Post on 22-Dec-2015
Legislative Power:
Congress has two branches—House and Senate
Represent the states to the Federal Government.
Power to make laws.
Acts mainly through committees.
Executive Power:
The President has the power to enforce laws.
Below the President is an informal “cabinet” and a formal “administrative branch”
Department of Justice is part of administrative branch. Federal Prosecutors are part of
Department of Justice.
Executive Power:
Judicial Branch
The Judicial Branch consists of…
The nine justices of the Supreme Court(right click the seal to visit the Supreme Court)
And all lower Federal Courts(right click the gavel to visit all the courts)
The Supreme Court has the power to
interpret laws
Click here to find out what checks and balances the Supreme Court performs
Judiciary Power:
Checks & Balances:
LegislativeMakes the Law
Judicialreview
Judicialreview
Confirmsappointments
Confirmsappointments
Vetopower
ExecutiveEnforces the Law
JudicialInterprets the Law
AppointsFederaljudges
Federal v. State PowersStates’ Powers
Federal Powers
Commerce power * Copyrights Taxation * Patents Borrowing * International Treaties * Currency * Waging War Eminent Domain * Post Civil Rights * Naturalization* Bankruptcy *Weights* Admiralty * Measures
Powers not granted by the Constitution to the Federal Government or prohibited from the States
Fed v. State in the Court Systems
Federal SystemSupreme Court
Federal Courts of Appeals (Circuit Courts)
District Courts
State Systems—51 –all slightly different
Court System Illustrated
U.S. DISTRICT COURT
U.S.COURT OF APPEALS11 numbered circuits
D.C. CircuitFederal Circuit
STATE TRIAL COURT
STATE APPEALS COURT
STATE SUPREME COURT
U.S. SUPREME COURT
Some State Systems
SURROGATE’S COURT(Probate of wills)
FAMILY COURT, etc.
SUPREME COURT
APPELLATE DIVISION OF THE SUPREME COURT
COURT OF APPEALS
New York
DISTRICT COURTCivil Actions $10,00 o r less
Domestic RelationsMisdemeanors
SUPERIOR COURTCivil actions over $10,000
Serious Crimes
COURT OF APPEALS
SUPREME COURT
North Carolina
Precedent Doesn’t Always ExistU.S. SUPREME COURT
U.S. COURTS OF APPEAL
U.S. DISTRICT COURTS
Mandatory authority for all courts (state & federal) on federal law and constitutional issues.Mandatory authority for lower federal courts within the circuit; persuasive authority for other circuits; not binding on state courts. Mandatory authority for specialized federal courts in its jurisdiction; not binding on state courts.
More On Precedent
STATE SUPREME COURTS
STATE APPELLATE COURTS
Mandatory authority for all lower state courts; mandatory for federal courts interpreting state law (diversity jurisdiction).
Mandatory authority for lower state courts.
Finding a LAW
Public Law no. (Congressional Session & no.)
Statutes at Large citation
Bound Official version
U.S Code
Codified by Subject
US Code Illustrated
USCA is West Publishing, USCS is Lawyers Coop (Lexis) Publishing. USC is published by the government; it doesn’t have any commentary.
USCA IllustratedPATENTS 35 § 105
§ 105. Inventions in outer space
(a) Any invention made, used or sold in outer space on a space object or componentthereof under the jurisdiction or control of the United States for purposes of this title, exceptwith respect to and otherwise provided for by an international agreement to which theUnited States is a party, or with respect to any space object or component thereof that iscarried on the registry of a foreign state in accordance with the Convention on Registrationof Objects Launched into Outer Space.
“(b) Any invention made, used or sold in outer space on a space object or componentthereof that is carried on the registry of a foreign state in accordance with the Convention ibRegistration of Objects Launched into Outer Space, shall be considered to be made, used orsold with the United States for the purposes of this title if specifically so agreed in aninternational agreement between the United States and the state of registry.
(Added Pub.L. 101-580, § 1(a), Nov. 15, 1990, 104 Stat.2863)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Effective Date; Special RulesSection 2 of Pub.L. 101-580 provided that:“(a) Effective date.—Subject to subsections (b),
(c), and (d) of this section, the amendments made bythe first section of this Act [enacting this section]shall apply to all United States patents grantedbefore, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act[Nov. 15, 1990], and to all applications for UnitedStates patents pending on or filed on or after suchdate of enactment [Nov. 15, 1990].
“(b) Final decisions.—The amendments made bythe first section of the Act [enacting this section]shall not affect any final decision made by a court orthe Patent and Trademark Office before the date ofenactment of this Act [Nov. 15, 1990] with respect toa patent or an application for a patent, if no appealfrom such decision is pending and the time for filingan appeal has expired.
“(c) Pending cases.—The amendments made bythe first section of this Act [enacting this section]
Finding a Regulation
Regulations are passed by administrative agencies
Published first in Federal Register
Then in Code of Federal RegulationsCodified by subject.
State Laws and Regulations
Differ from state to state, so can most easily by found on line.
Some states don’t widely publish their regulations on paper anymore.
Deciphering Court Citations
Missouri v. Holland, 252 U.S. 416 (1920).
U.S. v. Joyner, 201 F.3d 61 (2d Cir. 2000).
Morgan v. Kroupa, 702 A.2d 630 (Vt.
1997).
Supreme Court Decisions
Published officially in U.S. ReportsCited. U.S.
Commercially by West in Supreme Court Reports.
Cited S.Ct.Also commercially by Lawyers’ Coop in Supreme Court Lawyers’ Edition
Cited L.Ed.It is correct to cite to all three sources or just one, as you prefer.
Circuit Court Decisions
Are published in the Federal Reporter
Cite. “F.” and specify 1st, 2d, or 3d.
