Concepts and Definitions
Name
Definition
Course
Week
Type
URL
Requires a public figure to demonstrate either recklessness or deliberate falsehood by the news media
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Definition
An administrative proceeding or process is a non-judicial determination of fault or wrongdoing and may include, in some cases, penalties of various forms.
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 1
Definition
Acts on behalf of a person with that person's knowledge, authority, and instruction. Common examples are an employer/employee relationship or power of attorney.
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 2
Definition
An agency relationship consists of the principal and the agent where the principal gives the agent legal permissions to act on the principal's behalf
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 2
Definition
Amphitheater, Inc. (plaintiff) sued Portland Meadows (defendant) alleging causes of actions for trespass and nuisance.
LA 33: Torts & Personal Injury
Week 6
Case
An act, with intent either to cause harmful or offensive contact, OR to cause an apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact, apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact to the plaintiff’s own person, and causation of the apprehension.
LA 33: Torts & Personal Injury
Week 4
Definition
A case heard by the United States Supreme Court that held that a Georgia state statute authorizing criminal conviction upon the unanimous vote of a jury of five was unconstitutional. The constitutional minimum size for a jury hearing petty criminal offenses was held to be six
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 6
Case
An act, involving harmful or offensive contact with the plaintiff’s person, with intent to cause a harmful or offensive contact (or intent to cause apprehension of an immediate contact), and causation of the harmful or offensive contact.
LA 33: Torts & Personal Injury
Week 4
Definition
A landmark decision of the US Supreme Court invalidating the use of the First Amendment as a defense for reporters summoned to testify before a grand jury This case is cited for the rule that in federal courts, a reporter may not generally avoid testifying in a criminal grand jury, and it remains the only case in which the U.S. Supreme Court has considered the use of reporters' privilege.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Case
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance.
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 1
Definition
A decision by the USSC holding that a court-mandated population limit was necessary to remedy a violation of prisoners’ 8th Amendment constitutional rights. Justice Kennedy filed the majority opinion of the 5-4 decision, affirming a decision by a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the Eastern and Northern Districts of California which had ordered California to reduce its prison population to 137.5% of design capacity within two years.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 7
Case
A judicial opinion written by a judge resolving a legal issue.
LA 10: Intro to Law
Week 2
Definition
This clause prohibits the issuance of advisory opinions (in which no actual issue exists but an opinion is sought), and claims where the appellant stands to gain only in a generalized sense (i.e. no more or less than people at large), and allows only the adjudication of claims where (1) the plaintiff has actually and personally suffered injury or harm "in fact", (2) the injury or harm suffered by the plaintiff is fairly traceable to the defendant's actions and (3) the injury or harm would be capable of redress by the court.
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 2
Definition
Either: But for the defendant’s act, the consequences would not have occurred, OR the defendant’s act was a substantial factor in bringing about the consequences (e.g., the contact).
LA 33: Torts & Personal Injury
Week 4
Definition
A writ or order by which a higher court reviews a decision of a lower court
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 2
Definition
A landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States concerning the scope of Congress's power of enforcement under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case also had a significant impact on historic preservation.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 5
Case
Legal process by which a dispute between two or more private citizens is resolved.
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 1
Definition
A legal reason for the lawsuit
LA 33: Torts & Personal Injury
Week 4
Definition
A group of people who suffered the same or similar harm by the same defendants and whose cases involve the same CNOF. Generally, more than 25 Plantiffs.
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 2
Definition
A U.S. Supreme Court case holding that the First Amendment freedom of the press does not exempt journalists from generally applicable laws. Dan Cohen, a Republican associated with Wheelock Whitney's 1982 Minnesota gubernatorial run, provided inculpatory information on the Democratic challenger for Lieutenant Governor, Marlene Johnson, to the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press in exchange for a promise that his identity as the source would not be published. Over the reporters' objections, editors of both newspapers independently decided to publish his name. Cohen consequently lost his job at an advertising agency. He sued Cowles Media Company, who owned the Minneapolis Star Tribune. In 1988, a jury of six found in Cohen's favor. The Minnesota Supreme Court reversed. The United States Supreme Court, while refusing to reinstate the damages, remanded the case to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which reinstated the jury's original verdict of $200,000.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Case
Contained in Article I, Section 8, Clause 3, gives Congress the power to “regulate Commerce with foreign nations and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.” Often read with “Necessary and Power Clause”
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 2
Definition
A landmark decision of the US Supreme Court that defined the power of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over indecent material as applied to broadcasting
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 3
Case
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent or judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions.
