Also known as: legal regimes · regime · legal framework
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A system of rules, policies, and norms of behavior that cover any legal issue and that facilitate substantive or procedural arrangements for deciding that issue.
Lamar Lewis and other owners in a subdivision governed by Linden Logistics formed an association to oversee shared roads and landscaping. When a majority voted to impose new maintenance fees, Lewis challenged the action as exceeding the declaration. The court upheld the fees because the association possessed all powers reasonably necessary to administer the servitude regime and manage common property.
Lila Lin operated a clinic providing reproductive services in a state that imposed spousal-notification rules. After the rules took effect, Lin sought to enjoin enforcement on behalf of patients. The court evaluated whether the notification requirement imposed an undue burden within the legal regime protecting a woman's liberty interest in choosing to terminate a pregnancy.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Liberty Trust contributed large sums to candidates supporting its policy goals. Federal election officials applied contribution caps and disclosure rules to the trust's activities. The court examined whether those caps survived scrutiny under the legal regime governing political speech and preventing corruption in federal elections.
Luke Latham sued a pharmaceutical company after his child suffered birth defects allegedly caused by a prescription drug. The company moved to exclude Latham's expert witnesses. The court assessed whether the experts' methods satisfied the reliability requirements of the legal regime for admitting scientific evidence in federal trials.
Lance Lee, a terminally ill patient, sought a physician's assistance to end his life under state law. State prosecutors threatened to enforce criminal prohibitions against the physician. The court considered whether the state's ban on assisted suicide was consistent with the legal regime protecting substantive due process rights.
Lars Lindstrom and another adult were arrested under a state sodomy statute for private consensual conduct. They challenged the convictions as violating fundamental liberties. The court determined whether the statute could stand under the legal regime recognizing protected intimate conduct between adults.
A legal regime encompasses not only statutes but also policies, norms of behavior, and procedural arrangements that together govern a legal issue and enable decision-making. The dictionary definition emphasizes this broader set of elements that facilitate substantive and procedural outcomes.
Supporting sources
The Restatement states that a common-interest community possesses all powers reasonably necessary to manage common property and administer the servitude regime, including those listed in related sections, exercisable by majority vote unless otherwise specified.
Supporting sources
Courts assess fit to determine whether the statute aligns with constitutional limits, such as equal sovereignty or enforcement powers under the Reconstruction Amendments, or with evidentiary standards for reliability.
Supporting sources
…a completely different order of magnitude than that which results from the imposition of normal zoning restrictions. Unlike the regime affected by the latter, the landowner is not simply prohibited from using his property for certain purposes, while allowed to use it for all other purposes. Under the historic-landmark…