Class 2 - Sources and Classifications of Law

Goal - retain knowledge and be able to use it.

Be familiar with sources of law.

US constitution is the "law of the land". States have their own constitution and must comply with US constitution.

Must understand history of the period when it was created.

Legislative actions and statutes - statutory law. Ordinances are passed by city councils or the county board. State laws. Federal legislation. All must comply with US constitution. If not, it's void. US Supreme Court decides whether or not it complies.

Agencies and regulations. E.g. OSHA, EPA, FAA, FCC, DEA, FDA. They are an administrative agent of the legislatures. Their rules, called regulations, are law and are just as powerful.

Common law - a series of case law decisions from England. One state, Louisiana, does not follow common law. They follow the Napoleanic Code. Definitions have been the same for many years. (E.g. battery)

3 tiered system - trial, appellate, supreme courts. Trial court decisions are not published. Appellate and Supreme decisions are and they're binding on other courts. This leads to consistency and gives expectations. Illinois Supreme decisions are binding in Illinois, but not other states. Lower courts cannot overturn higher courts.

Plessy v Ferguson - late 1800s. African-American passenger in "whites only" train car. 14th amendment required equal treatment. Supreme court established "separate but equal" policy. In 1954, Brown v Board of Education, Supreme court said that separate is inheritly not equal, overturning the previous decision.

Classification of law - public vs private law. Public = relationship between people and the government. Private = relationship between individuals.

Our court system is very accessible. The contingent fee system allows people without a lot of money to be able to pursue law suits.

Eg. Battery - crime, tort. The crime is against the people. It's public.

Criminal - requires unanimous jury and conviction beyond a reasonable doubt.
Civil - burden is on a perponderance of evidence. In Illinois, jury can be only 6 people, but must be unanimous. No jury trials in domestic relations court (divorce) or noisy neighbor court.

Substantive law - the main part of the law, definition of the crimes.
Procedureal law - the rules and processes of being charged and tried for the breaking the law. If the rules are not followed, you may be found not guilty just as if you had been found not guilty in a regular trial.

Fines and fees are statuory and must be followed. Judges can't make them up.