Midterm 1 Flashcards
what is law
formal expression of a peoples beliefs about right and wrong conduct
what were the romans world famous for
their influence on legal development and they read and studied greek philosophers who wrote about law therefore ancient greeks had an effect on the legal progress/evolution in an indirect manner
where does the earliest evidence of greek law come from
the poets Homer and Hesiod
what did homer and hesoid’s poems have in them
people in them who seek vengeance as a means to redress wrongs
in classical mythology, who was dike
a virgin daughter of Zeus
what does dike mean
refers to a law, the goal of dike or law is to resolve disputes without violence
when did greek culture establish a democratic approach to law
as early as Homer, greek culture established a democratic approach to law
first written laws in the greek word were in the ____ century Athenians
mid 7th century
who was zaleucus
greek Shepard who learned his laws (Nome) from the goddess Athena. He is known for simplifying contracts, creating procedural laws and still penalties
when were procedural laws prominent
procedurals laws were prominent during 660’s BC and were the largest area of innovation
The City of Drepos in the ___ century also had hand written laws
7th
what was the gortyn code
Gortyn code attempted to codify greek law. it was over 500 lines dealing with various legal subjects
what were sparta and athens
Sparta and Athens were city states that dominated Greek mainland during the classical period of the 5th century bc
who was the law person in sparta
tradition maintained that Lycourgos was the lawgiver who forbade use of gold and silver coinage and forbid written laws so that there could be flexibility in the future.
who was draco
First written law in athens was 621 BC, it was important because it was in writing, death penalty for almost all offenses, he was big with the homocide laws, constrained both substantive and procedural elements, also largely deals with procedural matters.
what 2 social objectives did draco achieve
- curb violent conduct particularity revenge.
2. establish a judicial procedure that was mandatory
when was draco introduced
621 BC
who is solon
594BC abolished most of Draco’s Laws but not those relating to homocide. laws were inscribed on wooden axones (boxes). His laws were extensive.
1. procedural 2.private 3. political 4. economic/commercial 5. religious
what institutions of athenian legal procedure did solon invent
1.graphe- 3rd person to bring on suit on behalf of another 2. dike exoules- creditor to sue 3. eisangelia- impeachment for tyranny 4. emphasis- right of appeal to the popular courts.
when was solon introduced
594 BC
4 ways written law affected the greek communities
- promoted equality in law
- increased use of judicial system bc it was mandatory
- diminished power of the individual
- increased authority of the polis over its citizens
in the 4th century BC, what did jurors do at the beginning of every year
in the 4th century bc jurors swore an oath at the beginning of every year
greek words for law
“nomos or thermos”
what year was the peloponnesian war
410 BC
who was the peloponnesian war between
athens and sparta
what year was the reipscription of laws
404 BC Anagraphies collected Solon and Draco’s laws and creates the reinscription of laws to made law more accessible
who was “the thirty”
special group of law givers along with the council (Boule) established a new legal order in 404 BC- stated any law passed before 403 BC was invalid
what year did “the thirty” establish a new legal order
404 BC
what did plato propose
proposed that laws purpose is to benefit all people in society not just one class, share benefits that each individual is able to give the community and establish peace, law is essential for society to thrive
what were platos 2 principles
- law must apply equally to all
- voluntary acceptive of citizens to the rule of law is what gives it its force, not the government enforcing it upon citizens
what did aristotle believe
justice should be lawful and equal, natural law controlled ethical and political life. there is a distinction between natural law as opposed to man man laws.
what are 2 kinds of justice that aristotle believed
- distributive justice operates to reward individuals for the benefits they confer upon society
- corrective justice punishment
when did the athenians agree to have an arbiter to resolve private disputes
5th Century BC Athenian citizens agree by contract to have an arbiter under oath to resolve private disputes
what work did hesiod do
the wrote the theogony and the works and days.
homers iliad and odyssey both depict what
both depict instances where groups of elders - rather than individual kings - make judicial decisions
who wrote the first greek laws in 662 BC
Zaleucus
draco recognized procedures called agape and indexes, what do these mean
permitted the arrest of certain criminals as a substitute for unrestrained self-help
four sided wooden structures are also called
axones
what does nomothetai mean
law givers, approved or disapproved new laws
what does boule mean
council
what play did sophocles write and what was it about
called antigone, and antigone challenges king freon by burying her brother in contravention of croons law.
