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Business Law and the Legal Environment for a New Century

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Quotes of the Day

True human goodness, in all its purity
and freedom, can come to the fore only
when its recipient has no power.
Milan Kundera, Czech author

What is good? All that heightens the

feeling of power, the will to power, power
itself in man.
Freidrich Nietzsche, German Philosopher

Business Law and the Legal Environment for a New Century

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Law is powerful

Affects all people, from CEOs to children

Affects most of life, from work to leisure

Law is important

But which is more important -- written law or

the people who enforce it?

Law is fascinating

Complex, but never just theoretical

Business Law and the Legal Environment for a New Century

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Origins of Our Law -- Many Sources

Inherited much from British law.

Founding Fathers created a multi-level

government which guaranteed citizens rights.

Accumulation of precedent in legal cases

makes up the common law.

Statutes are passed by legislative body.

Substantive rules state parties rights.

Procedural rules determine how courts should

settle disputes.

Business Law and the Legal Environment for a New Century

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Sources of Our Law Today

United States Constitution -- Law of the Land

Establishes Congress, the Presidency and Courts
Gives to states powers not given to Federal govt
Guarantees basic rights to all citizens

State Constitutions
Create state executive, legislative and judicial
systems

Statutes -- passed by federal & state govt

Common Law -- established by precedent, or
earlier cases decided by courts
Administrative Law -- created by agencies

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Classifications of Law
Criminal Law

vs.

Civil Law

Dangerous behavior
outlawed by society

Regulates rights and

duties of parties

Government
prosecutes accused

Victim, not government brings suit

Guilt is determined

Guilt not determined

Punishment or fine
is imposed

Compensation is
ordered

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Classifications of Law (contd)

Substantive Law

Defines the rights of

the people

vs.

Public Law

vs.

Sets the duties of

government to its
citizens

Procedural Law
Establishes
processes for settling
disputes

Private Law
Regulates duties
between individuals

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Law and Morality

Owning
in legal,
Colonial
legal, but
Actionsslaves
may be
butAmerica
immoralwas
to some
this
violates most peoples moral standards today.
people.
Drunk
driving
immoral
and illegal.
Actions
may is
beboth
required
by both
LAW

moral standards and the law.

Helping
hurtbeperson
required
by moral
Actions amay
moral,isbut
not required
by law.
standards, but is not mandated by the law.
MORALITY

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Jurisprudence, or What is Law?

Legal
Positivism
Natural Law

Law is what the sovereign says it is.

Decisions stand, regardless of morality.

An unjust law is no law at all and

need not be obeyed.
Laws must have a good moral basis.

Legal Realism

Enforcement of the law is more

important than the law itself.
Enforcers determine if the law is
applied in a fair and consistent way.

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PLAINTIFF:
the party
who is suing
DEFENDANT:
the party
being sued
LEGAL
CITATION: where
to find the case
in a law library

Case Analysis
QUIGLEY v. FIRST
CHURCH OF CHRIST,
SCIENTIST
65 Cal. App. 4th 1027, 76 Cal.
Rptr. 2d 792, 1998 Cal. App.
LEXIS 677
California Court of Appeal, 1998

Where and when

the case was
decided.

Facts: Gayle Quigley and James Wantland

had divorced. They had joint custody of
FACTS:
their 12-year-old son, Andrew, who lived
background
with his father. James was a member of the
information on
Christian Science church, a religion that
the case
regards disease as an error of the mind
and discourages the use of traditional
ISSUE: the
medicine. Members of the faith
question being
decided
Issue: Did the defendants
have a duty to
summon medical help for Andrew?
Excerpts from Judge Bedsworths
Decision: [The judge began by
EXERPTS:
mentioning an earlier California
case,the
in
-- also
which the states highestdecision
court ruled
that
called
the
one person generally has
no duty
to protect
holding
-another from harm, unless there is aand
special
the
courts
relationship between the two, such as
custody or control... rationale

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We depend upon the law to give us

a stable nation and economy, a fair
society, a safe place to live and
work. But while law is a vital tool
for crafting the society we want,
there are no easy answers about
how to create it. ...Legal rules
control us,
yet we create them.

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