Legal Research and Writing Tuesday, 9-5-17

Article III of the U.S. Constitution Define the word attainder using thelawdictionary.org. Read the document on my webpage “Article III U.S. Constitution.” Then use it to answer the questions on the next slide in your notebook. You do not need to write the question, but you should incorporate the question into your answer. For example: Question “How are the members of the Supreme Court and all other federal courts chosen?” Answer: “The members of the Supreme Court and all other federal courts are chosen by…” After you finish answering the questions, continue going through the assignment in this PowerPoint until you finish all the slides.

Questions What qualifications does Article III say one must have to be a federal judge? Besides creating the Judicial Branch, Article III creates what important right of the people? What evidence is needed to convict a person of treason? Who is given the power to regulate the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction?

Define these vocabulary words using thelawdictionary.org Equity Equitable Injunction Specific performance Subpoena Summons

“The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and in equity…” Essential Questions: Why does the constitution distinguish between cases in law and equity? What are cases in equity? Historical Background Equitable law comes from a problem with the court system in 15th century England. In the 13th century, King Henry II wanted to reform the English legal system. So, it was easier for people to file lawsuits. But by the 15th century, there were so many people filing lawsuits, that the judges didn’t have time to decide issues of “justice.”

Courts of Equity So, when someone filed a lawsuit (case), it was called a “claim” or “writ” and all the court looked at was whether the form used to file the claim was done correctly. Those courts were known as courts of common law. If the writ didn’t meet the requirements, then the person who filed the writ was not entitled to a remedy (their problem didn’t get fixed.) As you can see, the rules for the common law court were very strict. Therefore, as a last resort, a person could petition the king. Because there were so many problems and the courts took so long, there as a huge increase in the number of appeals to the king.

Courts of Equity The king was so busy, that he began to refer the cases out to the Lord Chancellor. Instead of using the strict rules of form used by the courts of law, the Lord Chancellor decided cases on the basis of equity. The courts where cases were heard by the Lord Chancellor became known as “chancery courts.” When a case was decided on the basis of equity, it meant that the decision was based on fairness. Unlike judges and lawyers, chancellors were not educated in the in the common law. Typically, they knew more about church law and philosophical concepts of fairness and justice. Therefore, the chancellors determined the outcomes of cases by what was fair or moral.

Courts of Equity The outcome of a case at common law was money. But in the Courts of Equity, the outcome was either an injunction or specific performance. Make sure you know these definitions: Injunction: a court order that forces or prohibits an act. Example: Neighbor A doesn’t like that Neighbor B dumps his trash on Neighbor A’s lawn. Neighbor A goes to court and sues. The court issues an injunction against Neighbor B telling him to stop dumping trash on Neighbor A’s lawn. Specific performance: a court order that forces a party to fulfill its obligations according to the exact terms of a contract. Example: A and B sign a contract where A will pay B to fix his roof. A sues B and the court forces B to finish fixing A’s roof. For a long time, the English courts decided issues of common law and equitable law in separate courts with separate rules and remedies.

Courts of Equity In both courts, judges and chancellors collected and published their decisions so that future cases could be decided according to precedent. This system carried over to the United States. Until around 1900, issues of common law and issues of equitable law were decided separately. Now, a person who brings a lawsuit can sue in the same court for either legal or equitable remedies.