Law, Crime & Punishment, CAV-CON
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Law, Crime & Punishment Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Cavite Mutiny, (January 20, 1872), brief uprising of 200 Filipino troops and workers at the Cavite arsenal, which......
Cedar Rapids Community School District v. Garret F., case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on March 3, 1999, ruled......
Celler-Kefauver Act, act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1950 that was intended to strengthen previously enacted......
Cellular Jail, prison complex built between 1896 and 1906 in Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory,......
censor, in traditional East Asia, governmental official charged primarily with the responsibility for scrutinizing......
censor, in ancient Rome, a magistrate whose original functions of registering citizens and their property were......
censorship, the changing or the suppression or prohibition of speech or writing that is deemed subversive of the......
Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), governmental regulating body for the Indian filmmaking industry. Popularly......
centumviri, in ancient Rome, court of civil jurisdiction that gained distinction for its hearing of inheritance......
certiorari, in common-law jurisdictions, a writ issued by a superior court for the reexamination of an action of......
cessio bonorum, (Latin: “a cession of goods”), in Roman law, a voluntary surrender of goods by a debtor to his......
chambers, in law, the private offices of a judge or a judicial officer where he hears motions, signs papers, and......
Chambre des Comptes, (French: Chamber of Accounts), in France under the ancien régime, sovereign court charged......
Chambre des Enquêtes, (French: Chamber of Inquiries), in France under the ancien régime, a chamber of the Parlement,......
Chambre des Requêtes, (French: Chamber of Petitions), in France under the ancien régime, a chamber of the Parlement......
Chancery Division, in England and Wales, one of three divisions of the High Court of Justice, the others being......
charity fraud, type of fraud that occurs when charitable organizations that solicit funds from the public for philanthropic......
Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, U.S. Supreme Court decision (1837) holding that rights not specifically......
Charlie Hebdo shooting, series of terrorist attacks and mass shootings that shook France in January 2015, claiming......
Charlottetown Conference, (1864), first of a series of meetings that ultimately led to the formation of the Dominion......
charter, a document granting certain specified rights, powers, privileges, or functions from the sovereign power......
Charter Oath, in Japanese history, statement of principle promulgated on April 6, 1868, by the emperor Meiji after......
Charter of 1814, French constitution issued by Louis XVIII after he became king (see Bourbon Restoration). The......
charter party, contract by which the owner of a ship lets it to others for use in transporting a cargo. The shipowner......
check kiting, fraud committed against a banking institution in which access is gained to deposited funds in one......
Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. National Resources Defense Council, Inc., legal case, decided on June 25, 1984, in which......
Chicago Race Riot of 1919, the most severe of approximately 25 race riots throughout the U.S. in the “Red Summer”......
The Chicago Seven was a group of political activists who were arrested for their antiwar activities during the......
chief justice, the presiding judge in the Supreme Court of the United States and the highest judicial officer of......
child abuse, willful infliction of pain and suffering on children through physical, sexual, or emotional mistreatment.......
child pornography, in criminal law, any visual depiction of a minor (a person who has not reached the age of consent)......
Congress of Chilpancingo, (September–November 1813), meeting held at Chilpancingo, in present Guerrero state, Mex.,......
Chinese Exclusion Act, U.S. federal law that was the first and only major federal legislation to explicitly suspend......
Chinese law, the body of laws in China and the institutions designed to administer them. The term encompasses both......
The CHIPS and Science Act is a United States federal statute aimed at increasing domestic semiconductor manufacturing,......
Chisholm v. Georgia, (1793), U.S. Supreme Court case distinguished for at least two reasons: (1) it showed an early......
cholo, a young person who participates in or identifies with Mexican American gang subculture. The term, sometimes......
circuit court, one of many titles for judicial tribunals, usually applied to trial courts of general jurisdiction......
circuit riding, In the U.S., the act, once undertaken by a judge, of traveling within a judicial district (or circuit)......
circumstantial evidence, in law, evidence not drawn from direct observation of a fact in issue. If a witness testifies......
citizen review, mechanism whereby alleged misconduct by local police forces may be independently investigated by......
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on January 21, 2010, ruled......
City of Boerne v. Flores, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 25, 1997, ruled (6–3) that the Religious......
Civil Constitution of the Clergy, (July 12, 1790), during the French Revolution, an attempt to reorganize the Roman......
civil forfeiture, legal process that enables a government to seize property and other assets belonging to persons......
Civil Guard, national police force of Spain, organized along military lines and engaged primarily in maintaining......
civil law, the law of continental Europe, based on an admixture of Roman, Germanic, ecclesiastical, feudal, commercial,......
Civil Rights Act, (1964), comprehensive U.S. legislation intended to end discrimination based on race, color, religion,......
In early January 1866 U.S. Senate Judiciary Chairman Lyman Trumbull from Illinois introduced the first federal......
