Introduction to the Law

Mr. Manzo

Advance Placement United States Government & Politics

The American Court Structure

• The U.S. has a dual court system.

Dual court - One system of state and local courts and another system of federal courts.

• Dual Courts

The American Court Structure

The court’s jurisdiction is set by law and limited by territory and type of case.

Jurisdiction - The authority of a court to hear and decide cases.

The Federal Courts

The authority for the Federal Court System is in the Constitution. The system includes:

• The Supreme Court

• The Federal Courts of Appeals (appellate)

• The Federal District Courts

Criminal Law

• An individual can violate a local, state, or federal law.

• Penalties for federal crimes are far more SERIOUS than those for state crimes. Crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government most often involve;

• large amounts of stolen money, ex. Bernie Madoff (Wall St. Investment Firm)

• bribery, drug trafficking, and • illegal acts which have crossed state lines.

United States District Courts• Trials in federal district court are usually heard by a judge in General trial courts• Federal criminal cases involve:• Bribery • Counterfeiting • Sports bribery • Theft from interstate shipment • Embezzlement of pension and welfare funds • Extortionate credit transactions • Fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents • Transmission of gambling information • Mail fraud , Wire fraud • Financial institution fraud • Procurement of citizenship or naturalization unlawfully • Reproduction of naturalization or citizenship papers

United States District Courts• Federal criminal cases involve:• Sale of naturalization or citizenship papers • Obscene matter • Obstruction of justice • Obstruction of criminal investigations • Obstruction of State or local law enforcement • Tampering with a witness, victim or informant • Retaliation against a witness, victim or informant • False statement in application of use of passport • Forgery or false use of passport • Misuse of passport • Fraud or misuse of visas, permits and other documents • Peonage (servitude until debts are paid) or slavery • Interference with commerce, robbery or extortion • Drug offences• Racketeering

United States District Courts

• Racketeering:  

Any act or threat involving murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in controlled substance or listed chemical which is chargeable under State law and punishable by imprisonment of more than one year.

Under Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), a person who is a member of an enterprise that has committed any two of 35 crimes—27 federal crimes and 8 state crimes—within a 10-year period can be charged with racketeering

Those found guilty of racketeering can be fined up to $25,000 and/or sentenced to 20 years in prison per racketeering count.

Murder First Degree• At the Federal level and in most states, first-degree murder is

defined as an unlawful killing that is both willful and premeditated, meaning that it was committed after planning or "lying in wait" for the victim.

• For example, X comes home to find his wife in an affair with Y. Three days later, X waits behind a tree near Y's front door. When Y comes out of the house, X shoots and kills him.

• Most states also adhere to a legal concept known as the "felony murder rule," under which a person commits first-degree murder if any death (even an accidental one) results from the commission of certain violent felonies -- usually arson, burglary, kidnapping, rape, and robbery.

• For example, Bob and Pam rob D’s liquor store, but as they are fleeing, Bob shoots and kills Dan, the store owner. Under the felony murder rule, Pam can be charged with first-degree murder for Dan's death.

Murder Second Degree

• Second-degree murder is ordinarily defined as 1) an intentional killing that is not premeditated or planned, nor committed in a reasonable "heat of passion" or 2) a killing caused by dangerous conduct and the offender's obvious lack of concern for human life. Second-degree murder may best be viewed as the middle ground between first-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter.

• For example, X comes home to find his wife in an affair with Y. At a stoplight the next day, X sees Y riding in the passenger seat of a nearby car. X pulls out a gun and fires three shots into the car, missing Y but killing the driver of the car.

Voluntary Manslaughter

• Voluntary manslaughter is commonly defined as an intentional killing in which the offender had no prior intent to kill, such as a killing that occurs in the "heat of passion." The circumstances leading to the killing must be the kind that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed; otherwise, the killing may be charged as a first-degree or second-degree murder.

