WGU D216
WGU D216 Business Law for
Accountants 356 Questions and
Answers 2025
14th Amendment - -passed in 1868 after the Civil War, provides, in part, that "[n]o State
shall . . . Deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."
Action at law - -File a complaint, jury or judge, judgement, monetary damages or
property
Action in equity - -File a petition, judge, decree, injunction, specific performance, or
rescission
Administrative agency - -A federal or state government agency created by the
legislature to perform a specific function, such as to make and enforce rules pertaining
to the environment.
Appellant - -The party who takes an appeal from one court to another.
Appellee - -The party against whom an appeal is taken—that is, the party who opposes
setting aside or reversing the judgment.
Bill of Rights - -The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Binding authority - -Any source of law that a court must follow when deciding a case.
Breaches - -To violate a law, by an act or an omission, or to break a legal obligation that
one owes to another person or to society.
Business ethics - -Ethics in a business context; a consensus of what constitutes right or
wrong behavior in the world of business and the application of moral principles to
situations that arise in a business setting.
Case law - -The rules of law announced in court decisions. Case law interprets statutes,
regulations, constitutional provisions, and other case law.
Categorical imperative - -A concept developed by the philosopher Immanuel Kant as an
ethical guideline for behavior. In deciding whether an action is right or wrong, or
desirable or undesirable, a person should evaluate the action in terms of what would
happen if everybody else in the same situation, or category, acted the same way.
WGU D216
,WGU D216
Checks and balances - -The system by which each of the three branches of the U.S.
national government (executive, legislative, and judicial) exercises checks on the
powers of the other branches.
Civil law - -The branch of law dealing with the definition and enforcement of all private or
public rights, as opposed to criminal matters.
Commerce clause - -The provision in Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution that
gives Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce.
Common law - -a body of general rules that applied throughout the entire English realm
Compelling government interest - -A test of constitutionality that requires the
government to have compelling reasons for passing any law that restricts fundamental
rights, such as free speech, or distinguishes between people based on a suspect trait.
Concurring opinion - -A court opinion by one or more judges or justices who agree with
the majority but want to make or emphasize a point that was not made or emphasized in
the majority's opinion.
Constitutional law - -Law that is based on the U.S. Constitution and the constitutions of
the various states.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) - -The concept that corporations can and should
act ethically and be accountable to society for their actions.
Cost-benefit analysis - -A decision-making technique that involves weighing the costs of
a given action against the benefits of the action.
Courts of equity - -A court that decides controversies and administers justice according
to the rules, principles, and precedents of equity.
Courts of law - -A court in which the only remedies that can be granted are things of
value, such as money damages. In the early English king's courts, courts of law were
distinct from courts of equity.
Criminal law - -The branch of law that defines and punishes wrongful actions committed
against the public.
Cyberlaw - -An informal term used to refer to all laws governing electronic
communications and transactions, particularly those conducted via the Internet.
Damages - -A monetary award sought as a remedy for a breach of contract or a tortious
act.
WGU D216
, WGU D216
Defendant - -One against whom a lawsuit is brought, or the accused person in a
criminal proceeding.
Defense - -Reasons that a defendant offers in an action or suit as to why the plaintiff
should not obtain what he or she is seeking.
Dissenting opinion - -A court opinion that presents the views of one or more judges or
justices who disagree with the majority's decision.
Due process clause - -The provisions of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the
U.S. Constitution that guarantee that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or
property without due process of law. Similar clauses are found in most state
constitutions.
Duty-based ethics - -An ethical philosophy rooted in the idea that every person has
certain duties to others, including both humans and the planet. Those duties may be
derived from religious principles or from other philosophical reasoning.
Eighth Amendment - -Prohibits excessive bail and fines, as well as cruel and unusual
punishment.
Electronic Communications Privacy Act (1986) - -Prohibits the interception of
information communicated by electronic means.
Equal protection clause - -The provision in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution that guarantees that no state will "deny to any person within its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws." This clause mandates that state governments treat
similarly situated individuals in a similar manner.
Equitable maxims - -General propositions or principles of law that have to do with
fairness (equity).
Establishment clause - -The provision in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
that prohibits Congress from establishing a state-sponsored religion, as well as from
passing laws that promote religion or show a preference for one religion over another.
Ethical reasoning - -A reasoning process in which an individual links his or her moral
convictions or ethical standards to the particular situation at hand.
Ethics - -Moral principles and values applied to social behavior.
Executive agencies - -An administrative agency within the executive branch of
government. At the federal level, executive agencies are those within the cabinet
departments.
