Midterm Assignment

How the Common Law System Facilitates Slow Legal Change

Common law refers to a set of unwritten laws based on legal precedents. These laws determine legal outcomes in unusual cases where written laws and statutes cannot be used to make decisions. Garoupa et al. (2012) argue that through common law, countries that inherited their constitutions from their colonial masters have managed to adapt laws that suit local circumstances: Midterm Assignment.

Furthermore, the adoption of common law dispensation has led to public opinion increasingly affecting legal outcomes (Huang, 2024). To that end, common law has led to a paradigm shift in judicial decision-making by introducing the element of public opinion and local customs.

The Concept of Employment at Will

According to Estlund (2023), employment at will is an employment law doctrine that permits employees to quit their jobs without issuing a notice to their employer. Additionally, the doctrine allows an employer to terminate their employees’ employment contract without issuing a notice. Therefore, the doctrine implies that employers and employees agree that there is no set period of employment. However, employment at will does not cover all termination reasons.

One of the exceptions of the doctrine is that an employer should not terminate a contract if such a decision violates public policy (Varner & Schmidt, 2022). Another exception is the implied contract exception, which means that one cannot fire their employee if the employment contract is interpreted to mean that there is a fixed employment period (Varner & Schmidt, 2022). I believe this doctrine does not have enough protections for employees because its exceptions are not clear.

Hazing

Given the legal and civil ramifications of hazing, campus athletics can prevent it by implementing targeted strategies. One such strategy that can prevent hazing is the implementation of bystander intervention training (Diamond et al., 2015). This strategy will equip other stakeholders with crucial insights such that they can intervene and prevent further deterioration in case it occurs.

Also, creating a positive school environment will go a long way to preventing hazing (Allan et al., 2020). By fostering a friendly environment, collegiate athletes are influenced to embrace positive interpersonal relationships.

The Statute of Frauds Contracts

The Statute of Frauds outlines contracts that must be in writing for them to be legally enforceable. One such contract is the sale or transfer of land. Such a contract that involves the sale of land is required to be written because it involves more than just a transfer of a piece of land. Once land changes, ownership, mineral, and mortgage rights are also transferred (Wen, 2015).

Also, family law contracts, including prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, must be in writing to be legally enforceable (Debele & Rhode, 2006). Additionally, a debt settlement agreement, whereby someone promises to pay another person’s debt, must be in writing for it to be legally enforceable.

References

Allan, E. J., Hakkola, L., & Kerschner, D. (2020). High school hazing prevention and gender: Implications for school counselors. Journal of School Counseling, 18(23). https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1267686

Debele, G., & Rhode, S. (2006). Prenuptial agreements in the United States. IAML LJ, 1, 1–2. https://docslib.org/doc/4991346/prenuptial-agreements-in-the-us

Diamond, A. B., Callahan, S. T., Chain, K. F., & Solomon, G. S. (2015). Qualitative review of hazing in collegiate and school sports: Consequences from a lack of culture, knowledge and responsiveness. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(3), 149–153. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-095603

Estlund, C. (2023). Employment-at-will: Too simple for a complex world. Texas A&M Law Review, 10(3), 403–426. https://doi.org/10.37419/lr.v10.i3.2

Garoupa, N., & Ligüerre, C. G. (2012). The efficiency of the common law: The puzzle of mixed Legal families. Wisconsin International Law Journal, 29, 671. https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/479

Huang, Y. (2024). Research on balancing the conflict between law and public opinion in judicial judgment. Transactions on Social Science Education and Humanities Research, 13, 80–89. https://doi.org/10.62051/8vrpc120

Varner, K., & Schmidt, K. (2022). Employment-at-will in the United States and the challenges of remote work in the time of COVID-19. Laws, 11(2), 29. https://doi.org/10.3390/laws11020029

Wen, W. (2015). How American common law doctrines may inform Mainland China to achieve certainty in land sale contracts. Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal, 17, 1. https://manoa.hawaii.edu/aplpj/wp-content/uploads/sites/120/2016/04/APLPJ_WeiWen_FINAL.pdf

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Midterm Assignment Instructions

Instructions

In short essay format, answer the following four questions. For each answer, support your position with at least two (2) peer-reviewed sources not used in class. Further, short essay answers should be at least 200 words and long enough to adequately answer the question presented. Bullet point answers are not permitted.

Midterm Assignment

1. Explain how the common law system facilitates slow legal change.
2. Discuss the concept of employment at will. Then discuss the exceptions to employment at will based on contract law and public policy. What is your view of this rule? Do the public policy exceptions to the rule give enough protection to employees?
3. Hazing may have both criminal and civil ramifications. Discuss this and how you would develop a hazing prevention program for your high school athletic program.
4. Give three examples of types of contracts that must be in writing according to the Statute of Frauds.

Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.