美国法律体系

Contract Formation and Classification

A contract is, first of all, an agreement. It is a mainifestation of the mutual assent of the parties. The mutual assent, or the agreement, is typically reached when one part ( the …

Fri, Feb 27, 2009

Basic Rights

The Constitution, as ratified in 1788, contains a few provisions guaranteeing individual right and liberties. For example, Article Ⅰ, Section 9 prohibits the suspension of writ of …

Sat, Dec 27, 2008

Federal-State Relations

Independence from England left the thirteen American states without a central government. Each of them functioned as an autonomous unit. Even under the Articles of Confederation, …

Thu, Dec 25, 2008

The Institutions of Government

Constitutional law, in its essentials, is an expression of how people want to live as individuals within an organized society. What form of government they want? What powers shall …

Wed, Dec 24, 2008

Appeal and Enforcement

Every judicial system provides for review by an appellate court of the decisions of the trial court. When the system has two levels of appellate courts, appeal in most cases should …

Sat, Dec 20, 2008

The Trial

American law provides for jury trials in most actions for damages. This means that in those cases, either party may assert the right to have the facts tried by the jury. If neither …

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

Discovery

American civil procedure allows lawyers in civil suits to get information from the opposing party and from witnesses. The techniques for this purpose are called pre-trial …

Wed, Dec 17, 2008

Pleadings and Motions Attacking Pleadings

Civil litigation begins with the pleadings. A pleading is a legal document filed with the court that sets forth the position and contentions of a party. The purpose of pleadings in …

Mon, Dec 15, 2008

Commencing a Legal Action

Lawsuits do not begin themselves. Someone must first decide to sue someone else for an alleged injury. If the decision is made intelligently, the person choosing to sue must have …

Sun, Dec 14, 2008

Separation of Powers

The framers of the constitution knew that accumulation of all powers in the same hands would result in tyranny. In their effort to prevent tyranny and to form a more perfect union, …

Sun, Nov 9, 2008

The Adversary System

The law of procedure can be divided into criminal and civil. Civil procedure is the body of rules by which the parties in civil litigation use the court to settle disputes. …

Tue, Sep 9, 2008

The Dual Court System 双轨制法院体系

The American judicial system, reflecting the overall decentralized nature of its government, comprises a large number of federal and state courts. The federal and the state …

Thu, Sep 4, 2008

Law under American Federalism

The United States has a federal system of government. What this means is that under the US Constitution there is a national, or federal, government, and there are individual …

Wed, Sep 3, 2008

美国法院体系 The American Court System

Unlike most countries in the world, actually, there are fifty-two court systems in America—one for each of the fifty states, one for the District of Columbia, plus a federal …

Wed, Sep 3, 2008