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Sources of American Law U.S. Government Chapter 15 Section 1 Name Dec 1, 2015 • Warm up • We have laws because _________________ 1. 2. 3. • Because we have laws _________________ 1. 2. 3. Key Terms: Select 3 • • • • • • • • • • • • • Law Constitutional Law Statute Ordinance Statutory Law Administrative Law Common Law Equity Due Process Substantive Due Process Procedural Due Process Adversary System Presumed Innocence Read: Page 423 /424/427 Sources of American Law page 423 Constitutional Law page 424 Legal Principles page 427 Early Systems of Law Code of Hammurabi Ten Commandments Constitutional Law • States have their own constitutions- they set forth rights not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. • State Courts decide cases involving state constitutions • If state constitutions violate the U.S. Constitution, the rulings can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court • Constitutional Law- the branch of law dealing with the formation, construction, and interpretations of constitutions. • Constitutional law cases decide the limits of government’s power and rights of the individual • Constitutional law cases may deal with civil law or criminal law. Statutory Law • A Statute is a law written by a legislative branch of government. • Statutes passed by city councils are ordinances • Statutes may limit citizen’s behavior: • Speed limits, food inspecting rules, minimum age to work etc. • Statutory Law (“Roman Law”) is based on an approach to making laws derived from ancient Romans. • Justinian Code- simplified all the laws into a final Roman Legal Code. • Many decisions of Federal Courts deal with statutory law Administrative Law • Administrative law spells out the authority and procedures to be followed by administrative agencies. • Administrative agencies run government programs and provide services. • Ex: Social Security Administration • Administrative law cases deal with problems of fairness and due process • Most administrative agencies regulate people’s behavior or provide/deny government benefits. Common Law • Common law is law made by judges in the process of resolving individual cases. • Most important basis of the American legal system • Decisions are recorded so if there is a similar case, the judges follow the earlier ruling “precedent” • In unique cases, judges make their own rulings based on common sense and prevailing customs. • Common law in America comes from English common law Equity • Equity is a system of rules by which disputes are resolved on the grounds of fairness. • Rival to common law • Equity court could require an action beyond payment of money or stop a wrong before it occurred. • In nineteenth century America equity and common law merged • Today a single court can administer both systems Legal System Principles 1. Equal Justice Under the Law: the goal of the American court system to treat all persons alike. 2. Due Process of Law: • Substantive due process: shorthand for certain rights given, some that are specified in the Constitution and some that are not specified • Procedural due process: the way a law is administered, prohibits arbitrary enforcement of the law. 1. 2. notice to a person that he/she has done something wrong. giving the affected person the right to respond or be heard concerning the accusation of wrongdoing. Legal System Principles 3. The Adversary System: the courtroom is like an arena in which lawyers for the opposing sides try to present their strongest cases. • Lawyer for each side is generally expected to do all that is legally permissible to advance the cause of their client. 4. Presumption of Innocence: notion that an accused person is innocent until proven guilty • Not mentioned in the Constitution but is in our legal heritage • Prosecution has burden of proof: unless the prosecution succeeds in proving the accusation, the court must declare the defendant not guilty. Homework Sec. 1 page 428 Tuesday night finish reading section answer # 1 and 4 #1 #4 Page 426 “The Law And You” Write/Explain a brief situation (Criminal or Civil) for which you might need a lawyer? List 5 questions you would ask your attorney regarding your legal problem. Class of 2015 stop here!! Page 429 Supreme “Court Cases to Debate” #1 #2 #3 And answer “You Be The Judge” Select a Local State Federal or World Current Event that deals with the law and provide the topic and 3 details and why you selected this current event. Event__________ 1. 2. 3. Why you selected this event?