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 1
Definition
The doctrine that a federal court will have pendent jurisdiction over state-law claims that arise from the same facts as the federal claims providing a basis for subject-matter jurisdiction; most likely involves CNOF if a reasonable person could look at different claims and say, "these are the same event."
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 2
Definition
Powers are shared by national and state levels of government (For example, taxes)
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 2
Definition
A case where Plaintiff Cullison met a 16-year-old girl in a parking lot then invited her to his home for a soda, which she declined. That night, she and her family came to Cullison’s home, surrounded him, and verbally threatened him with bodily harm if he did not leave the girl alone while her father was armed with a holstered revolver. Cullison experienced mental trauma and distress as a result of the incident and sued for assault. Assault is found where one intends to cause a reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact in another.
LA 33: Torts & Personal Injury
Week 4
Case
The amount of money awarded to the plaintiff once he/she establishes a cause of action against the defendant for a particular tort
LA 33: Torts & Personal Injury
Week 2
Definition
Defamation (also known as calumny, vilification, libel, slander, or traducement) is the oral or written communication of a false statement about another that unjustly harms their reputation and usually constitutes a tort or crime.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 3
Definition
The person or party who harmed the plantiff
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 1
Definition
Eckentode (plaintiff) sued Life of America Insurance (defendant) for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Issue — Whether for purposes of claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress, economic coercion may be sufficient to qualify as outrageous conduct.
Held — Yes. For purposes of claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress, economic coercion may be sufficient to qualify as outrageous conduct.
LA 33: Torts & Personal Injury
Week 6
Case
One item that the party bringing the claim must prove in order to prevail. Elements can come either from common law or from a statute (written law)
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 1
Definition
A United States Supreme Court case holding that criminal suspects have a right to counsel during police interrogations under the Sixth Amendment The case was decided a year after the court had held in Gideon v. Wainwright, that indigent criminal defendants have a right to be provided counsel at trial.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 6
Case
The clause in the First Amendment of the US Constitution that prohibits the establishment of religion by Congress.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 5
Definition
A case which the USSC established the standard of what a prisoner must plead in order to claim a violation of 8th Amendment rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Specifically, the Court held that a prisoner must allege acts or omissions sufficiently harmful to evidence deliberate indifference to serious medical needs. Though the Court credited Gamble's complaint that doctors had failed to provide appropriate care, it held that medical malpractice did not rise to the level of "cruel and unusual punishment" simply because the victim is a prisoner.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 7
Case
In law, Ex Parte is a Latin term meaning literally "from/out of the party/faction of" (name of party/faction, often omitted), thus signifying "on behalf of (name)". An ex parte decision is one decided by a judge without requiring all of the parties to the dispute to be present
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Definition
(1) An act that completely confines plaintiff within fixed boundaries set by the defendant, with
(2) intent to confine the plaintiff or a third party, and
(3) causation of the plaintiff’s confinement, when
(4) the plaintiff was either conscious of the confinement OR was physically harmed by it.
Defining the Elements
1. Act. A voluntary movement of the defendant’s body.
2. Complete: A total confinement where plaintiff knows of no safe or inoffensive means of escape.
3. Confine: A restraint of plaintiff’s freedom of movement (e.g., by physical barriers, physical force, threat of physical force, threat of legal authority to confine, or refusing to release plaintiff).
4. Intent to confine. The intent to confine plaintiff or the knowledge with substantial certainty that the defendant’s act will result in the confinement.
5. Causation: But for the defendant’s act, plaintiff would not have been confined, or defendant’s act was a substantial factor in plaintiff’s confinement.
6. Consciousness of the Confinement or Physical harm: At the very least, the plaintiff must have been conscious of the fact that he/she was confined.
LA 33: Torts & Personal Injury
Week 5
Definition
In a federal system of government, there are three levels of government: national, state, and local. Government power is divided between the different levels.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 2
Definition
An offense that resulted in the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods, to which additional punishments including capital punishment (death penalty) could be added. Misdemeanor penalties can include one or a combination of the following: fines, probation, jail (one year or more).
LA 10: Intro to Law
Week 3
Definition
Fighting words are written or spoken words intended to incite hatred or violence from their target. Specific definitions, freedoms, and limitations of fighting words vary by jurisdiction. The term fighting words is also used in a general sense of words that when uttered tend to create (deliberately or not) a verbal or physical confrontation by their mere usage.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 3
Definition
The Free Exercise Clause prohibits government interference with religious belief and, within limits, religious practice; it accompanies the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause together read “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...”
