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WELCOME TO APPLIED BUSINESS

LAW

ABUS 241
POWERPOINT NARRATED BY
MELISSA BROWN
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
APPLIED BUSINESS &
ACCOUNTING
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO LAW
QUOTES OF THE DAY
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True human goodness, in all its purity and
freedom, can come to the fore only when
its recipient has no power.
Milan Kundera, Czech author
What is good? All that heightens the feeling
of power, the will to power,
power itself in man.
Freidrich Nietzsche, German Philosopher
LAW IS POWERFUL
Affects all people, from CEOs to children
Affects most of life, from work to leisure
Law is important
Virtually all known civilizations throughout history have
had some kind of law.
But which is more important -- written law or the
people who enforce it?
Law is fascinating
Complex, but never just theoretical
Televised trials often draw a large audience
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Origins of Our Law - Many Sources
Inherited much from British law.
Founding Fathers created a multi-level government
which guaranteed citizens rights.
Accumulation of precedent in legal cases makes up
the common law.
Statutes are passed by legislative body.
Substantive rules state parties rights.
Procedural rules determine how courts should settle
disputes.
COMPLEXITY
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Powerful Competing Interests
Property ownership
Ethics
Raw power
Business practices
Personal responsibility
Social mores
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Sources of Our Law Today
United States Constitution -- Law of the Land
Establishes Congress, the Presidency and Courts
Gives to states powers not given to Federal Govt
Guarantees basic rights to all citizens

State Constitutions
Create state executive, legislative & judicial
systems

Statutes laws passed by federal & state
governments
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Sources of Our Law Today (contd)
Common Law -- established by precedent,
or earlier cases decided by courts
Equity courts may issue rulings such as
injunctions to provide an equitable remedy
Administrative Law -- created by agencies
Other treaties and executive orders
CASE PRECEDENTS
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Precedents are judicial decisions that give rise to
legal principles that can be applied in future cases
based upon similar facts.

Precedents and other forms of positive law, such as
statutes, constitutions, and regulations are referred
to as binding authorities and must be followed.
IS AN 1875 CASE PRECEDENT
STILL BINDING?
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Supreme Court precedents, no matter how old,
remain controlling until they are overruled.
PRECEDENTS
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Why do they hold such importance?
Why are they only changed when it is considered
essential?
LEGAL HIERARCHY
IN AMERICAN LAW
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United States Constitution
Federal statutory law
State constitution
State statutory law
Local ordinance
Administrative rules and rulings
Common law
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
OFTEN HAVE LITTLE POWER
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Is this a good or bad thing?
Pros and cons - some things to consider.
CLASSIFICATIONS OF LAW
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Criminal Law
Civil Law
Dangerous behavior
outlawed by society
Government
prosecutes accused
Guilt is determined
Punishment or fine is
imposed
Regulates rights and
duties of parties
Victim, not govern-
ment brings suit
Guilt not determined
Compensation is
ordered
vs.
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Classifications of Law (contd)
Substantive Law
Procedural Law
Defines the rights
of the people
Establishes processes
for settling disputes
Public Law Private Law
Sets the duties of
government to its
citizens
Regulates duties
between individuals
vs.
vs.
LAW AND MORALITY
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Drunk driving is both immoral and illegal.
Actions may be legal, but immoral to some
people.
Owning slaves in Colonial America was legal, but
this violates most peoples moral standards today.
LAW
MORALITY
Actions may be moral, but not required by law.
Helping a hurt person is required by moral
standards, but is not mandated by the law.
Actions may be required by both moral standards and the
law.
J URISPRUDENCE, OR
WHAT IS LAW?
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Legal
Positivism
Natural Law
Legal Realism
Law is what the sovereign says it is.
Decisions stand, regardless of morality.
An unjust law is no law at all and need not
be obeyed.
Laws must have a good moral basis.
Enforcement of the law is more important
than the law itself.
Enforcers determine if the law is applied in
a fair and consistent way.
THE NATURAL LAW SCHOOL
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Assumes that law, rights and ethics are based on
universal moral principals inherent in nature
discoverable through the human reason.

The oldest view of jurisprudence dating back to
Aristotle.

The Declaration of Independence assumes the Laws
of Nature.
NATURAL LAW
REV. MARTIN LUTHER KING, J R.
Letter from the Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963
[T]here are two types of laws: just and unjust laws. .
. . A just law is a man-made code that squares with
the moral law . . . . An unjust law is a code that is out
of harmony with the moral law. . . . An unjust law is a
human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural
law.
J URISPRUDENCE
The foundation of our national policy will be laid in the
pure and immutable principles of private morality.
There is no truth more thoroughly established, than
that there exists in the economy and course of nature,
an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness.
QUIGLEY v. FIRST
CHURCH OF CHRIST,
SCIENTIST
65 Cal. App. 4th 1027, 76 Cal.
Rptr. 2d 792, 1998 Cal. App.
LEXIS 677
California Court of Appeal, 1998
CASE ANALYSIS
Facts: Gayle Quigley and J ames Wantland
had divorced. They had joint custody of
their 12-year-old son, Andrew, who lived
with his father. J ames was a member of the
Christian Science church, a religion that
regards disease as an error of the mind
and discourages the use of traditional
medicine. Members of the faith
Issue: Did the defendants have a duty to
summon medical help for Andrew?
Excerpts from Judge Bedsworths
Decision: [The judge began by
mentioning an earlier California case, in
which the states highest court ruled that
one person generally has no duty to protect
another from harm, unless there is a special
relationship between the two, such as
custody or control...
PLAINTIFF:
the party
who is suing
DEFENDANT:
the party
being sued
LEGAL
CITATION: where
to find the case
in a law library
Where and when
the case was
decided.
FACTS:
background
information on
the case
ISSUE: the
question being
decided
EXERPTS: the
decision -- also
called the
holding -- and
the courts
rationale
WE DEPEND UPON THE LAW TO GIVE US A
STABLE NATION AND ECONOMY, A FAIR
SOCIETY, A SAFE PLACE TO LIVE AND WORK.
BUT WHILE LAW IS A VITAL TOOL FOR
CRAFTING THE SOCIETY WE WANT, THERE ARE
NO EASY ANSWERS ABOUT HOW TO CREATE IT.
...LEGAL RULES CONTROL US,
YET WE CREATE THEM.
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THE END
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