| A | B |
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| amendment 14 | Granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States; banned states from denying any person life, liberty, or property without due process of law; and banned states from denying any person equal protection under the laws. |
| breach of contract | Failure to do something in a contract. |
| civil law | All law that does not involve criminal matters. Civil law usually deals with the private rights of individuals, groups, and businesses. |
| contract law | The branch of civil law dealing with interpretation and enforcement of written agreements between parties. |
| criminal law | Law and law proceedings that deal with the investigation and trial of those accused of crimes against society. |
| defendent | - In a civil suit, the person against whom the plaintiff brings a court action; in a criminal case, the person charged with the crime. |
| double jeopardy | Part of the Fifth Amendment; once a person has been tried for a crime, he or she cannot be tried again for the same crime. |
| due process | The right of every citizen to be protected against unfair actions by the government. |
| exclusionary rule | Evidence gained as the result of an illegal act by police cannot be used against the person in court. |
| felony | serious crimes like murder, arson, and rape. |
| Gideon v Wainwright | The government must provide counsel (attorney) to all people in a criminal trial facing a sentence of six moths or more who cannot afford their own counsel. |
| grand jury | The formal device by which a person can be accused of a serious crime. See Indictment. |
| indictment | A formal complaint before a grand jury that charges the accused with one or more crimes. |
| Miranda v Arizona | – Anyone accused of a crime must be informed of their due process rights (specifically those in the Fifth Amendment) prior to questioning. |
| misdemeanor | Less serous crime like vandalism, possession of marijuana under a defined amount, theft under a defined amount. |
| New Jersey v TLO | School officials are not held to the same search and seizure standards as police. Reasonable suspicion is sufficient to search students in school. |
| Out of court settlement | Negotiations between parties and/or attorneys in which the parties work out a settlement agreement without a trial in the judicial system. |
| petit jury | A jury of 12 persons who decide upon the facts at issue in a court trial. |
| plaintiff | In civil law, the party who brings a suit or some other legal action against another (the defendant) in court. |
| plea bargain | The process whereby the accused (defendant) and the prosecutor negotiate a mutually satisfactory result of the case. |
| precedent | These are previous court decisions that are recognized as a foundation for deciding future cases. Major source of common law. |
| preponderance of the evidence | General standard of proof in civil cases. |
| presumption of innocence | In criminal law, the principle that a person is innocent of a crime until he is proven guilty. The government prosecutor must establish the defendant's guilt by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. |
| probable cause | – A sufficient reason based upon known facts to believe a crime has been committed. |
| prosecutor | A person who prepares and conducts the prosecution of persons accused of crime. |
| reasonable doubt | This refers to the degree of certainty required for a juror to legally find a criminal defendant guilty. Reasonable doubt refers to failure to meet the required degree of certainty. |
| standards of proof | This includes “beyond a reasonable doubt” in criminal law and “preponderance of the evidence” in civil law. |
| statutory law | Law based on statues that are enacted to prescribe conduct, define crimes, create governmental bodies, appropriate public monies and in general to promote the public good and welfare. |
| subpoena | An order for a person to appear and to produce documents or other requested materials. |
| tort | A wrongful act, other than breach of contract, for which an injured party has the right to sue. |
| warrant | A legal document issued by a judge |
| Mapp v Ohio | Extended the exclusionary rule announced in Weeks v. United States to state and local law-enforcement officers. After this case, evidence seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment could not be used by the prosecution as evidence of a defendant’s guilt in any court – federal, state, or local. |