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 5
Definition
A criminal case in which the USSC invalidated all death penalty schemes in the United States in a 5-4 decision, with each member of the majority writing a separate opinion. Following Furman, in order to reinstate the death penalty, states had to at least remove arbitrary and discriminatory effects in order to satisfy the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 7
Case
A famous American tort law case that illustrates the principle of "intent" for intentional torts; Intentionality is central to the tort of battery, and while a minor who has committed a tort with force is liable as any other would be, a plaintiff must establish that the defendant committed his or her act for the purpose of causing the harmful contact or with substantial certainty that such contact will result.
LA 33: Torts & Personal Injury
Week 4
Case
A landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires U.S. states to provide attorneys to criminal defendants who are unable to afford their own. The case extended the right to counsel, which had been found under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to impose requirements on the federal government, by imposing those requirements upon the states as well.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 6
Case
A landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court holding that the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution had extended the First Amendment's provisions protecting freedom of speech and freedom of the press to apply to the governments of U.S. states. Along with Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co. v. City of Chicago (1897), it was one of the first major cases involving the incorporation of the Bill of Rights. It was also one of a series of Supreme Court cases that defined the scope of the First Amendment's protection of free speech and established the standard to which a state or the federal government would be held when it criminalized speech or writing.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Case
A decision by the Supreme Court of the United States holding that juvenile offenders cannot be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for non-homicide offenses.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 7
Case
A case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court ruled that the Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause allowed a state to impose a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the possession of 672 grams of cocaine.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 7
Case
A landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States holding that the Commerce Clause gave the U.S. Congress power to force private businesses to abide by Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in public accommodations.
Case
A US Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that the defense of qualified immunity, under which government actors may not be sued for actions they take in connection with their offices, did not apply to a lawsuit challenging the Alabama Department of Corrections's use of the "hitching post", a punishment whereby inmates were immobilized for long periods of time.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 7
Case
A United States Supreme Court decision where the Court on a 7-2 vote held that the use of excessive physical force against a prisoner may constitute cruel and unusual punishment even though the inmate does not suffer serious injury.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 7
Case
portrays sexual or excretory organs or activities in a way that is patently offensive but does not meet the three-prong test for obscenity.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Definition
A United States Supreme Court case that upheld the disciplinary corporal punishment policy of Florida's public schools by a 5–4 vote. The judgment specified that such corporal punishments have no prohibition in public schools unless those punishments are “degrading or unduly severe”.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 7
Case
An intentional tort is a category of torts that describes a civil wrong resulting from an intentional act on the part of the tortfeasor (alleged wrongdoer). The term negligence, on the other hand, pertains to a tort that simply results from the failure of the tortfeasor to take sufficient care in fulfilling a duty owed, while strict liability torts refers to situations where a party is liable for injuries no matter what precautions were taken.
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
LA 10: Intro to Law
Week 1
Definition
Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 1
Definition
joining of two or more legal issues together. Allows multiple issues to be heard in one hearing or trial and makes the process more efficient or fair. Helps courts avoid hearing the same facts multiple times or seeing same parties return to court separately for each dispute. Also used in contracts to describe the joining of new parties to an existing agreement.
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 2
Definition
The ability of a court to hear and deal with a particular court. The authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. Colloquially it is used to refer to the geographical areas. Jurisdictions also apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jurisdiction draws its substance from international law, conflict of laws, constitutional law, and the powers of the executive and legislative branches of government to allocate resources to best serve the needs of society.
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 2
Definition
A court case decided by the Iowa Supreme Court, in which two homeowners were held liable for battery for injuries caused to a trespasser who set off a spring gun set as a mantrap in an abandoned house on the homeowners' property. The case thereafter received wide attention in legal circles, becoming a staple of tort law casebooks and law school courses.
LA 33: Torts & Personal Injury
Week 7
Case
The process of applying legal rules to the facts of a client’s problem (see Legal Writing link)
LA 10: Intro to Law
Week 2
Definition
This test was named after the lead plaintiff Alton Lemon) which details legislation concerning religion. It is threefold:
1. The statute must have a secular legislative purpose. (Also known as the Purpose Prong)
2. The principal or primary effect of the statute must neither advance nor inhibit religion. (Also known as the Effect Prong)
3. The statute must not result in an "excessive government entanglement" with religion. (Also known as the Entanglement Prong) Factors:
