Pat Parker started his own consulting firm after graduating law school. The firm specialized in conducting opposition research and writing reports for political candidates, most of them Democratic. This case covers the State Academy of Trial Lawyers’ attempts to buy a research document on the candidate it supported for state Attorney General, Republican Terry Paine, which was nearly the same as the report Parker had prepared for the candidacy of Democratic nominee Dale Jackson two years prior in order to inoculate Paine during the upcoming election. Parker did not now how to proceed after being approached by the Academy. He could face arrest for selling the information and the sale could jeopardize Paine’s candidacy.
The legal issues Pat Parker had to consider in this case were numerous. A sale could possibly violate contract or federal copyright laws. A sale to the State Academy of Trial Lawyers could violate the $500 limit on funding under the Florida Campaign Finance Statute. The fact that the report would be sold to the opposite party could make the sale fall under the Florida Voluntary Code of Fair Campaign Practices. Also, he had to consider possible violations of ethics codes.
Parker first had to determine whether he would be violating any contract laws by selling the report to the State Academy of Trial Lawyers. In order prosecute Parker, the state had to prove the existence of a valid contract. A valid contract contains the following three elements: competent parties, consideration, and mutual assent or meeting of the minds.
Both sides in a contract must have the capacity to enter into it in order for it to be valid. Parker was competent and willfully conducted the research for the Democratic nominee, Dale Jackson, who was also competent. Both parties were competent, so this element was satisfied.
Both sides in a contract must give up something in exchange for what the other party is offering. ...