ETHICS EXAM REVIEW

Ch. 3 (Guido)
Lawsum total of rules/regulations by which a society is governed
-Created by people and exists to regulate all persons
-Actual definition of law isnt as important as the impact of law on society
-Law is made by individuals
-Law reflects the ever-changing needs/expectations of a society and
therefore
is dynamic and fluid
Sources of Law
Constitutional Law
-System of fundamental laws/principles for the governance of a nation, society,
corporation, or other aggregate of individuals
-Purpose of a constitution: to establish the basis of a governing system.
-The Constitution of the U.S. establishes the general organization of the federal
government, grants specific power to the federal government, and places l
imitations on the federal governments powers
-Federal constitutional law is the supreme law of the land, as federal law takes
precedence over state and local law.
-The U.S. Constitution also places limitations of the federal government. Such
limitations have been enacted through the Bill of Rights (1st 10
amendments)
-Constitutional law is the highest form of statutory law
-Statutory laws govern and meet existing conditions
-Constitutional laws govern for the future as well as the present in that the
stability
of constitutional law protects from frequent/violent fluctuations in public
opinion.
-An impt difference b/t federal/state constitutional law is that the federal
government derives positive grants of power from the U.S. Constitution,
while states enjoy plenary powers subject only to limitations by their indiv.
State constitution, the U.S. Constitution, and any limitations necessary for
the successful operation of the federal system
Statutory Laws
-Made by the legislative branch of government
-Designed to declare, commands, or prohibit
-Referred to as statutes, these laws are created by the elected bodies
-Statutes are officially enacted (voted on/passed) and are compiled into codes,
collection of statutes, or city ordinances
-The states power to legislate and govern is often referred to as police power
which
allows the states to make laws necessary to maintain public order, health,
safety and welfare. (EX: Nsg licensure laws, informed consent laws,
reporting laws etc)
Administrative Laws

-Enacted by means of decisions and rules of administrative agencies, which are

specific
governing bodies charged with implementing particular legislation
-Administrative agencies are given the authority (given by state legislature) to
carry out the
specific intentions of the statues, by creating rules/regulations that enforce
the statutory laws
-Legislative body remains ultimately responsible for the rules/regulations the
administrative
body passes
-The administrative agency has the initial authority to decide how its
rules/regulations are
enforced, and the decisions of the admin. Agency may be appealed through
the state court system
-The Attorney Generals Opinion = a 2nd ex of admin. Law (The national/state
attorney general
may be requested to give an opinion regarding a specific interpretation of a
law
Judicial Laws (Decisional Laws)
-Made by the courts and interpret legal issues that are in dispute
-Rule of thumb: the initial trial courts have a single justice/magistrate,
intermediary appear
courts have 3 justices, and the highest appeal courts have a panel of 9
justices.
-2 impt legal doctrines, which are directly derived from the Constitution guide
courts in their
decision-making role:
1) Doctrine of Precedent or Stare Decisisapplied by courts of law in
cases with
similar fact patterns that have been previously decided by the
court system. The court looks at the facts of the current case
before it reviews previous decisions that applied to the same
rules/principles with the similar fact situation and then arrives at a
similar decision in the case currently before the court.
-Great implications of nurses b/c it gives nurses insight into
ways in which the court has previously fixed liability in given fact
situation.
2) Doctrine of Res Judicataapplies only when a legal dispute has
been decided
by a competent court of jurisdiction, and no further appeals are
possible. Prevents the same parties in the original lawsuit from
retrying the same issues involved in the 1st lawsuit. (Prevents
multiple litigation by parties who have lost in the original suit, in
that those parties are prevented from taking the same issue to
another court in hopes of persuading a second trial court in their
favor.