Our Laws and Legal
System
Chapter 1
Adamson , John E., Law: for Business and Personal Use, 18edition
1-1 Objectives
 Explain the stages in the growth of law
 Describe the differences between
common law and positive law
 Identify the origin of the U.S. Legal
System
Class Discussion
With her stereo blasting, Clarisse began her drive home
from school in her small pickup. She was soon pulled
over by the police officer. The officer cited her for violation
of the city’s noise ordinance. As he did so his voice was
partially drowned out by the sound of jack hammers from
a nearby construction site. Clarisse asked the officer why
he had not cited the construction company as well. He
replied that, even though the company was in violation,
the noise ordinance had been put on the books to stop
people from playing loud music in public, not to stop
honest work.
Source: Law for Business and Personal Use 18edition by John E. Adamson
What is Law?
 Laws


Enforceable rules of
conduct in a society.
Reflect the culture and
circumstances that
created them.
 Code

Laws grouped into an
organized form
Search Hammurabi…
1. What were some of the more unusual
parts of is Code?
2. How many different laws were included?
Stages in Development of Law
1. Individuals take revenge for wrongs done to them

Gang-related shootings
2. Accept awards of money or goods as a substitute
for revenge

Sovereign (individual who brings 2nd stage)
3. Court systems are formed
4. Central authority figure intervenes to prevent &
punish wrongs
U.S. Law – Which State?
 It is illegal to hunt birds from an airplane.

Tennessee
 It is illegal for anyone other than a barber to
advertise haircuts.

Michigan
 It is illegal to forget to close a gate.

Nevada
 Residents must bathe once a year.

Kentucky
U.S. Law – Which State?
 One may not mutilate a rock in a state park.

Colorado
 It is unlawful to lend your vacuum cleaner to your
next door neighbor.

Denver
 The dog catcher must notify dogs of impounding
by posting, for three consecutive days, a notice on
a tree in the city park and along a public road
running through said park.

Denver
Common Law vs. Positive Law
 Common Law (case law)

Law based on the current standards or customs of the
people.
 Positive Law



Law set down by a sovereign or central authority to
prevent disputes from occurring.
Some examples of positive laws might include statutes,
and ordinances.
Positive laws may be written and enacted by government
lawmakers, and administrative agencies
Common Law or Positive Law?
 In China, people have to pay a fine for having more
than one child.
 In Saudi Arabia, there are two highways between
Jiddah and Ryadh. One of them is for Muslims, the
other is for "infidels”.
 All gondolas in Venice by law, must be painted black
unless they belong to a high ranking official.
 In Scotland, It is illegal to be a drunk while in
possession of a cow.
Student Assessment
 1. Define the word Law.
 2. Define the word Code.
 3. In order, list the four stages in the
development of law.
 4. Define Common Law.
 5. Define Positive Law.
 6. What type of law do you think U.S. Law is
based on? Why?
Class Activity
 Create a set of laws or codes of conduct for a
fictional culture. (Have fun with it)

This set of laws must contain:
 Five
common laws that have arisen out of their
culture.
 Five positive laws that have been imposed on the
people by the ruling class.
 Write a paragraph describing a habit or
characteristic that your family has that might seem
quirky to an outsider.
Origin of Our Legal System
 Two great systems of law in the world
 English common law
 Roman civil law
 Trivia: Which state in the U.S. has a legal
system that is not based on English common
law?

49 states are based on English common law
Louisiana is based on civil law.
English Common Law
 Different laws throughout England.
 King Henry II (circa 1150)

The King’s Bench
 Judges
appointed by King Henry II
 Jurisdiction: The power to decide a case.
 Judges held court in villages (rode circuit).
 Good weather months.
 Judges heard cases on appeal in London.
 Bad weather months.

