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Law & Ethics
Key Terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Amendment | one of the provisions of the U. S. Constitution enacted after the original Constitution became law; and addition or change to an existing document or plan |
| Bill of Rights | the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which guarantee basic individual rights to all persons in the United States |
| Beyond a Reasonable Doubt | the level of proof required to convict a person of a crime; it does not mean "convinced 100 percent," but does mean there are no reasonable doubts as to guilt |
| Checks and Balances | the power of each of the three branches of government (legislative, judicial, executive) to limit the other branches' power, so as to prevent an abuse |
| Civil Action | a noncriminal lawsuit, brought to enforce a right or redress a wrong |
| Civil Law | all law that does not involve criminal matter, such as tort and contract law; civil law usually deals with private rights of individual, groups, or businesses |
| Criminal Law | the branch of law dealing with crimes and their punishment |
| Executive Branch | the administrative branch of a government; responsible for carrying out (enforcing) laws; this branch includes a chief executive (for example, the president), executive offices, and agencies |
| Federalism | The division of powers between the states and the federal government |
| Human Rights | Basic privileges a person has as a human being |
| Judicial Branch | The branch of government that interprets laws and resolves legal questions |
| Judicial Review | the process by which courts decide whether the laws passed by congress or state legislatures are constitutional |
| Jurisprudence | The study of law and legal philosophy |
| Legislative Branch | the branch of government that passes laws; the U. S. Senate and House of Representatives comprise the legislative branch of the federal government |
| Limited Government | a basic principle of our constitutional system; it limits government to powers provided to it by the people |
| Preponderance of the Evidence | usually the standard of proof used in a civil suit; the burden of proof that a party must meet in order to win the lawsuit; to win, a party must provide evidence that is more convincing than the other side's evidence |
| Separation of Powers | the division of power among the branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) |
| U.S. Constitution | the written document that contains the fundamental laws of the nation and the principles of a free, representative democracy |
| Unconstitutional | Conflicting with some provision of the Constitution |
| Veto | prohibit; in government, the veto is the power of a chief executive to prevent enactment of a bill (i.e., to prevent the bill from becoming a law) |
| Advocacy | Active support or argument for a cause |
| Adovocate | a person who speaks for the cause of another or on behalf of someone or something |
| Lobbying | influencing or persuading legislators to take action to introduce a bill or vote a certain way on a proposed law |
| Petition | To file charges in a juvenile court proceeding; A request to a court or public official |
| Recall | The removal of an elected official from office by a vote of the people |
| Referendum | a procedure in which issues are voted on directly by the citizens rather than by their representatives in government |
| Arbitration | a way of settling a dispute without going to trial; the parties who disagree select one or more impartial persons to settle the argument; if the arbitration is binding, then all parties must accept the decision |
| Mediation | The act or processes of resolving a dispute between two or more parties |
| Negotiation | The process of discussing an issue to reach a settlement or agreement |
| Ombudsperson | a person who has the power to investigate reported complaints and help achieve fair settlements |
| Settlement | a mutual agreement between tow sides in a civil lawsuit, made either before the case goes to trial or before a final judgment is entered, that settles or ends the dispute |
| Trial Courts | courts that listen to testimony, consider evidence, and decide the facts in a disputed situation |
| Parties | The people directly concerned with or taking part in any legal matter |
| Plaintiff | in a civil case, the injured party who brings legal action against the alleged wrongdoer |
| Prosecutor | The state or federal government's attorney in a criminal case |
| Defendant | the person against whom a claim is made; in a civil suit, the defendant is the person being sued; in a criminal case, the defendant is the person, charged with committing a crime |
| Adversarial System | the judicial system used in the United States; it allows opposing parties to present their legal conflicts before an impartial judge and jury |
| Inquisitional System | a European method for handling disputes in which the judge plays an active role in gathering and presenting evidence and questioning witnesses |
| Voir Dire | from the French phrase meaning "to speak the truth." It is the screening process in which opposing lawyers question prospective jurors to ensure as favorable or as fair a jury as possible |
| Removal for Cause | part of the jury selection process; after voir dire, opposing attorneys may request removal of any juror who does not appear capable of rendering a fair and impartial verdict |
| Peremptory Challenges | part of the pretrial jury selection; attorneys on opposing sides may dismiss a certain number of possible jurors without giving any reason; there is one exception: peremptory challenges cannot be used to discriminate based on race |
| Appeals Court | A court in which appeals from trial court decisions are heard |
