Law, Crime & Punishment, DEF-EPP
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Law, Crime & Punishment Encyclopedia Articles By Title
defamation, in law, the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person that result in damage......
Defence of India Act, (1915), legislation designed to give the government of British India special powers to deal......
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), federal law in force from 1996 to 2013 that specifically denied to same-sex couples......
Defense Production Act (DPA), U.S. federal legislation, enacted on September 8, 1950, and regularly reauthorized,......
deforcement, in English property law, wrongful taking and possession of land belonging to another. Deforcement......
DeFunis v. Odegaard, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (5–4) in a per curiam (unsigned) opinion......
delator, ancient Roman prosecutor or informer. The role of the informer in matters of criminal law and fiscal claims......
delict, in Roman law, an obligation to pay a penalty because a wrong had been committed. Not until the 2nd and......
delinquency, criminal behaviour, especially that carried out by a juvenile. Depending on the nation of origin,......
demesne, in English feudal law, that portion of a manor not granted to freehold tenants but either retained by......
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), one of several organizations associated with the Palestine......
demurrer, in law, a process whereby a party hypothetically admits as true certain facts alleged by the opposition......
denial of service attack (DoS attack), type of cybercrime in which an Internet site is made unavailable, typically......
Dennis v. United States, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 4, 1951, upheld the constitutionality of......
Department of Commerce v. New York, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 27, 2019, reversed in part,......
deportation, expulsion by executive agency of an alien whose presence in a country is deemed unlawful or detrimental.......
deregulation, removal or reduction of laws or other demands of governmental control. Deregulation often takes the......
Detroit Riot of 1967, series of violent confrontations between residents of predominantly African American neighbourhoods......
dicastery, a judicial body in ancient Athens. Dicasteries were divisions of the Heliaea from the time of the democratic......
There are no known successful escapes from Alcatraz. While inmates were able to break out of the prison in both......
Diet, legislature of the German empire, or Holy Roman Empire, from the 12th century to 1806. In the Carolingian......
Diet, the national legislature of Japan. Under the Meiji Constitution of 1889, the Imperial Diet was established......
digital rights management (DRM), protection of copyrighted works by various means to control or prevent digital......
diminished responsibility, legal doctrine that absolves an accused person of part of the liability for his criminal......
Diploma Leopoldinum, decree issued in October 1690 by Leopold I, Holy Roman emperor and king of Hungary (1658–1705),......
diplomatic immunity, in international law, the immunities enjoyed by foreign states or international organizations......
Direct Action, French clandestine extremist group that emerged in 1979 and is believed to have been an amalgam......
Since its inception in 1908 the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has had fewer than 15 directors. This......
disbarment, the process whereby an attorney is deprived of his license or privileges for failure to carry out his......
On July 12, 1979, a riot in a ballpark in Chicago changed the history of popular music. Known as Disco Demolition......
discovery, in law, pretrial procedures providing for the exchange of information between the parties involved in......
disorderly conduct, in law, intentional disturbing of the public peace and order by language or other conduct.......
disparate impact, judicial theory developed in the United States that allows challenges to employment or educational......
dispensation, in Christian ecclesiastical law, the action of a competent authority in granting relief from the......
distress, in law, process that enables a person to seize and detain from a wrongdoer some chattel, or item of personal......
District of Columbia v. Heller, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26, 2008, held (5–4) that the Second......
disturbing the peace, any of three distinct types of legal offense. In its broadest sense, the term is synonymous......
diversion, any of a variety of programs that implement strategies seeking to avoid the formal processing of an......
A staple of crime television shows is the image of a suspect sweating nervously in an interrogation room as the......
do not resuscitate order (DNR order), an advance medical directive that requests that doctors do not attempt cardiopulmonary......
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, legal decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022 overturned......
Doctors’ Commons, formerly a self-governing teaching body of practitioners of canon and civil law. Located in London,......
Doctors’ Plot, (1953), alleged conspiracy of prominent Soviet medical specialists to murder leading government......
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) was signed into law by President......
domain, in Anglo-American law, the absolute and complete ownership of land, or the land itself which is so owned.......
domestic violence, social and legal concept that, in the broadest sense, refers to any abuse—including physical,......
domicile, in law, a person’s dwelling place as it is defined for purposes of judicial jurisdiction and governmental......
Donoughmore Commission, committee sent by the British government to Ceylon in 1927 to examine the Ceylonese constitution......
double jeopardy, in law, protection against the use by the state of certain multiple forms of prosecution. In general,......
dower, in common law, the life interest of a widow of a percentage (typically one-third) of the legal estates in......
