大四上商法上課課件

1、Introduction to LawCHAPTER 1 e!Students, Instructors, and the LawQuotes of the Day“The great thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are going.” Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. “The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience.” Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. “La

2、wyers spend a great deal of their time shoveling smoke.” Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Law is powerfulAffects all people, from CEOs to childrenAffects most of life, from work to leisureLaw is importantBut which is more important - written law or the people who enforce it?Law is fascinatingComplex, but n

3、ever just theoreticalRules are required Origins of Our Law - Many SourcesInherited 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.Substan

4、tive rules state parties rights.Procedural rules determine how courts should settle disputes.Sources of Our Law TodayUnited States Constitution - Law of the LandEstablishes Congress, the Presidency and CourtsGives to states all powers not given to Federal govtGuarantees basic rights to all citizensS

5、tate ConstitutionsCreate state executive, legislative and judicial systemsStatutes - passed by federal & state governmentCommon Law - established by precedent, or earlier court cases (also courts of equity)Administrative Law - created by agenciesTreaties and executive ordersClassifications of LawDan

6、gerous behavior outlawed by societyRegulates rights and duties of partiesCriminal LawCivil Lawvs.Guilt is determinedGovernment prosecutes accusedPunishment or fine is imposedCompensation is orderedVictim, not government brings suitGuilt not determinedDefines the rights of the peopleEstablishes proce

7、sses for settling disputesSets the duties of government to its citizensRegulates duties between individualsSubstantive LawProcedural Lawvs.Public LawPrivate Lawvs.Classifications of LawActions may be legal, but immoral to some people.Actions may be moral, but not required by law.Actions may be requi

8、red by both moral standards and the law.Owning slaves in Colonial America was legal, but this violates most peoples moral standards today.Helping a hurt person is required by moral standards, but is not mandated by the law.Drunk driving is both immoral and illegal.Law and MoralityLAWMORALITYJurispru

9、dence, or “What is Law?”Legal PositivismNatural LawLegal Realism“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.“Enforcement of the law is more important than the law itself.”Enfo

10、rcers determine if the law is applied in a fair and consistent way.QUIGLEY v. FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST65 Cal. App. 4th 1027, 76 Cal. Rptr. 2d 792, 1998 Cal. App. LEXIS 677California Court of Appeal, 1998Case AnalysisFacts: Gayle Quigley and James Wantland had divorced. They had joint custod

11、y of their 12-year-old son, Andrew, who lived with his father. James was a member of the Christian Science church, a religion that regards disease as an “error of the mind” and discourages the use of traditional medicine. Members of the faithIssue: Did the defendants have a duty to summon medical he

12、lp for Andrew?Excerpts from Judge Bedsworths Decision: The judge began by mentioning an earlier California case, in which the states highest court ruled that one person generally has no duty to protect another from harm, unless there is a special relationship between the two, such as custody or cont

13、rol.PLAINTIFF: the party who is suingDEFENDANT: the party being suedLEGAL CITATION: where to find the case in a law libraryWhere and when the case was decided.FACTS: background information on the caseISSUE: the question being decidedEXERPTS: the decision - also called the holding - and the courts rationale“We depend upon the law to give us a stable nation and economy