Download Natural law

McGraw-Hill/Irwin
1-1
Copyright © 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
P
A
R
T
Foundations of American Law
1
• The Nature of Law
• The Resolution of Private Disputes
• Business and The Constitution
• Business Ethics, Corporate Social
Responsibility, Corporate Governance,
and Critical Thinking
1-2
C H A P T E R
1
The Nature of Law
“The sacred rights of mankind . . . are written, as with a sun
beam in the whole volume of human nature, . . . and can
never be erased or obscured by mortal power.”
Alexander Hamilton, 1775
1-3
Learning Objectives
•
•
•
•
•
•
Types and sources of law
Important legal doctrines
Classification of law
Jurisprudence and legal reasoning
Statutory interpretation
Limitations on judicial power
1-4
Types and
Classifications of Law
• Federal, state, and tribal level:
– Constitution: establishes governmental
structure, specific rights and duties
– Statute: enacted by legislative body to
regulate conduct
– Common Law: case law (judge-made)
– Administrative Law: agency rules to
implement enforcement of statutes
1-5
Types and
Classifications of Law
• Issued at the chief executive level:
– Executive Order: under limited powers
• Examples:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/orders/
– Treaty: with other nations, by the U.S.
president on behalf of the nation, ratified
by the U.S. Senate
• Example: The Antarctic Treaty
1-6
Important Doctrines
• Stare Decisis (let the decision stand) is the
doctrine of precedent applied in common
law
• Equity is applied by the judiciary to achieve
justice when legal rules would produce
unfair results
• Federal supremacy: a rule of priority for
conflicts between laws that holds the U.S.
Constitution is the supreme law of the land
– Supremacy Clause, Article VI, Section 2, of
the U.S. Constitution
1-7
Classification of Law
• Criminal law establishes duties to society
– Government charges and prosecutes defendant,
who is found guilty or innocent
– Convicted defendant will be imprisoned or fined
• Civil law establishes duties between
private parties
– Plaintiff sues defendant for monetary damages or
equitable relief
– A defendant will be held liable or not liable
1-8
Classification of Law
• Substantive law establishes rights and
duties of people in society
• Procedural law establishes how to
enforce those rights and duties
• Public law refers to the relationship
between governments and private
parties
• Private law refers to the regulation of
conduct between private parties
1-9
Jurisprudence
• Jurisprudence refers to the philosophy
of law as well as the collection of laws
• Legal positivism: law is the command
of a recognized political authority
– Just or unjust, law must be obeyed
• Natural law: universal moral rules bind
all people whether written or unwritten
– Unjust positive laws are invalid
1-10
Jurisprudence
• Legal realism defines law as the
behavior of the judiciary as they rule on
matters within the legal system
– Thus law in action dominates positive law
• Sociological jurisprudence unites
theories that examine law within its
social context
1-11
Legal Reasoning
• Basically deductive, with legal rule as
major premise and facts as the minor
premise
– Result is product of the two
• Court may stand on precedent or
distinguish prior case from current case
– If precedent inapplicable, new rule
developed
1-12
Statutory Interpretation
• Plain meaning rule: court applies statute
according to usual meaning of the words
• Courts examine legislative history and
purpose when plain meaning rule is
inadequate
• Courts may interpret a statute in light of a
general public purpose or public policy
• Courts follow prior interpretation of a statute
(precedent) to promote consistency
1-13
Limitations on Judicial Power
• Courts limited to deciding existing
cases or controversies
– In other words, the dispute must be current
and not yet resolved
– However, a declaratory judgment allows
parties to determine rights and duties prior
to harm occurring
• Parties must have standing (direct
interest in the outcome) to sue
1-14
Thought Question
• What do you think the authors of the
U.S. Constitution would think about
current legal issues in our society?
1-15