Criminal and Civil Law (Chapter 1)

Chapter 1 Terms

Human Rights

are the rights people have simply because they are human beings.

Reservation

a legal way of making a provision less enforceable than it might be otherwise.

Criminal Law

the branch of law dealing with crimes and their punishments.

Felony

A serious criminal offense punishable by a prison sentence of more than one year.

Misdemeanor

a criminal offense, less serious than a felony, punishable by a prison sentence of one year or less.

Civil law

any law that is not criminal matters, such as tort or contract law. Deals with private rights of individuals, groups, or businesses.

Civil Action

A noncriminal lawsuit, brought to enforce a right or redress a wrong.

Defendant

the person against whom the claim is made, the person being sued, or the person charged with committing a crime.

Plaintiff

in a civil case, the injured party who brings the legal action against the alleged wrongdoer.

Prosecutor

the state or federal government's attorney in a criminal case.

Beyond a reasonable doubt

the level of proof required to convict a person of a crime. Not 100%, but means that there are no reasonable doubts as to guilt.

Preponderance of the evidence

usually the standard proof used in a civil suit. Burden of proof that a party must meet in order to win the lawsuit. To win, the party must convince that their evidence is stronger than the other side.

Limited Government

a basic principle of our government system, it limits government to powers provided to it by the people.

Separation of Powers

the division of power among the branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial).

Statutes

written laws enacted by legislatures.

Checks and Balances

The power of each of the three branches of government to limit the other branches' power, so as to prevent abuse.

Veto

Prohibit; in government, the veto is the power of the chief executive to prevent enactment of a bill (i.e: to prevent the bill from becoming a law).

Judicial Review

The process by which courts decide whether the laws passed by Congress or state legislatures are constitutional.

Unconstitutional

Conflicting with some provision of the Constitution.

Federalism

The division of powers between the states and the federal government.

Bill of Rights

the First ten amendments to the Constitution, which guarantee basic individual rights to all persons in the United States.