Free Legal Encyclopedia: Taking at sea to Tonkin Gulf Resolution
Edward Allen Tamm
Edward Allen Tamm served the federal bench with distinction for almost forty years, as a district and appellate court judge. For much of his life, he was a guiding force in the field of judicial ethics. His commaittee work for the U.S. Judicial Conference helped to set the standards for judicial conduct throughout the nation and to instill public confidence in the fair administration of justice. (…
Tammany Hall
Political machines have traditionally wielded influence in U.S. society, and one of the most The members of Tammany Hall had a corrupt stonghold on New York City politics from the early 1800s until the 1930s. AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS Founded by William Mooney in 1789, Tammany Hall was originally a fraternal and patriotic organization first called the Society of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Or…
Roger Brooke Taney
Taney was born on March 17, 1777, in Calvert County, Maryland. A descendant of an aristocratic tobacco-growing family, Taney graduated from Dickinson College in 1795, studied law, and was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1799. That same year he was elected to a one-year term in the Maryland House of Delegates. Taney practiced briefly in Annapolis before settling in Frederick, where he soon was reco…
Tax Court - Further Readings
A specialized federal or state court that decides cases involving tax-related controversies. The court is composed of nineteen judges. Its strength is augmented by senior judges who may be recalled by the chief judge to perform further judicial duties and by fourteen special trial judges who are appointed by the chief judge and serve at the pleasure of the court. The chief judge is elected biennia…
Tax Evasion
An affirmative act is anything done to mislead the government or conceal funds to avoid payment of an admitted and accurate deficiency. Affirmative behavior can take two forms: the evasion of assessment and the evasion of payment. Affirmative acts of evasion include evading taxes by placing assets in another's name, dealing in cash, and having receipts or debts paid through and in the name …
Tax Reform Act of (1986)
The Tax Reform Act of 1986 (100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. §§ 47, 1042) made major changes in how income was taxed. The act either altered or eliminated many deductions, changed the tax rates, and eliminated several special calculations that had been permitted on the basis of marriage or fluctuating income. Though the act was the most massive overhaul of the tax system in decades, some …
Tax Return
The form that the government requires a taxpayer to file with the appropriate official by a designated date to disclose and detail income subject to taxation and eligibility for deductions and exemptions, along with a remittance of the tax due or a claim for a refund of taxes that were overpaid. The federal and state governments specify the deadlines for filing tax returns without incurring any ad…
Tax Sale - Requirements, Notice, Buyer, Redemption, Sale Prohibited, Further Readings - Manner, Price
A transfer of real property in exchange for money to satisfy charges imposed thereupon by the government that have remained unpaid after the legal period for their payment has expired. Tax sales are authorized by state statutes to collect taxes that are long overdue to the state government from negligent or unwilling individuals. State statutes regulate the manner in which tax sales may be conduct…
Taxation - Kinds Of Taxes, Federal Tax, State Tax, Equality, Uniformity
The process whereby charges are imposed on individuals or property by the legislative branch of the federal government and by many state governments to raise funds for public purposes. The theory that underlies taxation is that charges are imposed to support the government in exchange for the general advantages and protection afforded by the government to the taxpayer and his or her property. The …
Taxpayer Bill of Rights
A federal or state law that gives taxpayers procedural and substantive protection when dealing with a revenue department concerning a tax collection dispute. Although the rights given to taxpayers under these federal acts do not reduce the chance of being audited or diminish IRS authority to penalize taxpayers for inaccuracies or cheating on their returns, the provisions correct many of the percei…
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor served as the twelfth president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. A famous military general, Taylor was an Zachary Taylor. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS apolitical leader who accomplished little during his sixteen months in office. Taylor and his army invaded Mexico and advanced to Monterrey, capturing the city in late September. His military career was put …
Teapot Dome Scandal
Conservation was a popular cause throughout the first quarter of the twentieth century and was encouraged by various presidents. As a result, several oil reserves for the exclusive use of the U.S. Navy were established in Wyoming and California. The oil was kept in storage places called domes, one of which, located near Casper, Wyoming, was christened Teapot Dome due to a rock formation in the are…
Telecommunications - Telegraph, Telephone Systems, Radio, Television, Transmission Of Digital Data, Standards In Telecommunication
The transmission of words, sounds, images, or data in the form of electronic or electromagnetic signals or impulses. …
Television
Television is the most powerful medium of mass communication seen regularly by most persons in the United States. Television signals may be delivered by using antennas (broadcast), communication satellites, or cable systems. Because of television's societal impact, the federal government regulates companies that operate television systems. Experimental television systems were developed in t…
