Introduction to American Law Test 1 with correct answers.

1. Legal Analysis The process of applying the law to specific facts 2. Fact Bound Legal issues are when even a minor change in the face can change the outcome 3. Cause of Action A claim that, based on the law and the facts, is sufficient to support a lawsuit 4. Enacted Law Constitutions, statutes, ordinances, and regulations are 5. Constitution The fundamental law of a nation or state is a 6. Statute A law enacted by a state legislature or by congress is a 7. Ordinance A law enacted by a local government; a subcategory of statutory law 8. Regulation A law promulgated by an administration agency 9. Mandatory au- thority 10. Persuasive au- thority Court decisions from a higher court in the same jurisdic- tion Court decisions from an equal or lower court from the same jurisdiction or from a court in a different jurisdiction 11. Stare doctis The doctrine that normally once a court has decided an issue, other courts in the same jurisdiction in will decide the same way. 12. Substantive facts Things that happened to the party before the litigation began and that are relevant to their claims 13. Procedural facts actions taken by lower courts or administrative agencies before the case reached by the court issuing the opinion you are reading 14. Legal issues Questions about the interpretation and application of the law 15. Disposition The result reached in a particular case 16. Affirm A decision is affirmed when the litigants appeal the trial court decision and the higher court agrees with what the lower court has done 17. Reverse A decision is reversed when the litigants appeal the rial court decision and the higher court disagrees with what the lower has done 18. Remand When an appellate court sends a case back to the trial court for a new trial or other action 19. Concurring opin- ion 20. Dissenting opin- ion An opinion that agrees with the majority;s result but dis- agrees with its reasoning An opinion that disagrees with the majority's decision and reasoning 21. Case briefing A method for summarizing court opinions 22. Rule In a case brief, the general legal principle in existence before the case began 23. Issue In a case brief, the statement of the problem facing the court 24. Holding In a case brief, the court's answer to the issue presented to it; the new legal principle established by a court opinion 25. Narrow holding A statement of the court;s decision that contains many of the case's specific facts, thereby limiting its future applic- ability to a narrow range of cases 26. Broad holding A statement of the court's decision in which the facts are either omitted