Affirmative Action - Historic Prejudices, Affirmative Action V. Civil Rights, Affirmative Action In Practice, Reverse Discrimination

Assisted Suicide and the Right to Die - History, An Ethical Dilemma, Eight Representative Cases, Refusal Of Treatment, Further Readings

Business and Corporate Law - Historical Development, Corporations Distinguished, State Regulation Of Business, Federal Regulation, International Business, Further Readings

Capital Punishment - Constitutional Challenges To The Death Penalty, Racial Bias, Expense And Length Of Process, Deterrence

Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the lawful imposition of death as punishment for crimes. Thirty-eight states, as well as the federal government, recognized capital punishment as of 1998; Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, Alaska, and Hawaii did not. Lethal injection, elect…

3 minute read

Civil Law - Civil Law Versus Criminal Law, Overview And Background, Some Like It Hot: Civil Lawsuit Controversy

Civil Rights and Equal Protection - The Notion Of Equality, The Mirage Of Equality, A Switch To Individual Rights, The Ongoing Expansion Of Equality

Consumer Protection - History, The Uniform Commercial Code, Product Safety, Truthful Advertising

Contract Law - What Is A Contract?, Sources Of Contract Law: The Statute Of Frauds, The Uniform Commercial Code

For purposes of analysis, legal scholars have classified contracts in many different ways. The most common classifications of contracts include: "express" and "implied" contracts; "void" and "voidable" contracts; and "enforceable" and "unenforceable" contracts. Several requirements must be met for a contract to be valid and legally binding. The agreement must specifically define the terms under wh…

less than 1 minute read

Criminal Law - Categories Of Criminal Conduct, Elements Of A Crime: Mens Rea And Actus Reus, Defenses

Criminal law is comprised of rules and statutes intended to dictate parameters of conduct that will prevent harm to society. Criminal law differs from criminal procedure. Criminal law is concerned with defining crimes and setting punishment, while criminal procedure refers to the process by which those laws are enforced. For example, substantive criminal law is used to determine whether someone ha…

1 minute read

Criminal Procedure - Contrasting Perspectives On The Legal System, Four Constitutional Cornerstones, Habeas Corpus And Other Guarantees, From Probable Cause To Appeal: The Criminal Procedure Cycle

Custody and Child Support - Introduction, Child Custody, Visitation, Child Support, Enforcement, Further Readings

Damages - Compensatory Damages: General Damages, Consequential Damages, Punitive Damages, Nominal Damages, Liquidated Damages

Damages are a civil judicial remedy used to monetarily compensate a party for injuries caused by the wrongful conduct of another, resulting in loss, injury, or other detriment to one's person, property, or rights. Damages are awarded to a plaintiff for losses caused either by a defendant's conduct or to provide a remedy for the breach of a contractual relationship. Damages are sometimes also used …

1 minute read

Drug Laws - Drugs: A Simple Definition, Drugs, Culture, And Death, The War On Drugs

Employment Discrimination - Overview, Burdens Of Proof, Specific Types Of Employment Discrimination

Environmental Law - Overview, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Resource Conservation And Recovery Act

Family Law - Family, Origins Of Family Law, Marriage And Divorce, Children, Property In The Family

Federal Powers and Separation of Powers - Preamble, The Tyranny Of The Monarchy, The Articles Of Confederation, Constitution Of The United States

Federalism and State Powers - Definition Of Federalism, History Of Federalism In America, Present-day Relationship Between National Government States

Freedom of Assembly - Fundamental Rights, Political Expression, Freedom Of Association, Further Readings

Freedom of the Press - The Press, The Origins Of Free Press Concerns, The Press And Prior Restraints, News Gathering

Freedom of Religion - Religious Belief, Growth Of Religious Tolerance, Religion And The Courts, The Changing Concept Of Religion

Establishment Clause Freedom of Religion - Church And State, Development Of Separation Concepts, Religion In The Public Classroom, The Lemon Test Turns Sour

Freedom of Speech - Speech And Expression, The Origins Of Free Speech Concerns, Speech And The Law, Speech And National Security

Gender Discrimination - History, Discrimination In Education: Access To Educational Opportunities, Discrimination In Education: Participation In Athletic Programs

Immigrants' Rights - Background And Overview, Key Legislation, Landmark Cases, Current Issues In Immigrants' Rights, Further Readings

The Internet - Obscenity Issues, The Communications Decency Act Cda Ii, Community Standards, Defamation, Privacy Issues

An estimated 44 million individuals participate in the Internet, and the audience is doubling each year. On each day in 1997, 71,000 new users logged on. Sixty percent of Internet content originates in the United States Those interested in regulation efforts include the government, which swears to protect children from inappropriate material, parenting groups who are concerned about what their chi…

