The judiciary (also known as the judicial system or court system) is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state.

The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes.

In some nations, under doctrines of separation of powers, the judiciary generally does not make law (which is the responsibility of the legislature) or enforce law (which is the responsibility of the executive), but rather interprets law and applies it to the facts of each case.

In other nations, the judiciary can make law, known as Common Law, by setting precedent for other judges to follow, as opposed to Statutory Law made by the legislature.

The Judiciary is often tasked with ensuring equal justice under law.

Iowa is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States, bordered by the Mississippi River on the east and the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west.

Surrounding states include Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Missouri to the south, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, and Minnesota to the north.

Justice is the legal or philosophical theory by which fairness is administered.

The concept of justice differs in every culture.

An early theory of justice was set out by the Ancient Greek philosopher Plato in his work The Republic.

Advocates of divine command theory argue that justice issues from God.

In the 17th century, theorists like John Locke argued for the theory of natural law.

Thinkers in the social contract tradition argued that justice is derived from the mutual agreement of everyone concerned.

In the 19th century, utilitarian thinkers including John Stuart Mill argued that justice is what has the best consequences.

Theories of distributive justice concern what is distributed, between whom they are to be distributed, and what is the proper distribution.

Egalitarians argued that justice can only exist within the coordinates of equality.

John Rawls used a social contract argument to show that justice, and especially distributive justice, is a form of fairness.

Law is a system of rules that are created and enforced through social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior.

Law as a system helps regulate and ensure that a community show respect, and equality amongst themselves.

State-enforced laws can be made by a collective legislature or by a single legislator, resulting in statutes, by the executive through decrees and regulations, or established by judges through precedent, normally in common law jurisdictions.

Private individuals can create legally binding contracts, including arbitration agreements that may elect to accept alternative arbitration to the normal court process.

The formation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution, written or tacit, and the rights encoded therein.

The law shapes politics, economics, history and society in various ways and serves as a mediator of relations between people.

Fair use is a doctrine unique to the law of the United States that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder.

The Supreme Court has traditionally characterized fair use as an affirmative defense, but in Lenz v.

Universal Music Corp.

(2015) (the "dancing baby" case), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded that fair use was not merely a defense to an infringement claim, but was an expressly authorized right, and an exception to the exclusive rights granted to the author of a creative work by copyright law: "Fair use is therefore distinct from affirmative defenses where a use infringes a copyright, but there is no liability due to a valid excuse, e.g., misuse of a copyright." Examples of fair use in United States copyright law include commentary, search engines, criticism, parody, news reporting, research, and scholarship.

Although related, the limitations and exceptions to copyright for teaching and library archiving in the U.S. are located in a different section of the statute.

Fair use provides for the legal, unlicensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author's work under a four-factor balancing test.