1. The Law is reason free from passion. - Aristotle
FUNDAMENTALS OF LAW
The Law is reason free from passion.
- Aristotle

2. LEARNING GOALS:
#1 – Identify sources of law. #2 – Discuss constitutional rights and responsibilities of government. #3 – Describe the American Legal System. #4 – Compare and contrast Civil vs. Criminal Law. #5 - Define Business Law.

4. INSTITUTIONS OF A SOCIETY
FAMILY
EDUCATION
RELIGION
ECONOMY
GOVERNMENT

6. Laws are Created…
At all three levels:
Federal
State
local

7. Jurisdiction
The power, right, or authority of the court to hear and determine or apply the law.

8. Sources of Laws

9. Constitution
Document that sets forth the framework of a government and its relationship to the people it governs.
Highest source of law
Federal constitution is “the supreme law of the land”.

10. Constitution distributes powers
Between the people and their governments
Between state governments and the federal government
Among the branches of the government

11. Three Branches of Government
Article III of the Constitution established the judicial branch of government with the creation of the Supreme Court. This court is the highest court in the country and vested with the judicial powers of the government. There are lower Federal courts but they were not created by the Constitution. Rather, Congress deemed them necessary and established them using power granted from the Constitution.

12. Bill of Rights The first 10 amendments to the US Constitution.
Protects people from actions of their governments.

13. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads:
“No person shall be ... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”

14. Law leaves room for interpretation
The LETTER of The Law
VS.
The SPIRIT of The Law

15. The Commerce clause
Gives Congress the power to make laws pertaining to interstate commerce, or commerce between the states.
Ex: passed laws that affect interstate trucking and/or railroads.

16. Interstate vs. Intrastate Commerce
Business that is conducted within one state.
Power to regulate is left to the state in which the business has taken place.
Business that occurs between two or more states.

17. Precedent
A court decision that becomes the law for a particular problem in the future.

18. Administrative Regulatory Agencies
Governmental bodies formed to carry out particular laws.
Examples:
Federal Trade Commission
Social Security Administration
Securities Exchange Commission
Occupational Safety and Health Administration

19. Federal Reserve
Determines economic policies involving the money supply, credit availability, and interest rates.

20. Civil Law
When private legal rights of an individual are violated, the matter is governed by civil law.
Group of laws that make up for wrongs against individual people.

21. Tort
A private wrong committed by one person against another.

22. Negligence
A tort that results when one person carelessly injures another.
The failure to exercise the care
a reasonable or prudent
person would toward another.

23. Fiduciary relationship
Principals trust their agents with their business, property, money, and reputation.

24. Compensatory Damages
Awarded for actual loss, to place the plaintiff in a position that (s)he would have been in had (s)he not suffered the wrong complained of.
The aim is to “make the injured party whole again”.

25. Punitive Damages
Intended to punish the breaching actors and to deter them from committing future breaches.
Awarded not to compensate a plaintiff for injury or loss suffered but to penalize a defendant for particularly egregious, wrongful conduct.

26. Crime An offense against society rather than individuals.
When citizens rights to live in peace are violated, the offense is governed by criminal law.
Conviction of a crime can result in a fine, imprisonment, and sometimes execution.

27. Mens rea Most crimes require two things: mens rea and actus reus.
Mens rea is Latin for “the guilty mind” and
reflects the requirement that the lawbreaker knows what he’s doing.

28. CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS
In Business law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a group of defendants is being sued.

29. Alternative Dispute Resolution
Parties try to resolve disagreements outside of the usual court system.

30. Alternative Dispute Resolution
Mediation
Arbitration
Conciliation
Negotiation

31. BUSINESS LAW Examines topics that impact the operation of a business.
Covers rules that apply to business situations and transactions.
Civil Law

32. CONTRACTS
Contract: an agreement enforceable by law.

33. What is the Right Thing To Do?
ETHICS
What is the Right Thing To Do?
- best interest – whose?
- majority
- greatest good
- able to go public
- rationalize it

34. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Is there an obligation to society and to give back to the community, the economy, and the environment?

35. WHITE-COLLAR CRIMES Crimes involving business.
Business/Financial crimes: embezzlement, shoplifting, fraud, money laundering, arson, forgery, and identity theft.

36. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Creations of the mind.
Trademarks, Copyrights, Patents and Trade Secrets.

37. EMPLOYMENT LAW
The area of law that covers all aspects of employer and employee relationships.

38. CONSUMER PROTECTION LAW
Ensure the rights of consumers as well as fair trade, competition and accurate information in the marketplace.
Prevent unfair business practices.

39. GOVERNMENT REGULATION OF BUSINESS
Various ways the government influences business.

40. TORT / PRODUCT LIABILITY
A private wrong committed by one person against another.

41. PROPERTY LAW
The area of law that governs the various forms of ownership and tenancy in real property.