Liability in Sport and Rec Midterm Flashcards

Creation of Law

• Law is created through various sources, including the Constitution (federal and state levels), statutes, court decisions (common law), and regulations from administrative agencies.

Constitutional Law

• Constitutional law imposes limitations on government authority, safeguarding citizens' rights.

First Amendment

• Guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition the government.

Fourth Amendment

• Protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures, ensuring privacy rights.

Administrative Law

• Administrative laws are developed by agencies tasked with managing and enforcing specific federal laws, with agency regulations holding the force of law.

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

• A federal agency responsible for protecting employees' rights to unionize and addressing unfair labor practices by employers and unions in the private sector.

Common Law

• Derived from court decisions, common law evolves based on judicial rulings over time.

Binding Precedent

• Courts within the same system are obligated to follow decisions made by higher courts in that system, ensuring consistency in legal rulings.

Case of First Impression

• Occurs when a court encounters a legal issue without existing precedent to guide its decision.

Persuasive Precedent

• Judicial decisions from other jurisdictions that are influential but not obligatory for a court to follow.

Typical State Court System

• Comprises a hierarchy including the state supreme court, court of appeals, and various special and district courts (family, traffic, criminal, civil).

Federal Court System

• Includes the U.S. Supreme Court, court of appeals, and administrative agencies, with specialized jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction

• Refers to a court's authority to hear and decide cases, influenced by the parties, issues, amount in controversy, and location of events.

Statutory Law

• Created by legislative bodies, applicable only within their governed areas, and can lead to common law when courts interpret disagreements over such laws.

Plaintiff

• The individual or entity that initiates legal proceedings in a lawsuit.

Defendant

• The individual or group being accused or charged in a legal case.

Class Action

• A legal procedure allowing a group of similarly situated litigants to collectively present their case in a single lawsuit.

Statute of Limitations

• Establishes the maximum time frame within which a legal action must be initiated.

Motions

• Requests made by a plaintiff or defendant for the court to perform a specific action concerning their case.

Motion for Summary Judgment

• A legal request for a judge to decide the case based on undisputed facts, eliminating the necessity for a trial.

Court Decisions

• Can be affirmed, reversed, or remanded, impacting the outcome and legal interpretation of cases.

Case Brief Components

• A case brief typically encapsulates four segments: facts, issues, holding, and reasoning.

Tort Law

• Refers to civil wrongs that warrant legal remedy through damages, distinct from criminal law.

Intentional Torts

• Include actions such as assault, battery, and defamation where harm is purposefully inflicted.

Unintentional Torts

• Primarily involve negligence, where harm results from a lack of reasonable care.

Negligence

• Arises when conduct falls short of the legal standard for protecting others from unreasonable harm, encompassing both acts of commission and omission.

Elements of Negligence

• Requires establishing:
  • Duty owed to the plaintiff
  • Breach of that duty
  • Existence of injury or damages
  • Proximate cause linking the breach to the injury

Duty

• The legal obligation of the defendant to safeguard the plaintiff from unreasonable risk.

Breach of Duty

• Occurs when the defendant fails to uphold the required legal standard of care.

Injury or Damages

• Essential to prove that the plaintiff has suffered actual harm or damages.

Proximate Cause/Causation

• The breach of duty directly results in the plaintiff's injuries or damages.

Inherent/Special Relationship

• Duty emerges from the nature of the relationship, such as between a coach and athlete or health club and patrons.