The law as established in previous court decisions; a synonym for legal precedent.
What is Case Law?
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble.
What is the 1st Amendment?
A civil, not criminal, wrong.
What is tort?
A landmark decision that effectively legalized abortion in the US; the constitutional arguments hinged on the right to privacy.
What is Roe v. Wade?
The body of law that regulates activities and procedures of government agencies.
What is Administrative Law?
The right to bear arms.
What is the 2nd Amendment?
An English legal scholar who wrote the Commentaries on the Laws of England, a set of law books that had a major influence of the development of the criminal law in the US.
Who is Sir William Blackstone?
This landmark case declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, leading to the desegregation of schools.
The body of law that controls how the various agents and elements of the CJ System treat people.
What is Procedural Criminal Law?
What is the 4th Amendment?
"To stand by things decided;" the doctrine that rules of law established in past court cases should be followed in present ones.
What is Stare Decisis?
What is Terry v. Ohio?
A series of books containing the written judicial opinions of a particular court.
What is a reporter?
The part of the criminal law that specifies prohibited acts and the punishments associated with those acts.
What is Substantive Criminal Law?
The right to a speedy trial and to confront witnesses.
What is the 6th Amendment?
An unconstitutional type of statute that criminalizes an act after the act has occurred.
What is the Ex Post Facto Law?
A landmark decision that struck down a Texas sodomy law, effectively ruling criminal laws that prohibit homosexual sexual activity unconstitutional.
What is Lawrence v. Texas?
A court decision in an earlier case with facts and legal issues similar to a dispute before a court.
What is precedent?
The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the US, which relies on the articulation of legal principles in a historical succession of judicial decisions.
What is Common Law?
"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
What is the 8th Amendment?
The doctrine by which appellate courts strike down laws that are not clear in what exactly they prohibit.
What is Void for Vagueness?
A landmark decision in which the Court first articulated the clear and present danger test for judging the constitutionality of statutes that impinge on First Amendment rights.
What is Schenck v. United States?