Chapter 1

Introduction to Law
and Legal Reasoning
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 §1: Schools of
Jurisprudential Thought
Natural Law view.
Positivist view.
Historical view.
Legal Realism view.

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 Natural Law School
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 assumes natural law, or what
Jefferson called “the Laws of Nature.”

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 Natural Law: Rev. Martin
Luther King, Jr.
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.”

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 The Positivist School
Law is the supreme will of the State that applies
only to the citizens of that nation at that time.
Law, and therefore rights and ethics, are not
universal. The morality of a law, or whether the
law is “bad or good,” is irrelevant.

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 The Historical School
Emphasizes the evolutionary process of law
Concentrates on the origins of the legal system
Law derives its legitimacy and authority from
standards that have withstood the test of time
Follows decisions of earlier cases

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 Legal Realism
 Jurisprudence that holds law is not simply a
result of the written law, but a product of the
views of judicial decision makers, as well as
social,economic, and contextual influences.

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 §3: Sources of American Law
U.S. and State Constitutions.
Statutory Law—federal, state and local.
Administrative regulations and decisions.
Case Law and Common Law Doctrines.

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 §4: The Common Law Tradition
 American law is based largely on
English Common Law which was based largely
on traditions, social customs, rules, and cases
developed over hundreds of years.

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 The Common Law Tradition [2]
 At common law, there were two separate court
systems with two different types of remedies:
 COURTS OF LAW (monetary relief), and
 COURTS OF EQUITY (non-monetary relief) based
on “notions of justice and fair dealing.”

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 Courts of Law
Also called “king’s courts” where judges were
appointed by the king.
Remedies limited to those provided at law, i.e.,
land, chattel, money.
Judges resolved disputes by application of rules
of law to the facts of the case before the court.

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 Courts of Equity
Also called courts of chancery in Delaware.
Equitable relief was sometimes available in
instances where a strict application of the law to
the facts of the case compelled a result that was
legal but unjust.
Equitable Maxims.

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 Legal and Equitable
Remedies Today
Today federal and state courts of general
jurisdiction have consolidated remedies at law
and remedies at equity.
Generally, the same court can fashion a remedy
that includes both damages and equitable or
injunctive relief.

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 Stare Decisis
Stare decisis is a Latin phrase meaning “to stand
on decided cases.”
 Makes the law stable and predictable.
 Increases judicial efficiency by relieving courts of
having to reinvent legal principles for each case
brought before them.

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 Stare Decisis and Precedent
Stare decisis is “judge made law” based on
precedent.
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 authority and must be
followed.
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 Cases of “First Impression”
In cases of “first impression” where there is no
precedent, the court may refer to positive law,
public policy, and widely held social values in
order to craft the best new precedent.

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 Stare Decisis and Legal Reasoning
Method used by judges to reach a decision.
Many courts and attorneys frame decisions and
briefs using the IRAC format:
 Issue (What is the question to be resolved?)
 Rule (What law governs this matter?)
 Application (Apply the law to the facts)
 Conclusion (Decision or Verdict)

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 Types of Legal Reasoning
Deductive Reasoning: Makes use of
syllogism, a type of logical relationship
involving a major premise and a minor
premise.
Linear Reasoning: Proceeds from point to
point, with the final point being the
conclusion.
Reasoning by Analogy: Analysis that
compares facts of present case with facts of
similar previously-decided cases.
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 § 5: The Common Law Today
Common law today governs transactions not
covered by statutory law.
Restatements of the Law
 American Law Institute
 Summarize the common law of most states

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 §6: Classifications of Law
Every type of law will be either:
 Civil or Criminal, and either
 Substantive or Procedural, and either
 Public or Private.

* Cyberlaw is law applied to internet

transactions.
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 Civil vs. Criminal
Civil law defines the rights between individuals
or individuals and governments.
Criminal law defines an individual’s obligations
to society as a whole.

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 Substantive vs. Procedural
Substantive law defines or creates the rights
and obligations of persons and governments.
Procedural law provides the steps one must
follow in order to avail oneself of one’s
legal rights or enforce another’s legal
obligations.

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 §7: Finding Primary
Sources of Law
Finding Statutory Law.
 United States Code (USC).
 State Statutes (Texas).
Finding Administrative Law.
 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
Finding Case Law
 Supreme Court Cases at Findlaw.com.
 Federal Court Cases at Findlaw.com.
 State Court Cases at Findlaw.com.
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 §8: Reading &
Understanding Case Law
Legal cases are identified by a “legal citation” (or a
“cite”) as the example below:

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky,

Inc., 534 U.S. 184 (2002).
Title: First Party is Plaintiff, second
party is Defendant. The parties are
either italicized or underlined.

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 Reading &
Understanding Case Law [2]
Legal cases are identified by a “legal citation” (or a
“cite”) as the example below:

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky,

Inc., 534 U.S. 184 (2002).
This is a U.S. Supreme Court Case
found in volume 534, page 184 of
the U.S. Supreme Court reporter.

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 Reading &
Understanding Case Law [4]
Legal cases are identified by a “legal citation” (or a
“cite”) as the example below:

Federal Express Corp. v. Federal

Espresso, Inc., 201 F.3d 168 (2nd Cir.
2000). Read this Case at
Findlaw.com by clicking on
the hyperlink.
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 Law on the Web
Findlaw.com.
Legal Information Institute at Cornell
Law School.
Library of Congress.
Villanova Center for Law and Policy.
Legal Research Exercises on the Web.

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