Quiz 2 Review - 5/28 Flashcards
Define:
civil disobediance
Purposeful, peaceful lawbreaking to dramatize one’s opposition to the law
Define:
civil law
The law relating to rights and obligations of parties
Define:
due process of law
Procedural and substantive rights of the citizens against government actions that threaten the denial of life, liberty or property
Define:
English common law
A system of legal rules and principles recognized by English judges prior to the colonization of America and accepted as a basic aspect of the American legal system
Define:
equity
Historically, a system of rules, remedies, customs, and principles developed in England to supplement the harsh common law by emphasizing the concept of fairness. In addition, because common law served only to recompense after injury, this was devised to prevent injuries that could not be repaired or recompensed after the fact. In modern America, these are administered by the same courts.
Define:
executive order
An order by a president or governor directing some particular action to be taken
Define:
habeas corpus
“You have the body.” A judicial order issued to an official holding someone in custody, requiring the official to bring the prisoner to court for the purpose of allowing the court to determine whether that person is being held legally.
Define:
lawmaking function
One of the principal functions of an appellate court, often referred to as the law development function, in which the appellate court makes law by interpreting or reinterpreting a constitutional or statutory provision
Define:
legislature
An elected lawmaking body such as Congress or a state assembly
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natural law
Principles of human conduct believed to be ordained by God or nature, existing prior to and superseding human law
Define:
ordinance
An enactment of a local governing body such as a city council or commission
Define:
police power
The power of government to legislate to protect public health, safety, welfare and mortality
Define:
positive law
The written law enforced by the government
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precedents
Judicial decisions cited as authority controlling or influencing the outcome of a similar case
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Roman Law
Laws that prevailed among the Romans first codified in the Twelve Tables; basis of the modern civil law in most European countries
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rule of law
The idea that law, not the discretion of officials, should govern public affairs
Define:
sovereignty
The authority of an independent nation or state to govern within its territorial limits
Define:
stare decisis
“The stand by matters decided.” The principle that past decisions should stand as precedents for future decisions. This principle, which stands for the proposition that precedents are binding on later decisions, is said the be followed less rigorously in constitutional law than in other branches of law.
Define:
statute
A generally applicable law enacted by a legislature
Define:
United States Constitution
The supreme law of the United States, this document adopted in 1787 replaced the Confederation of Articles and lays out the structures and powers of government as well as basic rights of individuals.
Define:
writ
An order issued by a court of law requiring or prohibiting the performance of some specific act