Temperance Movement
Other supporters of the first temperance movement objected to alcohol's destructive effects on individuals, communities, and the nation as a whole. According to these activists, the consumption of alcohol was responsible for many personal and societal problems, including unemployment, absenteeism in the workplace, and physical violence. Scores of short stories and books published in the mid…
Temporary Restraining Order
A court order that lasts only until the court can hear further evidence. The immediate potential for irreparable harm is the gravamen of the TRO. If an applicant is unable to prove that the harm suffered will be irreparable or that the irreparable harm is imminent, a court will not approve a TRO. Assume that a person purchases a car with financing from the dealership. The buyer then becomes embroi…
Tenancy by the Entirety
The most important difference between a tenancy by the entirety and a joint tenancy or tenancy in common is that a tenant by the entirety may not sell or give away his interest in the property without the consent of the other tenant. Upon the death of one of the spouses, the deceased spouse's interest in the property devolves to the surviving spouse, and not to other heirs of the deceased s…
Tenancy in Common
A form of concurrent ownership of real property in which two or more persons possess the property simultaneously; it can be created by deed, will, or operation of law. Usually, the term tenant is understood to describe a person who rents or leases a piece of property. In the context of concurrent estates, however, a tenant is a co-owner of real property. Another difference between tenants in commo…
Tender Years Doctrine - Further Readings
The tender years presumption in child custody cases persisted for more than one hundred years, with the majority of states recognizing the presumption. In the latter half of the twentieth century, courts and legislatures began to reverse decisions and repeal laws that recognized the tender years presumption in favor of gender-neutral considerations. In most states the best interests of the child a…
Tennessee Valley Authority
The idea for the project was originally developed in 1918, when two nitrate facilities and a dam were constructed at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, on the Tennessee River. Previously the area had been prone to severe floods, and water travel was impeded by sandbanks. The area had abundant natural resources, but the surrounding basin was depleted, and the region had experienced a depressed economy even be…
Tennessee Valley Authority Act
The TVA was responsible for resolving the problems arising from serious floods, substantially eroded land, a lackluster economy, and continual emigration from the region. It has revitalized the economy of the Tennessee River basin, particularly by the construction of reservoirs and multipurpose dams. Other noteworthy projects of the TVA, executed in conjunction with local authorities, have include…
Tenth Amendment
The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads: At the time the states adopted the Tenth Amendment, two primary conceptions of government were under consideration. Many federalists supported a centralized national authority, with power concentrated in a single entity. This type of government was exemplified by the English constitutional system, which vested absolute authority in the monarchy d…
Tenure
A right, term, or mode of holding or occupying something of value for a period of time. In feudal law, the principal mode or system by which a person held land from a superior in exchange for the rendition of service and loyalty to the grantor. The status given to an educator who has satisfactorily completed teaching for a trial period and is, therefore, protected against summary dismissal by the …
Term of Art
A word or phrase that has special meaning in a particular context. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit agreed with the trial court, but the U.S. Supreme Court disagreed. According to the Court, punitive damages is a legal term of art that has a widely accepted common-law meaning under state law. Congress was aware of this meaning at the time it passed the FTCA. Under traditional comm…
Mary Eliza Church Terrell
Mary Church was born on September 23, 1863, in Memphis, Tennessee. She was raised in a middle-class family and attended Oberlin College in Ohio, graduating in 1884. She taught at Wilberforce University in Xenia, Ohio, in 1885 and at a secondary school in Washington, D.C., in 1886 before taking a two-year tour of Europe. In 1888 she obtained a master's degree from Oberlin and married Ro…
Territorial Courts
Federal tribunals that serve as both federal and state courts in possessions of the United States—such as Guam and the Virgin Islands—that are not within the limits of any state but are organized with separate legislatures and executive and judicial officers appointed by the president. Territorial courts are legislative courts created by Congress pursuant to its constitutional power …
Territorial Waters
The part of the ocean adjacent to the coast of a state that is considered to be part of the territory of that state and subject to its sovereignty. From the eighteenth to the middle of the twentieth century, international law set the width of territorial waters at one league (three nautical miles), although the practice was never wholly uniform. The United States established a three-mile territori…
Territories of the United States - Further Readings
Portions of the United States that are not within the limits of any state and have not been admitted as states. The United States holds three territories: American Samoa and Guam in the Pacific Ocean and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea. Although they are governed by the United States, the territories do not have statehood status, and this lesser legal and political status sets them ap…
Territory
