Constitutional Law This week’s lecture is on Constitutional Law.  The constitution is a foundational document in many ways.  It lays out the rules the state and federal government must govern as well as specifies the division of power between the states and the federal government (federalism) and between the various branches of the government (separation of power).  Any government action—whether by the federal government or by state governments--that is found by the courts to conflict with the constitution is invalid. The document is divided into articles and amendments. There are five articles in the U.S. Constitution.  These articles specify the powers of the federal government as a whole. The articles also delineate what powers each branch of government has.  The amendments to the constitution that we will discuss primarily limit the authority of congress to act.    The first article in the constitution deals with the powers of Congress. Congress has the primary power to regulate the economy (though it may delegate some of this power to the executive branch in some cases, for example Congress has given the Environmental Protection Agency the ability to enforce and regulate air emissions standards through the Clean Air Act).   One important power found in article one is the taxing and spending power. This gives Congress the power to tax and spend in order to support the general welfare. Obviously, this is of preeminent concern to the economy and business. However, the commerce clause is by far the most significant way that Congress constitutionally regulates business. This clause gives Congress the ability to regulate commerce with foreign nations, interstate commerce, and commerce that affects interstate commerce.  This affects language is very important. In an early, important case, Wickard v. Filburn, 317 U.S. 111 (1942), the Supreme Court held that the commerce clause allowed the government to constitutionally penalize a farmer growing wheat to feed animals on his own land as affecting interstate commerce.   The statute in question created quotas on wheat production in order to stabilize prices. The wheat in question exceeded the quota, and the Supreme Court agreed with the federal government’s argument that by growing wheat for his animal’s use the farmer would likely buy less wheat on the open market, which would have an impact on the price of wheat (especially if many people adopted this approach).  Relying upon this case as precedent, the courts found that practically all Congressional acts met this standard up into the present though some recent cases have limited the scope of this power.  Nonetheless, this case should provide a good example of how sweeping this commerce power is. The Supremacy Clause is also found in this part of the Constitution. This clause states that the constitution and other constitutional statutes and treaties are “the supreme law of the land.”  Under this clause, state constitutions and laws are invalid .

1. Constitutional Law
This week’s lecture is on Constitutional Law. The constitution
is a foundational document in many ways. It lays out the rules
the state and federal government must govern as well as
specifies the division of power between the states and the
federal government (federalism) and between the various
branches of the government (separation of power). Any
government action—whether by the federal government or by
state governments--that is found by the courts to conflict with
the constitution is invalid.
The document is divided into articles and amendments. There
are five articles in the U.S. Constitution. These articles specify
the powers of the federal government as a whole. The articles
also delineate what powers each branch of government has. The
amendments to the constitution that we will discuss primarily
limit the authority of congress to act.
The first article in the constitution deals with the powers of
Congress. Congress has the primary power to regulate the
economy (though it may delegate some of this power to the
executive branch in some cases, for example Congress has given
the Environmental Protection Agency the ability to enforce and
regulate air emissions standards through the Clean Air Act).
One important power found in article one is the taxing and
spending power. This gives Congress the power to tax and
spend in order to support the general welfare. Obviously, this is
of preeminent concern to the economy and business.
However, the commerce clause is by far the most significant
way that Congress constitutionally regulates business. This
clause gives Congress the ability to regulate commerce with
foreign nations, interstate commerce, and commerce that affects
interstate commerce. This affects language is very
important. In an early, important case, Wickard v. Filburn, 317