Civil Rights Act of 1875, U.S. legislation, and the last of the major Reconstruction statutes, which guaranteed......
The Civil Rights Act remains one of the most important pieces of legislation in American history. The act, signed......
Civil Rights Cases, five legal cases that the U.S. Supreme Court consolidated (because of their similarity) into......
Clarendon Code, (1661–65), four acts passed in England during the ministry of Edward Hyde, 1st earl of Clarendon,......
Constitutions of Clarendon, 16 articles issued in January 1164 by King Henry II defining church–state relations......
class action, in law, an action in which a representative plaintiff sues or a representative defendant is sued......
Clayton Antitrust Act, law enacted in 1914 by the United States Congress to clarify and strengthen the Sherman......
Clean Air Act (CAA), U.S. federal law, passed in 1970 and later amended, to prevent air pollution and thereby protect......
Clean Water Act (CWA), U.S. legislation enacted in 1972 to restore and maintain clean and healthy waters. The CWA......
benefit of clergy, formerly a useful device for avoiding the death penalty in English and American criminal law.......
cloture, in parliamentary procedure, a method for ending debate and securing an immediate vote on a measure that......
Codex Alimentarius Commission, joint commission of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and......
Coeur d’Alene riots, (1890s), in U.S. history, recurring violence at silver and lead mines around Coeur d’Alene......
Cohens v. Virginia, (1821), U.S. Supreme Court case in which the court reaffirmed its right to review all state......
Colditz Castle, German prisoner-of-war camp in World War II, the site of many daring escape attempts by Allied......
collateral, a borrower’s pledge to a lender of something specific that is used to secure the repayment of a loan......
Colombo crime family, New York-based organized crime syndicate. Along with the Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, and......
Combination Acts, British acts of 1799 and 1800 that made trade unionism illegal. The laws, as finally amended,......
comitia, in ancient Republican Rome, a legal assembly of the people. Comitia met on an appropriate site (comitium)......
commerce clause, provision of the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8) that authorizes Congress “to regulate......
commercial transaction, in law, the core of the legal rules governing business dealings. The most common types......
commodities fraud, any illegal attempt to obtain money in connection with a contract for the future delivery of......
common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR), principle of international environmental law establishing that......
common law, the body of customary law, based upon judicial decisions and embodied in reports of decided cases,......
Court of Common Pleas, English court of law that originated from Henry II’s assignment in 1178 of five members......
Commonwealth v. Hunt, (1842), American legal case in which the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the common-law......
Communications Act of 1934, U.S. federal law that provided the foundation for contemporary U.S. telecommunications......
Communications Decency Act (CDA), legislation enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1996 primarily in response to concerns......
community property, legal treatment of the possessions of married people as belonging to both of them. Generally,......
commutation, in law, shortening of a term of punishment or lowering of the level of punishment. For example, a......
Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité (CRS), special mobile French police force. It was created in 1944 as part......
comparative law, examination of comparative legal systems and of the relationships of the law to the social sciences.......
Compensated Emancipation Act, U.S. law that abolished slavery in the District of Columbia and stipulated that the......
competence, a person’s ability to make and communicate a decision to consent to medical treatment. Competence is......
competence and jurisdiction, in law, the authority of a court to deal with specific matters. Competence refers......
complaint, in law, the plaintiff’s initial pleading, corresponding to the libel in admiralty, the bill in equity,......
composition, in modern law, an agreement among the creditors of an insolvent debtor to accept an amount less than......
composition, in ancient Germanic law, money given to a person who had been wronged or injured by the person responsible......
Comprehensive Thrift and Bank Fraud Prosecution and Taxpayer Recovery Act, provision of the U.S. Crime Control......
compurgation, in early English law, method of settling issues of fact by appeal to a type of character witness.......
computer virus, a portion of a computer program code that has been designed to furtively copy itself into other......
computer worm, computer program designed to furtively copy itself into other computers. Unlike a computer virus,......
Comstock Act, federal statute passed by the U.S. Congress in 1873 as an “Act of the Suppression of Trade in, and......
condominium, in modern property law, the individual ownership of one dwelling unit within a multidwelling building,......
Articles of Confederation, first U.S. constitution (1781–89), which served as a bridge between the initial government......
confession, in criminal law, a statement in which a person acknowledges that he is guilty of committing one or......
confidence game, any elaborate swindling operation in which advantage is taken of the confidence the victim reposes......
confiscation, in property law, act of appropriating private property for state or sovereign use. Confiscation as......
Confiscation Acts, (1861–64), in U.S. history, series of laws passed by the federal government during the American......
conflict of laws, the existence worldwide, and within individual countries, of different legal traditions, different......
Congress of the United States, the legislature of the United States of America, established under the Constitution......