1. Character and purpose of institution benefited.
2. Nature of aid the state provides.
3. Resulting relationship between government and religious authority.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 5
Definition
Case argued before the Supreme Court of the United States The court ruled in an 8–1 decision that Pennsylvania's Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Education Act (represented through David Kurtzman) from 1968 was unconstitutional, violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The act allowed the Superintendent of Public Schools to reimburse private schools (mostly Catholic) for the salaries of teachers who taught in these private elementary schools from public textbooks and with public instructional materials.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 5
Case
Decided the same day as Ewing v. California (a case with a similar subject matter), held that there would be no relief by means of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus from a sentence imposed under California's three strikes law as a violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishments. Relying on the reasoning of Ewing and Harmelin v. Michigan, the Court ruled that because no "clearly established" law held that a three-strikes sentence was cruel and unusual punishment, the 50-years-to-life sentence imposed in this case was not cruel and unusual punishment.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 7
Case
Mentors and spiritual guides of the people
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 1
Definition
The government could not arbitrarily take their property or infringe on certain rights without submitting to the rule of law.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 1
Definition
A landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the exclusionary rule, which prevents prosecutors from using evidence in court that was obtained by violating the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, applies not only to the federal government but also to the states.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 9
Case
A United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that mandatory sentences of life without the possibility of parole are unconstitutional for juvenile offenders.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 7
Case
A landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution restricts prosecutors from using a person's statements made in response to interrogation in police custody as evidence at their trial unless they can show that the person was informed of the right to consult with an attorney before and during questioning, and of the right against self-incrimination before police questioning, and that the defendant not only understood these rights, but voluntarily waived them.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 6
Case
Any "lesser" criminal act; misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions. Misdemeanor penalties can include one or a combination of the following: fines, community service, probation, jail (less than one year).
LA 10: Intro to Law
Week 3
Definition
Powers of U.S. Congress granted to the federal government of the United States, listed in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 2
Definition
A landmark decision of the US Supreme Court under which prior restraint on publication was found to violate freedom of the press as protected under the First Amendment. This principle was applied to free speech generally in subsequent jurisprudence. The Court ruled that a Minnesota law that targeted publishers of "malicious" or "scandalous" newspapers violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution (as applied through the Fourteenth Amendment). Called Near the Court's "first great press case". It was later a key precedent in New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Case
Contained in Article I, Section 8, Clause 18: “The Congress shall have power…To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.” Often read with “Commerce Clause”
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 2
Definition
Something that a person didn't mean to do but should have known better or taken steps to avoid. Examples: products liability, slip-and-fall cases, medical malpractice, and personal injury cases
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 1
Definition
A landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States on the First Amendment right of Freedom of the Press (that court orders blocking publication were an unconstitutional prior restraint in violation of the First Amendment). The ruling made it possible for The New York Times and The Washington Post newspapers to publish the then-classified Pentagon Papers without risk of government censorship or punishment.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Case
The press is not really entitled to special protections that are separate from or more extensive than the public generally
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Case
Does not have protection by the First Amendment. For content to be ruled obscene, it must meet a three-pronged test established by the Supreme Court: It must appeal to an average person's prurient interest; depict or describe sexual conduct in a "patently offensive" way; and, taken as a whole, lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Definition
A landmark Supreme Court of the United States case relating to Miranda warnings
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 6
Case
A case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a North Carolina statute that prohibited registered sex offenders from using social media websites is unconstitutional because it violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects the freedom of speech. In an opinion by Justice Anthony Kennedy, who has since retired, the Supreme Court observed that the state law “bars access to what for many are the principal sources for knowing current events, checking ads for employment, speaking and listening in the modern public square, and otherwise exploring the vast realms of human thought and knowledge.”
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Case
The person who was harmed" (Plaintiff) and "the person who harmed them" (Defendant)
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 2
Definition
Officially titled Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. Released by Daniel Ellsberg, who had worked on the study; they were first brought to the attention of the public on the front page of The New York Times in 1971. A 1996 article in The New York Times said that the Pentagon Papers had demonstrated, among other things, that the Johnson Administration had "systematically lied, not only to the public but also to Congress."
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Definition
The power of the court to decide a dispute, as against a particular person
LA 33: Torts & Personal Injury
Week 3
Definition
The person or party who was harmed; person who initiates the lawsuit before a court
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 1
Definition
A previous court decision or rather, a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive without going to courts for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts.
LA 10: Intro to Law
Week 2
Definition
Known as the “Balance of Probabilities”; this is the Plaintiff’s burden and is met when it is shown that “more likely than not” or “there is more than a 50% chance” that Defendant’s action caused Plaintiff harm. If this cannot be shown, the Plaintiff will not prevail.
LA 10: Intro to Law
Week 3
Definition
The literal translation would be 'at first face' or 'at first appearance'. The term is used to signify that upon initial examination, sufficient corroborating evidence appears to exist to support a case.
