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Sources of law
• Constitutional law– U.S. Constitution– State constitutions
• May grant more rights than the U.S. Constitution, but not fewer
• Same-sex marriage in Massachusetts
– Judicial review
Sources of law
• Constitutional law
• Statutory law– Congress
– State legislatures– Local authorities
Sources of law
• Constitutional law
• Statutory law
• Administrative law– Federal Communications Commission
Criminal and civil law
• Criminal = offense against society
• Civil = offense against individual(s)
• How would you categorize:– Obscenity?
Criminal and civil law
• Criminal = offense against society
• Civil = offense against individual(s)
• How would you categorize:– Obscenity?– Copyright infringement?
Criminal and civil law
• Criminal = offense against society
• Civil = offense against individual(s)
• How would you categorize:– Obscenity?– Copyright infringement?– Reporting on the movement of troops in
time of war?
Criminal and civil law
• Criminal = offense against society
• Civil = offense against individual(s)
• How would you categorize:– Obscenity?– Copyright infringement?– Reporting on the movement of troops in
time of war?
– Invasion of privacy?
Types of civil law
• Contracts
• Torts– Common media torts:
• Libel• Invasion of privacy• Copyright infringement
Court systems
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Appeals Courts
U.S. District Courts
State Supreme Courts
State Appeals Courts
State District Courts
U.S. Supreme Court
• Final word on U.S. Constitution
• Takes cases through a writ of certiorari — “granting cert”
U.S. Supreme Court
• Final word on U.S. Constitution
• Takes cases through a writ of certiorari — “granting cert”
• Only four of the nine justices are needed to grant cert
U.S. Supreme Court
• Final word on U.S. Constitution
• Takes cases through a writ of certiorari — “granting cert”
• Only four of the nine justices are needed to grant cert
• Chief justice is also administrative head of federal court system
U.S. Supreme Court
• John Roberts, 53Chief Justice
• John PaulStevens, 88
• Antonin Scalia, 72• Anthony
Kennedy, 72
• ClarenceThomas, 60
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 75
• Stephen Breyer, 70• Samuel Alito, 58• Sonia
Sotomayor, 55
Jurisdiction
• Geographic– Libel cases usually handled at state level– What if the parties are in different states?
Jurisdiction
• Geographic
• Subject matter– Copyright always handled at federal level
– Obscenity can be handled at state or federal level
Jurisdiction
• Geographic
• Subject matter
• Internet– Cybersell of Florida and Arizona– Yahoo! and French law– “Libel tourism”
The appeals process
• “Justiciable controversy”– Courts cannot rule on cases that are not
before them– An exception: the Massachusetts Supreme
Judicial Court issues “advisory opinions”
The appeals process
• “Justiciable controversy”
• Appeals courts do not retry cases– Was the law correctly applied?
– Is the law constitutional?– Rulings are decided on narrow grounds,
and cases are usually sent back to lower court