Jury: Citizens chosen to help interpret that regions
customs for court.
 The
jury system is a unique institution in English common
law system.
English Common Law
 Advantages of English Common Law:
 Uniformity of law.
 Ability to adapt to changes in society.
 Precedent: The use of prior cases as a guide to
deciding similar new cases.
 Disadvantages of English Common Law:


A rigid adherence to proper form can arise.
 i.e. Misspelled word or period.
Could only grant remedy for damages.
 i.e. Inability to stop a wrong from happening.
Alternative to English Common Law
 Equity: Fairness
 Chancellor assigned by King


Usually a high clergyman
Conduct a hearing:
 Different
rules than common law court
 No
jury
 Only accessible by nobles
 Different remedies would be applied


Injunction: an order that prohibits something from
being done
Given control over equity courts (created by King)
 Access
to equitable remedies for All citizens
Modern U.S. Law:
 There are three states in the United States
that administer law and equity separately.
 Delaware.
 Mississippi.
 Tennessee.
Student Assessment
 1. What are the world’s two great systems of law?
 2. Define the word jurisdiction.
 3. Describe the Kings Bench and how it worked.
 4. Define the word equity.
 5. What could the chancellor do that the common
law courts didn’t?
 6. What are the four sources of U.S. Law?
1-2 Objectives
 Identify the sources of law
 Discuss how conflicts between laws are
resolved
 Compare and contrast criminal and civil
laws, and substantive and procedural
law.
Sources of U.S. Law
1. Constitutions (Federal and State)
 Definition:
A document that sets forth the framework of
government and its relationship to the people it governs.

Allocation of power between the people and their
government.
 Bill

of Rights: The first ten amendments.
Allocation of power between federal and state
governments.
 Federal
governments regulate both foreign and interstate
commerce.
 State governments regulate intrastate commerce.

Allocation of power among branches of government.
 Executive
branch, legislative branch, judicial branch.
 Checks and Balances: no branch gets too powerful.
Sources of U.S. Law
 Federal Constitution created the Congress of the
United States.
 State Constitutions created the state legislatures.
2. Statutes
 Definition:
Laws enacted for their citizens by
federal or state legislatures.


Elected representatives act for citizens and
enact laws.
Delegate some legislative authority to local
governments. (Cities, towns, counties etc.)
 Ordinance:
Local level legislation.
Sources of U.S. Law
3. Administrative Law

Administrative Agencies
 Definition:
Governmental bodies formed to carry out
particular laws
 Created by legislatures, controlled by the executive branch.
 Sometimes given legislative powers.
 Authority to create administrative laws (rules,
regulations).
 Sometimes given limited judicial powers.
 Authority to hold hearings, make determinations of fact,
and apply law to certain cases.
Sources of U.S. Law
4. Case Law




Created by the Judicial branch of governments.
Usually made when a trial has ended and one party has
appealed to a higher court.
Appellate court publishes opinion which may state rules
to be used in similar cases
Effectiveness arises out of doctrine of stare decisis (“let
the decision stand”)
 Lower
courts must follow
 Supreme courts are not bound by stare decisis.
1-2 Class Activity:
In small groups …
 Research 1 source of law and present to class
1. Constitution (state, federal) amendments
2. Statutes
3. Case Law
4. Administrative agency
 Include the following:
 Definition/Description (from notes/book)
 Example of a law (Precise wording and summary)
 Current Article (extra credit)
 Include Citation(s)
Student Assessment
 1. What are the four sources of U.S. Law?
 2. Who creates case law?
 3. What powers are administrative agencies
sometimes given?
 4. Define statutes.
 5. Define ordinance.
 6. Who regulates interstate commerce?
When Laws Conflict
 Federal Constitution


“The supreme law of the land”.
No federal, state, or local law is valid if it conflicts
 Unconstitutional
 Supremacy rules:


Federal Law > State Law > Local Law.
Constitutional Law > Statutory Law > Administrative
Law.
Main Types of Laws
 Civil Law
 Group of laws that allow individuals to seek legal remedies for
wrongs done to them.
 Police do not take action in civil matters.
 Applies to enforcing legal promises.
 Applies when one person injures another.
 Criminal Law
 A crime is an offense against society.
 Acting in the name of all the people, the government
investigates an alleged wrongdoing
 Result in fine, imprisonment, or execution
 Violations can be both civil & criminal
Types of Law
 Procedural Law



Methods of enforcing legal rights and duties.
Stare Decises is a form of procedural law.
Determine what remedies are available.

