1. Chapter 1 The Legal Environment

2. Learning Objectives
What are the four primary sources of law in the United States?
What is the common law tradition?
What is a precedent? When might a court depart from precedent? 
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3. Learning Objectives
What is the difference between remedies at law and remedies in equity?
What are some of the important differences between civil and criminal law?
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4. Business Activities and the Legal Environment
Knowledge of “black letter” law is not enough.
Many different laws affect a single business transaction.
Ethics and business decision making.
Ethics: what constitutes right or wrong behavior. 
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5. Ex. 1-1 Laws That Affect Business Decision-Making
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6. Sources of American Law
Constitutional Law.
Found in text and cases arising from federal and state constitutions.
U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
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7. Sources of American Law
Statutory Law
Laws enacted by federal and state legislatures.
Local ordinances.
Uniform Laws (e.g., Uniform Commercial Code).
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8. Sources of American Law
Administrative Law.
Rulemaking--Rules, orders and decisions of administrative agencies, federal, state and local.
Administrative agencies can be independent regulatory agency such as the Food and Drug Administration. 
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9. Sources of American Law
Administrative Law (cont’d).
Adjudication--agencies make rules, then investigate and enforce the rules in administrative hearings.
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10. Sources of American Law
Case Law and Common Law Doctrines.
Much of the common law is still used today.
Common law governs all areas not specifically covered by statutory or constitutional law. 
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11. Sources of American Law
Case Law and Common Law Doctrines (cont’d).
Restatements of the Law: modern compilations of common law principles found, e.g., in contracts, torts, property and agency.
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12. The Common Law Tradition
Early English Courts of Law
King’s courts started after Norman conquest of 1066.
Established the common law—body of general legal principles applied throughout the English empire.
King’s courts used precedent to build the common law.
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13. The Common Law Tradition
Stare Decisis.
Practice of deciding new cases based on precedent.
A higher court’s decision based on certain facts and law, is a binding authority on lower courts.
Helps courts stay efficient.
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14. The Common Law Tradition
Equitable Remedies and Courts of Equity.
Remedy: means to enforce a right or compensate for injury to that right.
Remedy at Law: in king’s courts, remedies were restricted to damages in either money or property. 
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15. The Common Law Tradition
Equitable Remedies and Courts of Equity (cont’d).
Equitable Remedy: based on justice and fair dealing a chancery court does what is right.
Today, legal and equitable remedies are found in the same court.
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16. The Common Law Tradition
Schools of Legal Thought.
The Natural Law Tradition.
Oldest and most significant view of law, basis for natural rights.
Government and legal system should reflect universal moral and ethical principles.
These principles are inherent in human nature, can be discovered through right reason.
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17. The Common Law Tradition
Schools of Legal Thought (cont’d).
Legal Positivism (or Positive Law).
Applies only to citizens of that nation or society.
No higher law than the nation’s highest governing body or court.
Laws must be obeyed regardless of whether they are just or unjust.
No view of “natural” rights.
Morality of a law is irrelevant.
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18. The Common Law Tradition
Schools of Legal Thought (cont’d).
The Historical School.
Emphasizes the evolutionary process of law.
Concentrates on the origin and history of legal system.
Looks to the past to determine laws for present.
Law derives legitimacy from precedent.
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19. The Common Law Tradition
Schools of Legal Thought (cont’d).
Legal Realism.
Law must be viewed within the social context, and judges should take economic and social realities into account.
Sociological jurisprudence tends to be activistic, e.g., civil rights decisions.
Do not feel bound by past decisions.
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20. Classifications of Law
Substantive vs. Procedural Law
Substantive: laws that define and regulate rights and duties.
Procedural: laws that establish methods for enforcing and protecting rights. 
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21. Classifications of Law
Civil Law and Criminal Law
Civil: private rights and duties between persons and government.
Criminal: public wrongs against society.
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22. Classifications of Law
National and International Law
National: laws of a particular nation.
Civil vs. Common Law: Civil law countries based on Roman code (e.g., Latin America).
International: body of written and unwritten laws observed by nations when dealing with each other.
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23. Appendix Finding Statutory and Administrative Law.
United States Code (USC).
State Codes.
Administrative Rules.
Finding Case Law (Case Citations).
Supreme Court Cases at Findlaw.com.
Federal Court Cases at Findlaw.com.
State Court Cases at Findlaw.com.
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24. Ex. 1A-1 West’s National Reporter System
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25. Reading and Understanding Case Law
Legal cases are identified by a “legal citation” (or a “cite”) as the sample below:
Singer v. Raemisch, 593 F.3d 529 (7th Circuit, 2010).
Title: First Party is Plaintiff, second party is Defendant. The parties are either italicized or underlined.
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26. Reading and Understanding Case Law
Legal cases are identified by a “legal citation” (or a “cite”) as the sample below:
Singer v. Raemisch, 593 F.3d 529 (7th Circuit, 2010).
The case is found in the Federal Reporters, the 3rd Edition, Volume 593, page 529.
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27. Reading and Understanding Case Law
Legal cases are identified by a “legal citation” (or a “cite”) as the sample below:
Singer v. Raemisch, 593 F.3d 529 (7th Circuit, 2010).
The case was decided by the United States Court of Appeals, for the Seventh Circuit, in 2010.
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