| Error of Law | a mistake made by a judge in legal procedures or rulings during a trial that may allow the case to be appealed |
| Precedent | court decision on a legal question that guides future cases with similar questions |
| Dissenting Option | in a trial or appeal, the written opinion of the minority of judges who disagree with the decision of the majority |
| Concurring Opinion | an additional written court opinion in which a judge or judges agrees with the decision reached by the court, but for reasons different from those used to support the majority opinion |
| Inherent Powers | Powers that Congress has cause they result from the powers listed in Constitution; these powers are derived from necessary/proper clause of the Constitution, which allows them to expand its power to carry out functions delegated by Constitution |
| Delegated Power | the powers specifically granted to Congress by Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution; also called enumerated or expressed powers; they include the power to tax, regulate commerce, and declare war |
| Petitions for Certiorari | certiorari is a Latin word meaning "to be informed of;" it is a formal application by a party to have a lower-court decision reviewed by the U. S. Supreme Court, which has discretion to approve or deny any such application |
| Litigators | a trial attorney; a barrister |
| Bar Associations | an organization that licenses lawyers |
| Retainer | a down payment by which a client hires an attorney to act in his or her behalf |
| Contingency Fee | the fee paid to an attorney based on a percentage of the sum the client is awarded or settles for in a lawsuit |
| Privilege | an advantage; a right that cannot be taken away; the right to speak or write personally damaging words because the law specially allows it; the right and the duty to withhold information from others because of confidentiality |
| Disbarred | to take away an attorney's license to practice law because of illegal or unethical conduct |
| Legal Malpractice | the type of lawsuit brought against a lawyer for loss or injury to his or her client caused by the lawyer's error or failure to meet acceptable standards of practice for the legal profession |
| State of Mind | what you are thinking; most crimes require that the actor have a guilty state of mind, meaning that he or she purposefully commits the prohibited act |
| Motive | the reason a person commits a crime |
| Strict Liability | the legal responsibility for damage or injury even if you are not negligent |
| Elements | the conditions that make an act unlawful |
| Misdemeanor | a criminal offense, less serious than a felony, punishable by a prison sentence of one year or less |
| Principal | the person who commits a crime |
| Accomplice | a person who helps commit a crime but usually is not present |
| Accessory before the Fact | an accessory before the fact is one who encourages, orders, or helps plan a crime |
| Accessory after the Fact | an accessory after the fact is someone who, knowing a crime has been committed, helps conceal the crime or the criminal |
| Solicitation | the act of requesting or strongly urging someone to do something; if the request is to do something illegal, solicitation is considered a crime |
| Attempt | an effort to commit a crime that goes beyond mere preparation but does not result in the commission of the crime |
| Conspiracy | an agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime along with a substantial act toward committing the crime |
| Homicide | the killing of another person,; homicide can be criminal, noncriminal, or negligent |
| Malice | ill will; deliberate intent to harm someone |
| First-Degree Murder | murder in the first degree is planned in advance and done with malice or during the commission of a dangerous felony |
| Second-Degree Murder | the unlawful killing of a person with malice; murder in the second degree does not require malice or premeditation but is the result of a desire to inflict bodily harm; it is done without excuse, and is therefore more serious than manslaughter |
| Voluntary Manslaugter | when the killing of a person without malice or premeditation; either voluntary, when intentional but not premeditated, resulting from the heat of passion or the diminished mental capacity of the killer |
| Involuntary Manslaughter | when the killing of a person without malice or premeditation; when unintentional but done during an unlawful act of a lesser nature |
| Negligence | the failure to exercise a reasonable amount of care in either doing or not doing something, resulting in harm or injury to another person |
| Suicde | the deliberate taking of one's own life |
| Assault | an intentional threat, show of force, or movement that causes a reasonable fear of, or an actual physical contact with, another person; can be a crime or a tort |
| Battery | any intentional, unlawful physical contact inflicted on one person by another without consent; in some states, this is combined with assault |
| Stalking | the act of following or harassing another person, causing the fear of death or injury |
| Sexual Assault | unwelcome sexual contact against another individual committed through the use of force, threat, or intimidation, or enabled because the victim is incapacitated due to drugs, alcohol, or mental disability |
| Rape | unlawful sexual intercourse. It is committed when one party forces another party to have sexual intercourse. It implies lack of consent. |
| Statutory Rape | the act of unlawful sexual intercourse by an adult with someone under the age of consent, even if the minor is a willing and voluntary participant in the sexual act |
| Acquaintance Rape | sexual assault by someone known to the victim, such as a date or neighbor; also called date rape |
Created by:
Nellyxx