• For example, X comes home to find his wife in an affair with Y. In the heat of the moment, X picks up a golf club from next to the bed and strikes Y in the head, killing him instantly.

Involuntary Manslaughter

• Involuntary manslaughter usually refers to an unintentional killing that results from recklessness or criminal negligence, or from an unlawful act that is a misdemeanor or low-level felony (such as DUI). The usual distinction from voluntary manslaughter is that involuntary manslaughter (sometimes called "criminally negligent homicide") is a crime in which the victim's death is unintended.

• For example, X comes home to find his wife in an affair with Y. Distraught, X heads to a local bar to drown his sorrows. After having five drinks, X jumps into his car and drives down the street at twice the posted speed limit, accidentally hitting and killing a pedestrian.

Civil Law

• A dispute between two parties, the court will decide responsibility and monetary damages.

Tort Law• The law of “non-contractual/contractual civil wrongs,”• For example, when one party does some injury to

another outside of a contract relationship, contract disput, damage to property or someone getting hurt.

• As a result of such wrongs, the wrongdoer is liable to the victim for damages

Three basic types of torts: intentional torts,negligence torts, and strict liability

Intentional Torts

• A tort that is willful with the intent to cause harm• Many are also crimes• Physical torts:

Assault: An intentional act that causes fear or apprehension of some immediate harmful or offensive contact

Battery: Intentional harmful or offensive touching

x x x

Intentional Torts

Personal Torts:Defamation: publication of factual statement that isuntrue and injurious to the victim’s reputation• Written—libel; Oral—slander• Property Torts:Trespass: Unauthorized interference with orencroachment onto the real property of anotherFraud: Intentional misrepresentation of facts thatcauses damages

Negligence Torts

NegligenceA failure to act as a reasonably prudent personwould act under similar circumstancesFive conditions (or “elements”) must be satisfiedif negligence is to occur:1. A duty of due care exists2. The duty of due care was breached3. The breach of due care was the actual cause of the

injury4. An injury occurred

Negligence Torts

NegligenceThree main defenses1. Contributory negligence: If the victim was alsonegligent in any way (and to any degree), then theycannot recover damages2. Comparative negligence: Fault is partitioned amongparties (e.g., 60/40%), and then they must pay their

percentage of damages3. Assumption of risk: If someone voluntarily agrees toassume a particular risk, they cannot sue as a resultof that risk.

Strict Liability Torts

Strict Liability Tort not based on “doing something wrong,” but based on public policy

Determination has been made that individuals (or corporations) that engage in certain types of activity that turn out to cause injury are liable for damages even if they exercised proper care.

Class Action LawsuitStrict LiabilityMain use: product liability suits if:1. an individual uses a product in a for-seeable manner,that product is defective, and injury occurs then the

manufacturer and distributor of the product are strictly liable even if the manufacturer took every precaution to try to make the product safe.

For example: dog food, toys, automobiles (Toyota).

Constitutional Law

• The interpretation and application of the US Constitution and/or the Bill of Rights

• The U.S. Supreme Court – Role correct the error in the LAW.

U.S. Supreme Court Justices

• 8 justices plus 1 Chief Justice = 9

Justice Appointed in Appointed byJohn G. Roberts (Chief Justice) 2005 G. W. Bush

Elena Kagan 2010 Obama

Samuel A. Alito, Jr. 2006 G. W. Bush

Antonin Scalia 1986 Reagan

Anthony Kennedy 1988 Reagan

Sonia Sotomayor 2008 Obama

Clarence Thomas 1991 Bush41

Ruth Bader Ginsburg 1993 Clinton

Stephen Breyer 1994 Clinton

U.S. Supreme Court Justices

Current Pay• Chief Justice $217,400• Associate Justices $208,100

Court's Term begins on the first Monday in October and ends on the

preceding day the next year

Justices many be IMPEACHED and REMOVED by the CONGRESS .

