Law School
Episodes
Criminal law (2022): Crimes against property: Pickpocketing
09 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing t...
Civil procedure: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Demurrer
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A demurrer is a pleading in a lawsuit that objects to or challenges a pleading filed by an opposing party. The word demur means "to object"; a demurre...
Tort law (2022): Defenses (Part Three)
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Elements of delict The elements of a delict as follows: The elements of harm and conduct are fact-based inquiries, while causation is part-factual and...
Criminal procedure (2023): Self-incrimination
04 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In criminal law, self-incrimination is the act of exposing oneself generally, by making a statement, "to an accusation or charge of crime; to involve ...
Intellectual property
04 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual p...
Criminal law (2022): Crimes against property: Payola
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Payola, in the music industry, is the illegal practice of paying a commercial radio station to play a song without the station disclosing the payment....
Civil procedure: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: class action (Part two)
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Class action cases present significant ethical challenges. Defendants can hold reverse auctions and any of several parties can engage in collusive set...
Tort law (2022): Defenses (Part Two)
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nuisance. "Nuisance" is traditionally used to describe an activity which is harmful or annoying to others such as indecent conduct or a rubbish heap. ...
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act (Part Two)
28 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Milken. On 29 March 1989 American financier Michael Milken was indicted on 98 counts of racketeering and fraud relating to an investigation in...
Criminal procedure (2023): Exclusionary rule
27 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the United States, the exclusionary rule is a legal rule, based on constitutional law, that prevents evidence collected or analyzed in violation of...
Criminal law (2022): Crimes against property: Larceny (Part 2)
26 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Intent to steal (animus furandi). The offender must have taken the property with the intent to steal it. Traditionally intent to steal is defined as t...
Civil procedure: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Class action (Part One)
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group o...
Tort law (2022): Defenses (Part One)
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits a tortious act. Tort la...
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)
21 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil...
Criminal procedure (2023): Right to counsel
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
United States. The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right…to ha...
Criminal law (2022): Crimes against property: Larceny (Part 1)
19 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offense under the common l...
Civil procedure: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Cause of action + Case Information Statement
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A cause of action or right of action, in law, is a set of facts sufficient to justify suing to obtain money or property, or to justify the enforcement...
Tort law (2022): Economic torts: Tortious interference
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tortious interference, also known as intentional interference with contractual relations, in the common law of torts, occurs when one person intention...
Taxation in the US (2022): Flat-rate tax
14 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A flat tax (short for flat-rate tax) is a tax with a single rate on the taxable amount, after accounting for any deductions or exemptions from the tax...
Criminal procedure (2023): Trial by jury (Part Two)
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
United States. The availability of a trial by jury in American jurisdictions varies. Because the United States legal system separated from that of the...
Criminal law (2022): Crimes against property: Intellectual property (IP) (Part 02)
12 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Copyright infringement. Copyright infringement is reproducing, distributing, displaying or performing a work, or to make derivative works, without per...
Civil procedure: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: A Complaint
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons that the filing party or parties (the plainti...
Tort law (2022): Economic torts: Fraud
10 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (for ex...
Taxation in the US (2022): State and local taxation: Land value taxation
07 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Land value taxation (for example, property tax applied only to the unimproved value of land) has a long history in the United States dating back from ...
Criminal procedure (2023): Trial by jury (Part One)
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a lawful proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in...
Criminal law (2022): Crimes against property: Intellectual property (IP) (Part 01)
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual p...
Civil procedure: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: A Pleading
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In law as practiced in countries that follow the English models, a pleading is a formal written statement of a party's claims or defenses to another p...
Tort law (2022): Economic torts: Insurance bad faith
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Insurance bad faith is a tort unique to the law of the United States (but with parallels elsewhere, particularly Canada) that an insurance company com...
Taxation in the US (2022): State and local taxation: State and local tax deduction + Use tax
30 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The United States federal state and local tax (SALT) deduction is an itemized deduction that allows taxpayers to deduct certain taxes paid to state an...
