The American Legal

System

A note about using these PowerPoints

These slides have been developed for use in a live classroom lecture setting. I suggest you use them as a guide in your study along with the textbook to catch the salient points in a way that merely reading the material in the book would lack.

If you happen to find any part of them entertaining or funny, so much the better.

Objectives

After studying Part I, you should be able to:

1. Explain the term law.

2. Demonstrate a knowledge of the need for a legal system.

3. Trace the development of U.S. law from Roman law and the English common law.

4. Demonstrate a knowledge of the primary sources of law in the United States.

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Part I Objectives

5. Discuss the differences between civil law and criminal law.

6. Determine what is appropriate ethical behavior in a business environment.

7. Outline the structure of the federal and state court systems in the United States.

8. Distinguish between a private wrong and a public wrong.

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Part I Objectives

9. Demonstrate a knowledge of legal wrongs, both criminal and civil.

10. Compare the procedures in a civil action and a criminal action.

11. Recall the steps taken in a lawsuit from start to finish.

12. Evaluate alternative ways to settle disputes between two or more parties other than by litigation (a lawsuit).

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Why Laws are Important

• Without law, history shows society resorts to violence.

• Without system of rules and regulations, society would break down and a primitive society would prevail.

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The Nature of Law

• Law can be defined as rules established and enforceable by a government—federal, state, or local—to regulate the conduct of individuals and groups in a society.

• The rules that make up law are actually legal duties that are imposed on people and that require them to act in a certain way.

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Maybe you recognize some of the sources of law which has come down to us from antiquity:

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Legitimate Functions of Law

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Legitimate Functions of Law

• Settlement of Disputes.

• Protection of the Individual and Society.

• Protection of Property.

• Promotion of Worthwhile Social Objectives.

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Development of Law

• Roman Law:

– Prior to Romans, most law was oral. The Romans developed the concept of written codes (or laws) that everyone could know and understand. The Roman Code was revised by Napoleon to create the Napoleonic Code, used today in Europe and many countries in Central and South America and Asia.

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Sources of Law in the United States

• Constitutions.

• Statutes.

• Court Decisions.

• Administrative Regulations.

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Civil Law vs. Criminal Law

• Civil Laws:–Protect rights and property of individuals

from harmful acts of others. The injured party (the Plaintiff) may be awarded money damages if he can prove his case by a preponderance of the evidence.

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Civil Law vs. Criminal Law

• Criminal Laws:– Protects society from acts of individuals that are

considered so dangerous, or potentially so, that they threaten peace and order within a society.

– A person accused of committing a crime is charged by government and, if convicted, will be punished by prison and fines if applicable.

– Government must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and jury verdict must be unanimous.

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Civil vs. Criminal Law

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Law vs. Equity

• In a civil case, money is not always a suitable or adequate remedy for violation of certain rights.

• In such cases, equitable (nonmonetary) relief is available, based on fairness and justice.

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Law vs. Equity

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Uniform Laws

• Much of our business law developed from early English merchants courts, called “law merchant” which became a part of the common law, passed to the United States.

• Uniform Commercial Codes are an example of the updated merchant code.

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Impact of Unethical Behavior in the Workplace

• Business Ethics:

–Moral judgments people make based on what is right, just, and fair.

–Historically, business owners only considered what was “legal.” Now business owners act based on human experiences, religious upbringing, and family customs, and traditions.

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Impact of Unethical Behavior in the Workplace

• Role of Ethics in Business Settings:–Generally, the primary goal of businesses is to

be profitable, to survive. However, there can be ethical conflicts when profitability is the ONLY goal in business.

– Studies show, consumers will switch brands if they perceive a business is acting unethically. Court challenges and government intervention is also possible.

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Ethical Challenges in the Workplace

• Role of Managers: personal example.

• Ethical Issues Faces by Managers.

– Invasion of Privacy.

– Restrictions on Employees Under Contract.

– Sexual Harassment on the Job.

– Sphere of Influence.

– Management Style.

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Ethical Challenges in the Workplace

• Building Sound Ethical Practices.

–Develop an Ethical Vision for the company.

–How Does Company Vision match Employees’ Vision?

–Reconcile Company’s Vision with Employees’.

– Implement (and Enforce) Code of Ethics.

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Ethical Challenges in the Workplace

• Development of Business Codes of Ethics.

– Code of Ethics: Managers and officers must act with honesty and integrity in all matters within the company and outside the company wherever business is conducted.

– Ethical Codes of Conduct must be clearly written with mandatory training for employees.

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Ethical Challenges in the Workplace

• Role of the Legal System in Ethical Disputes.

– Some behavior is purely ‘unethical’ and therefore not actionable under civil or criminal statutes.

– Other actions may be severe enough to warrant criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits, including punitive damages.

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Chapter 2: The Legal System in the United States and Its Constitutional

Foundation

The American Legal System had its origins in the Magna Carta: the Great Charter signed by King John of England at Runnymede near Windsor on June 15, 1215. That’s more than 801 years ago. The next few slides might give you some entertaining context.

