civil law 2
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- Jurisprudence
- the study of law and legal philosophy.
- law
- the rules and regulations made and enforced by the government that regulate the conduct of people within a society.
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- a statement of human rights which has been agreed to be almost every country.
- Criminal laws
- regulate public conduct and set out duties owed to society.
- felonies
- penalty is a term or more than one year in prision.
- misdemeanors
- penalty is a prision term of one year or less.
- Civil laws
- regulate relations between individuals or groups of individuals.
- Civil action
- is a lawsuit that can be brought by a person who feels wronged or injured by another person.
- defendent
- the person against whom a claim is made. In a civil suit the defendent is the person being suid; in a criminal case the defendent is the person charged with committing a crime.
- plantiff
- the party bringing the legal action
- prosecutor
- the governments attorney in a criminal case.
- beyond resonable doubt
- the level of proof required to convict a person of a crime. It does not mean "convinced 100 percent" but does mean there is no reasonable doubts as to giult.
- 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.
- limited government
- a basic principle of our constituitional system. It limits government powers provided to it by the people.
- separation of powers
- the division of power among the branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial.
- statutes
- law enacted by legislatures
- checks and balances
- the power of each of the three branches of government to limit the other branches' power, so as to prevent an abuse.
- veto
- to prevent enactment of a bill
- judicial review
- the process by which courts decide whether the laws pased by Congress or state legislatures are constitutional.
- unconstitutional
- conflicting with some part of the constitution.
- conflict of intrest
- when a person has two or more concerns that are incompatible.
- independent council
- an attorney hired to be impartial. They are to investigate misconduct by high ranking memebers of the executive branch, including the president.
- federalism
- the division of powers between the states and the federal government
- Bill of Rights
- the first ten amendments to the Constitution
- supremacy clause
- states that U.S. laws and treaties must be followed even if a stae and local laws disagree with the Constitution and these treaties.
- legislative intent
- what the lawmakers who passed a law wanted the law to mean.
- bills
- a draft of a propsed law beng considered by a legislature
- public hearings
- hearings that give individuals or buisnesses an opportunity to express their views on the proposals.
- trials
- a court preceeding
- appeals
- to take a case to a higher court for a rehearing
- appellate
- a court in which appeals from trial court decisions are heard
- precedent
- court decisions on legal questions that guide future cases with similar questions.
- lobbying
- a way to influence the lawmaking process by convicting lawmakers to as as you want them to.
- vote
- a basic constitutional right.
- initiative
- a procedure that enables a specified number of voters to propose a law by petition.
- recall
- the removal of an elected official from office by a vote of the people.
- negotiation
- is the process by which people involved in a disputable talk to eachother about their problem and try to reach a solution acceptable to all.
- settlement
- a mutual agreement between two sides in a lawsuit, made before the case goes to trial, that settles the or ends the diputes.
- arbitration
- both parties to a dispute agree to have another person listen to their arguments and make a decision for them.
- mediation
- a method of alternative dispute resolution. A third person listens to both sides and recommends a solution.
- ombudspersons
- investigates complaints and then helps the parties reach some agreement.
- trial courts
- listen to the testimony, consider evvidence, and decide the facts in a disputed situations.
- parties
- the people directly concerned with or taking part in any legal matter.
- adversary system
- the judicial system used in the U.S. It allows opposing parties to present their legal conflicts before an impartial judge or jury.
- inquisitional system
- a European method for handling diputes in which the judge plays an active role in gathering and presenting evidence and questioning witnesses.
- voir dire
- the process in which opposing lawyers question prospective jurors to get as favorable or as fair a jury as possible.
- removal for clause
- part of the jury selection process. It permits removal of any juror who does not appear capable of rendering a fair and impartial verdict.
- peremptory challenges
- the attorneys can have prospective jurors removed without stating a cause.
- error of the law
- a mistake made by the judge in a legal procedures or rulings during a trial that may allow the case to be appealed.
- dissenting opinion
- in a trial or appeal, the written opinion of a minority of judges who disagree with the decision of the majority.
- concurring opinion
- an additional court opinion in which a judge agrees with the decision reached by the court, but not neccesarily with the reasoning behing that decision.
- petitions for certiorari
- formal application by which a party of lower court decision reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has discretion to approve or deny any such application.