Law, Crime & Punishment, GAL-HOM
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Law, Crime & Punishment Encyclopedia Articles By Title
gallows, the apparatus for executing the sentence of death by hanging. It usually consists of two upright posts......
gang, a group of persons, usually youths, who share a common identity and who generally engage in criminal behaviour.......
gangster, member of a criminal organization that systematically makes money from such activities as gambling, prostitution,......
garnishment, (from Middle French garnir, meaning “to warn”), a process by which a creditor can obtain satisfaction......
garrote, device used in strangling condemned persons. In one form it consists of an iron collar attached to a post.......
gas chamber, method of executing condemned prisoners by lethal gas. The gas chamber was first adopted in the U.S.......
Gavazzi Riots, disturbances in Quebec and Montreal in June 1853 during a lecture tour by Alessandro Gavazzi, Italian......
Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 22, 1998, ruled......
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), European Union (EU) law surrounding data privacy and security, which......
genocide, the deliberate and systematic destruction of a group of people because of their ethnicity, nationality,......
Genovese crime family, New York-based organized crime syndicate. The Genovese crime family is considered one of......
Charter to the Gentry, (1785) edict issued by the Russian empress Catherine II the Great that recognized the corps......
German Civil Code, the body of codified private law that went into effect in the German empire in 1900. Though......
Germanic law, the law of the various Germanic peoples from the time of their initial contact with the Romans until......
gibbet, a primitive form of gallows. It was a custom at one time—though not part of the legal sentence—to hang......
Gibbons v. Ogden, (1824), U.S. Supreme Court case establishing the principle that states cannot, by legislative......
Gideon v. Wainwright, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on March 18, 1963, ruled (9–0) that states are required......
gift, in law, a present or thing bestowed gratuitously. The term is generally restricted to mean gratuitous transfers......
Gill v. Whitford, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 18, 2018, vacated and remanded a U.S. district......
Even if there had been nothing else unusual about the Breton nobleman Gilles de Rais (1404–40), his outstanding......
Gitlow v. New York, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 8, 1925, that the U.S. Constitution’s......
Givhan v. Western Line Consolidated School District, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on January 9, 1979, ruled......
Truce of God, a measure by the medieval Roman Catholic Church to suspend warfare during certain days of the week......
Godefroy Family, distinguished French family of legal scholars and historians. Denis I Godefroy, called Denis the......
Golden Bull of 1222, charter granted by King Andrew II of Hungary, which stated the basic rights and privileges......
Golden Bull of Emperor Charles IV, constitution for the Holy Roman Empire promulgated in 1356 by the emperor Charles......
Gong Lum v. Rice, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on November 21, 1927, ruled (9–0) that a Mississippi school......
Good News Club v. Milford Central School, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 11, 2001, ruled (6–3) that,......
Goss v. Board of Education of Knoxville, Tennessee, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 3, 1963, ruled......
Goss v. Lopez, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on January 22, 1975, ruled that, under the Fourteenth Amendment’s......
Government of India Acts, succession of measures passed by the British Parliament between 1773 and 1935 to regulate......
Instrument of Government, the document that established the English Protectorate and under which Great Britain......
grand jury, in Anglo-American law, a group that examines accusations against persons charged with crime and, if......
Greek law, legal systems of the ancient Greeks, of which the best known is the law of Athens. Although there never......
Green v. County School Board of New Kent County, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on May 27, 1968, ruled (9–0)......
grievance procedure, in industrial relations, process through which disagreements between individual workers and......
Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on May 25, 1964, ruled......
Griggs v. Duke Power Co., case in which the U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision on March 8, 1971, established......
Griswold v. State of Connecticut, legal case, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 7, 1965, that found in......
On June 7, 1965, the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Griswold v. State of Connecticut affirmed the constitutional......
At the end of the 20th century, Roman Catholics around the world were shaken by revelations that many bishops had......
Group Areas Act, one of three acts, the first promulgated in 1950, in South Africa that provided for the division......
guarantee, in law, a contract to answer for the payment of some debt, or the performance of some duty, in the event......
Law of Guarantees, (May 13, 1871), attempt by the Italian government to settle the question of its relationship......
guardian, person legally entrusted with supervision of another who is ineligible to manage his own affairs—usually......
Guardian Angels, nonprofit volunteer organization founded in New York City in 1979 by Curtis Sliwa to deter violent......
Guayaquil Conference, (July 26–27, 1822), meeting between Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín, leaders of the......
guillotine, instrument for inflicting capital punishment by decapitation, introduced into France in 1792. The device......
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, resolution put before the U.S. Congress by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 5,......
Gun-Free School Zones Act, U.S. gun control legislation signed into law by Pres. George H.W. Bush on November 29,......
