QUESTIONS AND 100% VERIFIED ANSWERS LATEST
VERSION 2026
Constitutions
establish governmental structure, specific rights and duties
Statutes
written laws enacted by legislatures
Common/case law
made and applied by judges at the state level as judges decide cases according to
the doctrine of precedent or stare decisis
Stare decisis
Let the decision stand; decisions are based on precedents from previous cases
equity
is applied by state level judiciary to achieve justice when common law rules would
produce unfair results
injunction
court forbids a party to do some act or orders a party to perform an act
specific performance
a party is ordered to perform according to the terms of her contract
reformation
the court rewrites the contract's terms to reflect the parties' real intentions
recission
the cancellation of a contract; goes back to policy inception with all premiums
paid minus and payments; usually do to fraud, concealment or material
misrepresentation
administrative regulations and decisions
,made by state and federal agencies that were created by statute and hold
delegated (granted) power
treaty
made by other nations, by the US pres on behalf of the US, approved by the
senate
ordinance
made by subunits of state governments (e.g., counties, cities) for local issues, such
as zoning
executive order
issued by the pres or a state governor under limited powers
federal supremecy
a rule of priority for conflicts between laws stating that the U.S. Constitution is
the supreme law
federal supremecy
Federal law defeats state law
State constitution defeats state legislation
Statute defeats administrative regulation
Statute or regulation defeats common law
criminal law
establishes duties to society
Government charges and prosecutes defendant, who will be found guilty or
innocent
A convicted defendant will be imprisoned or fined
civil law
establishes duties and obligations between private parties
Plaintiff sues defendant for monetary damages or equitable relief
A defendant will be held liable or not liable for the plaintiff's injury
substantive law
, establishes rights and duties of people in society- ex: a statute making a murder a
crime
procedural law
establishes how to enforce those rights and duties- ex: rules for the proper
conduct of a trial are rules of a ____
public law
the relationship between govts and private parties ex: constitutional, statutory
and administrative law
private law
refers to the regulation of conduct between private parties ex: contract, tort, or
property laws
jurisprudence
refers to the philosophy of law as well as the collection of laws
legal positivism
law is the command of a recognized political authority -- just or unjust, law must
be obeyed
natural law
unversal moral rules bind all people whether written or not-- unjust positive laws
are invalid
american legal realism
defines law as the behavior of the judiciary as they rule on matters within the
legal system
-Thus law in action dominates positive law
Sociological Jurisprudence
unites theories that examine law within its social context
functions of law