Civil procedure & criminal procedure.
 Substantive Law


Defines rights and duties.
Concerned with all rules of conduct except those involved
in enforcement.
Business Law
 Covers rules that apply to business situations
and transactions
 Involve merchant and consumer
 Largely civil law
 Torts

Private wrongs against people or organizations.
 UCC (uniform commercial code)

Widely adopted uniform business
1-3 Objectives
 Define Ethics
 Compare and contrast consequences-
based ethics with rule-based ethics
 Discuss ways in which ethics are
reflected in laws
What is Ethics?
A. Lisa found a $20 bill on the floor in the girl’s locker
room at school. She bought her sister a gift with
part of the money and put the rest of the money in
her savings
B. Jimela found $20 on the floor in the girl’s locker
room. She knew whoever lost the money would
probably need it, so she turned the money in to
the office.
Who is displaying more ethical behavior?
What would you have done?
Ethics
1. Decision about a right or wrong action.

To involve ethics, a decision must affect you
or others in some significant way.
2. Decision is reasoned.


Not based on emotion.
People reason about right and wrong by
referring to a written authority that provides
consistency.
3. Decision is impartial

The same ethical standards are applied to
everyone.
Business Ethics
 Ethical principles used in making
business decisions
 Profit maximization

Supported by those who need a
justification for actions that would
hurt the general welfare.
Forms of Ethical Reasoning
1. Consequences-based ethical reasoning.

Determines rightness or wrongness based on
on results of actions and how they affect the
majority of the people involved.
 Steps in consequential reasoning:



Describe alternative actions.
Forecast consequences.
Evaluate consequences.
 Potential pitfalls:


Subjective definition of good (pleasure, love,
justice, financial reward).
Who will be receiving “the good”.
Forms of Ethical Reasoning
2. Rules-based ethical reasoning.

Acts are judged to be right or wrong.
 Steps in rules-based reasoning:

Must have a standard for judging.
 Based
on authority (Religious source).
 Based on reasoning (Universalizing).
 Universalizing: picturing everybody performing the
same action and then assessing the result to see if
it is irrational, illogical, or demeaning (i.e. cheating
on tests).
 Pitfalls:

Standards for judging are subjective.
Activity
 Schoology
Comment in Discussion Threads
1. Ethics
A.Create your own comment for given scenario
B. Comment on at least one of your classmates
(different scenario)
2. Kevorkian
Ethics Reflected in our Laws
 Laws judged to be right or good when they
affect majority of people positively.

Greatest good for the greatest number of people.
 Also protect well-being of minorities that might
be taken advantage of by the wrong actions of
the majority.

Protected by the constitution and civil laws.
 We are obligated to obey the law both
consequence and rules-based.
Ethics Reflected in Laws
 Fidelity bond

Insurance policy that pays employer money in
case of employee theft
 Scofflaws


People who do not respect the law at all
Assess risks of being caught and punishment
 Never
ethically justified
 Integrity

Capacity to do what is right in the face of
temptation or pressure to do otherwise
Ethics Reflected in Laws
 Civil Disobedience


Open, peaceful, violation of a law to protest its
alleged injustice
Make legal system more just
 Civil Disobedience Ethical when:





A written law conflicts with ethical reasoning
There are no political methods available to
change the law
Nonviolent
Does not advance immediate self-interest
Public and one accepts the punishment for
violating the law.
Chapter 1 Quiz
Give the word for:
 1. Enforceable rules of conduct in a society.
 2. An order that prohibits something from being done.
 3. Private wrongs against people or organizations.
 4. Insurance policy that pays an employer money in
case of theft.
 5. An offense against society.
Define or describe:
 6. Scofflaw.
 7. Stare Decisis.
 8. Rules-based ethical reasoning.
Chapter 1 Quiz
True or False:
 9. Business Law is largely civil law.
 10. Police take action in criminal and civil cases.
 11. Universalizing is part of consequence-based
reasoning.
 12. Civil law applies when one person injures another.
Answer the following questions:
 13. Describe the Kings Bench and how it worked.
 14. How do our laws reflect both consequence-based
and rules-based ethical reasoning?
 15. What doctrine are lower courts bound to that the
supreme courts are not?
Chapter 1 Quiz
Extra Credit:
 16. Name an administrative agency.
 17. Give me an example of a case in which someone
would be subject to both criminal law and civil law and
explain why.
 18. Define precedent.
 19. Does adhering to stare decisis mean that courts
follow precedent?
 20. What is universalizing?