Prin of Law

Crime

A "crime" is any act or omission in violation of a law prohibiting the action or omission.

Criminal Law

Criminal law, as distinguished from civil law, is a system of laws concerned with punishment of individuals who commit crimes.

Three Branches of Govt

Executive, Legislative, Judicial

Magna Carta

Hundreds of years before American colonists revolted against the crown, rebel nobles in England drafted the Magna Carta to curtail the power of their own tyrannical monarch-King John.

1st Amendment

The First Amendment provides several rights protections: to express ideas through speech and the press, to assemble or gather with a group to protest or for other reasons, and to ask the government to fix problems. It also protects the right to religious beliefs and practices. It prevents the government from creating or favoring a religion.

8th Amendment

The Eighth Amendment bars excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment.

5th Amendment

The Fifth Amendment provides several protections for people accused of crimes. It states that serious criminal charges must be started by a grand jury. A person cannot be tried twice for the same offense (double jeopardy) or have property taken away without just compensation. People have the right against self-incrimination and cannot be imprisoned without due process of law (fair procedures and trials.)

4th Amendment

The Fourth Amendment bars the government from unreasonable search and seizure of an individual or their private property.

9th Amendment

The Ninth Amendment states that listing specific rights in the Constitution does not mean that people do not have other rights that have not been spelled out.

2nd Amendment

The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms.

7th Amendment

The Seventh Amendment extends the right to a jury trial in Federal civil cases.

6th Amendment

The Sixth Amendment provides additional protections to people accused of crimes, such as the right to a speedy and public trial, trial by an impartial jury in criminal cases, and to be informed of criminal charges. Witnesses must face the accused, and the accused is allowed his or her own witnesses and to be represented by a lawyer.

10th Amendment

The Tenth Amendment says that the Federal Government only has those powers delegated in the Constitution. If it isn't listed, it belongs to the states or to the people.

3rd Amendment

The Third Amendment prevents government from forcing homeowners to allow soldiers to use their homes. Before the Revolutionary War, laws gave British soldiers the right to take over private homes.

Code of Hammurabi

one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes, proclaimed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi, who reigned from 1792 to 1750 B.C.

Criminal Law

the body of law that defines criminal offenses, regulates the apprehension, charging, and trial of suspected persons, and fixes penalties and modes of treatment applicable to convicted offenders.

Civil Law

the body of laws of a state or nation regulating ordinary private matters, as distinct from laws regulating criminal, political, or military matters.

Traffic Law

the laws which regulate vehicles and other traffic including pedestrians, animals and other conveyances.

Law

the system of rules which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties.

Local Law

these laws come from city and county charters, city and county ordinances, common law, and judicial decisions interpreting codes (case law).

State Law

these laws come from state constitutions, state criminal codes, and common law.

Federal law

these laws come from the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Criminal Codes, Judicial decisions (case law), and executive orders from the President.

English Common Law

unwritten, simply stated laws based on traditions and common understandings from a time when most people were illiterate.