UNIT 1 – Law, Justice and You
Chapter 1 – OUR LAWS
Lesson 1.2 – Types of Laws
What are the sources of our laws?
Created at all 3 levels of government:
federal, state, and local
Consist of constitutions, statutes,
administrative regulations and case law
LAW
Constitutional
Documents the rights of
individuals and states the
power and limits of
government
Statute
Created by
Legislatures
elected by
voters
(Congress,
State and Local
Legislatures
Case
Consists of
decisions and
opinions of
judges
Administrative
Created by
Government
Agencies (FCC
and Social
Security Office)
Constitutional Law
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constitution – a document that sets forth
the framework of a government
When constitutions are adopted or
amended, or when courts interprets
constitutions, constitutional law is made.
We are governed by the U.S. Constitution
and the constitution of Ohio
Supreme Court has final interpretation of
U.S. Constitution
Main instrument for allocating powers
between people and their government is the
federal Constitution
Constitutional Law
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Bill of Rights – protects people from
actions of their government
Federal Constitution allocates powers
between the federal and state
governments
Gives Federal Government the power
to regulate both foreign and
interstate commerce.
State and federal constitutions
allocate governmental powers among
the three branches of government:
executive, legislative and judicial.
System of checks and balances
Statutes
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Statutes -- laws enacted by state
legislatures or federal legislatures
Composed of elected representatives of
the people
Ordinance – legislation at the local level
Administrative Regulations
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Administrative agencies –
governmental bodies formed to carry out
particular laws
BMV of Ohio, Social Security
Administration
Usually controlled by executive branch of
government
Case Law
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The judicial branch of governments creates case
law
Made after a trial has ended and one party has
appealed the result to a higher court
Appellate court publishes its opinion, that may
state new rules to be used
Federal courts establish federal case law
State courts establish state case law
Stare decisis – Latin for to adhere to decided
cases
What happens when laws conflict?
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Constitutions – highest source of law
Federal Constitution – supreme law of the
land
Unconstitutional -- Status of a law that
conflicts with a constitution and which is
therefore invalid.
Main Types of Laws
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Civil Law – refers to wrongs against individual
persons.
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One person sues another
Police do not take action
Liable – defendant loses a civil case and must
pay money to plaintiff (victim)
Criminal Law – refers to crimes against
society.
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The government, acting in the name of all
people, investigate the alleged wrongdoer.
Main Types of Laws
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Procedural – deals with methods of
enforcing legal rights and duties
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Specifies how and when police can make
arrest and what methods can be used in
a trial
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2 types
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Civil procedure – used when civil law has been
violated.
Criminal procedure – defines the process for
enforcing the law when someone is charged with
a crime.
Main Types of Laws
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Substantive Law – defines rights and
duties
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Concerned with all the rules of conduct
except those involved in enforcement.
Defines offenses, such as murder, theft,
vehicular homicide, breach of contract,
etc.
Main Types of Law
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Business Law – also known as commercial law,
covers rules that apply to business situations
and transactions.
Largely concerned with civil law, especially contracts.
 TORTS – private wrongs (i.e. civil offenses) against
people and organizations.
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) – large set of
business statutes which simplified, clarified, and
modernized many laws relating to commercial
transactions.
Uniform laws governing business and
commercial transactions.
Business activities also governed by criminal law.
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