Final Exam Review- January 2015

 Section 1- History of Law (Chapter 1)  Section 2- Criminal Law (Chapter 5)  Section 3- Civil Law (Chapter 6)

Common Law  Originated from England  Tied closely with US Law  Case in front of jury  Builds over time (Case law)  Precedent- means using a prior court ruling to help guide a case Civil Law  From Roman Empire  Strict set of laws  Tried in front of judge  Created by senate/ruler  In US, only Louisiana uses this  Most common form of law in world today

Common Law  Laws created over time, by the people  Juries hear cases  Innocent until proven guilty  Used in US by 49 of 50 states today  Merged with equity courts in US Positive Law  Laws created by a King, Queen or religious figure  Tried in front of ruler or appointed ruler  Guilty unless proven innocent  Not used in US or most of world today

 Statute- a law created by some elected official or elected body of people (like congress)  Ordinance- a local statute

 The power to decide a case  Important because laws differ and the jurisdiction can decide the penalty  The legal act is decided where it took place  Jurisdiction applies with local laws, state laws or federal laws

 Laws organized into some group  Criminal Codes, business codes, civil codes or administrative codes, such as social security laws or DMV laws

 Latin term meaning to adhere to decided cases  Important because it’s a common law rule that allows older case decisions to be used as a guide for future cases  It allows the law to be built over time

 Legal term meaning fairness  Making sure all people are given a fair trial and if a criminal matter, making sure they have a lawyer  Fairness also applies to a judge

Harder to proveEasier to prove than crime  Crimes are against society  Crimes are punishable by jail, fine or death  Crimes must be proven based on beyond a reasonable doubt  Government is the prosecution always  Torts are against a person or business  Torts involve property rights and lawsuits  Torts are proven based on showing evidence of claim  Plaintiff is side bringing the lawsuit

 All of society pays for a persons criminal acts  We pay tax dollars for police, judges, public attorneys (District Attorney or Public Defender)  Cost involved to upkeep jails or prisons  Criminal acts effect the way people view any part of society as well

 Lawsuit is an argument over property  Asking court to make defendant pay damages ($$, property or some form of restitution)  Restitution- the damages ($$) paid to a plaintiff for their loss  Person against person  Person against business  Business against person  Business against business  Person or business against Government  Gov’t against person or business

Law itselfRights of a person  Substantive law is based on the definition (Statute) of the law broken  Part of both criminal cases and tort cases  Forcing the plaintiff or prosecution to meet their burden  Self defense, immunity  Procedural law is based on a persons legal rights  Miranda rights in a criminal case  Serving a defendant court papers in a civil case  Allowing a defendant NOT to testify against their rights in court

Based on LawBased on Property Rights CRIME  Duty (The statute)  Breach (Broke the law or statute)  Intent (Meant to commit the act and do evil) TORT  Duty (Care owed to another person)  Breach (Broke the duty of care)  Injury (Harm recognized by the law)  Causation (Proof the breach caused the injury)

 Speeding (Infraction)  Parking ticket (Infraction)  Manslaughter (Felony offense meaning murder without intent)

 Act in which a criminal defendant tries to escape criminal liability  Innocent until proven guilty  Because it’s a criminal offense, you are “GUARANTEED” a lawyer (No guarantee with civil/tort offense)

 Punishment!  Not to rehabilitate, not to educate but to punish the wrongdoer

 Larceny- commonly known as theft. Can be petit or grand, depending on the amount stolen  Burglary- breaking into a building with the intent to commit a crime  Robbery- taking property off a person

 Taking something that has been entrusted to you “Without” permission  Ex) You work for a bank and you take money without permission  ** Its still a crime if you pay it back later

 This means you are held liable for the acts of another person (Substituted for other person)  Ex) An employee of yours destroys someone else's property while on the job, you as the owner can be held responsible for the acts of the employee

BlackmailInfluencing with $$  Extortion is commonly known as blackmail  Ex) Telling an employee to work overtime for free or you will report them to the IRS for not paying taxes  Illegal, because you must report by law  Bribery- unlawfully offering something of value to influence a person  Ex) Giving a teacher money to pass you  Both sides can be found guilty of this crime

 False Pretenses means lying about a past or existing fact  Type of fraud  Meaning to intentianlly mislead another person

 Petty Offense- type of lower level misdemeanor. Also known as Infraction. Commonly a speeding or parking ticket which leads to a fine  Misdemeanor- Less than 1 year in local prison and less than $1,000 fine or both  Felony- More than 1 year in state or federal prison, more than $1,000 fine or death

MisdemeanorFelony Misdemeanor  A less serious crime  Speeding is a misdemeanor that results in a fine  Fines are criminal, NOT civil Felony  More serious crimes like murder, rape or armed robbery  Punishment much more severe  On a persons records for life

 Infraction- “Also known as petty offense” and is a lower level misdemeanor (Parking ticket)  Misdemeanor- Less than 1 year in jail, up to $1,000 fine and not on a persons permanent record  Felony- 1 year or more in state or federal prison, $1000 or more in fines, death and on a person’s permanent record

 Against a person or business  No Jail or punishment  Restitution or damages are asked for to get person back what they lost  Everyone can be held responsible (including minors or mentally impaired people)

 Rarely happen (only 2-3% go to trial)  Most are settled before the case goes to trial (Lawyers do not want to risk losing damages)  6-8 jury members, rather than 12 in a criminal trial  “Majority” of jurors must agree, NOT all  Can be a bench trial (Judge only)  Must show proof the defendant damaged something of yours

 Compensatory- to compensate a plaintiff for their losses. Always asked for in every lawsuit. Another name for compensatory damages is “actual” damages  Punitive- meant to punish a defendant. Hard to get. Asked for “Over and Above” the compensatory damage.

 Intentional- Where the defendant meant to commit the tort. Examples include assault, battery or illegal trespass.  Negligence- based on “carelessness” and also the “Most common” tort  Liability- When the defendant is held responsible for their actions no matter what

 Only tort that requires that the defendant intended to commit the act  Since intent is required, it’s a bit tougher to prove than other torts  Usually higher forms of restitution available

 Careless act that led to someone getting injured  Does not require intent  Injury must have occurred (Careless act with no injury means no case)  Most civil acts start as a negligence case

 A defendant is held liable (Responsible) for their actions whether they were negligent or had intent  Usually based on a business, property or when someone is responsible for others

 Conversion- tort version of theft  Fraud- Intentionally misrepresentation of an important fact. A form of false pretenses.  Defamation- Intentionally trying to harm a persons reputation. Spoken- Slander, Written libel  Assault- A threat  Battery- A physical act

 INJURY!!  No injury no case (Judge can throw claim out with no injury)  Must also prove the breach caused the injury (Causation)

 JUDGE  Breach? (Jury)

 Duty  Breach  Intent  Duty  Breach  Injury (prove first)  Causation

 Misdemeanors and felonies  Infractions are lower-level misdemeanors

 English Common law and Roman Civil Law

 Common Law  Only Louisiana uses civil law

 Roman Civil Law

 Against Society  Based on punishment  You are guaranteed a lawyer  High burden of proof  Jail, fines or death  Misdemeanor or felony  Government always is prosecutor

 Against a person or business  Based on restitution or damages  You are NOT guaranteed a lawyer  Lower burden of proof than a crime  Damages can be $$, property or judge ordered  Intentional, negligence or liability  Plaintiff is the side suing

You have all been a “Wonderful” class! I wish you all luck with the rest of your school year and hope to see you again in class in the future. Please see me if you have any questions on other class offerings.