Dowry Prohibition Act, Indian law, enacted on May 1, 1961, intended to prevent the giving or receiving of a dowry.......
doxing, the act of exposing private or identifying information on the Internet about an individual or group without......
Draconian laws, traditional Athenian law code allegedly introduced by Draco c. 621 bce. Aristotle, the chief source......
Draft Riot of 1863, major four-day eruption of violence in New York City resulting from deep worker discontent......
drawing and quartering, part of the grisly penalty anciently ordained in England (1283) for the crime of treason.......
Dred Scott decision, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on March 6, 1857, ruled (7–2) that a slave (Dred......
drug cartel, an illicit consortium of independent organizations formed to limit competition and control the production......
due process, a course of legal proceedings according to rules and principles that have been established in a system......
duel, a combat between persons, armed with lethal weapons, which is held according to prearranged rules to settle......
duoviri, in ancient Rome, a magistracy of two men. Duoviri perduellionis were two judges, selected by the chief......
durbar, in India, a court or audience chamber, and also any formal assembly of notables called together by a governmental......
easement, in Anglo-American property law, a right granted by one property owner to another to use a part of his......
East Saint Louis Race Riot of 1917, (July 2), bloody outbreak of violence in East St. Louis, Illinois, stemming......
Eastern State Penitentiary, former prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., that opened in 1829 as the first......
Ecclesia, (“gathering of those summoned”), in ancient Greece, assembly of citizens in a city-state. Its roots lay......
ecclesiastical court, tribunal set up by religious authorities to deal with disputes among clerics or with spiritual......
Ecloga, (from Greek eklogē, “selection”), compilation of Byzantine law issued in 726 by Emperor Leo III the Isaurian......
Economic Opportunity Act (EOA), federal legislation establishing a variety of social programs aimed at facilitating......
Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (ERTA), U.S. federal tax legislation that contained numerous provisions intended......
ecoterrorism, destruction, or the threat of destruction, of the environment by states, groups, or individuals in......
Edgerton Bible case, decision by the Supreme Court of the state of Wisconsin that outlawed devotional Bible reading......
Edwards v. Aguillard, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 19, 1987, ruled (7–2) that a Louisiana statute......
Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), Egyptian extremist organization that originated in the late 1970s and developed into......
Egyptian law, the law that originated with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under King Menes (c. 2925 bc)......
Eighteenth Amendment, amendment (1919) to the Constitution of the United States imposing the federal prohibition......
Eighth Amendment, amendment (1791) to the Constitution of the United States, part of the Bill of Rights, that limits......
ejectment, in Anglo-American property law, legal action for recovery of land from one wrongfully in possession......
election law in the United States, the set of legal rules overseeing political institutions and activities in the......
electrocution, method of execution in which the condemned person is subjected to a heavy charge of electric current.......
electronic eavesdropping, the act of electronically intercepting conversations without the knowledge or consent......
Eleventh Amendment, amendment (1795) to the Constitution of the United States establishing the principle of state......
Elmira system, American penal system named after Elmira Reformatory, in New York. In 1876 Zebulon R. Brockway became......
Embargo Act, (1807), U.S. Pres. Thomas Jefferson’s nonviolent resistance to British and French molestation of U.S.......
embezzlement, crime generally defined as the fraudulent misappropriation of goods of another by a servant, an agent,......
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA), legislation passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law......
eminent domain, power of government to take private property for public use without the owner’s consent. Constitutional......
emphyteusis and superficies, in Roman law, leases granted either for a long term or in perpetuity with most of......
Enabling Act, law passed by the German Reichstag on March 23, 1933, that enabled Chancellor Adolf Hitler to assume......
Endangered Species Act, U.S. federal law passed in 1973 that obligates federal and state governments to protect......
Engel v. Vitale, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 25, 1962, that voluntary prayer in public......
Enron scandal, series of events that resulted in the bankruptcy of the U.S. energy, commodities, and services company......
entail, in feudal English law, an interest in land bound up inalienably in the grantee and then forever to his......
Entebbe raid, (July 3–4, 1976), rescue by an Israeli commando squad of 103 hostages from a French jet airliner......
entrapment, in law, instigation or inducement of a person into the commission of a crime by an officer of the law.......
environmental law, principles, policies, directives, and regulations enacted and enforced by local, national, or......
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), agency of the U.S. government that sets and enforces national pollution-control......
EOKA, underground nationalist movement of Greek Cypriots dedicated to ending British colonial rule in Cyprus (achieved......
Epanagoge, (Greek: “Introduction”), legal code compiled c. 879, during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Basil......
ephebophilia, the sexual preference of an adult for mid- to late adolescents, specifically those who have reached......
Epperson v. State of Arkansas, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on November 12, 1968, ruled (9–0) that an Arkansas......