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Common Law- Equity law
- unwritten legal principles
- based on fairness
- can change
- New laws trump over common laws.
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First Ammendment
congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government.
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To amend the constitution:
Each house (congress and senate) must approve a proposed amendment by a two-thirds vote, hen it has to be ratified by 3/4 of the states.
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Stare decisis
"let the precedent stand"- when a court does make a decision based on previous decisions.
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reversing/overruling a precedent
choosing to completely disregard a precedent, even if the case is almost identical.
example: Plessy v. Ferguson...separate but equal precedent overturned by Brown v. Broad of education decision.
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distinguishing a case means:
the court doesn't follow a precedent on the grounds that the case is different.
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Statutory Law
laws that compass acts of congress, laws enacted by state legislatures and even ordianances adopted by city and county governments.
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Statutory laws are organized into codes...
- Codes are collections of laws on similar subjects, indexed and arranged by subject matter.
- Congress can't pass a statutory law to overrule a supreme court decision, interpreting the meaning of the constitution.
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Administrative Law
- laws enacted by agencies with the power to adopt administrative regulations.
- Appeal to the U.S. courts of appeals
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equity
- remedy for legal wrongs, sometimes when money isn't enough.
- includes rewarding for damages ($$)
- injunctions-require someone to do something they're supposed to do, or restrain from doing something that would cause harm.
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Criminal Case
- someone is accused of committing an act that is considered to be an offense against society as a whole.
- - murder, robbery, rape.
- Defendant against the people (society as a whole)
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In a criminal case the prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
- level of certainty require for a criminal conviction and the highest level of proof.
- because the defendants life or liberty may be at stake.
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Civil Cases
one party claims another party injured him individually, not necessarily bad enough that it is considered a crime against society as a whole.
between two individuals, or corporations.
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