Criminal procedure (2023): Trial + Speedy trial
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with th...
Criminal law (2022): Crimes against property: Gambling
28 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on an event with an uncertain outcome with the intent ...
Civil procedure: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Venue + Change of venue + Forum non conveniens
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Criminal venue. The perceived abuse of English criminal venue law was one of the enumerated grievances in the United States Declaration of Independenc...
Tort law (2022): Economic torts: Restraints of trade
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Restraints of trade is a common law doctrine relating to the enforceability of contractual restrictions on freedom to conduct business. It is a precur...
Taxation in the US (2022): State and local taxation: Sales taxes (Part Four) (Texas thru Wyoming) + Internet transactions
23 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Internet transactions. Through the Internet's history, purchases made over the Internet within the United States have generally been exempt from sales...
Criminal procedure (2023): Fair trial
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process general...
Criminal law (2022): Crimes against property: Fraud
21 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (for ex...
Civil procedure: Jurisdiction: Personal jurisdiction: In personam + In rem + quasi in rem
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In personam is a Latin phrase meaning "against a particular person". In a lawsuit in which the case is against a specific individual, that person must...
Tort law (2022): Economic torts: Insurance bad faith
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Insurance bad faith is a tort unique to the law of the United States (but with parallels elsewhere, particularly Canada) that an insurance company com...
Taxation in the US (2022): State and local taxation: Sales taxes (Part Three) (Missouri. thru Tennessee) + Internet transactions
16 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Missouri imposes a sales tax upon all sales of tangible personal property, as well as some "taxable services"; it also charges a use tax for the "priv...
Property law (2022): Related topics: Conflict of property laws + Blackacre + Security deposit
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In conflict of laws, the term lex loci (Latin for "the law of the place") is a shorthand version of the choice of law rules that determine the lex cau...
Criminal law (2022): Crimes against property: false pretenses
14 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In criminal law, property is obtained by false pretenses when the acquisition results from intentional misrepresentation of a past or existing fact. E...
Civil procedure: Jurisdiction: Personal jurisdiction
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Personal jurisdiction is a court's jurisdiction over the parties, as determined by the facts in evidence, which bind the parties to a lawsuit, as oppo...
Tort law (2022): Economic torts: Conspiracy
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Economic torts, which are also called business torts, are torts that provide the common law rules on liability which arise out of business transaction...
Taxation in the US (2022): State and local taxation: Sales taxes (Part Two) (State by state: Alabama thru Mississippi)
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
By jurisdiction. Sales tax rates and what is taxed vary by jurisdiction. The following table compares taxes on selected classes of goods in the states...
Property law (2022): Related topics: Nemo dat + Quicquid plantatur
08 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nemo dat quod non habet, literally meaning "no one can give what they do not have", is a legal rule, sometimes called the nemo dat rule, that states t...
Criminal law (2022): Crimes against property: Extortion
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offense; the bulk of this...
Civil procedure: Amount in controversy + Supplemental jurisdiction + Removal jurisdiction + Class Action Fairness Act of 2005
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Amount in controversy (sometimes called jurisdictional amount) is a term used in civil procedure to denote the amount at stake in a lawsuit, in partic...
Tort law (2022): Nuisance
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nuisance is a common law tort. It means that which causes offense, annoyance, trouble or injury. A nuisance can be either public (also "common") or pr...
Taxation in the US (2022): State and local taxation: Sales taxes (Part One)
02 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sales taxes in the United States are taxes placed on the sale or lease of goods and services in the United States. Sales tax is governed at the state ...
Property law (2022): Related topics: Lateral and subjacent support + Assignment
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Lateral and subjacent support, in the law of property, describes the right a landowner has to have that land physically supported in its natural state...
Criminal law (2022): Crimes against property: Embezzlement
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Embezzlement is the act of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, ...
Civil procedure: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Jurisdiction + Subject-matter + Federal question + Diversity
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Subject-matter jurisdiction (also called jurisdiction ratione materiae) is the authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type of cases relati...