A part of a country separated from the rest and subject to a particular jurisdiction. The term territory has various meanings in different contexts. Generally, the term refers to a particular or indeterminate geographical area. In a legal context, territory usually denotes a geographical area that has been acquired by a particular country but has not been recognized as a full participant in that c…
Terry v. Ohio - Further Readings
The case stemmed from an incident in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1963. Police officer Martin McFadden observed three men engaging in suspicious behavior near the corner of Euclid Avenue and Huron Road. One of the suspects was the defendant, John Terry. Along with code-fendant Richard Chilton and a third man, known only as Katz, Terry was seen pacing in front of a downtown store. Occasionally, the men woul…
Test Case
A suit brought specifically for the establishment of an important legal right or principle. The term test case describes a case that tests the validity of a particular law. Test cases are useful because they establish legal rights or principles and thereby serve as precedent for future similar cases. Test cases save the judicial system the time and expense of conducting proceedings for each and ev…
Testify
To provide evidence as a witness, subject to an oath or affirmation, in order to establish a particular fact or set of facts. Court rules require witnesses to testify about the facts they know that are relevant to the determination of the outcome of the case. Under the law a person may not testify until he is sworn in. This requirement is usually met by a witness swearing to speak the truth. A per…
Texas v. Johnson
Johnson was convicted of desecrating a venerated object in violation of Texas Penal Code section 42.09(a)(3) (1989). He was sentenced to one year in prison and fined $2,000. His conviction was affirmed by the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas. Johnson's case was then reviewed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which reversed his conviction, holding that the state could not puni…
Texas v. White
The Supreme Court addressed these issues in Texas v. White, 74 U.S. (7 Wall.) 700, 19 L. Ed. 227 (1869), which involved a dispute over the payment of U.S. bonds. In 1850 Texas had received $10 million in bonds from the United States in settlement of boundary claims. The bonds were payable to the state and redeemable after December 31, 1864. Texas law required the governor to endorse the bonds befo…
Theaters and Shows - Ticket Sales, Obscenity
Comprehensive terms for places where all types of entertainment events can be viewed, including films, plays, and exhibitions. Since these types of entertainment affect the public interest, they may properly be subjected to government regulation. The power to regulate must, however, be exercised reasonably since it restrains the free speech rights of performers, filmmakers, and distributors. A cit…
Third Amendment
The Third Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads: Ratified in 1791, the Third Amendment to the U.S. Constitution sets forth two basic requirements. During times of peace, the military may not house its troops in private residences without the consent of the owners. During times of war, the military may not house its troops in private residences except in accordance with established legal procedu…
Thirteenth Amendment - Further Readings
The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads: For many decades, however, the goals of the Civil War Amendments were frustrated. Due perhaps to the waning public support for postwar Reconstruction and the nation's lack of sensitivity to individual rights, the U.S. Supreme Court severely curtailed the application of the amendments. The Supreme Court thwarted the amendments in two w…
Clarence Thomas
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas survived tense, nationally televised Senate confirmation hearings in 1991 to become the second African American in U.S. history to reach the Supreme Court. Thomas's first job out of law school was as assistant to Missouri's Republican attorney general John C. Danforth. Thomas specialized in tax and environmental issues. In 1977, he accepted a positio…
Smith Thompson
Thompson was elected to the New York legislature in 1800 and then used Livingston's political connections to obtain an appointment to Smith Thompson (etching by Albert Rosenthal). CORBIS the state supreme court in 1802. He was promoted to chief justice in 1814, in which position he presided until 1818. President Monroe appointed Thompson secretary of the navy in 1819. As head of the …
Henry David Thoreau - Further Readings
Henry David Thoreau was a nineteenth-century philosopher and writer who denounced materialistic modes of living and encouraged people to act according to their own beliefs of right and wrong, even if doing so required breaking the law. His writings, especially his call for nonviolent resistance to government injustice, have inspired many later reformers. Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817, in Conco…
Richard Lewis Thornburgh
Thornburgh was born on July 16, 1932, in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Yale University with an engineering degree in 1954 and earned a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1957. After his admission to the Pennsylvania bar in 1958, he joined the Pittsburgh law firm of Kirkpatrick, Lockhart, Johnson, and Hutchinson. Richard L. Thornburgh. UPI/CORBIS-BETTMANN Takin…
Threats
Spoken or written words tending to intimidate or menace others. A mere threat that does not cause any harm is generally not actionable. When combined with apparently imminent bodily harm, however, a threat is an assault for which the offender might be subject to civil or criminal liability. In most jurisdictions, a plaintiff can recover damages for the intentional infliction of severe mental or em…
Three Strikes Laws - Have Three-strikes Laws Worked To Reduce Recidivism?
