Chapters 1-5: LAW 2810

Legal Reasoning

Applying the rules of law to the facts a specific case

Must know how to apply laws and regulations in particular scenarios

Why did the court make their decision in a particular case?

Laws and government regulations affects almost _____ business activities

All

Business Decision-Making

Involves both legal and ethical considerations

Primary Sources of Law

Sources that establish the law

“The law itself”

Examples of primary sources of law

U.S. and State Constitutions

Statutory Laws

Regulations created by federal and state administrative agencies

Case Law / Common Law doctrines

Supremacy Clause

States that the U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land

Statutory Law

Uniform laws

“Model statutes” that lawyers and legal scholars develop and ask states to adopt

Secondary sources of law

Books and articles that summarize and clarify primary sources of law

“Stuff that talks about the law”

Examples of secondary sources of law

Legal encyclopedias

Treatises

Articles in law review journals

Compilations of law

E.x. Restatements of the Law

Case Law

Rules of law announced in court decisions

“Judge made” law that governs in areas of law where there is no statutory law

Judges must interpret and apply constitutions, statutes, and regulations

Common Law Tradition

The king’s judges decided cases based on customs and traditions

Early English court system

Common Law Tradition- what were the two separate courts called?

Courts of Law

Courts of Equity

Courts of Law

Could only grant “remedies at law”- money damages

Courts of equity

Could only grant other remedies when money was not adequate- “equitable remedies” or “remedies in equity”

Specific Performance

Cornering a party to perform an agreement as promised

Injunction

Ordering a party to stop doing an activity that is ongoing or to not in an activity that hasn’t started yet

Recession

Allowing a party to cancel a contractual obligation

Stare Decisis

“To stand on decided cases”

Precedent

Judges must follow decisions in other cases that involved the same legal issues and facts

Binding vs persuasive authority

Binding authority

sources that a court must follow- constitutions, statutes, regulations, and precedent from causes decided by higher courts in the same jurisdiction

controlling precedence

Persuasive authority

Sources that a court may consider, but doesn’t have to follow

E.x. Unpublished opinions, cases decided by different jurisdiction, secondary sources of law

Can precedent be overturned?

Yes, but there must be a compelling reason to do so. For example, an old rule of law may be based on incorrect or faulty reasoning, or it is outdated due to social or technological advances

Issue of first impression

There is no precedent

The court is more likely to rely on persuasive authority, consider issues of fairness, social values, and public policy

Why is stare decisis significant?

It gives the legal system stability and predictability

How can the court avoid applying precedent?

They can do so by distinguishing facts

Substantive Laws

Laws that define, describe, regulate, and create legal rights and obligations (what are my rights)

Procedural Laws

Laws that outline the methods of enforcing the rights established by substantive law (what is the process for enforcing those rights)

Civil laws

Laws concerned with rights and duties that exist between persons and between persons and their government

E.x. Plaintiff v Defendant

Criminal laws

Laws that are concerned with wrongs committed against the public as a whole

Ex. State v. Defendant

U.S.C.

United States Code

Statutory law is compiled into

Codes

Titles

How codes are divided

They are divided based on subject and divided into sections within each one

State codes

Statues passed by state legislators

Ex. Tennessee Code Annotated (T.C.A.)

Reporters

Where case law is published

Divided based on whether a case comes from a state or federal court

Citation

Cases are identified by a legal citation that identifies where a case is reported

West’s Regional Reporters

Publishes cases based on geographic regions

States have their own ______

Reporters

Federal Cases are reported in

Federal Reporter

Federal Supplement

United States Reports

Supreme Court Reporter

Federal Reporter

F. , F.2d, F.3d

Federal Supplement

F.Supp. , F.supp.2d

United States Reports

U.S.

Supreme Court Reporter

S.Ct.

Tenn. = _______

Tennessee Supreme Court

Tenn. Ct. App. = ______

Tennessee Court of Appeals

Tenn. Crim. Ct. App = __________

Tennessee Criminal Court of Appeals

Plaintiff / Petitioner

Person bringing the case

Defendant / Respondent

person the case is brought against

Appellant

Person appealing the case to a higher court

Appelle

person the appeal is brought against

Unanimous opinion

Explains the decision of the court when all the judges agree

Majority opinion

Enough of the judges agree for this to be the official decision of the court, but not everyone is on board

Outlines the decision and reasoning of a majority of the judges deciding on a case

Concurring opinion

A judge agreed with the outcome that the majority reached, but not their reasoning

Explains the reasoning the judge thought was correct and/or what was the wrong with the reason the majority used

Dissenting Opinion

the judges that got overruled by the majority still want to have a say about how they thought the case should have been decided

Explains the way the judges would have decided the case and their reasoning

Plurality Opinion

Some judges agree, but not enough for a majority

Explains the position and reasoning that has the support of the highest number of judges

It is NOT binding

Per Curian opinion

Explains the decision of the court, but is not attributed to any one judge as the author

Steps of Legal Reasoning

Issue- what is the legal issue in question?

Rule- what rules of law apply to the case?

Application- how do the rule(s) of law apply to the facts of the case?