1 minute read

Judicial Powers - The Judicial Branch, Powers Of The Courts, The Federal System Of Courts, The State System Of Courts

Judicial Review - Definition, The Functions Of Judicial Review, Appellate Procedure, Appeals To The U.s. Supreme Court

Juries - History, The Jury System In America, Modern Juries, Further Readings

Juvenile Courts - A System In Place For Children, Types Of Cases Handled In Juvenile Court, Development Of Juvenile Courts

Juvenile Law and Justice - Juvenile Courts, The "system", Juvenile Or Adult?, Juvenile Law, Further Readings

Juvenile law refers to that body of law dealing with juveniles, or persons who are not yet adults. The definition of a juvenile varies from state to state according to the age at which a person is deemed to reach adulthood. In at least one state (Wyoming), the age of adulthood is 19; for some legal purposes, other states set the age at 16, and still others set the age at 17 or 18. Juvenile law is …

2 minute read

Labor and Labor Practices - Introduction, The Wagner Act, The Taft-hartley Act, An Overview Of Labor Law

Legislative Powers - Governmental Structure, Congressional Powers, Legislative Powers And The States, Legislative Powers And The President

Libel - Libel, Slander, And Defamation, Libel In History, From Common To Constitutional Law, Libel In The Late 1990s

Military Issues - Military Society, Origins Of Modern Military Justice, Sex, Gender, And Gay Rights In 1990s

Monopolies and Antitrust Law - Historical Background, Federal Law, Antitrust Enforcements, Monopoly Cases, Further Readings

In the free market, competition is often ruthless. Antitrust law regulates this competition in order to prevent unfairness in the conduct of business. The term antitrust refers to the industrial giants of the nineteenth century, corporations which organized themselves into jointly managed units known as trusts. Through size and strength, the trusts single-handedly controlled the nation's most impo…

less than 1 minute read

National Security - Of Highest Concern, Responsibility, Presidential Power, National Security During War, A Need For Balance

Native Americans - Tribal Governance, Monitoring Government Interference, Support For Tribal Sovereignty, Treaty-making Before 1871

Obscenity - Pornography And Obscenity, Pornography, Obscenity, And The Law, The Meese Commission And The Pornography Debate

Privacy

The citizens of the United States expect to enjoy their privacy. Indeed, few rights are as commonly taken for granted as that of privacy in this highly individualistic society. Yet the recognition of a constitutional right to privacy is fairly recent. Only since the late twentieth century has it been explicitly recognized, protected, and ultimately expanded. This may seem ironic in light of the ma…

10 minute read

Reproductive Rights - Definition, History, A Succession Of Court Battles, Abortion-related Legislation Becomes A Must

Right to Bear Arms - Hot Topic, History Of The Right To Bear Arms, Interpretation Of The Second Amendment, Gun Control Legislation

The Rights of the Accused before Trial - An Emphasis On The Rights Of The Accused, The Right Against Self-incrimination, The Right To Counsel

The Rights of the Accused during Trial - The Adversarial System, The Burden Of Proof, The Right To Counsel, Witnesses And The Right Of Confrontation

The Rights of the Accused following Trial - Sentencing, Appeals, Habeas Corpus, Prison, Further Readings

Rights of the Disabled - Background, Definition Of "disability", Employment, Public Services, Public Accommodations, Other Statutes

Rights of Gays and Lesbians - Gay And Lesbian Civil Rights, Employment And School Fairness, Serving In The Armed Forces, Same-sex Marriage And Custody

Search and Seizure - Fourth Amendment Protections, Search And Seizure Before The 1960s, The Exclusionary Rule And Other Holdings Of The Warren Court

Segregation and Desegregation - Separate But Equal, The Face Of Segregation, Brown V. Board Of Education, Further Readings

Sexual Harassment - History Of Legislation, Judicial Precedent Set By U.s. Supreme Court, Bill Passed Allowing Damages For Victims Of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is one form of sexual discrimination prohibited under federal law. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects employees from sexual harassment in the workplace and established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC's 1980 regulations defined sexual harassment and pronounced it as one aspect of sexual discrimination protected under the Civil Rights Act o…

1 minute read

Symbolic Speech

Symbolic speech is a facet of free speech, which protects a persons conduct or expressions about a particular issue. A large and enduring example of symbolic speech has been the issue of flag burning. Flag burning outrages many Americans. As an extreme form of political dissent, this act strikes at the nation's most cherished symbol and, by extension, its sense of heritage and pride. It is no wond…

10 minute read

Taxation - History, The Irs, Social Security And Medicare, Levies, Tariffs And Duties

Voting Rights - Voting In A Democracy, State Powers, Discriminatory Practices, Courts Try To Strike Back, Representation