Now, fast forward a few hundred years. The United States Constitution has been written, federalism has been invented, more or less, and

The Role of the Judiciary in the United States

• Judicial Branch of the US government settles disputes by interpreting and enforcing law.

• Courts impose punishment (criminal cases) or award damages to the injured party (civil cases).

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Structure of the U.S. Judiciary

1. Federal court system established by the U.S. Constitution and Congress.

2. State and local court system established in each state under state law.

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So….

This is all very interesting, but what does it mean to me as a business owner?

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I thought you would never ask…Let’s take you to court.

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For you, Court will involve getting a ticket, or being sued, or going to jail, or getting divorced, or filing bankrupty. If you are lucky, you will NEVER see the federal court. But we’re going to study it anyway.

Kentucky Court System

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

Circuit Courts

District Courts

Appeals from Court of Appeals (sometimes direct appeal from Circuit)

Appeals from Circuit Courts

Original jurisdiction and appeals from District Court

Small claims, misdemeanors, and lower level jurisdictional items

Civil cases under $5,000Probate, traffic, misdemeanors, Small claims (less than $2500)

Civil cases over $5000, equity cases and divorce, felony criminal cases

United States Supreme Court

Circuit Courts of Appeals

U.S. District Courts and Special Courts

Bankruptcy CourtsU.S. Courts of Federal Claims

Bankruptcy Appellate Panels

Levels of Courts

• Trial courts.

• Intermediate courts.

• Courts of last resort.

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Jurisdiction

• Jurisdiction: the power to hear and decide a case.

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Standing to Sue

• Standing to sue: a person has legitimate issues giving him or her the legal right to bring a lawsuit.

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Appellate Courts

• Appellate courts: courts that hear appeals of lower court decisions.

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Subject Matter Jurisdiction

• General jurisdiction: a court can hear almost any case brought before it.

• Limited jurisdiction: a court can hear only certain kinds of cases.

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Personal Jurisdiction

• Jurisdiction over the person: a court can hear and decide a case because it has authority over the parties in the case, generally in a geographic area.

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Jurisdiction in Cyberspace

• Long-arm statutes.

• “Minimum contact” rule.

• Cybercommunities.

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Federal and State System

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Kentucky Court System

Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

Circuit Courts

District Courts

Appeals from Court of Appeals (sometimes direct appeal from Circuit)

Appeals from Circuit Courts

Original jurisdiction and appeals from District Court

Small claims, misdemeanors, and lower level jurisdictional items

Civil cases under $5,000Probate, traffic, misdemeanors, Small claims (less than $2500)

Civil cases over $5000, equity cases and divorce, felony criminal cases

The State Court System

• Established by state constitution and legislation.

• Each system includes trial courts of both limited and general jurisdiction, sometimes intermediate appellate courts, and courts of last resort.

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Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

• Traffic cases.

• Minor civil and criminal cases.

• Often called justice court, magistrate’s court, and municipal court.

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Small Claims Court

• Small claims court: a court that hears minor civil cases involving small amounts of money.

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Small Claims Court

• Advantages: technical rules of evidence and procedure are not followed, legal representation is not required, and court action is generally economically feasible because it does not involve attorney’s fees.

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Small Claims Court

• Claim limitations up to $2500.

• Filing a claim is simple and can sometimes be done online.

• Court procedures are informal but are still based on law.

• Appeal rules depend on the State.

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Commercial Claims Court

• Commercial claims court: special lower court similar to small claims court, that allows businesses to sue debtors up to a certain limit.

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Other Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

• Can hear civil cases involving large sums of money.

• Criminal cases involving felonies.

• May have appellate jurisdiction.

• Probate court.

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Trial Courts of General Jurisdiction

• Broad authority to hear any case, civil or criminal.

• Petty claims are discouraged.

• Sometimes called superior court, court of common pleas, circuit court, or district court.

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Intermediate Appellate Courts and the Court of Final Resort

• Appellate = Review.

• Mistakes of law?

• Arguments generally made by written brief.

• Opportunities for successful appeal are limited and very costly.

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Drug Courts

• Drug Courts: courts that handle drug-related crimes.

• Intended to substitute mandatory treatment for incarceration.

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Mental Health Courts

• Defendant is sentenced to treatment rather than jail.

• Appearance in this court is strictly voluntary.

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Federal and State System

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The Federal Court System

• Article III (Section 1) of the U.S. Constitution created the Supreme Court and gave Congress the power to create inferior federal courts and to determine their jurisdiction.

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Federal Court Structure

• U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the federal judiciary.

• Trial courts and appellate courts are under it.

• Under those are the specialized courts with limited jurisdiction.

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Federal Trial Courts

• U.S. District Courts.

• Both general and original jurisdiction.

• Each state has at least one district court, including bankruptcy court.

• Federal issues and diversity of citizenship.

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Intermediate Courts of Appeal

• The U.S. is divided into 12 circuits, each with a court of appeals.

• Circuits include three or more states.

• 13th district is authorized to hear appeals from federal courts of any district.

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Supreme Court

• Highest court in the land.

• Findings are virtually final

• Writ of certiorari: grants permission for a case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

• There is no absolute right of appeal to this court.