when did public arbitration become mandatory and what was required
in the 4th century BC, all male citizens were required to be arbiters at age 59
later what does dike mean
used to describe private cases
is homicide considered private or public
private
what does graphe mean
public case
greek word for water clock
slepsydra
greek word for issuing a summons
prosklesis
greek word for pay a fee
prytaneia
greek word for pretrial conference
anakrisis
how did you initiate a lawsuit
a plaintiff/prosecutor had to issue a summons (prosklesis) to the defendant, file a complain, and pay a fee (prytaneia), after a pre trial conference (anakrisis) the matter went to trial
what kept track for the time allowed for each speech in trial
a water clock
greek word for jurors
dikastes
what did the archons(ruler/magistrate) handle
handled property, family, religion, and homocide matters
who dealt with internal military disputes
Thesmothetae Straregoi
who dealt with commercial issues
Agoranomoi and Sitophylakes
who dealt with arson and international homocide
Areopagus
around 4th century BC, how many jurors were typically at a trial
500
3 kinds of inadmissable evidence in athenian trials
- testimony by litigant
- hearsay
- testimony of women, children and the disenfranchised
what is psephismata
Statues first approved by Boule then enacted by the Ekklesia, its a new law
what was sycophancy
someone who prosecutes a public case in bad faith, for a reward only
what was the story of wasps by aristotle
Story of Cleon and Procleon. It first criticized the life of a juror but by the end, it shows that the commitment as a juror kept Proclean from being a burden to society and actually made him production
what two things did the parties have to agree on in order to be binding
- who would serve as arbitrators
2. what was the content of the question for the arbitrators to resolve
play epitrepontes by menanders
daos and syriskos fight over a baby and ask a random person to arbitrate
“the forty”
heard majority of private cases, they are deme judges.
when was “the forty”
400 BC
procedures for public cases
- apagoge - volunteer prosecutor arrests the defendant and brings him to the official
- ephegesis - volunteer prosecutor leads the magistrate to the defendant for arrest
- endeixis - volunteer prosecutor explains the charge to the magistrate then authorized to make the arrest
- apographe - volunteer prosecutor lists property wrongfully held by defendant(property that belongs to the state)
- eisangelia - volunteer prosecutor denounces the defendant to the Ekklesia or Boule or Archon
- probole - preliminary hearing at the ekklesia
- dokimasia - hearing where candidate might be disqualified from citizenship
- euthynai - review of performance in public office
synegroi
public prosecutors. 10 citizens selected by random who were paid one drachma per day.
summons alerted the defedant of 3 crucial facts
- specific date on which defendant was to appear
- magistrates that would be there
- the alleged wrong for which the defendant did
how would jurors vote for a plantiff/prosecutor
by placing a bronze disk with a hallow shaft in its middle into an urn for registering votes.
how would jurors vote for a defendant/accused
by placing a bronze disk with a solid shaft in its middle into an urn for registering votes
diamartyria
formal assertion of fact by a witness who was in a position to know it
paragraphe
prosecution in opposition
res judicata
assertion that another court has already adjudicated the same issue
statute of limitations
period of time within which a claim of the nature at issue should have been brought has already passed
lack of subject matter jurisdiction
the court is not authorized to adjudicate claims of the nature at issue
statute of frauds
certain types of contracts must be in writing in order to be valid
what did the archon eponymous handle
(gave his name to the year), controlled property and family members
what did the archon basileus handle
responsible for laws regarding religion, homicide
what did the archon polemarchus handle
responsible for law dealing with non-athenians
what was the areopagus
aristocratic council
when did the areopagus have unlimited power
7th century BC
what was the eleven responsible for
cases involving kakourgoi, cases that require a defendant to be incarcerated while awaiting trial. in charge of prisons and executions
what was the agoranomoi responsible for
cases involving disputes brought in the agora(athenian market)
what was sitophylakes responsible for
cases concerning grain