Concepts that apply broadly; check your own jurisdiction.
A people organized as a political community under a government, or the government entity itself as an artificial person. The Supreme Court said in Cotton v. United States, 52 U.S. 229, 231 (1851), that “Every sovereign State is of necessity a body politic, or artificial person, and as such capable of making contracts and holding property.” Counties and cities are often described as bodies politic and corporate.
A written order by one person (the drawer) directing another (the drawee) to pay a fixed sum of money to a third person (the payee) or to bearer. The Uniform Commercial Code calls it a “draft”; a check is a draft drawn on a bank (UCC § 3-104). A bill of exchange has value only if the drawee owes money to the drawer or agrees to pay. Federal courts have held that self-created bills of exchange drawn on the U.S. Treasury are worthless, and presenting them can violate 18 U.S.C. § 514.
An organization of lawyers. A mandatory or “integrated” state bar is created by a state’s highest court or legislature, and lawyers must join it to practice in that state; it handles admission, discipline and continuing education. Voluntary bar associations, such as the American Bar Association, are private professional groups. In most states, admission to practice law is granted by the state’s highest court.
The standard a court uses under 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A) to set aside federal agency action that lacks a rational basis, ignores an important part of the problem or departs from the evidence without explanation.
The federal law, enacted in 1946 and codified at 5 U.S.C. §§ 551–559 and 701–706, that governs how federal agencies make rules and decide cases, and how courts review agency action. It requires notice and an opportunity to comment for most rules (§ 553), sets procedures for formal hearings (§ 554), and lets courts set aside agency action that is “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law” (§ 706). It applies to federal agencies, not to private parties or state governments.
An agreement to settle a disputed claim for a different performance, usually a smaller payment, and the carrying out of that agreement. Under UCC § 3-311, a check can settle a claim only if it was tendered in good faith, the claim was unliquidated or subject to a bona fide dispute, the check or a written communication clearly stated it was in full satisfaction, and the claimant obtained payment of the check.
Separation of powers places legislative, executive and judicial power in different branches, each able to check the others. The Supreme Court enforces it by limiting each branch to its own kind of power.
The people delegate limited powers to government through the Constitution. Congress may in turn delegate authority to agencies only under an intelligible principle, and courts decide whether an agency has stayed within that grant.
Hale v. Henkel describes an individual’s right to refuse self-incrimination and unreasonable searches, in contrast to a corporation’s duty to produce its books. The Court ruled against Hale, and later cases narrowed its Fifth Amendment discussion.
Contract law enforces bargains formed by offer, acceptance and consideration. Silence rarely counts as acceptance, unfair terms can be struck as unconscionable, and freedom of contract has been treated since 1937 as a qualified right.
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