Federal Laws Chapter 1 Summary

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Chapter 1: Law: the body of rules of action or conduct that has binding legal force. Laws must be obeyed by citizens subject to sanctions or legal consequences. English Common Law: created by the judicial system, and is the basis of the legal system in US. Civil Law: based on codes or statutes. Louisiana is a civil law state. Sources of Law: 1. Constitution: the US constitution establishes the federal government and enumerates is powers. Powers not given to the Federal government are reserved to the states. State constitutions establish state governments and enumerate their powers. 2. Treaties: the president, with the advice and consent of the Senate, may enter into treaties with foreign countries. 3. Codified Law: statues are…show more content…
Regulations and order of administrative agencies: the agencies are created by the legislative and executive branches of government. They may adopt administrative regulations and issue orders. 6. Judicial decisions: Federal and state courts decide controversies. In doing so, they issue decisions that state the holding of each case and the reasoning used by the court in reaching its decision. (stare decisis) Stare Decisis: the doctrine provides for the adherence to precedent. US Constitution: the US constitution consists of 7 articles and 26 amendments. It establishes the three branches of federal government, enumerates their powers, and provides important guarantees of individual freedom. Below are basic constitutional concepts: 1. Federalism: the constitution created the federal government. The federal government and the 50 states governments share powers in this country. 2. Delegated Powers: when the states ratified the constitution, they delegated certain powers to the federal government. These are called enumerated powers. 3. Reserved Powers: those powers not granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved to the states. 4. Separation of Powers: each branch of the federal government has separate…show more content…
Defamatory language g. Child pornography h. Obscene speech Freedom of Religion: there are two religion clauses in the First Amendment: 1. Establishment Clause: prohibits the government from establishing a state religion or promoting religion. 2. Free Exercise Clause: prohibits the government from interfering with the free exercise of the religion. This right is not absolute: for example, human sacrifices are forbidden. Equal Protection Clause: prohibits government from enacting laws that classify and treat “similarly situated” persons differently. This standard is not absolute and the government can treat persons differently in certain situations. The US Supreme Court has applied the following tests to determine if the Equal Protection Clause has been violated: 1. Strict Scrutiny test: applies to suspect classes (race, national origin and citizenship) and fundamental rights (voting). 2. Intermediate Scrutiny Test: applies to other protected classes (gender). 3. Rational Basis Test: applies to government classifications that do not involve a suspect or protected class. Due Process Clauses: provide that no person shall be deprived the right of “life, liberty, or property” without due process. There are two categories of due
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