Idaho Bar flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Complete diversity

Requirement under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 that no plaintiff share state citizenship with any defendant; minimal diversity is insufficient, and the amount in controversy must exceed $75,000.

Supplemental jurisdiction

Federal court power under 28 U.S.C. § 1367 over claims sharing a common nucleus of operative fact with an anchor claim, limited by § 1367(b) in diversity cases.

Erie doctrine

Federal courts apply state substantive law and federal procedural law; in the absence of a federal rule, courts balance forum shopping against inequitable administration of the laws.

Claim preclusion elements

A final judgment on the merits, identity of parties or their privies, and the same claim or cause of action, barring relitigation of claims that were or could have been raised.

Standing elements

Injury in fact that is concrete and particularized, causation fairly traceable to the defendant, and redressability by a favorable court decision.

Strict scrutiny

Standard for suspect classifications and fundamental rights; the government must show a compelling interest and narrow tailoring, and the law is usually invalidated.

Dormant Commerce Clause

Judicial doctrine invalidating state laws that discriminate against or unduly burden interstate commerce absent a legitimate local purpose that cannot be served by nondiscriminatory alternatives.

State action doctrine

Constitutional constraints on private conduct apply only where there is significant government involvement, such as public function, entanglement, or joint action with the state.

UCC 2-207 battle of the forms

A definite expression of acceptance operates as acceptance even with additional terms unless expressly conditional; merchants' additional terms enter unless material or objected to.

Merchant confirmatory memorandum

Under UCC § 2-201(b), a signed writing confirming a contract binds a merchant who receives it and fails to object within 10 days.

Anticipatory repudiation

A clear indication before performance is due that a party will not perform, giving the nonbreaching party an immediate claim and the right to await performance.

Hadley v. Baxendale

Consequential damages are recoverable only if foreseeable at the time of contracting as the probable result of breach, or within the parties' contemplation.

Felony murder limitation

The felony must be independent of the killing, inherently dangerous or enumerated, and the death foreseeable; agency or proximate cause theories limit co-felon liability.

Attempt substantial step

Specific intent to commit the target crime plus conduct strongly corroborative of that intent, beyond mere preparation; factual impossibility is generally no defense.

Miranda custody requirement

Warnings are required before interrogation when a reasonable person would not feel free to leave; traffic stops and routine booking questions generally are not custodial.

Strickland standard

Sixth Amendment ineffective assistance requires deficient performance by counsel and a reasonable probability that the result would have differed but for the deficiency.

Rule 403 balancing

Relevant evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, or waste of time.

Crawford confrontation rule

Testimonial hearsay is inadmissible unless the declarant is unavailable and the defendant had a prior opportunity to cross-examine.

Excited utterance

A statement relating to a startling event made while the declarant was under the stress of excitement, admissible regardless of the declarant's availability.

Prior inconsistent statements

Statements inconsistent with testimony are admissible for impeachment; if given under oath at a proceeding, they are substantive evidence under Rule 801(d)(1)(A).

Res ipsa loquitur

An inference of negligence arises when the accident ordinarily does not occur absent negligence, the instrumentality was in the defendant's exclusive control, and the plaintiff did not contribute.

Comparative negligence

A plaintiff's recovery is reduced by the percentage of fault; modified versions bar recovery when fault exceeds 50 or 51 percent, while pure versions permit recovery regardless.

Actual malice standard

Public figures suing for defamation must prove knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth by clear and convincing evidence under New York Times v. Sullivan.

Products design defect

A product is defective when a reasonable alternative design would have reduced foreseeable risk without impairing utility, judged under risk-utility balancing.

Joint tenancy unities

Requires time, title, interest, and possession unities plus the right of survivorship; severance by conveyance converts the interest to a tenancy in common.

Prescriptive easement

An easement acquired by open, notorious, adverse, continuous use of another's land for the statutory period, without exclusivity or payment of taxes.

Race-notice recording statute

Protects a subsequent purchaser who takes without notice of a prior interest and records first; notice includes actual, inquiry, and record notice.

Adverse possession elements

Actual, exclusive, continuous, open and notorious, and hostile possession for the statutory period, with tacking permitted among successive possessors.

Apparent authority

A principal's manifestations to a third party reasonably lead the third party to believe the agent has authority, binding the principal to the transaction.

Business judgment rule

A presumption that directors acted on an informed basis, in good faith, and in the honest belief the action served the corporation's best interests.

Charging order

The exclusive remedy of a judgment creditor against an LLC member's interest, permitting distributions but not management rights or foreclosure on the interest.

Best interests of the child

The governing custody standard, weighing factors such as stability, parental fitness, the child's preferences, and the child's adjustment to home, school, and community.