Govt. Chap. 15 Terms
Last Government Test!!!
Terms
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- criminal law
- one that defines crimes and provides for their punishment
- constitutional law
- law that involves the interpretation and application of U.S. and state constitutions
- plea bargaining
- process in which a defendant pleads guilty to a lesser crime than the one with which the defendant was originally charged
- jury
- group of citizens who hear evidence during a trial and give a verdict
- ordinance
- law
- mediation
- process in which each side is given the opportunity to explain its side of the dispute and must listen to the other side
- law
- set of rules and standards by which a society governs itself
- mortgage
- loan taken out to pay for a house
- statutory law
- aw that is written down so that everyone might know and understand it
- expressed contract
- contract in which the terms are specifically stated, usually in writing
- adversary system
- judicial system in which opposing lawyers present their strongest cases
- equity
- system of rules by which disputes are resolved on the grounds of fairness
- civil law
- one relating to disputes among two or more individuals or an individual and the government
- misdemeanor
- minor crime, usually punished by a fine or jail sentence of less than one year
- summons
- official notice of a lawsuit that includes the date, time, and place of the initial court appearance
- injunction
- order that will stop a particular action or enforce a rule or regulation
- petty offense
- minor crime, usually punished by a ticket rather than being arrested
- implied contract
- contract in which the terms are not expressly stated but can be inferred from the actions of the people involved and the circumstances
- procedural due process
- principle that prohibits arbitrary enforcement of the law, and also provides safeguards to ensure that constitutional and statutory rights are protected by law enfocement
- defendant
- person against whom a civil or criminal suit is brought in court
- sentence
- punishment to be imposed on an offender after a guilty verdict
- tort
- wrongful act, other than breach of contract, for which an injured party has the right to sue
- answer
- formal response by a defendant to the charges in a complaint
- criminal justice system
- system of state and federal courts, police, and prisons that enforces criminal law
- common law
- law made by judges in the process of resolving individual cases
- felony
- major crime
- hung jury
- jury that is unable to reach a decision
- administrative law
- law that spells out the authority, procedures, rules, and regulations to be followed by the government
- arrest warrant
- order signed by a judge naming the individual to be arrested for a specific crime
- plaintiff
- person who brings charges in court
- statute
- written law by the legislative branch
- discovery
- process when both sides prepare for a trial by gathering evidence to support their case
- indictment
- formal charge by a grand jury
- information
- sworn statement by the prosecution that there is sufficient evidence for a trial
- affidavit
- written statement to prove statements of fact signed by a witness under oath
- contract
- set of voluntary promises, enforceable by the law, between two or more parties
- real property
- land and whatever is attached or growing on it
- grand jury
- group that hears charges against a suspect and decides whether there is suffiecient evidence to bring the person to trial
- due process
- principle in the 14th amendment clause stating that no state can deprive a person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law
- presumed innocence
- the presumption that a person is innocent until proven guilty
- substantive due process
- certain rights of individuals in the application of laws; some that are specified in the Constitution (like free speech) and some that are not specified (like the privacy in making personal decisions)
- personal property
- movable belongings such as clothes and jewelry as well as intangible items like stocks, bonds, copyrights, and patents
- complaint
- legal document filed with the court that has jurisdiction over the problem
- verdict
- decision