Mary and Hanna, who are Tennessee residents, were traveling through Mississippi when they were involved in an automobile accident with Franco, who is a resident of Mississippi. Franco sues Mary, who was driving the car, in federal court in Mississippi and asks for $100,000 to reimburse him for his medical bills and lost wages. In deciding the case, what law will the federal district judge apply?

either state law or federal law

federal law

state law

U.S. Supreme Court case law

Assessment question

Randolph was recently arrested for violating a local ordinance that prohibits citizens from wearing clothing that exhibits obscene language. He thinks the ordinance is unfair, because it does not clearly explain what "obscene" means, so he fights the charge in court. The court finds in Randolph's favor, holding that the ordinance is void for vagueness, and strikes it down. In striking down the statute created by the legislature, the court was exercising the power of:

judicial feedback.

judicial review.

jurisprudential oversight.

jurisprudence.

Assessment question

Sanchez and Yan entered into a contract that required Sanchez to deliver twenty textbooks to Yan's bookstore every month by the 15^thraised to the thpower of the month. Six months after Sanchez and Yan entered into this contract, Sanchez breached the contract by not delivering the textbooks to Yan's bookstore. After Sanchez breached the contract, Yan sued Sanchez for her damages. Yan must choose the appropriate court in which to file her lawsuit. To do this, Yan needs to be sure the court has:

in personam jurisdiction, but not subject matter jurisdiction, in the case.

both subject matter and in personam jurisdiction in the case.

subject matter jurisdiction, but not in personam jurisdiction, in the case.

neither in personam jurisdiction nor subject matter jurisdiction in the case.

Assessment question

For the past year, Zegrida has been writing a historical fiction novel based on the experiences of her family as they immigrated to the United States from Latvia during World War II. When finished, she contacted a publisher and was shocked to discover that her book had just been published two weeks ago with Fran, a business acquaintance of Zegrida, listed as the author. Two months ago, Zegrida had asked Fran to review the book and give feedback, but instead, Fran published the book under her own name. Zegrida plans to sue Fran for copyright infringement and is trying to decide in which court to sue. Zegrida must sue Fran:

in federal district court because the suit involves a copyright issue.

in either federal district court or state court because both Fran and Zegrida live in the same state and the suit involves a copyright issue.

in state court because the suit involves a copyright issue.

in state court because both Fran and Zegrida live in the same state.

Andre is involved in a business dispute with his former partner, Ned. Instead of filing a lawsuit, Andre and Ned decide to use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to settle their dispute. Andre and Ned choose to present their case to a neutral third party, and that third party will decide the case. The form of ADR that Andre and Ned have decided to use is:

negotiation.

mediation.

summary jury trial.

arbitration.