Gunpowder Plot, the conspiracy of English Roman Catholics to blow up Parliament and King James I, his queen, and......
habitant, independent landowner who farmed properties in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries. Habitants differed......
habitual offender, person who frequently has been convicted of criminal behaviour and is presumed to be a danger......
hacker, information technology professionals or enthusiasts who compromise (or “hack”) the security of computers.......
Haganah, (Hebrew: “Defense”), Zionist military organization representing the majority of the Jews in Palestine......
Hague Rules, in maritime law, international code defining the rights and liabilities of a carrier. Introduced at......
Half-Way Covenant, religious-political solution adopted by 17th-century New England Congregationalists, also called......
halfway house, any of various community-based facilities that provide access to health and educational resources......
Hamas, militant Palestinian nationalist and Islamist movement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that is dedicated......
Hamas is a militant group in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank that was founded in 1987 at the beginning of the......
Hammer v. Dagenhart, (1918), legal case in which the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the Keating-Owen......
Code of Hammurabi, the most complete and perfect extant collection of Babylonian laws, developed during the reign......
han, in Japanese history, fief controlled by a daimyo, or territorial lord, during the Tokugawa period (1603–1868).......
handcuffs, device for shackling the hands, used by police on prisoners under arrest. Until modern times, handcuffs......
hanging, execution or murder by strangling or breaking the neck by a suspended noose. The traditional method of......
Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act, (1933), the first law setting a specific date for Philippine independence from the United......
Harlem race riot of 1935, a riot that occurred in the Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem on March 19–20, 1935. It......
Harlem race riot of 1943, riot that occurred in the Manhattan neighbourhood of Harlem on August 1–2, 1943. It was......
Harlem race riot of 1964, a six-day period of rioting that started on July 18, 1964, in the Manhattan neighbourhood......
Harrah Independent School District v. Martin, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on February 26, 1979, ruled......
Harris v. Forklift Systems, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on November 9, 1993, ruled (9–0) that plaintiffs......
Harris v. Quinn, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court, on June 30, 2014, held (5–4) that workers who are......
Hartford Convention, (December 15, 1814–January 5, 1815), in U.S. history, a secret meeting in Hartford, Connecticut,......
Hat Act, (1732), in U.S. colonial history, British law restricting colonial manufacture and export of hats in direct......
Hatch Act, (Aug. 2, 1939; amended July 1940), measure enacted by the U.S. Congress, aimed at eliminating corrupt......
hate crime, harassment, intimidation, or physical violence that is motivated by a bias against characteristics......
Haymarket Affair, violent confrontation between police and labour protesters in Chicago on May 4, 1886, that became......
Hays Office, American organization that promulgated a moral code for films. In 1922, after a number of scandals......
health law, the branch of law dealing with various aspects of health care, including the practices of caregivers......
hearing, in law, a trial. More specifically, a hearing is the formal examination of a cause, civil or criminal,......
hearsay, in Anglo-American law, testimony that consists of what the witness has heard others say. United States......
Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Dec. 14, 1964, that in passing......
Heimwehr, (German: Home Defense Force), any of the local organizations formed in various parts of Austria to expel......
heir, one who succeeds to the property of a person dying without a will or who is legally entitled to succeed by......
heir apparent, the individual or individuals with an indisputable legal claim to an inheritance. The term refers......
heirloom, an item of personal property that by immemorial usage is regarded as annexed by inheritance to a family......
Hells Angels, club for motorcyclists that was founded in California in 1948 and is probably the best known of the......
Henrician Articles, (1573) statement of the rights and privileges of the Polish gentry (szlachta) that all elected......
heriot, in European feudal society, the right of the lord to seize his tenant’s best beast or other chattel on......
hetaira, one of a class of professional independent courtesans of ancient Greece who, besides developing physical......
Hezbollah, Shiʿi Lebanese political party and militant group that first emerged during Lebanon’s civil war as a......
High Court of Admiralty, in England, formerly the court presided over by the deputy of the admiral of the fleet.......
High Court of Justice, in England and Wales, court system centred in London and comprising three divisions of both......
high seas, in maritime law, all parts of the mass of saltwater surrounding the globe that are not part of the territorial......
hijacking, the illegal seizure of a land vehicle, aircraft, or other conveyance while it is in transit. Although......
The hijacking of IC-814 was the takeover of an Indian Airlines flight on December 24, 1999, by five armed militants......
This infographic highlights 10 Congresses that are notable in the history of women’s fight for equal representation......
Hoa Lo Prison, former prison in Hanoi, Vietnam, that was originally constructed by Vietnam’s French colonial rulers......
Hollingsworth v. Perry, legal case, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26, 2013, that had the practical......
Homeland Security Act, U.S. legislation signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 25, 2002, that......