Chapter 3

Question 1

Doctrine of Implied Powers

Answer 1

Powers not stated in the Constitution but that are necessary for Congress to carry out other expressly granted powers.

Question 2

Double Jeopardy

Answer 2

A constitutional protection against being tried twice for the same crime.

Question 3

Res judicata

Answer 3

When a civil case has a final judgment and is no longer subject to appeal, it cannot be relitigated between the original parties.

Question 4

Civil Law

Answer 4

Law that deals with harm to an individual.

Question 5

Criminal Law

Answer 5

Law that deals with harm to society as a whole.

Question 6

Plantiff

Answer 6

A person who initiates a lawsuit.

Question 7

Defendant

Answer 7

In a lawsuit, the person who is sued. in a criminal case the person who is being charged with a crime.

Question 8

Beyond a reasonable doubt

Answer 8

The standard of proof used in criminal trials. The evidence presented must be so conclusive and complete that there are no reasonable doubts regarding the guilt of the accused.

Question 9

Preponderance of the evidence

Answer 9

The standard of proof most commonly used in civil trials. The evidence presented must prove that it is more likely than not the defendant committed the wrongful act.

Question 10

Clear and Convincing

Answer 10

The standard of proof used in some civil trials. The evidence presented must be greater than a preponderance of the evidence but less than a reasonable doubt.

Question 11

Damages

Answer 11

Monetary compensation including compensatory, punitive, and nominal damages.

Question 12

Felony

Answer 12

A serious crime, usually carrying a person sentence of one or more years.

Question 13

Misdemeanor

Answer 13

A minor crime not amounting to a felony, usually punishable a fine or a jail sentence of less than a year.

Question 14

Mens rea

Answer 14

Bad intent

Question 15

Actus reus

Answer 15

bad act

Question 16

Prima facie case

Answer 16

What the prosecution or plaintiff must be able to provide in order for the case to go to the jury - that is, the elements of the prosecution’s case or the plaintiff’s cause of action.

Question 17

Defense

Answer 17

A fact or legal argument that would relieve the defendant of liability in a civil care or guilt in a criminal case.

Question 18

Cause of action

Answer 18

A claim that based on the law and the facts is sufficient to support a lawsuit. If the plaintiff does not state a valid cause of action in the complaint, the court will dismiss it.

Question 19

Affirmative Defense

Answer 19

A defense whereby the defendant offers new evidence to avoid judgment.

Question 20

Sovereign immunity

Answer 20

The prohibition agains suing the government without the government’s consent.

Question 21

Compensatory damages

Answer 21

Money awarded to a plaintiff in payment for his or her actual losses.

Question 22

Punitive damages

Answer 22

Money awarded to a plaintiff in cases of intentional torts in order to punish the defendant and serve as a waring to others.

Question 23

Nominal damages

Answer 23

A token sum awarded when liability has been found but monetary damages cannot be shown.

Question 24

Contract

Answer 24

An agreement supported by consideration.

Question 25

Consideration

Answer 25

Something of value exchanged to form the basis of a contract.

Question 26

Property law

Answer 26

Law dealing with ownership

Question 27

Real Property

Answer 27

Land and objects permanently attached to the land.

Question 28

Personal property

Answer 28

All property that is not real property.

Question 29

Constructive

Answer 29

Not factually true, but accepted by the courts as being legally true.

Question 30

Legal fiction

Answer 30

An assumption that something that is not real is real, for example saying that a corporation is a person for the purposes of it being able to sue and be sued.

Question 31

Tort Law

Answer 31

Law that deals with harm to a person or a person's property.

Question 32

Intentional tort

Answer 32

A tort committed by one who intends to do the act that creates the harm.

Question 33

Negligence

Answer 33

the failure to act reasonably under the circumstances.

Question 34

Contributory negiligence

Answer 34

Negligence by the plaintiff that contributed to his or her injury. Normally, any finding of contributory negligence acts as a complete bart to a plaintiff's recovery.

Question 35

Assumption of the risk

Answer 35

Voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger.

Question 36

Comparative negligence

Answer 36

A method for measuring the relative negligence of the plaintiff and the defendant, with a commensurate decrease in the compensation for the injuries.

Question 37

Strict liability

Answer 37

Liability without having to prove fault.

Question 38

Substantive Law

Answer 38

Law that creates rights and duties.

Question 39

Procedural Law

Answer 39

Law that regulates how the legal system operates.

Question 40

Statute of Limitations

Answer 40

The law that sets the length of time from when something happens to when a lawsuit must be filed before the right to bring it is lost.