Conclusion

Three requirements for a court to hear a case

Jurisdiction, venue, and standing

Jurisdiction

A court must have the authority to hear and decide the case

Types of jurisdiction

Subject matter, over parties, or over property

Venue

The case must be brought in the appropriate geographical district

Venue of a civil case

The county or district where the defendant resides or does business

Venue of a criminal case

The county or district where the crime was committed

Standing

The party bringing the suit must have a legally protected interest at stake in the litigation

The party must have already suffered harm to that interest or be facing imminent threat of harm to that interest

Courts of general jurisdiction

Can hear all types of cases

Courts of limited jurisdiction

Can only hear certain types of cases

Their limits are set in statute(s) creating the court

Federal Court Jurisdiction

Court of a limited jurisdiction

All or part of the plantiff’s claim is based on the U.S. Constitution, a federal statute, or federal regulation

Involves an issue of federal law

Diversity of Citizenship Jurisdiction

The plantiff and defendant are residents of different states and the dollar amount in controversy must exceed $75,000

Original Jurisdiction

The court has necessary jurisdiction to hear the case for the first time

Appellate Jurisdiction

The court has necessary jurisdiction to hear an appeal of the case from a lower court

Exclusive Jurisdiction

The case can only be heard in a state court or a federal court (one or the other)

Concurrent Jurisdiction

The case can be heard in either state or federal court

in personam jurisdiction

Personal jurisdiction over a person or business

Courts have personal jurisdiction over persons that reside in the same geographic district as the court

Sufficient minimum contacts

Allows courts to exercise personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state resident

Can businesses be subject to personal jurisdiction?

Yes, when:

If it “resides” where it is incorporated/has its principal place of business

Where it has sufficient minimum contacts- where they do business, advertise/market, sell, place products in the “stream of commerce”

In rem jurisdiction

Jurisdiction over property

Courts have jurisdiction over property located within their boundaries

Writ of certiorari

ordering a lower court to send SCOTUS the record of the case for review

Rule of four

Agreements of at least for of the nine SCOTUS justices are required to grant a writ of certiorari

What happens if SCOTUS does not review a case?

The lower court’s decision is final

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Methods of resolving disputes other than through the judicial process

Examples of ADR

Negotiation, mediation, arbitration

Negotiation

Process through which the parties attempt to settle their dispute informally, either before/during/after a trial but before an appeal

The party and their attorneys must be present to advocate for their positions or interests

Mediation

A neutral third party acts as a mediator to facilitate a resolution

Some courts requires mediation before they allow the parties to proceed

This is not binding because the parties are not required to agree to the terms of the proposal

Arbitration

A neutral third party decision maker hears a dispute and imposes a resolution on the parties

It is formal (similar to a trial)

Parties can agree to arbitrate disputes before / after they occur

Parties decide if the decisions are binding/nonbinding

Can a party appeal a binding decision of an arbitrator?

Yes, but the courts will be hesitant to do so. They only will under the following conditions:

The arbitrators conduct was in bad faith and substantially prejudiced one party

The decision violates public policy

The arbitrator exceeded their powers

Filing a case

The complaint

Service of Process

The answer

Discovery

The complaint

Filed by the Plantiff

Must contain statements or allegations establishing the court’s jurisdiction, the plantiff’s legal theory, and the remedy they are seeking

Plantiff’s Legal theory

The law and facts the Plantiff’s claim is based on

Service of Process

the defendant must be served with a copy of the complaint and a summons

The person serving the complaint must be 18 or older and not be a party

Personal service is not possible and the judge may agree to allow other methods of service. The method of service must be reasonably calculated to give notice and an opportunity to respond

The defendant can agree to waive service

For a corporate defendant device must be made an officer of the corporation or the corporation’s registered agent (some for all types of business entities)

Summons

A notice requiring the defendant to appear in court and answer the complaint

The Answer

The Defendant’s response to the plantiff’s complain

the defendant must specifically admit or deny each allegation and assert any affirmative defenses or counterclaims

Any allegations not denied will be deemed admitted

Discovery

Parties allowed discovery regarding any matter that is relevant to the claim or defense of any part but confidential or privileged information can be protected

Depositions

Sworn testimony by a party to the lawsuit or by any witness, recorded by a court official

Interrogatories

Written questions for which written answers are prepared and signed under oath

Only for parties to the case

Requests for Admission

Written request for a party to admit the truth of a matter

Request for examinations

Request that the court order a physical or mental examination of a party when that party’s physical or mental condition is in question

Motion to dismiss

A party (usually the defendant) asks the court to dismiss the case for the reasons specified in the motion

Motion for judgement on the pleadings

When all pleadings have been filed (complaint, answer, response to any counterclaims), a party asks the court to decide the case solely on the pleadings

Pretrial Conference

Parties meet with judges to plot the trial - witnesses, schedules, etc.

Jury Selection

Must request a jury if you want one

Voir dire

Voir Dire

Each party’s attorney asks jurors questions and can ask for jurors to be dismissed for cause or peremptorily (without giving reason)

They only get a certain number of peremptory challenges and cannot use them to discriminate based on race or gender