Justices are appointed for life by the PRESIDENT and APPROVED by the US SENATE

U.S Supreme Court Duties1. Decide which cases to hear (RULE OF FOUR)

One of the more peculiar aspects of the Supreme Court’s agenda setting process is that a minority of justices can have a case placed on the docket against the will of a majority. The “rule of four” as it is known acts as sharp constraint on majority tyranny at the agenda setting stage. Minority rights are certainly not uncommon in other American political institutions. For example, a minority of senators can filibuster most legislative acts, and block the ratification of treaties, while the president can frustrate the will of legislative majorities through astute use of his veto power. However, the rule of four is unique in that it is a positive power – a determined minority of justices can force the Court to hear and decide a case and, in the process, set binding precedent.

U.S Supreme Court Procedures• Original Jurisdiction -the Supreme Court has "original jurisdiction" in

all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party That means, quite literally, that the parties can bring such disputes directly to the Supreme Court. The categories are defined in terms of who the parties are.

• The original jurisdiction of the Court is laid out by statute in 28 U.S.C. § 1251. Section 1251(a) provides that with one type of dispute (disputes between states), the Court's jurisdiction is not only "original," it is exclusive.

• For example: Louisiana v. Mississippi (decided in October 1995) and Nebraska v. Wyoming (decided in May 1995) New York vs. New Jersey (decided in May 1998) . Boundary disputes.

U.S Supreme Court Procedures

• Appellate Jurisdiction - This authority permits the Court to review – and affirm or overturn – decisions made by lower courts and tribunals.

• Cases are brought before the Supreme Court by one of several methods:

1. By petition for a writ of certiorari after the case is decided by a court of appeal.

U.S Supreme Court Procedures

2. By petition for "certiorari before judgment," which permits the Court to expedite a case pending before a lower appellate court by accepting the case for review before the appellate court has decided it.

3. By petition for an "extraordinary writ" such as mandamus, or habeas corpus.

If the Court decides not to heat a case the lower court decision stands.

U.S Supreme Court Procedures

• Submitting Briefs - parties to a case file legal briefs outlining their arguments.

• Amicus curiae or "friend of the court", refers to someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information on a point of law or some other aspect of the case to assist the court in deciding a matter before it.

U.S Supreme Court Procedures

• Oral Arguments - if the Court chooses to hold a hearing, each side has thirty minutes to present its case orally.

• Justices are allowed to interrupt the attorney speaking in order to ask him or her questions.

Supreme Court Forming Opinions

• The Conference - following oral arguments in a case, the Justices retreat in conference to discuss the points of law at issue in the case. At this conference, each justice - in order from most to least senior - states the basis on which he or she would decide the case.

Supreme Court Writing Opinions

• The justice writing the opinion for the court will produce and circulate a draft opinion to the other justices.

• Once the draft opinion has been reviewed, the remaining Justices may recommend changes to the opinion. Whether these changes are accommodated depends on the legal philosophy of the drafters as well as on how strong a majority the opinion garnered at conference. A justice may instead simply join the opinion at that point without comment.

Supreme Court Writing Opinions

• A justice voting with the majority (9-0, 8-1, 7-2, 6-3, 5-4) may write a concurring opinion; this is an opinion where the justice agrees with the majority holding itself, but where he or she wishes to express views on the legal elements of the case that are not encompassed in the majority opinion.

• Justices who do not agree with the decision made by the majority may also submit dissenting opinions, which may give alternative legal viewpoints. Dissenting opinions carry no legal weight or precedent, but they can set the argument for future cases.

• Per Curium decisions are made with multiple judges in which the decision rendered was made by the court acting as a whole. Their decisions more commonly take the form of one or more opinions signed by individual justices which are then joined in by other justices. Example Bush v. Gore 2000

Shaping Policy

• Stare Decisis – standing decisions which are used as precedent and sometimes decisions need to be re-examined.

Example- Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Brown v. Board (1954)

Judicial Activism

Judicial Restraint