POSC150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 25: Constitutional Law, Precedent, Exclusionary Rule
Document Summary
The non-violent ways to decide who gets what, when, and how (rules) : no laws: hobbes, life is terrible. How they rule cases and explain then makes laws. Fill in gaps of rules made by legislation: precedent. Define what we can and can"t do: procedural. Define how law is applied and enforced. If police not do it right then not have a case: criminal. Prosecuted by the state on our behalf. Other sources of law: constitutional laws, statutory laws. Rules passed by congress and president: administrative law. Ex: fda saying healthy foods only have 5g of fat. Can be used to make more laws. All law is under review by judges. Very little about courts in the constitution: so system generally from statutory law. National and state: hierarchy of courts in system (very strict, each court has specific jurisdiction. Authority to decide certain types of cases. Where the events took place: cases appealed to higher courts with appellate cases.
