Turtles' Lair

Statutes are classified as either civil or criminal.

• Criminal - impose various types of punishments for violations. Only the government can bring this charge, which may subject a person to imprisonment, and does not require harm for a violation


• Civil - the government or a private party may bring a claim under a civil statute, and a violation does not provide for imprisonment. It usually requires harm done to one party.

Statutes may prohibit or require conduct.

• Prohibiting conduct - ex: drunk driving.


• Requiring conduct - ex: sex offenders register with a government entity


• Allowing conduct - ex: "a landlord may require a security deposit for each rental unit.

Even if a court disagrees with a statute's purpose of policy they must follow and apply it as written.( Read more... )

Not all legal authority has the same weight in a court decision. Legal authority is divided into two classifications: binding and nonbinding.

Binding: also called mandatory authority. Courts must follow and apply binding authority, even if application of binding authority would result in an unfair outcome. The court cannot dissent from a binding statute as it is written.

Nonbinding: also called persuasive authority. A court may follow and rely on it in a decision, but the court is not required to do so.

A primary authority may fall either under binding or non-binding classification. Secondary authority—unlike primary—is never binding in a deciding court. This is because secondary authorities are not actual law.( Read more... )