Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Law & Jurisprudence

Financial and E-commerce Terms

Banking and Finance

• Accept: To agree to receive or undertake something offered.
• Annuity: A fixed sum of money paid to someone each year, typically for the rest of their life.
• Appraisal: An expert estimate of the value of something.
• Arrangement Fee: A fee charged by a lender to cover the administrative costs of setting up a loan.
• ATM (Automated Teller Machine): A machine that dispenses cash or performs other banking services when an account holder inserts a bank card.
• Bank Wire: An electronic transfer of funds.
• Beneficiary: A person who derives advantage from something, especially a trust, will, or life insurance policy.
• Borrow: To take and use (something belonging to someone else) with the intention of returning it.
• Branch:

Business Growth and Corporate Classification

Classification by Global Management

Multinational Company: A company with significant sales in other countries, possessing industrial plants abroad, and managed in a global way.

Robinson's Classification of International Companies

1. Multinational: The main company chooses from the other countries/companies.
2. National: Operates in only one country.
3. International: Every subsidiary chooses what actions to take.
4. Transnational: Origin is irrelevant; individuals from any country can hold chief executive positions.
5. Supranational: Every subsidiary must obey the law of its country (though they are not legally subject to a specific country).

Perlmutter's EPRG Framework (Strategic Orientation)

This framework classifies... Continue reading "Corporate Growth Strategies: Internationalization and Concentration" »

4th Amendment: Search and Seizure

1. Search Analysis

A search occurs if there is government action and a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy (REOP). The test requires:

• Actual expectation of privacy.
• Expectation recognized as reasonable by society.

Included: Pen registers, trash, aerial surveillance, dog sniffs, and open fields.
Excluded: Thermal imaging and curtilage.

2. Standing

To challenge a search, one must have a legitimate expectation of privacy in the place searched. This typically includes homeowners and overnight guests (considering factors like keys, occupancy, and personal belongings). It generally excludes those present for only a few hours or for commercial purposes.

3. Warrant Requirements

A valid warrant requires Probable Cause (PC) and... Continue reading "4th Amendment Search and Seizure Legal Principles" »

Key Legal Terminology and Definitions

• Criminal Law: A violation against the public, often involving harm to persons or possessions.
• Civil Law: A violation of a contract or a dispute between individuals or entities (e.g., contract law).
• YCJA (Youth Criminal Justice Act): Legislation governing young persons accused of crimes.
• Quid pro Quo: Something for something (a favor or advantage granted in return for something else).
• Plea Bargain: Pleading guilty for a lesser penalty or charge.
• Self-Incrimination: Behavior or testimony that suggests one is guilty.
• Capital Punishment: Execution (the death penalty).
• Summary Conviction Offense: A less serious crime, often resulting in release until trial.
• Indictable Offense: A serious offense, where the accused may

The Council of National Government Ministers

The Council of national government ministers from each of the 28 member states. There are two ways for taking a decision:

1. Ordinary Procedure

In the ordinary procedure, the Council and the Parliament have to consider, amend, negotiate, and adopt EU legislation. The EU legislation is normally proposed by the Commission. If they reach agreement, they can adopt the legislation at first reading. If not, at the second reading, the two institutions still can not agree, a Conciliation Committee is convened.

2. Extraordinary Procedure

This procedure is used for a few specific cases: the consent procedure and the consultation procedure. Once adopted, they have to implement the EU legislation as a national law.... Continue reading "EU Council Decision Making and OSCE Security Focus" »

Matching

• Abrams (Bad Tendency Test)
• Clark v. CCNN (homeless people protest)
• Gitlow (applied bad tendency test to states)
• Boy Scouts v. Dale (permitted it to be boys only)
• Krishna (airports not a public forum)

Short Answer

Miller Test and Historical Standards

• Hicklin Test

  Prior to Supreme Court review of obscenity, courts followed the Hicklin Test, which asked whether the material would "corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences" and whether it would be harmful in the hands of vulnerable readers.

  • Determined to restrict artistic expression in broad terms.
• Prurient Interest Test

  Before the Court adopted the Miller standard, the test shifted to whether, to the average person applying contemporary community standards, the material appeals

Due Diligence

Property Verification

• Concordance between the property description in the Land Registry and the physical reality.
• Verification of charges and encumbrances on the property in the Land Registry (mortgages, usufructs, easements, seizure notes, etc.).
• Confirmation that the property is free of tenants or occupants.
• Review of the Community of Owners' agreements.
• Verification of no administrative infringements or penalty procedures.

Documentation

• Public deed of property ownership and registration.
• Certificates/Single Notes from the Land Registry to verify title, charges, and encumbrances.
• Cadastral Value.
• Receipt of I.B.I. (Property Tax) for the last fiscal year.
• Documents proving payment of the Property Tax (IBI) and the Rubbish Tax (Tasa de basura)

Symbolic Speech and Expression

• Protected Symbolic Speech

  • Tinker v. Des Moines (1969): Students wearing armbands to peacefully protest the Vietnam War were protected because their actions did not interfere with educational processes.
  • Texas v. Johnson (1989): Flag burning was protected as expressive conduct conveying a clear political message.
  • R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul (1992): A ban on cross burning was deemed too broad, as it prohibited speech based on its content rather than its potential for harm.

• Unprotected Symbolic Speech

  • United States v. O'Brien (1968): Burning a draft card was not protected because it involved the destruction of government property and interfered with a legitimate government interest.
  • Virginia v. Black (2003): Cross burning

The ESMA Case: Powers of EU Agencies

ESMA Case

Problems with EU agencies include a lack of democratic legitimacy and the fact that they do not have normative powers. (The two sources of democratic legitimacy are the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, together with the European Council.) The EU still needs agencies because of the level of expertise required.

Facts

• The "ESMA Regulation" gave powers to ESMA to “prohibit some financial activities that threaten the financial markets or the stability.”
• Later, “the Regulation” further increased powers – Article 28 of the Regulation allowed ESMA to intervene with short sale transactions if it thinks that there is a threat to the functioning and stability of a financial market or the