Essentials of Business Law -- 4th Edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
1
Click your mouse
anywhere on the
screen when you are
ready to advance the
text within each slide.
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triangles, the slide is completely shown.
You may click one of the blue triangles to
move to the next slide or the previous slide.
Essentials of Business Law -- 4th Edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
1
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
Essentials of Business Law -- 4th Edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
1


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
Essentials of Business Law -- 4th Edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
1






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.
Essentials of Business Law -- 4th Edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
1

United States Constitution -- Law of the Land
• Establishes Congress, the Presidency and Courts
• Gives to states all 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 government
Common Law -- established by precedent, or
earlier court cases (also courts of equity)
Administrative Law -- created by agencies
Treaties and executive orders
Essentials of Business Law -- 4th Edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
1
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
Essentials of Business Law -- 4th Edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
1
Classifications of Law
Substantive Law

Defines the rights of
the people
Public Law

Sets the duties of
government to its
citizens
vs.

vs.

Procedural Law
Establishes
processes for
settling disputes
Private Law
Regulates duties
between individuals
Essentials of Business Law -- 4th Edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
1
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
Essentials of Business Law -- 4th Edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
1
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.
Essentials of Business Law -- 4th Edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
1
PLAINTIFF:
the party
who is suing
DEFENDANT:
the party
being sued
LEGAL
CITATION: where
to find the case
in a law library
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
Essentials of Business Law -- 4th Edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
1
Essentials of Business Law -- 4th Edition
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
1