WGU D216
WGU D216 Business Law for
Accountants 356 Questions and
Answers 2025
14th Amendment - -passed in 1868 after the Civil War, provides, in part, that "[n]o State
shall . . . Deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."
Action at law - -File a complaint, jury or judge, judgement, monetary damages or
property
Action in equity - -File a petition, judge, decree, injunction, specific performance, or
rescission
Administrative agency - -A federal or state government agency created by the
legislature to perform a specific function, such as to make and enforce rules pertaining
to the environment.
Appellant - -The party who takes an appeal from one court to another.
Appellee - -The party against whom an appeal is taken—that is, the party who opposes
setting aside or reversing the judgment.
Bill of Rights - -The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Binding authority - -Any source of law that a court must follow when deciding a case.
Breaches - -To violate a law, by an act or an omission, or to break a legal obligation that
one owes to another person or to society.
Business ethics - -Ethics in a business context; a consensus of what constitutes right or
wrong behavior in the world of business and the application of moral principles to
situations that arise in a business setting.
Case law - -The rules of law announced in court decisions. Case law interprets statutes,
regulations, constitutional provisions, and other case law.
Categorical imperative - -A concept developed by the philosopher Immanuel Kant as an
ethical guideline for behavior. In deciding whether an action is right or wrong, or
desirable or undesirable, a person should evaluate the action in terms of what would
happen if everybody else in the same situation, or category, acted the same way.
WGU D216
,WGU D216
Checks and balances - -The system by which each of the three branches of the U.S.
national government (executive, legislative, and judicial) exercises checks on the
powers of the other branches.
Civil law - -The branch of law dealing with the definition and enforcement of all private or
public rights, as opposed to criminal matters.
Commerce clause - -The provision in Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution that
gives Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce.
Common law - -a body of general rules that applied throughout the entire English realm
Compelling government interest - -A test of constitutionality that requires the
government to have compelling reasons for passing any law that restricts fundamental
rights, such as free speech, or distinguishes between people based on a suspect trait.
Concurring opinion - -A court opinion by one or more judges or justices who agree with
the majority but want to make or emphasize a point that was not made or emphasized in
the majority's opinion.
Constitutional law - -Law that is based on the U.S. Constitution and the constitutions of
the various states.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) - -The concept that corporations can and should
act ethically and be accountable to society for their actions.
Cost-benefit analysis - -A decision-making technique that involves weighing the costs of
a given action against the benefits of the action.
Courts of equity - -A court that decides controversies and administers justice according
to the rules, principles, and precedents of equity.
Courts of law - -A court in which the only remedies that can be granted are things of
value, such as money damages. In the early English king's courts, courts of law were
distinct from courts of equity.
Criminal law - -The branch of law that defines and punishes wrongful actions committed
against the public.
Cyberlaw - -An informal term used to refer to all laws governing electronic
communications and transactions, particularly those conducted via the Internet.
Damages - -A monetary award sought as a remedy for a breach of contract or a tortious
act.
WGU D216
, WGU D216
Defendant - -One against whom a lawsuit is brought, or the accused person in a
criminal proceeding.
Defense - -Reasons that a defendant offers in an action or suit as to why the plaintiff
should not obtain what he or she is seeking.
Dissenting opinion - -A court opinion that presents the views of one or more judges or
justices who disagree with the majority's decision.
Due process clause - -The provisions of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the
U.S. Constitution that guarantee that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or
property without due process of law. Similar clauses are found in most state
constitutions.
Duty-based ethics - -An ethical philosophy rooted in the idea that every person has
certain duties to others, including both humans and the planet. Those duties may be
derived from religious principles or from other philosophical reasoning.
Eighth Amendment - -Prohibits excessive bail and fines, as well as cruel and unusual
punishment.
Electronic Communications Privacy Act (1986) - -Prohibits the interception of
information communicated by electronic means.
Equal protection clause - -The provision in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution that guarantees that no state will "deny to any person within its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws." This clause mandates that state governments treat
similarly situated individuals in a similar manner.
Equitable maxims - -General propositions or principles of law that have to do with
fairness (equity).
Establishment clause - -The provision in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
that prohibits Congress from establishing a state-sponsored religion, as well as from
passing laws that promote religion or show a preference for one religion over another.
Ethical reasoning - -A reasoning process in which an individual links his or her moral
convictions or ethical standards to the particular situation at hand.
Ethics - -Moral principles and values applied to social behavior.
Executive agencies - -An administrative agency within the executive branch of
government. At the federal level, executive agencies are those within the cabinet
departments.
WGU D216
