INTRODUCTION TO STUDY OF LAW
Identify and review relevant facts
What is the first step in legal analysis
Substantive areas of civil law
What is contract, property, divorce and tort law?
The power (ability) of a court to hear a specific case
What is jurisdiction?
Courts that can hear cases dealing with state law issues if the litigants are from different states and the amount in controversy is over $75,000
What are state and federal courts?
The branch of government that has the final say in when a statute is constitutional
What is the judicial branch (U.S. Supreme Court)?
The two primary ways in which the parallel court systems are organized
What is trial/appellate and state/federal
Courts that only hear specialized issues for areas such as probate, domestic relations, traffic, juvenile and small claims
What are courts of limited jurisdiction?
The law courts rely on when no constitutional, statutory, or administrative regulations apply.
What is common law?
The doctrine under which, a defendant can be made liable even though the defendant was not negligent and did not intend to harm anyone.
What is the strict liability doctrine?
Appellant/Petitioner
What is the person who files an appeal?
When the jury compares the negligence of the plaintiff to that of the defendant.
What is comparative (contributory) negligence?
The type of law that applies to a legal issue regarding the U.S. Constitutional, a federal statute, or a federal regulation
What is federal law?
Courts that determine answers to questions of fact and questions of law
What are trial courts?
Most commonly used standard of proof in civil cases
What is preponderance of evidence?
The term used to describe instances where only the federal government can legislate in a given area
What is total preemption?
Writ of certiorari
What is an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court?
The type of law that deals with harms to society as a whole
What is criminal law?