Term
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Definition
| Property over which an owner or possessor has relinquished control with no intent to regain control. |
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| The intentional termination of a pregnancy through medical intervention. |
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| abusive debt collection practices |
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Definition
| Actions or threats used by debt collectors to harass a debtor. |
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| An addition or increase in property. |
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| A person who aids in the commission of a crime. |
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| Payment by one party and acceptance of it bay another in full satisfaction of a disputed claim. |
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| Unforeseen occurrences not caused by a human being or human agency. |
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| Possession of property with the possessor's having immediate control over it. |
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| A "wrongful act" that, combined with other necessary elements of crime, constitutes criminal liability. |
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| Taxes based on the assessed value of the property taxed. |
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Term
| adequacy of consideration |
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Definition
| A consideration that is reasonably proportional under the circumstances. |
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| Procedures leading to adjudication in administrative or judicial proceedings. |
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| The final judgment in a legal proceeding, the act of pronouncing judgment based on the evidence presented. |
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| Value of an estate after subtracting all deductions allowed by law or regulations. |
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| adversarial system of justice |
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Definition
| A system of justice involving conflicting parties where the role of the judge is to remain neutral |
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Definition
| Judicial tribunals that review decisions from lower tribunals. |
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Term
| Articles of Confederation |
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Definition
| The constitution under which the United States was governed between 1781 and 1789. |
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Definition
| The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791, concerned primarily with individual rights and liberties. |
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| Blackstone's Commentaries |
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Definition
| A codification of principles of the English Common Law published in 1769 by Sir William Blackstone, and author and professor. |
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Definition
| The violation of a provision in a legally enforceable agreement that gives the damaged party the right to recourse in a court of law. |
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| Purposeful, peaceful lawbreaking to dramatize one's opposition to the law. |
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| 1. The law relating to rights and obligations of parties. 2. The body of law, based essentially on Roman Law, that prevails in most non-English-speaking nations. |
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| Any court action other than a criminal prosecution. |
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| Code of laws compiled by the Roman Emperor Justinian c. 535 A.D. |
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| Collection of laws usually indexed by subject matter. |
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| A nations fundamental law. |
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| An offense against society punishable under the criminal law. |
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| The law defining crimes and punishments. |
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| The process by which a person is charged with a criminal offense. |
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| An intellectual movement whose members argue that law is neither neutral nor value free but is in fact inseparable from politics. |
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Definition
| Law declared by appellate courts in their written decisions and opinions. |
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| Declaration of Independence |
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Definition
| Formal document of July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America as an independent nation. |
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Definition
| A person charged with a crime or against whom a civil action has been initiated. |
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| Articles I, II and III of the U.S. Constitution, delineating the powers and functions of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, respectively, of the national government. |
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Term
| doctrine of incorporation |
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Definition
| 1. The practice of allowing one document to be made part of another by specific reference. 2. In constitutional law, the doctrine that the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the provisions of the Bill of Rights and thus makes them applicable to the states. |
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Definition
| Procedural and substantive rights of citizens against the government actions that threaten the denial of life, liberty and property. |
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Definition
| Historically, a system of rules, remedies, customs, and principles developed in England to supplement the harsh common law by emphasizing the concept of fairness. In addition, because the common law served only to recompense after injury, equity was devised to prevent injuries that could not be repaired or recompensed after the fact. While American judges continue to distinguish between law and equity, these systems of rights and remedies are, for the most part, administered by the same courts. |
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Term
| error correction function |
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Definition
| The function of appellate courts in correcting errors committed by lower tribunals in their interpretation and application of law, evidence, and procedure. |
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Term
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Definition
| An order by a president or governor directing some particular action to be taken. |
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Definition
| A hearing in a court of law that conforms to standards of procedural justice. |
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| The requirement stemming from the due process that government provide adequate notice to a person before it deprives that person of life, liberty or property. |
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Term
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Definition
| The collective term for the myriad departments, agencies, and bureaus of the federal government. |
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Term
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Definition
| The constitutional distribution of government power and responsibility between the national government and the states. |
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Definition
| A serious crime for which a person may be incarcerated for more than one year. |