LA 10: Intro to Law
Week 3
Definition
A case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the government has broad authority to regulate the actions and treatment of children. Parental authority is not absolute and can be permissibly restricted if doing so is in the interests of a child's welfare. While children share many of the rights of adults, they face different potential harms from similar activities.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 5
Case
A government order that prohibits expression before it occurs; it could be from a court, a government official, or a legislative body
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Definition
Includes "grossly offensive" language that is considered a public nuisance.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Definition
The 2016 Proposition 63, titled Firearms and Ammunition Sales, is a California ballot proposition that passed on the November 8, 2016 ballot. It requires a background check and California Department of Justice authorization to purchase ammunition, prohibits possession of high-capacity ammunition magazines over ten rounds, levies fines for failing to report when guns are stolen or lost, establishes procedures for enforcing laws prohibiting firearm possession by specified persons, and requires California Department of Justice's participation in the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 7
Definition
Depicting or describing sexual conduct in a way that is "patently offensive," and lacking any serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Definition
First Amendment protects access to attend criminal trials, it was the right of the press and the public on which the justices opined. The Court has said that providing the news media access to information and events may serve as a proxy for general public access, but the right belongs to the public, not exclusively to the news media.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Case
Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States. Lawsuits for discrimination, including employment or educational discrimination. This includes sexual harassment, racial slurs, etc. Constitutional challenges, like abortion, gay rights, and gun rights cases.
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 1
Definition
In 1798, President John Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which were passed by the Federalist-dominated 5th United States Congress. They made it harder for an immigrant to become a citizen, allowed the president to imprison and deport non-citizens who were known as dangerous or who were from a hostile nation, and criminalized making 'false statements' critical of the federal government
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Case
Sedition and seditious libel were criminal offences under English common law, and are still criminal offences in Canada. Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order: if the statement is in writing or some other permanent form it is seditious libel. Libel denotes a printed form of communication such as writing or drawing.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 4
Definition
A United States Supreme Court case concerned with the scope of the Eighth Amendment protection from cruel and unusual punishment. Mr. Helm, who had written a check from a fictitious account and had reached his seventh nonviolent felony conviction since 1964, received a mandatory sentence, under South Dakota law at that time, to life in prison with no parole
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 7
Case
The principle by which judges are bound to precedents and translates to “The decision stands”
LA 10: Intro to Law
Week 2
Definition
Powers kept by the states when the Constitution was written. These powers are not written down in the U.S constitution. If a power is not listed for the national government within the Constitution, it generally belongs to the states. See McCulloch vs. Maryland for exceptions
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 2
Definition
The imposition of liability on a party without a finding of fault (such as negligence or tortious intent). The claimant need only prove that the tort occurred, and that the defendant was responsible. The law imputes strict liability to situations it considers to be inherently dangerous. It discourages reckless behavior and needless loss by forcing potential defendants to take every possible precaution.
LA 10: Intro to Law
Week 3
Definition
The authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter. For instance, bankruptcy court only has the authority to hear bankruptcy cases.
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 2
Definition
Gives federal courts power to hear lawsuits that do not involve a federal question, contingent upon two conditions: first, plaintiffs must be citizens of different states than the defendants; and second, the lawsuit's "amount in controversy" must be more than $75,000
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 2
Definition
What a court ultimately decide
LA 10: Intro to Law
Week 2
Definition
Native Americans that lived in and around NY-state, Pennsylvania, Quebec and New England States since the 14th and 15th century and had a profound effect on the U.S. Constitution
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 1
Definition
A group of several tribes that allied around ONE constitution and system of governance.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 1
Definition
“The Great Law of Peace” enacted in 1715
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 1
Definition
The reason used by the court to reinforce its decision
LA 10: Intro to Law
Week 2
Definition
A civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Can be Intentional, Negligence, Strict Liability tort
LA 33: Torts & Personal Injury
LA 10: Intro to Law
Week 2
Definition
A true threat is a threatening communication that can be prosecuted under the law. It is distinct from a threat that is made in jest.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 3
Definition
A Venue refers to the particular county or district in which the case is filed
LA 14 - Civil Litigation
Week 2
Definition
Concerns 8th and 14th Amendments. During the course of a riot at the Oregon State Penitentiary, a prison officer was taken hostage and a rescue officer shot respondent (another inmate) in the left knee. Respondent subsequently brought an action in Federal District Court against petitioner (prison officials). The issue was rights deprivation under the aforementioned Amendments. Verdict for petitioner; court of appeals reversed and remanded for a new trial on respondent's Eighth Amendment claim.
LA 50: Constitutional Law
Week 7
Case
Files and Documents
Name
Files
Course
Links
Name
Author/Speaker
Tags
URL
Course
R.J. Ruppenthal
Video
LA 50: Constitutional Law