American Legal System
Common Law is....
created by courts and judicial opinions
The Wisconsin Supreme Court binds which courts
(1) Wisconsin appeals courts
(2) Wisconsin circuit courts
the largest collection of unofficial reporters is published by....
West
Noscitur a sociis
derive meaning from surrounding words
Unofficial reporters are published by.....
private companies
stare decisis is....
honoring precedent set by prior cases
If a Wisconsin state issue is in federal court, only the __ court is binding
Wisconsin Supreme Court
Wisconsin Reports contains decisions from which court(s)
Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals
ambiguous modifiers
modifier or exception applies only to the last antecedent in the phrase
how is legislative history used by attorneys?
to determine the purpose of a law when the written language is unclear
Authority created by the legislative branch (list both)
(1) statutes
(2) legal history/context
Wisconsin Appeals Courts are binding upon....
each other
The reporter that collects decisions from Federal District Courts is called.....
The Federal Supplement (F. Supp. 2d)
Ejusdem generis
general phrases at the end of a list are construed to mean the same type as the rest of the list
Wisconsin state statutes are grouped by __
"titles"
primary authority is created by __ branch of government
Any
You are researching a federal issue that’s before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Decisions from which court(s) are binding?
SCOTUS
F.2d is the citation to which reporter?
The Federal Reporter (Federal Circuit Courts)
Expressio unius
in a list, if a word is not in, then it is out
Congress passes the Clean Air Act. What entity is responsible for enacting regulations?
The Executive Branch (the EPA)
Stare decisis is important for 3 reasons. Those reasons are....
(1) predictibility
(2) consistency
(3) diversity
The Wisconsin Supreme Court just decided a case based in state law. List 3 courts this decision binds
(1) Wisconsin Court of Appeals
(2) SCOTUS, applying Wisconsin state law
(3) 7th Circuit, applying Wisconsin State law
The Federal Appendix reports what type of cases?
Non-precedential cases from Federal Circuit Courts
In pari materia
statutes with the same subject/purpose should be read together to effectuate that purpose
judicial opinion adds to law by... (3 answers)
(1) interpreting existing statutes, constitutions, etc
(2) applying new facts to law
(3) announcing new principles