2. U.S. 111 (1942), the Supreme Court held that the commerce
clause allowed the government to constitutionally penalize a
farmer growing wheat to feed animals on his own land as
affecting interstate commerce.
The statute in question created quotas on wheat production in
order to stabilize prices. The wheat in question exceeded the
quota, and the Supreme Court agreed with the federal
government’s argument that by growing wheat for his animal’s
use the farmer would likely buy less wheat on the open market,
which would have an impact on the price of wheat (especially if
many people adopted this approach). Relying upon this case as
precedent, the courts found that practically all Congressional
acts met this standard up into the present though some recent
cases have limited the scope of this power. Nonetheless, this
case should provide a good example of how sweeping this
commerce power is.
The Supremacy Clause is also found in this part of the
Constitution. This clause states that the constitution and other
constitutional statutes and treaties are “the supreme law of the
land.” Under this clause, state constitutions and laws are
invalid and unconstitutional if they conflict with the U.S.
Constitution or a constitutional federal action.
This week’s lecture will end with a discussion of the
amendments, specifically with the first ten amendments known
as the Bill of Rights. Although these originally only applied to
the federal government, they have been expanded to encompass
state government actions through a process known as
incorporation under the 14th amendment. Collectively, these
represent a significant check on governmental action. For
example, the first amendment alone protects freedom of speech
and freedom of religion. Other amendments guarantee business
and individuals due process and equal protection of the law. I
encourage you to examine these specific protection in more
detail in your text.
Criminal Law
This lecture will concern criminal law's intersection with the

3. world of business.
To begin, there are two major types of law: civil law and
criminal law. Civil law deals with the duties between persons
and the duties between citizens and government (except for
criminal law). After this week, almost all of our lessons will
concern themselves with civil law.
Criminal law deals with the punishment of acts that are illegal.
These punishments take the form of fines, imprisonment, and, in
some cases, death. Within criminal law, there are two divisions
that you should be aware of.
Misdemeanors, such as disorderly conduct, are crimes
punishable by a fine or by confinement in a jail for up to a year.
Felonies, such as burglary, are punishable imprisonment in a
penitentiary for more than a year.
Within each classification, there may be different degrees.
These degrees are generally organized around the maximum
punishment allowable.
Now that we have classified crimes, it is important to discuss
what makes one criminally liable. In order to be criminally
liable, the government must prove various elements beyond a
reasonable doubt. At bottom, there are two major types of
elements. First, there must be the commission of a criminal act
(also known as the actus reus). Second, the act must be
performed with requisite mental state (also known as mens rea).
This act and intent to commit a crime will vary based on the
statute. And, indeed, there may be multiple elements depending
on the crime.
For example, the Model Penal Code defines murder as the
purposeful or knowing killing of another person. The act
element here would be the killing of another person. The intent
element would be purposefully or knowingly (which is defined
as either intending or knowing that the actions will lead to the
criminal result). So, to convict for murder, the prosecution
would have to prove both of these elements beyond a reasonable
doubt.

4. However, even if the prosecution proves each element of the
crime beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant may be able to
escape punishment if they are able to prove an affirmative
defense (typically defendants are held to the lesser standard of
by a preponderance of the evidence or being able to prove it is
more likely than not that the defense is valid). These can be
divided into two types: excuses and justifications.
An excuse defense is one that allows the defendant to get off for
wrongful conduct because there is an acknowledgment that
though the defendant’s actions were wrong there is something
about the situation or the defendant that makes it unfair to find
the defendant partially or totally culpable. An example of an
excuse defense is insanity. Here, there is no doubt that the
defendant committed the crime. However, society has
determined that it is unfair to punish one for a crime when due
to a mental disease or defect that person is unable to determine
right from wrong or appreciate the wrongfulness of his or her
conduct.
A justification defense is one that allows a defendant, who has
committed a crime, to escape punishment due to a determination
by society that the defendant’s commission of the crime was a
better decision than the alternatives. Self-defense is a classic
justification defense. In this defense, the defendant is not
punished for the commission of a crime because there is a
recognition that it is better for the defendant to have protected
themselves or another from someone else’s wrongful use of
force.
With this, we have covered some of the basics of criminal law.
This material will directly apply to crimes and criminal issues
that confront the business world as in the case with
embezzlement and other crimes that plague business.