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| Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, prohibiting states from depriving persons in their jurisdictions of due process and equal protection. |
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Term
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Definition
| "You have the body." A judicial order issued to an official holding someone in custody, requiring the official to bring the prisoner to court for the purpose of allowing the court to determine whether that person is being held illegally. |
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Term
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Definition
| A court order prohibiting someone from doing some specified act or commanding someone to undo some wrong or injury. |
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Term
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Definition
| English institutions founded in the fourteenth century where judges and experienced barristers served as teachers and mentors to those aspiring to become barristers. |
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Definition
| A decision by a court of law. |
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Term
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Definition
| Generally, the review of any issue by a court of law. In American constitutional law, judicial review refers to the authority of a court to invalidate acts of government on constitutional grounds. |
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Term
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Definition
| One of the principal functions of an appellate court, often referred to as the law development function, in which the appellate court makes law by interpreting or reinterpreting a constitutional or statutory provision. |
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Definition
| Compilations of statutory laws usually indexed according to subject matter. |
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Definition
| An elected lawmaking body such as the Congress of the United States or a state assembly. |
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| The ancient law of retaliation, commonly referred to as "an ey for an eye". |
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Term
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Definition
| The idea that law should protect people from one another but not protect the individual from his or her own vices or unfortunate choices. |
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Definition
| The "Great Charter" signed by King John in 1215 guaranteeing the legal rights of English subjects. Generally considered the foundation of Anglo-American constitutionalism. |
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Definition
| A minor offense usually punishable by fine or imprisonment for less than one year. |
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| The codification of the civil and criminal laws of France promulgated under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804. |
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Definition
| Principles of human conduct believed to be ordained by God or nature, existing prior to and superseding human law. |
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Definition
| An enactment of a local governing body such as a city council or commission. |
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Definition
| Not chosen by the framers because it was believed that parliaments could be manipulated by monarchs or captured by impassioned but short-lived majorities. |
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| The party initiating legal action; the complaining party. |
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Definition
| The power of government to legislate to protect public health, safety, welfare, and morality. |
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Term
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Definition
| The written law enforced by government. |
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| A judicial decision cited as authority controlling or influencing the outcome of a similar case. |
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Definition
| Set of procedures designed to ensure fairness in a judicial or administrative proceeding. |
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Definition
| Popular acceptance of an institution based on the perception that it operates by valid procedures. |
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Definition
| A legally binding rule or order prescribed by a controlling authority. The term is generally used with respect to the rules promulgated by administrative and regulatory agencies. |
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Definition
| Laws that prevailed among the Romans first codified in the Twelve Tables; basis of the modern civil law in most European Countries. |
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Definition
| The idea that law, not the discretion of officials, should govern public affairs. |
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| Formal process by which regulatory agencies make rules that carry the force of law. |
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| The authority of an independent nation or state to govern within its territorial limits. |
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Definition
| "To stand by decided matters." The principle that past decisions should stand as precedents for future decisions. This principle, which stands for the proposition that precedents are binding on later decisions, is said to be followed less rigorously in constitutional law than in other branches of the law. |
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Definition
| A generally applicable law enacted by a legislature. |
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Term
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Definition
| The official interpretation of a statute rendered by a court of law. |
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Definition
| Doctrine that Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution require legislation to be fair and reasonable in content as well as application. |
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Term
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Definition
| The belief that the government or legal system is enacting rules and policies that are fair, reasonable and just. |
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Term
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Definition
| A wrong or injury other than a breach of contract for which the remedy is a civil suit for damages. |
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Term
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Definition
| A legally binding agreement between two or more countries. In the United States, treaties are negotiated by the President but must be ratified by the Senate. |
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Definition
| Courts whose primary function is the conduct of civil and/or criminal trials. |
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Term
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Definition
| A collection of Laws designed to be uniformly adopted by the various states. The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is a classic example of a uniform code of laws. |
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Term
| United States Constitution |
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Definition
| Written at the Constitutional Convention in Philidelphia in 1787, and subsequently ratified by the original 13 states. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the Federal Government of the United States. |
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Definition
| An order issued by a court of law requiring or prohibiting the performance of some specific act. |
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