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Routes to the Supreme Court

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Nature of Criminal Law

• Penal law.

• Model Penal Code (MPC).

• Classification of crimes.

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Crime

• Crime: wrongful act against society defined by law and made punishable by law.

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Felony

• Felony: serious crime punishable by death or imprisonment for more than one year.

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Misdemeanor

• Misdemeanor: less serious crime punishable by a jail sentence of less than one year.

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Classification of Crimes

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Other Classifications

• Violations, infractions, petty offenses.

• These may carry jail time, but are not considered criminal offenses.

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State and Federal Criminal Laws

• U.S. Congress has passed legislation that makes some crimes federal offenses.

• State legislatures have defined some crimes as crimes against the state.

• Some crimes violate both federal and state law and can be tried either way.

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Cyber Crimes

• Cyber crimes: crimes committed with or through the use of computers or computer technology.

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Want to look up the law on the internet? Google a crime by adding the term KRS before it. This will tell you the statute number in the Kentucky Revised Statutes. It works for other states as well, but I will leave that to others to teach you. Try it yourself as I have shown you in the next slides.

Assault

• Assault: crime of unlawfully causing physical injury to another; tort of threatening another with bodily harm.

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Now, try it for yourself. Look up the following laws on Kentucky crimes under the following slides.

Hint. Hint. You might be required to do this exercise for some points later on.

Robbery

• Robbery: crime of unlawfully causing physical injury to another; tort of threatening another with bodily harm.

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Arson

• Arson: intentional, illegal burning of a home, building, or personal property.

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Burglary

• Burglary: unlawfully entering another’s home or building with the intent to commit a crime.

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Theft

• Theft: unlawful taking of a person’s property without the use of force and with the intent of permanently depriving the person of the property.

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Larceny

• Larceny: intentional theft of the money or personal property of another.

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Shoplifting

• Shoplifting: taking merchandise from a store without paying for it.

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Embezzlement

• Embezzlement: unlawful use or stealing of property by one who has been legally entrusted with the property.

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Forgery

• Forgery: making a false written instrument or the material alteration of an existing genuine written instrument with the intent to deceive.

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False Pretense

• False Pretense: unlawfully obtaining, through deception or trickery, possession of another individual’s lawful property.

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Receiving Stolen Property

• Receiving stolen property: possession of property acquired as the result of some wrongful or dishonest act of taking.

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Some other crimes that have made famous people turn infamous are in the newspapers every day:

Insider Trading

• Insider trading: receiving and profiting from advance inside information about the stock of a publicly held corporation.

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Bribery

• Bribery: unlawful payment used to secure new business, obtain proprietary information, or manage some personal gain.

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Identity Theft

• Identity theft: unlawfully obtaining and using personal identifying information of another person.

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DWI

• Driving While Intoxicated (DWI): having consumed sufficient alcohol that the ability to properly operate a motor vehicle is affected.

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Cyber Crime

• Cyber crime: using a computer for fraudulent purposes.

• Use of a computer in association with a crime does not necessarily make that a cyber crime.

• Computer criminals are those who primarily use computer technology to commit a crime.

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Significant Legislation Affecting Cyber Crimes

• Some states have enacted new legislation; others have modified existing laws.

• CFAA: Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

• ECPA: Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

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RICO

• RICO: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (1970).

• Intended to destroy the Mafia.

• RICO can be applied outside this scope, including civil cases.

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Defense

• Defense: reason an accused offers to excuse his or her guilt in a criminal action; also, reason offered by defendant in a lawsuit for being relieved of responsibility.

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Common Defenses

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Common Defenses

• Infancy: no full criminal liability on children under 18, sometimes 17 or even 16.

• Insanity: the accused was of unsound mind; determined by a court after hearing the evidence.

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Common Defenses

• Justification: excuses a person for the commission of an act that otherwise constitutes a crime.

• Entrapment: a law enforcement officer persuading or forcing a person to commit a crime.

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Wrong DNA Evidence

• DNA evidence has altered what criminal investigations can achieve at a crime scene.

• DNA is more distinctive than fingerprints, but does not conclusively establish guilt if found at a crime scene.

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So, let’s take a case through the criminal system a step at a time

Criminal Justice System

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Federal and state have three elements: police, courts, and corrections.

A theft has taken place: Jacques Le Terrible has stolen a valuable artifact…

The Priceless Herodium Keystone

Miranda Warnings

• Miranda warnings: rights read to a suspect upon arrest.

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Courts

• Initial appearance: first appearance before a judge after being arrested.

• Preliminary hearing: hearing immediately following an arrest to determine if probable cause for the arrest existed and whether continued restraint of the accused was warranted.

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Courts

• Indictment: formal, written accusation by a grand jury that one has committed a crime.

• Arraignment: charging a person with a crime and asking for that person’s plea.

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Arraignment

Corrections

• Parole: conditional release from prison allowing a person to serve the rest of a prison sentence outside prison.

• Probation: allowing a person convicted of an offense to avoid prison and be free on good behavior, usually under the supervision of a probation officer.

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