For both 2305 and 2306
The terminology below is meant to familiarize you with the types of laws that we will spend the semester reading about. In the first section we will focus primarily on constitutions, but it is useful to understand what all of these types of laws are, and how they relate to each other.
Here are some useful definitions that will make our discussion of future material more efficient.
Constitution:
The basic principles and laws of a nation, state, or social group that determine the powers and duties of the government and guarantee certain rights to the people in it.
- U.S. Constitution.
- Texas Constitution.
Charters:
- a grant or guarantee of rights, franchises, or privileges from the sovereign power of a state or country. a written instrument that creates and defines the franchises of a city, educational institution, or corporation.
- Wikipedia: the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the recipient admits a limited (or inferior) status within the relationship, and it is within that sense that charters were historically granted, and it is that sense which is retained in modern usage of the term.
- The First Virginia Charter of 1606.
Statutes:
- Wikipedia: A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by legislative bodies; they are distinguished from case law or precedent, which is decided by courts, and regulations issued by government agencies.
Statutory Code:
A statutory code is a subject-based arrangement of the laws of a general and permanent nature passed by the jurisdiction's legislature. Unlike
- U.S. Code.
- Texas Statutory Code
Ordinance:
- a piece of legislation enacted by a municipal authority.
- Cornell: An ordinance is a law or decree by a municipality. Put differently, an ordinance is a local law. Usually ordinances forbid or restrict some type of activity. For example, § 4-03 of The Rules of the City for New York City states that, “vehicular traffic facing such signal [a steady red light] shall stop before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or, if none, then before entering the intersection and shall remain standing until an indication to proceed is shown. In other words, in New York City, no turn on red.
Municipal governments can pass ordinances on matters that the state government allows to be regulated at the local level. The ordinance carries the state’s authority and has the same effect as a state statute.
Case Law:
- Cornell: Case law is law that is based on judicial decisions rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law concerns unique disputes resolved by courts using the concrete facts of a case. By contrast, statutes and regulations are written abstractly. Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, refers to the collection of precedents and authority set by previous judicial decisions on a particular issue or topic. In that sense, case law differs from one jurisdiction to another.
- Texas State Law Library: Texas uses a common-law system. In a common-law system, decisions from high courts are binding on lower courts — a concept known as setting a precedent. Case law is derived from these past decisions made by the courts. Because the courts are always hearing new cases and interpreting the law, case law is constantly evolving.
- Wikipedia: also used interchangeably with common law, is law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of a legal case that have been resolved by courts or similar tribunals. These past decisions are called "case law", or precedent. Stare decisis—a Latin phrase meaning "let the decision stand"—is the principle by which judges are bound to such past decisions, drawing on established judicial authority to formulate their positions.
Administrative Law:
- Cornell: Administrative law refers to the branch of law governing the creation and operation of administrative agencies. The powers granted to administrative agencies are particularly important, along with the substantive rules that such agencies make, and the legal relationships between agencies, other government bodies, and the public at large.
- Wikipedia: a division of law governing the activities of executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law includes executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regulations"), adjudication, and the enforcement of laws. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law. Administrative law deals with the decision-making of such administrative units of government that are part of the executive branch in such areas as international trade, manufacturing, the environment, taxation, broadcasting, immigration, and transport.
- Library of Congress: Administrative law (commonly called regulatory law) is law promulgated and enforced by an administrative body (usually an agency) according to that body’s area of responsibility. Administrative law sometimes receives less attention than its more prominent "law" siblings (statutes and case law), but from building a bridge to baking a bundt (and everything in between), administrative law has a big impact on the everyday lives of citizens.
Military Law:
- Cornell: Generally, in the United States, Military Law is a body of law that oversees the members of the armed forces. Essentially, the usage of military law on the members of the armed forces was a recognition that military individuals are subjected to different rules and expectations than ordinary civilian citizens.
- Military.com: The military justice system is based on the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), which applies to all branches. While the UCMJ is similar to civilian law, it is also more strict in several areas. The UCMJ contains everything from a list of crimes and offenses to rules for trials and sentencing. All active duty personnel, activated reservists & Guard members as well as retirees are subject to the UCMJ at all times. If a military member commits a crime while off-duty that does not involve the military they can still be subject to the UCMJ as well as civilian penalties.
- Uniform Code of Military Justice: the foundation of the system of military justice of the armed forces of the United States. The UCMJ was established by the United States Congress in accordance with their constitutional authority, per Article I, Section 8, which provides that "The Congress shall have Power . . . to make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval forces" of the United States.
