Business Law Midterm Info

Business Law I

Midterm

1) State police power allows states to enact laws to protect or promote the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare the community. States also keep the power to regulate intrastate commerce in their borders as well as interstate activities as long as they don't break federal regulations.

2) The commerce clause gives congress the power to control commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states. This could potentially conflict with state police power. The federal government trumps state and local governments in matters involving more than one state. Also, any intrastate activity that has an effect on interstate commerce is subject to federal regulation. States must operate within the federal framework.

3) Fully protected speech is speech that the government cannot prohibit or regulate. The government cannot prohibit or regulate the content of fully protected speech. Limited protected speech cannot be forbidden, but it can be subject to time, place, and manner restrictions.

4) i. The Equal Protection Clause states that a state cannot "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This prohibits state, local, and federal governments from enacting laws that classify and treat "similarly situated" persons differently. This clause is designed to prohibit invidious discrimination, but does not make the classification of individuals unlawful.

ii. There are three tests to determine if a law violates the equal protection clause.

Strict scrutiny test-

1. Any government activity or regulation that classifies persons based on a suspect class (such as race, nationality, and citizenship) or involves fundamental rights is reviewed using a strict scrutiny test. This means that the government must have an exceptionally important reason for treating persons differently because of their race in order for such unequal treatment to be lawful.

2. Intermediate scrutiny test. The government must have an important reason for treating persons differently because of their sex in order for such unequal treatment to be lawful. Under this standard, the courts must determine whether the government classification is "reasonably related" to a legitimate government purpose.

3. Rational basis test. The lawfulness of all government classifications that do not involve suspect or protected classes is examined using this test. Under this test, the courts will uphold government regulations as long as there is a justifiable reason for the law. This standard permits much of the government regulation of business.

iii. The substantive due process category of due process requires that government statutes ordinances, regulations, and other laws be clear on their face and not overly broad in scope. The test of whether substantive due process is meth is whether a reasonable person could understand the law to be able to comply with it. Laws that do not meet this test are declared void for vagueness. For example: A city ordinance making it illegal for persons to wear "clothes of the opposite sex" would be held unconstitutional as void for vagueness because a reasonable person could not clearly determine whether his or her conduct violates the law.

5) There are three elements of wrongful interference with a contractual relationship. They are: 1. A valid enforceable contract between two parties

2. A third party's knowledge of that contract

3. The third party intentionally causing either of the two parties to break the contract.

6) Bona fide competitive behavior is a privileged interference even if it results in the breaking of a contract. The public policy that favors free competition in advertising outweighs the instability that competitive activity might cause in contractual relations. The difference between interference with a business relationship and with a contractual relationship is that one deals with acceptable business practice while the other deals with written agreements.

7) The tort of Appropriation is an attempt by another person to appropriate a living person's name or identity for commercial purposes.

8) Actual cause is when the defendant's negligent act was the actual cause of the plaintiff's injury. Proximate cause states that the defendant is only liable for the foreseeable consequences of his or her negligent act. This impacts actual cause by limiting the liability of the defendant so as to protect said party from the linking of an event to affecting another party.

9) The following constitutional amendments provide protections pertaining to criminal law:

1. 5th amendment Protection Against Double Jeopardy

i. A person cannot be tried twice for the same crime.

2. 6th amendment Right to a Public Jury Trial

i. The sixth amendment guarantees certain rights to criminal defendants. These rights are: to be tried by an impartial jury of the state or district in which the alleged crime was committed, to confront the witnesses against the accused, to have the assistance of a lawyer, and to have a speedy trial

3. 8th amendment Protection Against Cruel and Unusual Punishment

i. The eighth amendment protects criminal defendants from cruel and unusual punishment such as torture. This does not however protect against capital punishment

10) Five