In 1973, Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, changed the legal status of abortion by striking down a Texas law that criminalized abortion except as a means of saving the mother’s life. The case pitted individual privacy rights against...
individual rights
Abortion
Abortion: an overview
Bailment
A 'bailment' is a non-ownership transfer of possession. Under English Common Law, the right to possess a thing is separate and distinct from owning the thing. In some jurisdictions, an owner of an object can steal his own property, a curious result of...
Bill of Rights
The first ten Amendments to the Constitution, which set out individual rights and liberties. Though these rights originally only applied to the federal government, through the legal doctrine of incorporation, most of the Bill of Rights is now applied...
Bivens Actions
Overview
A Bivens action generally refers to a lawsuit for damages when a federal officer who is acting in the color of federal authority allegedly violates the U.S. Constitution by federal officers...
Board of Education v. Earls (2002)
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
The U.S. Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that public schools could require students to submit to a drug test before participating in extracurricular activities. The Court said that drug...
bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ)
Overview
42 U.S. Code § 2000e-2 allows for an employer to discriminate against employees and potential employees "on the basis of his religion, sex, or national origin in those certain instances where religion, sex, or national origin is a bona...
Civil Forfeiture
Overview
Civil forfeiture occurs when the government seizes property under suspicion of its involvement in illegal activity. Such a proceeding is conducted in rem, or against the property itself, rather than in personam, or against the owner of the...
Covert Propaganda
Covert propaganda refers to media materials prepared by a government agency and then disseminated by a non-government outlet with the source undisclosed.[1] What defines covert propaganda materials is that they are “misleading as to their origin.”[2]...
Eighth Amendment
The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution states that: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
The Excessive Bail section provides constitutional protection...
Electronic Surveillance
Overview
Electronic surveillance is defined in federal law as the nonconsensual acquisition by an electronic, mechanical, or other surveillance device of the contents of any wire or electronic communication, under circumstances in which a party to the...
Employment Discrimination
Employment Discrimination Overview:
Employment Discrimination laws seek to prevent discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, physical disability, and age by employers. Discriminatory practices include...
Expectation of Privacy
Overview
The expectation of privacy test, originated from Katz v. United States is a key component of Fourth Amendment analysis. The Fourth Amendment protects people from warrantless searches of places or seizures of persons or objects, in which they...
Fifth Amendment
Fifth Amendment: An Overview
The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides, "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except...
First Amendment
First Amendment: An Overview
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference. It prohibits any laws that establish a national religion,...
Grand Jury
A group of people selected to sit on a jury that decide whether to return an indictment. An indictment formally charges a person with committing a crime and begins the criminal prosecution process.
In the United States, a grand...
Habeas Corpus
OVERVIEW:
Latin for "that you have the body." In the US system, federal courts can use the writ of habeas corpus to determine if a state's detention of a prisoner is valid. A writ of habeas corpus is used to bring a prisoner...
Immunity
Generally, freedom from legal obligation to perform actions or to suffer penalties, as in "immunity from prosecution". Specific types of immunity are separately defined and discussed.
See also:Diplomatic immunityFederal Tort Claims...Kangaroo court
Definition
1) An unauthorized, mock court or legal proceeding, e.g. a tribunal of sorority sisters created to settle disputes within the sorority, in which some or all of the accused's due process rights are ignored and the outcome...
Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
The Supreme Court held that the custodial interrogation of an individual must be accompanied by an instruction that the person has the right to remain silent, any statements made can be used against the person, and that the individual has the right to...
Mixed-Motive Instruction
Courts use mixed-motive jury instructions in many discrimination and improper retaliation cases. These instructions usually take the following form: "If the plaintiff shows that the defendant did something that hurt her, and the action was motivated by...
Obscenity
Obscenity is a category of speech unprotected by the First Amendment. Obscenity laws are concerned with prohibiting lewd, filthy, or disgusting words or pictures. Indecent materials or depictions, normally speech or artistic expressions,...
Personal Autonomy
Overview
The Supreme Court does not use the phrase "personal autonomy" very often. Unlike privacy, it is not a fundamental right. As such, it is still a very limited concept regarding its impact on legal jurisprudence.
In Planned Parenthood v....
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Definition:
The Supreme Court case, since overturned by Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which upheld the constitutionality of “separate, but equal facilities” based on race.
Overview:
Louisiana had adopted a law in 1890 that...
Reverse discrimination
When a member of a non-minority group claims that someone (such as an employer) has discriminated against the person.
Right
1. A power or privilege held by the general public as the result of a constitution, statute, regulation, judicial precedent, or other type of law.
2. A legally enforceable claim held by someone as the result of specific events or...
Right to counsel
OverviewThe right to counsel refers to the right of a criminal defendant to have a lawyer assist in his defense, even if he cannot afford to pay for an attorney. The Sixth Amendment gives defendants the right to counsel in federal prosecutions. However,...
right to privacy
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary1) The right not to have one's personal matters disclosed or publicized; the right to be left alone. 2) The right against undue government intrusion into fundamental personal issues and decisions....
riparian rights
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law DictionaryRights of the owner of land adjacent to a river or stream to use the water for certain purposes. State laws vary on the extent of the rights given riparian landowners.A riparian landowner may not, however...
Roe v. Wade (1973)
Definition
The Supreme Court case that held that the Constitution protected a woman’s right to an abortion prior to the viability of the fetus.
Overview
The case involved a Texas statute that prohibited abortion except when...
Roth v. United States (1957)
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
The U.S. Supreme Court case in which the Court defined obscenity as that which "appeals to the prurient interest," and not merely as sexual material. The Court ruled that obscenity has no redeeming...
same-sex marriage
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law DictionaryMarriage between two people of the same sex, currently available only in a few states. (See also: domestic partners, civil union, reciprocal beneficiaries)
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English...
Schenk v. United States (1919)
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law DictionaryU.S. Supreme Court decision sustaining the Espionage Act of 1917. The Court ruled that freedom of speech and freedom of the press could be limited if the words in the circumstances created "a clear and...
similarly situated
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law DictionaryAlike in all relevant ways for purposes of a particular decision or issue. This term is often used in discrimination cases, in which the plaintiff may seek to show that he or she was treated differently...
Suspect classification
Definition
Suspect classification refers to a class of individuals that have been historically subject to discrimination.
OverviewUnder Equal Protection, when a statute discriminates against an individual based on a suspect...
voter bill of rights
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law DictionaryA set of rules adopted by most states to protect the rights of voters in an election. These rights typically cover who can vote, how the voting process must be conducted, how votes will be counted, and...
Voting Rights Act
Overview
The Voting Rights Act (VRA), codified at 42 U.S.C. §§ 1973 to 1973aa-6, is an important federal civil rights law that protects minorities from discriminatory voting practices. Initially, the VRA only protected racial minorities,...