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Business Law and the Legal Environment for a New Century
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Quotes of the Day
True human goodness, in all its purity
and freedom, can come to the fore only
when its recipient has no power.
Milan Kundera, Czech author
What is good? All that heightens the
feeling of power, the will to power, power
itself in man.
Freidrich Nietzsche, German Philosopher
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Business Law and the Legal Environment for a New Century
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Law is powerful


Affects all people, from CEO’s to children
Affects most of life, from work to leisure
Law is important

But which is more important -- written law or
the people who enforce it?
Law is fascinating

Complex, but never just theoretical
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Business Law and the Legal Environment for a New Century
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Origins of Our Law -- Many Sources

Inherited much from British law.

Founding Fathers created a multi-level
government which guaranteed citizens’ rights.

Accumulation of precedent in legal cases
makes up the common law.

Statutes are passed by legislative body.

Substantive rules state parties’ rights.

Procedural rules determine how courts should
settle disputes.
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Business Law and the Legal Environment for a New Century
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Sources of Our Law Today
 United States Constitution -- Law of the Land
• Establishes Congress, the Presidency and Courts
• Gives to states powers not given to Federal gov’t
• Guarantees basic rights to all citizens
 State Constitutions
• Create state executive, legislative and judicial
systems
 Statutes -- passed by federal & state gov’t
 Common Law -- established by precedent, or
earlier cases decided by courts
 Administrative Law -- created by agencies
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Business Law and the Legal Environment for a New Century
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Classifications of Law
Criminal Law
vs.
Civil Law

Dangerous behavior
outlawed by society

Regulates rights and
duties of parties

Government
prosecutes accused

Victim, not government brings suit

Guilt is determined

Guilt not determined

Punishment or fine
is imposed

Compensation is
ordered
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Business Law and the Legal Environment for a New Century
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Classifications of Law (cont’d)
Substantive Law

Defines the rights of
the people
Public Law

vs.

vs.
Sets the duties of
government to its
citizens

Procedural Law
Establishes
processes for
settling disputes
Private Law
Regulates duties
between individuals
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Business Law and the Legal Environment for a New Century
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Law and Morality
Owning
Colonial
legal, but
Actionsslaves
may beinlegal,
butAmerica
immoralwas
to some
this
violates most people’s moral standards today.
people.
Actions
may is
beboth
required
by both
Drunk
driving
immoral
and illegal.
LAW
moral standards and the law.
Helping
hurtbeperson
required
by moral
Actions amay
moral,isbut
not required
by law.
standards, but is not mandated by the law.
MORALITY
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Business Law and the Legal Environment for a New Century
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Jurisprudence, or “What is Law?”
Legal
Positivism
Natural Law
“Law is what the sovereign says it is.”
Decisions stand, regardless of morality.
“An unjust law is no law at all and
need not be obeyed.”
Laws must have a good moral basis.
Legal Realism
“Enforcement of the law is more
important than the law itself.”
Enforcers determine if the law is
applied in a fair and consistent way.
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Business Law and the Legal Environment for a New Century
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PLAINTIFF:
the party
who is suing
DEFENDANT:
the party
being sued
LEGAL
CITATION: where
to find the case
in a law library
Case Analysis
QUIGLEY v. FIRST
CHURCH OF CHRIST,
SCIENTIST
65 Cal. App. 4th 1027, 76 Cal.
Rptr. 2d 792, 1998 Cal. App.
LEXIS 677
California Court of Appeal, 1998
Where and when
the case was
decided.
Facts: Gayle Quigley and James Wantland
had divorced. They had joint custody of
FACTS:
their 12-year-old son, Andrew, who lived
background
with his father. James was a member of the
information on
Christian Science church,
a religion that
the case
regards disease as an “error of the mind”
and discourages the use of traditional
ISSUE: the
medicine. Members of the faith…
question being
decided
Issue: Did the defendants
have a duty to
summon medical help for Andrew?
Excerpts from Judge Bedsworth’s
Decision: [The judge began by
EXERPTS:
mentioning an earlier California
case,the
in
-- that
also
which the state’s highestdecision
court ruled
the
one person generally hascalled
no duty
to protect
holding
another from harm, unless
there is--aand
special
the
court’s
relationship between the two, such as
custody or control... rationale
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Business Law and the Legal Environment for a New Century
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“We depend upon the law to give us
a stable nation and economy, a fair
society, a safe place to live and
work. …But while law is a vital tool
for crafting the society we want,
there are no easy answers about
how to create it. ...Legal rules
control us,
yet we create them.”
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Business Law and the Legal Environment for a New Century
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