Test Bank for Business Law and Legal Reasoning (Cases) by Kamal A. Foad | Verified Questions & Answers | A+ Grades

Test Bank for Business Law
and Legal Reasoning
(Cases) by Kamal A. Foad |
Complete Questions &
Answers




1

, CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO LAW AND LEGAL REASONING

LAW IS "MAN MADE"

IT CHANGES OVER TIME TO
ACCOMMODATESOCIETY'SNEEDS j j




LAW IS MADE BY LEGISLATURE j j j j




LAWISINTERPRETEDBYCOURTSTODETERMINE j j j j j j




1) WHETHERIT IS "CONSTITUTIONAL" j j j




2) WHO IS RIGHT OR WRONG j j j j




THEREISAPROCESS WHICHMUST BEFOLLOWED (CALLED j j j j j j j j j




"PROCEDURAL LAW") j




I. ThomasJefferson:"Thestudyofthelawqualifiesamantobeusefultohimself,tohisneighbors,andtothe public."
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II. Ask Several Students to give their definition of "Law."
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A. Even after years and thousands of dollars, "LAW" still is not easy to define
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B. What does law Consist of ? Law consists of enforceable rule governing relationships among individuals and
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between individuals and their society.
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1. Students Need to Understand. j j j




a. The law is a set of general ideas j j j j j j j




b. Whenthesegeneralideasareapplied,ajudgecannotfitacasetosuitarule;hemustfit (or find)
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a rule to suit the unique case at hand.
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c. The judge must also supply legitimate reasons for his decisions.
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C. So, How was the Law Created. The law considered in this text are "man made" law. This law can (and will)
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change over time in response to the changes and needs of society.
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D. Example. Grandma, who is 87 years old, walks into a pawn shop. She wants to sell her ring that has
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been in the family for 200 years. Grandma asks the dealer, "how much will you give me for this ring." The
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dealer, in good faith, tells Grandma he doesn't know what kind of metal is in the ring, but he will give her
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$150.

1. Grandma needs cash to buy medicine and therefore accepts the $150. j j j j j j j j j j




2. The ring turns out to be solid gold and is really worth $25,000.
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3. Question. CanGrandmagettheringbackorrecoverthedifferencebetween25,000and150or is she
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merely out of look. j j j




a. Ask was there a bargain for exchange j j j j j j




b. Was the ring purchased in good faith without knowledge of its value j j j j j j j j j j j




THISISWHATWE WILLENCOUNTERIN THISCOURSE j j j j j j j j




2

,III. Schools of Legal Thought.
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A. Background. When we look at the development oflaw, there are several things they have had a major
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influence. Some of the more important element are customs, history, and logic.
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B. The "Problem". The major problemis that philosophers disagree on what are the major factors.
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C. Outcome. This disagree has lead to 2 different schools of thought on what the major factors are:
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1. The Traditional Approach. The first school of thought is the "traditional approach." The
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traditional approach looks to the past to discover what the principles of the current law should be.
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a. Strict Decisions are followed. Followers of this school look to prior decisions which are on
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point and will usually follow them to the letter. j j j j j j j j




b. Example. Homer left the neighbor's house and was obviously intoxicated. The neighbor j j j j j j j j j j j j




knewHomer wasintoxicatedbutkeptservinghimdrinksandthenallowedhimtodrive. Homer
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lost control of his car and killed a 6 year old child. Homer has no money or insurance.
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(1) Thechild'sparentswanttosuethe"Neighbor"fornegligenceasasocial host.
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(2) CaseWasrecentlydecidedstatingthatsocialhostarenotliablefortheir guest.
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(3) Under thetraditionalapproach,parentslose. Thecourtwillfollowprior j j j j j j j j j j j




decisions.

2. The Sociological Approach. The second school of thought is called the "sociological approach."
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Under this approach, social forces and needs are the primary factors.
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a. The key to this approach is that historical cases don't drive future law. Under this
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approach, as society changes, the law should also change. j j j j j j j j




b. Earlier Illustrated Case. Under this approach, the social host issue would probably have a
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different outcome j




(1) Why? Because the court would see this as a public safety issue and would put the j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j




(1) put the burden on individuals contributing to the occurrence and (2) provide a
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financial outlet for those who have been injured. j j j j j j j




IV. COMMONLAW. j




A. Background. First,commonlawisstillaliveandwellinmanyaspects. Thisisthelawthatiscommon to the
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entire realm or population.
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1. As the text states, common law includes some aspects of statutory and case law dating back prior to the
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American Revolution. j




a. What is Case Law. Case law is merely the rules of law announced in court decisions.
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Case law may consist of interpretations of statutes, regulations and provisions in the
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3

, constitution.

(1) You will hear the terms "precedent" and "stare decisis" when case
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law is discussed. j j




(A) Precedent is merely a prior case which is similar in legal principle or fact. j j j j j j j j j j j j j




(B) Stare Decisis is the practice of deciding new cases with reference to
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former cases. j




b. WhatisStatutoryLaw. Initssimplestterms,statutorylawconsistslawsenactedbystate
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legislatures and at the federal level, by Congress j j j j j j j




Example 1: j Rape Statutes. j j




Example 2: j DivorceStatutes j




Example3: j BusinessIncorporationStatutes j j




III. REASONING

A. Background. Ajudgecannotmerelyrenderanopiniononanissueandstopthere. Hemustarticulatea
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legitimate reason why he has ruled in such a manner.
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B. OneformofReasoningis"Syllogism"(Sineism). Thisisdeductivereasoningusingamajorpremise,a minor
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premise and a conclusion.
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1. Example. For example, if an individual is charged with the crime of false imprisonment, the
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judge will: j




a. Statethatthelawrequiresthatthepersonconfinedisnotfreetoleaveandhemustalso know of
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his confinement. j




b. The plaintiff in this case was unaware of his confinement
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c. Therefore, there is no false imprisonment. j j j j j




C. Justification for the Ruling. j j j j A judge has a wide variety of resources to rely on when rendering his
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opinion. They include:
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1. Previous case law and legal principles j j j j j




2. Statutes

3. Society'svalues j




4. Customs and Course of dealings j j j j




SOURCESOFLAWS
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V. LET'SLOOK AT "CONSTITUTIONS"
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A. First Paragraph on Constitutions is "critical". Review
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