LA245 Midterm #1 Sources of Law

The law that is created by judges in a court of law in civil or criminal matters

"Let the decision stand"
The ruling from a previous case (precedent)

Facts:
Poddar mentioned that he was trying to kill Tarasoff to his psychiatrist, but the psychiatrist did not tell anybody
The only action that the psychiatrist took was to detain Poddar for being schizophrenic, but he was later released

Issues:
Was the psychiatrist helping Tarasoff as well as perpetrating the murder by not telling anyone?

Decision:
Mental health professionals have the duty to protect those who are being threatened with bodily harm by the patient

a law written by a legislative body

A proposed statute submitted to Congress or a state legislature based on the societal need to regulate civil or criminal behavior

The power of the President to reject legislation passed by Congress

Committees investigate the need for new legislation, hold hearing, hear testimony from experts and common citizens, draft legislation, and debate and vote on it

Plain meaning rule, legislative history and intent, public policy

When a court applies the ordinary, everyday meaning of words in a statute

When a court looks at the statute history, including the records of the Congressional hearings, to find the meaning of certain language

When a court uses its own precedent and relies on general public policies

Facts:
Duke Power Co. required those who wish to be promoted to have a High school diploma and pass an intelligence test
There was intent to discriminate towards African Americans, who, at the time, were not able to get a great education

Issues:
There was blatant racism towards African American employees at Duke Power Co.
The intelligence tests and the diploma requirements were built so that some races were favored over the others

Decision:
This case established the legal precedent for so-called "disparate impact" lawsuits involving instances of racial discrimination
Though Congress did write that employers could give out educational tests, was the purpose of the exam necessary?

The law made by government agencies

Federal, state, local

Under control by the Executive branch, and the President appoints all agency heads as well as remove them

Examples:
FDA, FBI, USDA, etc.

The Executive Branch cannot remove someone from an independent agency

Congress must approve of the decision in order to completely remove someone who is in the independent agency

Examples:
CIA, NARA, FDIC, etc.

Rulemaking, investigation, adjudication

Require businesses and people to act a certain way; have the effect of a Congressional statute

These do not change the law; they define or apply the laws to new situations

Proposed rule must be published and public allowed to comment

Must hold a public hearing before establishing the rule
Lobbying is common

An order for the person to appear at a particular place and time to bring certain things relative to the investigation

Agencies can also conduct a surprise search and seizure of an enterprise

To hold a formal hearing about an issue and then decide it

Most adjudications begin with a hearing before an administrative law judge (an agency employee who acts as an impartial decision maker)

statutory, political, judicial, informational

Facts:
There was a lot of inappropriate language present in public television on a live broadcast
The FCC fined Fox

Issues:
FCC was going to punish Fox without any warning due to changes in their regulations, but Fox stated that the rules and regulations were very ambiguous and that the fining was unconstitutional

Decision:
The Supreme Court agreed and mentioned that the FCC should have warned Fox about the changes in their rules

A law that requires federal administrative agencies to disclose two types of data (data about agency expenditures, policies, and data related to you)

FOIA does not apply to Congress, federal courts, or the executive staff of the White House

National security, personnel information, and pending agency investigations