Tort law (2022): Strict and absolute liability: Ultrahazardous activity + Deep pocket + Writ of execution
29 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An ultrahazardous activity in the common law of torts is one that is so inherently dangerous that a person engaged in such an activity can be held str...
Taxation in the US (2022): State and local taxation: Property tax (Part Two)
26 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Exemptions and incentives. Taxing jurisdictions provide a wide variety of methods a property owner may use to reduce tax. Nearly all jurisdictions pro...
Property law (2022): Related topics: Water rights + Prior appropriation + riparian rights (Part Two)
25 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Prior appropriation adoptions. Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Okla...
Criminal law (2022): Crimes against property: Burglary
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the...
Civil procedure: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Jurisdiction
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Civil procedure doctrines are rules developed by case law as opposed to being set down in codes or legislation, which, together with court rules and c...
Tort law (2022): Principles of negligence: Product liability (Part Two)
22 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Types of liability. Section 2 of the Restatement Third.) of Torts: Products Liability distinguishes between three major types of product liability cla...
Taxation in the US (2022): State and local taxation: Property tax (Part One)
19 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Most local governments in the United States impose a property tax, also known as a millage rate, as a principal source of revenue. This tax may be imp...
Property law (2022): Related topics: Water rights + Prior appropriation + riparian rights (Part One)
18 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Water right in water law refers to the right of a user to use water from a water source, for example, a river, stream, pond or source of groundwater. ...
Criminal law (2022): Crimes against property: Bribery
17 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of ...
Civil procedure: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Part Two)
16 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Title V – Discovery. Rules 26 to 37. Title V covers the rules of discovery. Modern civil litigation is based upon the idea that the parties should n...
Tort law (2022): Principles of negligence: Product liability (Part One)
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Types of liability. Section 2 of the Restatement Third.) of Torts: Products Liability distinguishes between three major types of product liability cla...
Taxation in the US (2022): State and local taxation: State income tax (Part Three)
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Apportionment. The courts have held that the requirement for fair apportionment may be met by apportioning between jurisdictions all business income o...
Property law (2022): Related topics: Mineral rights
11 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mineral rights are property rights to exploit an area for the minerals it harbors. Mineral rights can be separate from property ownership. Mineral rig...
Criminal law (2022): Crimes against property: Bribery
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of ...
Civil procedure: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Part One)
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) govern civil procedure in United States district courts. The FRCP are promulgated by the United States Sup...
Tort law (2022): Principles of negligence: Product liability (Part One)
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Product liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, and others who make products available to the public ...
Taxation in the US (2022): State and local taxation: State income tax (Part Two)
05 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
States with local income taxes in addition to state-level income tax. The following states have local income taxes. These are generally imposed at a f...
Property law (2022): Related topics: Property rights
04 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Property rights have developed over ancient and modern history, from Abrahamic law to today's Universal Declaration of Human Rights article 17. Proper...
Criminal law (2022): Crimes against property: Arson + Blackmail
03 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Though the act typically involves buildings, the term can also ...
Civil procedure in the United States
02 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Civil procedure in the United States consists of rules that govern civil actions in the federal, state, and territorial court systems, and is distinct...
Tort law (2022): Principles of negligence: Strict liability + Absolute liability
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tort law. In tort law, strict liability is the imposition of liability on a party without a finding of fault (such as negligence or tortious intent). ...
Taxation in the US (2022): State and local taxation: State income tax (Part One)
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In addition to federal income tax collected by the United States, most individual U.S. states collect a state income tax. Some local governments also ...
Property law (2022): Related topics: Partition
28 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A partition is a term used in the law of real property to describe an act, by a court order or otherwise, to divide up a concurrent estate into separa...
Criminal law (2022): Sexual offenses: Indecent exposure
27 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Indecent exposure is the deliberate public exposure by a person of a portion of their body in a manner contrary to local standards of appropriate beha...
Conflict of laws and private international law (2022): Hague Conference on Private International Law
26 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) is an intergovernmental organization in the area of private international law (also known as ...
