We the People - Lesson 4

Stare Decisis

"Let the precedent (decision) stand." The doctrine that a court should follow the previous decisions of other courts on cases in which the facts are substantially the same. This principle plays a key role in common law systems such as those of Britain and the United States.

Magna Carta

Also known as the Great Charter, King John of England agreed to this document in 1215 at the demand of his barons.

Writ of habeas corpus

Latin: "You shall/should have the body." A court order directing that a prisoner be brought to court before a judge to determine whether that prisoner's detention is lawful.

precedent

Previous court decisions upon which legal issues are decided.

Rights of Englishmen

Term prevalent in seventeenth-century England and America referring to certain historically established rights, beginning with the rights of the Magna Carta, that all English subjects were understood to have.

Common Law

The body of unwritten law developed in England from judicial decisions based on custom and earlier judicial decisions. Constitutes the basis of the English legal system and became part of American law, except in Louisiana, which inherited its civil law system from France.

Redress of Grievances

The correction of complaints. The First Amendment protects the right of the people to petition government to obtain remedies for claimed wrongs.

Rule of Law

The principle that both those who govern and those who are governed must obey the law and are subject to the same laws.