District Court Decisions
Are published in the Federal Supplement
Cited “F.Supp.”
But if they pertain to rules of procedure they are published in Federal Rules Decisions
Cited “F.R.D.”
State Court Decisions
Some States have official reporters which usually have the name of the state on them.
E.g., New York Reports
Other States’ decisions are printed in Regional reporters, which report a number of state’s decisions together
E.g., Northeast Reports (by West).
Citing to either or both is appropriate.
Finding CasesWhen you don’t know the area of law, start with secondary sources.
These will explain the law and lead you to cases and statutes that apply.
Am. Jur. 2d is a popular legal encyclopedia
Citing to Encyclopedias and Treatises
Cite to Encyclopedias in the same way that you cite to codes Vol. #, Topic, Section #Cite to treatises similarly to other books
R. Joseph Smith & Patrice J. Goodwin, Foreign Relations in the Post-Modern World vol. 2, § 42, 310 (3d ed., West 1999).
Cite to Law Reviews Like this: Cass R. Sunstein, Affirmative Action, Caste, and Cultural Comparisons, 97 Mich. L. Rev. 1311, 1315 (1999).
More Finding Cases-Digests
West’s Digests index all cases in order of subject matter.
Different digest series index different courts.
West Federal Practice digests index all federal courts
West Key Number System630 Vt. 702 ATLANTIC REPORTER, 2d SERIES
Mary MORGAN
v.
Zane KROUPA
No. 95-594.
Supreme Court of Vermont
Sept. 5, 1997
Finder of lost dog brought action in replevin to
recover dog from original owner. Following bench trial, the Addison Superior Court, Matthew I. Katz, J., found for finder, and original owner appealed. The Supreme Court, Morse, J., held that: (1) provision of state lost-property statute governing disposition of stray beasts by finders thereof did not apply to stray dog; (2) trial court acted within its discretion in awarding possession of dog to finder; and (3) previous owner was not entitled to have dog from finder under property law principles of trover and conversion.
Affirmed. Gibson, J., dissented with opinion in which Allen,
C.J. (Ret.), Specially Assigned, joined. 1. Animals 60
Provision of state lost-property statute governing disposition of stray beasts by finders thereof was applicable only to animals having very significant value in largely agricultural economy extant at time of statute’s drafting, such as cows, oxen, horses, sheep, swine and other farm animals, and did not apply to stray dog. 27 V.S.A. §§ 1101, 1103-1105, 1109.
2. Animals 59 Trial court acted within its discretion in awarding
possession of dog to person who found it after it escaped from its original owner, where finder diligently attempted to locate dog’s owner and responsibly sheltered and cared for dog for over a year.
3. Animals 46, 59
Previous owner of dog was not entitled to recover it from finder under property law principles of trover and conversion, where previous owner’s property interest in dog was qualified by public interest in encouraging finders to care for and shelter lost pets, and finder diligently attempted to locate previous owner while providing dog with care, shelter and companionship for over a year.
________________
Beth Robinson of Langrock Sperry & Wool, Middlebury, for plaintiff-appellee.
Christena M. Obregon, Burlington, for defendant-appellant.
Before GIBSON, DOOLEY, MORSE and JOHNSON, JJ., and ALLEN, C.J. (Ret.), Specially Assigned.
MORSE, Justice.
Defendant Zane Kroupa appeals from a judgment awarding possession of a dog named Boy (a/k/a Max) to plaintiff Mary Morgan. We affirm.
Defendant adopted a mixed-breed puppy when it was six to eight weeks old and trained it to be a hunting dog.
Synopsis
Headnotes
More Finding Cases-Start with the Statute or Regulation
U.S.C.A. and U.S.C.S. provide “annotations” to cases that discuss the particular statute.
USCA Follows West Key Numbers
The C.F.R. does the same to a limited extent.
Sample Citations - Federal Courts
United StatesSupreme Court
410 U.S. 113 93 S.Ct. 70535 L.Ed.2d 147
United StatesCourts
of Appeals
13 F. 3d 161886 F.2d 213
United StatesDistrict Courts
776 F.Supp. 101113 F.Supp.2d 923
Full Citation Form for Cases
Futrelle v. Duke University, 347 N.C. 398, 494 S.E.2d 412 (1997).
494 S.E.2d 412 = volume 494 of the South Eastern Reporter (2d series), page 412
Some Basic Citation RulesUse a full citation the first time you cite a source. May use a short citation thereafter.
Kastner, 253 F. 3d at 423.
Id. Generally used only when the cite immediately before was to the same source.
Frequency: Cite every non-original thought. When a whole paragraph comes from one source, you can cite at the end of the paragraph, but when sources change in the paragraph you should cite individual sentences.
More Basic Citation Rules
Quotes over 50 words are indented and single spaced.Quotation marks and punctuation go before the footnotesUse signals: “See” “See generally” “Cf.” “But see” etc.Use pinpoint cites whenever possible, and always when quoting.
Some Complex Citation Rules
You must cite the source you read—not the source that the author you read examined.
To cite someone who is citing someone else you write “Bean v. Mandel, 451 F3d 254, 258 (2004) citing Mashlenko v. Speranski, 586 U.S. 240 (1998).
Never quote the headnotes or synopsis of a case!
Final Note: Shephardizing
Old cases are not removed from case reporters the way old laws are removed from the U.S. Code!Always check, online preferably, for whether your case is overturned or limited by later cases.There used to be a book series called Shephard’s Citations through which lawyers did this. Hence the bizarre word.
Footnote
This powerpoint uses material from other powerpoints found on the 2003 University
of Virginia “Intro to Political Science” webpage, and the 1999 University of Iowa law school’s webpage. The pages are no longer available. Book illustrations were
taken from the West Publishing website in 2005 and also are no longer available at
that site.