Tort law (2022): Principles of negligence: Attractive nuisance doctrine + Comparative responsibility + Contributory negligence
25 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The attractive nuisance doctrine applies to the law of torts in some jurisdictions. It states that a landowner may be held liable for injuries to chil...
Taxation in the US: State and local taxation (Part 3)
22 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Alternative tax bases (AMT, states). An alternative minimum tax (AMT) is imposed at the federal level on a somewhat modified version of taxable income...
Property law (2022): Related topics: Fixture + Waste
21 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A fixture, as a legal concept, means any physical property that is permanently attached (fixed) to real property (usually land). Property not affixed ...
Criminal law (2022): Sexual offenses: Obscenity
20 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin obscēnus, obscaenus, "bod...
Conflict of laws and private international law (2022): Public policy doctrine
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In private international law, the public policy doctrine or ordre public ("public order") concerns the body of principles that underpin the operation ...
Tort law (2022): Principles of negligence: Rescue doctrine + Duty to rescue
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the USA, the rescue doctrine of the law of torts holds that if a tortfeasor creates a circumstance that places the tort victim in danger, the tortf...
Taxation in the US: State and local taxation (Part 2)
15 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Income tax. Taxes based on income are imposed at the federal, most state, and some local levels within the United States. The tax systems within each ...
Property law (2022): Nonpossessory interest in land: Usufruct + Equitable servitude
14 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An equitable servitude is a term used in the law of real property to describe a nonpossessory interest in land that operates much like a covenant run...
Criminal law (2022): Sexual offenses: Fornication + Monogamy
13 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Fornication is generally consensual sexual intercourse between two people not married to each other. When one or more of the partners having consensua...
Conflict of laws and private international law (2022): Conflict of laws in the United States
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Conflict of laws in the United States is the field of procedural law dealing with choice of law rules when a legal action implicates the substantive l...
Tort law (2022): Principles of negligence: Restitutio ad integrum
11 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Restitutio ad integrum, or restitutio in integrum, is a Latin term that means "restoration to original condition". It is one of the primary guiding pr...
Taxation in the US: State and local taxation
08 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The United States of America has separate federal, state, and local governments with taxes imposed at each of these levels. Taxes are levied on income...
Property law (2022): Nonpossessory interest in land: Easement (Part Two)
07 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Easement by prescription: Easements by prescription, also called prescriptive easements, are implied easements granted after the dominant estate has u...
Criminal law (2022): Sexual offenses: Adultery
06 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Adultery (from Latin adulterium) is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexu...
Conflict of laws and private international law (2022): Choice of law
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Choice of law is a procedural stage in the litigation of a case involving the conflict of laws when it is necessary to reconcile the differences betwe...
Tort law (2022): Principles of negligence: Res ipsa loquitur
04 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Res ipsa loquitur (Latin: "the thing speaks for itself") is a doctrine in the Anglo-American common law and Roman-Dutch law that says in a tort or civ...
Taxation in the US: Tax resistance (Part Two)
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Undermining Reconstruction state governments. After the American Civil War, the United States government established Reconstruction era governments in...
(Re-upload-corrected error) Property law (2022): Nonpossessory interest in land: Easement (Part One)
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An easement is a nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of...
Criminal law (2022): Sexual offenses: Introduction
29 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied ov...
Conflict of laws and private international law (2022): Preliminaries: Renvoi + Incidental question
28 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In conflict of laws, renvoi (from the French, meaning "send back" or "to return unopened") is a subset of the choice of law rules and it may be applie...
Tort law (2022): Principles of negligence: Proximate cause
27 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In law and insurance, a proximate cause is an event sufficiently related to an injury that the courts deem the event to be the cause of that injury. T...
Taxation in the US: Tax resistance (Part One)
24 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tax resistance in the United States has been practiced at least since colonial times, and has played important parts in American history. Tax resistan...
Property law (2022): Nonpossessory interest in land: Lien (Part Two)
23 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nomenclature. Throughout the world, there are a large number of different types and sub-divisions of liens. Not all of the following liens exist in al...