UCSD Extension
Class 1 of 3
Jack Friery
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Three meetings
Goals:
◦ Sources of Law
◦ Court System
◦ Classifications of Law
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Assignments and Final Exam
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Attorney for over 30 years
Government, large private firm, in-house
counsel, and solo firm practice
Specialize in federal government contract
matters
And, yes, married to a paralegal for over
30 years
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Your name and a bit about
yourself
Why are you taking this class?
Any experience in the legal field?
Expectations for class
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No one right answer, because how law is defined
depends on the speaker’s personal philosophy
about morality, ethics and truth.
◦ Examples:
 Canon law
 Natural law
 Sharia
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Law consists of a body of rules of conduct with
legal force and effect, prescribed by the controlling
authority (the government) of a society.
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Based on English common law,
because the colonists who first came
to U.S. were governed by it
Even after independence, was used as
model—except Louisiana
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Constitutional law
International law
Statutory law
Administrative law
Case law
Common law tradition
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Established by:
◦ U.S. Constitution
◦ Constitutions of
the states
◦ Cases
interpreting
these
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The U.S. Constitution, as amended, is the
supreme law of the land.
Any law—federal or state—violating the
Constitution, if challenged, will be declared
unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.
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The U.S. Constitution sets forth the powers of the
three branches of government and the relationship
between them.
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution
are known as the Bill of Rights.
The rights secured by the Bill of Rights are not
absolute and are given form and substance by the
courts.
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Ultimately, it is the Supreme
Court of the United States
that has authority to give
final interpretations of the
Constitution.
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The U.S. Constitution is the
embodiment of the founder’s belief in
the rule of law
It establishes due process of law
◦ Procedural
◦ Substantive
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Each State has a constitution setting the
organization, powers, and limits of the state
government.
The Tenth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution reserves all powers not granted
to the federal government to the states.
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 Common
law
 Treaty law
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Statutes consist of the laws passed by the
federal Congress and state legislatures
Ordinances are statues passed by a municipal
or county governmental unit
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Bill introduced
Debated
Sent to either Senate or House for approval
Signed by President or Governor
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Passed daily
Filed Chronologically
Sorted by topic
Codified
Found by using topical index
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Bankruptcy law
Corporate law
Patent,
copyright, and
trademark law
Employment
law
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Antitrust law
Consumer law
Wills and
probate
administration
Environmental
law
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To assist the federal or state legislatures in
implementing the laws that they enact, they
often delegate the implementation of the law
to administrative agencies.
The rules, orders, and decisions of
administrative agencies are known as
administrative law.
Examples: EEOC, EPA, Social Security
Administration
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Administrative agencies are created when
Congress passes enabling legislation, which
specifies the name purpose, composition and
powers of the agency are created.
Examples:
◦ OSHA, EPA, FDA, and FTC
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Each state also has many administrative
agencies.
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Common law – originated in
medieval England with the
creation of the king’s courts
following William the
Conqueror’s Conquest of
England in 1066.
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The king’s courts sought to establish a set of
customs for the whole country.
Courts developed the common law rules for the
principles underlying judges’ decisions in actual
cases.
Judges attempted to be consistent, and, when
possible, they based their decisions on principles
set forth in earlier cases.
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Later cases that involved similar facts and
issues could be decided with reference to the
earlier cases, or
precedents
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In Latin it means, “to stand on decided cases”
The use of precedent eventually became a
cornerstone of the common law system.
Under the doctrine of stare decisis, the judges are
obligated to follow precedents established by
higher courts within their jurisdiction.
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Stare decisis provides efficiency, consistency,
stability and predictability in our legal system.
Occasionally, courts will depart from precedent, if
the precedent is based on a clearly erroneous
application of the law or if the political and cultural
environment has change so significantly that the
precedent is no longer relevant.
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Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S.
483, 74 S.Ct. 686, 98 L.Ed. 873 (1954)
This is a case in which the U.S. Supreme Court
departed from precedent
The Court decided that separate educational
facilities for whites and blacks, previously held to
be constitutional, were inherently unequal
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Occasionally, there is no precedent on which to
base a decision.
When deciding cases of first impression, courts
consider the following factors:
◦ Legal principles and policies underlying the previous court
decisions or existing law
◦ Social value and customs
◦ Public policy
◦ Data and concepts drawn from the social sciences
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In re Baby M, 217 N.J. Super. 313, 525 A.2d 1128
(1987)
Example of case of first impression
A New Jersey court had to decide whether a
surrogate-parenting contract should be enforced
against the wishes of the surrogate parent.
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Courts of law
◦ The early English king’s courts the remedies that
could be granted were restricted to:
 Land
 Items of value
 Money
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Equity is the branch of law founded on
notions of justice and fair dealing, seeking to
supply a remedy when there is no adequate
remedy available at law.
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Today, courts of equity and courts of law
have been merged so that one court can
award both legal and equitable remedies.
Courts are guided by equitable principles and
maxims when deciding equity cases.
Example: “Whoever seeks equity must do
equity.”
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Common law governs all areas not covered by
statutory law.
The American Law Institute (ALI) drafted and
published compilations of the common law called
Restatements of the Law. The Restatements
summarize and clarify common law rules and
principles.
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Sometimes referred to as judge - made law
Interpretation of all law including:
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Constitution
Statutes
Administrative Law
Common Law
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Case titles
◦ The name of a case gives the names of the parties
to the lawsuit.
◦ Plaintiff’s name appears first
◦ When an appeal is filed, some appellate courts
place the appellant’s name first.
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Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct.
1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966)
Name, Official Citation, Unofficial Sources,
Year
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Plaintiff
◦ The one who initiates a lawsuit
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Defendant
◦ The one against whom the lawsuit is brought
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Can be elected or appointed
Federal judges can are appointed for life
State judges are elected for terms
Commissioners or magistrates are used in
some courts to make decisions on matters
before trial
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The opinion is the court’s statement of its
reasons for its decision, the rules of law that
apply and the judgment.
Most often found in appellate cases
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Unanimous – all agree
Majority opinion – most agree
Plurality opinion – largest group opinion
Concurring opinion – agree but different
reasons
Dissenting opinion – don’t agree with
majority’s decision
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Questions?
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