OK Bar key terms

A court's power to bind a particular defendant to its judgment. It requires minimum contacts with the forum, fair play and substantial justice, and proper notice through service of process.

The purposeful conduct by which a defendant avails itself of the privilege of conducting activities in a state, such that being sued there is foreseeable and reasonable rather than arbitrary.

A court's authority to hear the category of dispute at issue. It cannot be waived or created by agreement and may be raised at any stage, including on appeal.

Federal jurisdiction over civil actions between citizens of different states or between a citizen and a foreign national, where the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 and complete diversity exists.

Federal power to hear additional claims that are part of the same case or controversy as a claim with independent federal jurisdiction, subject to limits for claims by plaintiffs against nondiverse parties.

The rule that a federal court sitting in diversity applies the substantive law of the state where it sits, including state choice-of-law rules, but follows federal procedural rules when valid and consistent with federal statutes.

A pretrial motion arguing that the complaint's factual allegations, even if true, do not entitle the plaintiff to relief because no legal theory supports recovery.

Judgment entered without trial when the pleadings, discovery, and affidavits show no genuine dispute of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

The doctrine barring a party from relitigating a claim that was or could have been raised in a prior action decided on the merits by a court of competent jurisdiction between the same parties.

The doctrine preventing a party from relitigating an issue actually litigated, determined, and necessary to a prior judgment, against a party who had a full and fair opportunity to contest it.

The principle that constitutional rights generally restrain government conduct, not private conduct, so a private actor's behavior becomes actionable only when government is significantly involved.

The most demanding equal protection standard, requiring the government to show a compelling interest and narrow tailoring; it applies to suspect classifications such as race and to fundamental rights.

The equal protection standard applied to quasi-suspect classifications such as sex, requiring an important governmental objective and a substantial relationship between the means and that objective.

The deferential standard upholding a classification if it is rationally related to a legitimate governmental interest, with the challenger bearing the burden of showing no conceivable justification.

Constitutional protection against deprivation of life, liberty, or property without fair procedures (procedural) and against arbitrary or fundamentally unfair legislation (substantive).

The Fifth Amendment rule that private property may not be taken for public use without just compensation, applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment and covering physical and regulatory takings.

The implied limit on state laws that discriminate against or unduly burden interstate commerce, even where Congress has not legislated, subject to the market participant exception.

The constitutional rule that federal law, including treaties and valid federal regulations, prevails over conflicting state law and is binding on state judges.

The displacement of state law by federal law where Congress expressly occupies the field, where state law conflicts with federal requirements, or where a federal scheme is so pervasive it leaves no room for state regulation.

A manifestation of present contractual intent that creates a power of acceptance in the offeree because it is definite enough and communicated to that person.

A manifestation of assent to the terms of an offer made in the manner and by the medium the offeror invites, effective on dispatch unless the offer provides otherwise.

A bargained-for exchange of legal detriment or benefit, something the promisor sought and the promisee gave, distinguishing enforceable promises from gratuitous ones.

A doctrine enforcing a promise without consideration when the promisor reasonably expected reliance, the promise induced actual reliance, and injustice can be avoided only by enforcement.

A writing requirement for categories of contracts such as land sales, suretyship, marriage-related promises, one-year performance, and goods over $500, satisfied by a signed note or memorandum.

The rule that a fully integrated written agreement may not be contradicted or supplemented by prior or contemporaneous oral statements, though evidence remains admissible for interpretation and defenses.

A warranty automatically included in sales by merchants that goods are fit for the ordinary purposes for which such goods are used, unless properly disclaimed.

The UCC rule allowing a buyer to reject goods for any nonconformity with the contract, subject to cure rights, installment contracts, and the seller's right to replevy or reclaim.

The mental state element of a crime, such as purposely, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently, that must accompany the prohibited act for the defendant to be guilty.

The voluntary physical act or legally imposed omission that constitutes the conduct element of a crime, excluding mere thoughts or status.

Murder liability for a death occurring during the commission of an inherently dangerous felony, with limits such as the merger doctrine and the agency or proximate cause test.

Governmental intrusion into an area where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, or a physical trespass to persons, houses, papers, or effects to obtain information.

The remedy suppressing evidence obtained in violation of constitutional rights, subject to exceptions such as good faith, inevitable discovery, attenuation, and independent source.

The advice required before custodial interrogation that the suspect may remain silent, that anything said may be used, that counsel is available, and that counsel will be appointed if indigent.

An out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted, inadmissible unless an exclusion or an exception applies.

A hearsay exception admitting a statement about a startling event made while the declarant was under the stress of excitement, before time to reflect or fabricate.

The Sixth Amendment right of a criminal defendant to confront witnesses, barring testimonial hearsay unless the declarant is unavailable and the defendant had a prior opportunity to cross-examine.

Evidence of a person's traits offered to show conduct in conformity, generally inadmissible in civil cases and in the prosecution's case-in-chief, with exceptions for defendant's or victim's character.

A doctrine granting title to a trespasser who possesses land actually, openly, exclusively, continuously, and hostilely for the statutory period, possibly adding color of title.

A state law determining priority among competing interests in land based on notice, race-notice, or pure race recording, protecting subsequent purchasers who record properly.

An implied easement arising when land is severed from a public road, leaving a parcel landlocked, and the parties intended access to continue.

An easement created by open, notorious, continuous, and adverse use of another's land for the statutory period, similar to adverse possession but conferring use rather than title.

A doctrine treating violation of a statute as breach of duty when the statute sets a standard of conduct, the plaintiff is in the protected class, and the harm is the type the statute prevents.

The legal cause link requiring the defendant's conduct to be the actual cause and the harm to be a foreseeable result within the risk created, not superseded by an unforeseeable intervening act.

Liability without proof of fault for abnormally dangerous activities and for defective products, imposed because the activity or product creates risks the defendant is best positioned to bear.

A system reducing a plaintiff's recovery in proportion to the plaintiff's own fault, either pure or modified, replacing the older complete bar of contributory negligence.

Oklahoma's civil procedure statutes governing petitions, answers, motions, and pretrial practice in state district courts, interpreted alongside the Oklahoma Supreme Court's rules.

The statutory rules placing a state civil action in the county where the defendant resides, where the cause of action arose, or where property in dispute is located, subject to transfer for convenience.

An ownership right in the oil, gas, and other minerals beneath land, severable from the surface estate and subject to Oklahoma's rules on pooling, spacing, and correlative rights.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission process combining small tracts or interests into a drilling unit so that a well is drilled efficiently and each owner receives a fair share of production.

Lands within Indian reservations, dependent Indian communities, and allotments, where tribal and federal jurisdiction may displace state authority under Oklahoma and federal law.

The inherent authority of a federally recognized tribe to govern its members and territory, subject to congressional plenary power and limits recognized in federal Indian law.

A water rights doctrine granting priority by first beneficial use, so the earliest user holds the senior right regardless of location, dominant in the western states.

Water rights held by owners of land bordering a stream or lake, allowing reasonable use that does not unreasonably harm other riparians, subject to state regulation.

The performance-test skill of identifying the governing rule, explaining its elements, applying each element to specific facts, and reaching a conclusion supported by the record.

The performance-test skill of sorting the file for legally significant facts, resolving conflicts, and using only record evidence rather than assumptions or outside knowledge.

The performance-test skill of drafting a clear, well-organized document in the requested format and tone, with headings, accurate citations to the file, and no wasted discussion.

The performance-test skill of structuring an answer around the task's requirements, using headings, logical sequencing, and a roadmap so the reader can follow the analysis quickly.