Legal Basics – Day 3Goals: Students will1. Complete discussion re case law study.2. Understand basic legal jurisprudence.3. Take first vocabulary quiz.4. Understand the concepts of legal ethics

Stare decisis – ◦ Means precedent of the case for cases that follow◦ Defining principle of common law is the

requirement that the courts follow decisions of higher courts in their jurisdiction.

◦ Helps establish commonality in law.

Summary of Basic Modern Legal Principles

This is the court level that defines to a great degree how binding other court decisions are upon other courts in that jurisdiction.◦ The Federal System:

Three tiers US District Court – trial court US Court of Appeals – first level of appeal Supreme Court – final decision-maker

Court hierarchy

Two important meanings:◦Refers to the formal power of a court to exercise authority over a particular matter.

◦The geographical regions wherein the different courts lay.

Jurisdiction

Mandatory/Binding v. Persuasive Authority◦ Some aspects of legal decisions are mandatory or

binding and courts in their jurisdiction must follow those rules of law.

◦ Other sources are merely persuasive Courts may completely ignore findings that are not

binding – it depends totally on the jurisdiction of the deciding court.

Impact of Authority

Primary sources of law (cases from higher court, statutes, regulations) may be mandatory or merely persuasive depending on the nature of the primary source.

Secondary sources (law review articles, hornbooks stating the general law) is not law and is never mandatory.◦ A court may look toward secondary sources for

guidance on how to resolve a particular issue.◦ Secondary sources are also good places to go to

find citations to primary sources.

Primary v. Secondary Authority

15 minutes to look over the words. Take Quiz Correct Quiz in class

Vocabulary Quiz

Goal: The students will◦ Understand the concepts of legal ethics

Day four starts here

Definition: moral principles that govern a person’s or group’s behavior.◦The moral correctness of specified conduct.

Ethics

The term given to the code that is set up by the legal professionals that details their moral and professional duties to clients.

Legal Ethics