Deck 1: Introduction to Law

Question 1

Why do courts generally adhere to the judicial precedents set by earlier decisions?

Answer 1

A judgment given by a court is considered as an authority for solving similar types of case facts. There has been a development of common law that broadens down from one precedent to another.
A judicial precedent is a valid decision that is used to solve adjudged case and have special legal consequences attached to it. They are also known as stare devises or stand up decisions which are authoritative and should be followed.This is further used in determining subsequent cases that are similar in some sense and arise in a lower or same court in judicial hierarchy. This rule has been stated by "The United States Court of Appeals". The judge usually set the facts of previous case, state applicable law and then provides relevant decisions.

Question 2

Why was the Bill of Rights enacted?

Answer 2

When the delegates were forming constitution, there were many disagreements about the power and work allocated to government.
The federalist basically planned the constitution which was formation of strong federal government by dividing equal powers among the states and the federal government. The anti-federalist showed dis-concern and were revolving this plan. They worked for its rectification by putting some limits to the decided federal powers.
This was the reason why Bill of Rights was formed to protect anti federalist basic rights. The Bill of Rights protected right to the freedom of petition, assembly and speech.

Question 3

Explain the difference between actions in civil and criminal law.

Answer 3

Law: It can be defined as the rule of civil conduct that provides the guidelines for the distinction of the right and wrong faith. It can also provide the penalties in regard to violation of the rules by the government.
The distinction between the two kinds of law has explained as under on the basis of actions.
1. Civil Law: It relates to personal rights. It is used for restoration, protection and enforcement of personal rights of an individual. Law usually penalizes its violator to reimburse the victim in the monetary form for the suffered loss or damage caused to property.
2. Criminal Law: It has a larger scope than civil law, which is restricted to just individual rights. Crime is defined as offense (immoral behavior) towards society as a whole. Criminal law deals with crimes and providing suitable punishment to the wrong doers. Punishment depends upon the scale of the crime.The crimes can be categorized into felonies or misdemeanors. Serious crimes are involved under felonies. In such cases, the criminals face death sentence or imprisonment of more than one year in state jail. On the other hand, misdemeanors are crimes which are not much serious as felonies. These criminals can be fined or be sent to jail or both.

Question 4

What section of the Constitution is the basis for most laws governing business transactions, and what does it provide?

Question 5

What determines whether an offense is a felony or a misdemeanor? Are there offenses less serious than misdemeanors?

Question 6

List some guiding principles that determine how ethics relates to the enactment of laws.

Question 7

What is business law?

Question 8

What is the normal penalty for breach of a civil wrong?

Question 9

What kind of relief were courts of equity designed to give?

Question 10

Explain what the roots of our legal system are.