights and Duties
- Doesn't want children
- Lying about freedom from disease
- Lying about pregnancy
- Lying about wealth
- Lying about age
1. The parent & minor agree that the parent will cease support
2. The minor marries
3. The minor moves out of the family home
4. The minor becomes a member of the armed forces.
5. The minor gives birth
6. The minor undertakes a full-time job
- Sale - Contract in which ownership of goods transfers immediately from the seller to the buyer
- Ownership - Entails a collection of rights that allow the use and enjoyment of property
- Contract to sell - Transfer of ownership at at later date
Contracts That Cannot
Be Disaffirmed
- Minors who lie about their age may still disaffirm their contracts but they may be held liable for the tort of false presentation
- Contract for life
- Marital Consortium- if either spouse is harmed the other can sue for "Loss of Consortium"
- It basically means that they won't have the income that the person was supplying or the support, etc.
1. Court Approved Contracts
2. Major Commitments
3. Banking Contracts
4. Insurance Contracts
5. Work-Related Contracts
6. Sale of Realty
7. Apartment Rental
- They are tangible, movable personal property (NOT land or buildings)
- We pay a PRICE for goods (the consideration for the sale)
- You can BARTER for your goods (exchange goods for goods)
Terminating the Marriage Contract
- Divorce - end of marriage
- Dissolution - termination of a marriage
- No-fault divorce - don't have to tell why
- Separation - 1st step towards a divorce
- Counseling - some states require you go to counseling before you can divorce
- Annulled - mutually agreeing to end engagements
- Agreements are void & never existed
- HOWEVER: if one party breaches and the other doesn't - it is breach of promise
- Lawsuits can require damages to be awarded in some states
- If a gift is given to create the contract, it must be returned but other gifts can be kept.
- Contractual Capacity - the ability to understand the consequences of a contract
- Age of Majority to Contract - age at which a person is entitles to the management of his/her own life.
- Most States - 18
- Some are 19-21
- No law for dating age
- Minimum age for marriage is typically 18
- Parents may use reasonable force to see that directions are carries out for not dating
- Parents can't have their children labeled incorrigible if they don't stop dating
- State Statutory Requirements
- Some states allow minors 16 and older but mostly it is 18 years or older with parental consent
- Most require blood tests
- Most have a wait period