Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) - Answers Prohibits U.S. companies and their agents from
bribing foreign officials. Enforced by SEC and DOJ
Inflation Reduction Act - Answers Law designed to reduce inflation through investments in clean
energy, lowering healthcare costs, and reforming the tax system. It allocates billions to climate
initiatives, caps Medicare prescription costs, and imposes a minimum corporate tax to generate
revenue, aiming to reduce the federal deficit and boost economic stability.
How many cases does Supreme court take a year? - Answers 75 cases a year
"writ of certiorari" (or "cert") - Answers An order from a higher court, like the U.S. Supreme Court, to
a lower court requesting the record of a case for review.
The Court has mandatory jurisdiction where: - Answers A state or federal court holds that a federal
statute is unconstitutional. A federal court holds that a state statute is unconstitutional.
The Court has "original jurisdiction" where: - Answers One state sues another. A state sues the
federal government
West Virginia v. EPA (U.S. Supreme Court) - Answers On June 30, 2022, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3
that the EPA's Clean Power Plan exceeded its authority under the Clean Air Act. The decision limited
federal regulation on climate change and established the "major questions doctrine," requiring
Congress to clearly authorize agencies on significant economic and political matters.
Chevron doctrine - Answers Held that federal courts should defer to a federal agency's interpretation
of a statute that Congress delegated to the agency to administer; a court may not substitute its own
interpretation of the statute for a reasonable interpretation made by the administrative agency.
Loper Bright Enterprises (U.S. Supreme Court) - Answers Overturned the Chevron doctrine and held
that the Administrative Procedure Act requires courts to exercise their independent judgment in
deciding whether an agency acted within its statutory authority. Courts may not defer to an agency
interpretation of the law simply because a statute is ambiguous.
Subject-Matter Jurisdiction - Answers The types of disputes a court can hear.
Personal Jurisdiction - Answers Where you can sue and be sued.
Long-arm statutes - Answers A business can be sued where the business has its headquarters or main
operations, in any state where the lawsuit is related to the business's conduct in the state, and in any
state where a business registers to do business.
Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. - Answers Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the
constitutionality of a Pennsylvania law that allows any company registering to do business in the state
to be sued there - even if the corporation is not headquartered in Pennsylvania and the conduct at
the center of the lawsuit occurred somewhere else. May spawn "litigation tourism".
Monetary Damages - Answers A broad term that encompasses any financial compensation awarded
in a legal case, including various types of damages like compensatory, punitive, and consequential
damages.
Punitive Damages - Answers Financial compensation awarded in a legal case to punish the defendant
for particularly egregious or malicious behavior and to deter others from engaging in similar conduct.
Compensatory Damages - Answers Financial awards intended to compensate a plaintiff for actual
losses and damages incurred due to the defendant's actions. They aim to restore the plaintiff to the
position they would have been in if the harm had not occurred.
Nominal Damages - Answers A small amount of money awarded to a plaintiff when a legal wrong has
occurred, but the plaintiff has not suffered significant or quantifiable harm.
Garrison v. Target - Answers SC punitive damage cap was upheld, remanding a $4.5 million punitive
award for reduction after a jury awarded Ms. Garrison $100,000 in compensatory damages for her
injury.
Southland Corp v. Keating - Answers U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA)
applies to both state and federal courts, preempting state laws that disallow arbitration agreements.
The decision reinforced the enforceability of arbitration clauses in contracts, even when state laws
attempt to restrict them.
The Necessary and Proper Clause - Answers This clause grants Congress broad authority to pass
legislation, even if the subject was not or could not have been contemplated when the Constitution
was written.