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chapter 15
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| common law | a system of law based on precedent and customs |
| precedent | a ruling that is used as the basis for a judicial decision in a later, similar case |
| statute | an enactment made by a legislature and expressed in a formal document. |
| plaintiff | a person who brings suit in a court |
| defendant | a person against whom a claim or charge is brought in a court |
| felony | an offense, as murder or burglary, of graver character than those called misdemeanors, especially those commonly punished in the U.S. by imprisonment for more than a year |
| misdemeanor | a criminal offense defined as less serious than a felony |
| larceny | the wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal goods of another from his or her possession with intent to convert them to the taker's own use |
| robbery | the felonious taking of the property of another from his or her person or in his or her immediate presence, against his or her will, by violence or intimidation |
| burglary | the felony of breaking into and entering the house of another at night with intent to steal, extended by statute to cover the breaking into and entering of any of various buildings, by night or day |
| lawsuit | a case in a court of law involving a claim, complaint by one party against another |
| tort | a wrongful act, not including a breach of contract or trust, that results in injury to another's person, property, reputation, or the like, and for which the injured party is entitled to compensation |
| libel | defamation by written or printed words, pictures, or in any form other than by spoken words or gestures. |
| constitutional law | branch of law dealing with formation construction and interpretation of constitutions |
| stare decisis | the doctrine that rules or principles of law on which a court rested a previous decision are authoritative in all future cases in which the facts are substantially the same |
| writ of habeas corpus | a court order the requires police to bring a prisoner to court to explain why they are holding the person |
| bill of attainder | an act of legislature finding a person guilty of treason or felony without trial |
| ex post facto law | A law that makes illegal an act that was legal when committed, increases the penalties for an infraction after it has been committed, or changes the rules of evidence to make conviction easier |
| due process of law | the regular administration of the law, according to which no citizen may be denied his or her legal rights and all laws must conform to fundamental, accepted legal principles, as the right of the accused to confront his or her accusers |
| search warrant | a court order authorizing the examination of a dwelling or other private premises by police officials, as for stolen goods |
| double jeopardy | the subjecting of a person to a second trial or punishment for the same offense for which the person has already been tried or punished |
| grand jury | a jury, at common law, of 12 to 23 persons, designated to inquire into alleged violations of the law in order to ascertain whether the evidence is sufficient to warrant trial |
| plea bargaining | an agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant whereby the defendant is allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge rather than risk conviction for a graver crime in order to avoid a protracted trial or to win the defendant's cooperation as a witness |
| bail | property or money given as surety that a person released from custody will return at an appointed time |
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jordanwoody1
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