Criminal statutes that mandate increased sentences for repeat offenders, usually after three serious crimes. The California law originally gave judges no discretion in setting prison terms for three strikes offenders. However, the California Supreme Court ruled, in 1996, that judges, in the interest of justice, could ignore prior convictions in determining whether an offender qualified for a three…
James Strom Thurmond - Further Readings
Thurmond was born on December 5, 1902, in Edgefield, South Carolina. Thurmond's father, John William Thurmond, was an attorney who served as county prosecutor and later as U.S. district attorney. He was also a powerful political leader in Edgefield County. Strom, as he preferred to be called, graduated from Clemson University in 1923. He was a teacher and athletic coach in several South Car…
Samuel Jones Tilden
Samuel Jones Tilden was a New York lawyer, political reformer, governor, and Democratic candidate for president in the famous disputed election of 1876. Tilden's acceptance of his defeat in the election may have prevented civil unrest. Tilden was born on February 9, 1814, in New Lebanon, New York. He attended Yale University and studied law at New York University before being admitted to th…
Place Time and Manner Restrictions - Further Readings
Limits that government can impose on the occasion, location, and type of individual expression in some circumstances. The Supreme Court has developed a four-part analysis to evaluate the constitutionality of TPM restrictions. To pass muster under the First Amendment, TPM restrictions must be contentneutral, be narrowly drawn, serve a significant government interest, and leave open alternative chan…
Timeshare
A form of shared property ownership, commonly in vacation or recreation condominium property, in which rights vest in several owners to use property for a specified period each year. Timeshare ownership of vacation or recreation condominium property is a popular choice for persons who wish to secure a long-term commitment to a particular location. Timesharing is common in Hawaii, Florida, Arizona,…
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District
The case grew out of political opposition to the Vietnam War. In December 1965 a group of students in the Des Moines public school system decided to protest the war. John Tinker, 15 years old, his 13-year-old sister Mary Beth, and 16-year-old Christopher Eckhardt sought to publicize their antiwar position and their support for a truce by wearing black armbands to school in the weeks leading up to …
Title
In regard to legislation, the heading or preliminary part of a particular statute that designates the name by which that act is known. In the law of property, title in its broadest sense refers to all rights that can be secured and enjoyed under the law. It is frequently synonymous with absolute ownership. Title to property ordinarily signifies an estate in fee simple, which means that the holder …
Title Insurance
A contractual arrangement entered into to indemnify loss or damage resulting from defects or problems relating to the ownership of real property, or from the enforcement of liens that exist against it. Title insurance is ordinarily taken out by a purchaser of the property, or by an individual lending money on the mortgage, in an amount equivalent to the purchase price of the property. To be entitl…
Tobacco Institute - Further Readings
The TI was established in response to a growing public health movement in the 1950s against smoking. From its inception, the institute stressed the contribution of tobacco to the U.S. economy and the preservation of tobacco farms. It also stressed the inconclusiveness and inconsistency of antismoking findings and supported the rights of individual smokers to smoke in public places. The TI publiciz…
Thomas Todd
Thomas Todd served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1807 to 1826. Trained as a land surveyor and as a lawyer, Todd's handful of opinions on the Court mostly concerned land claims. Todd was born in King and Queen County, Virginia, on January 23, 1765. As a teenager, he served briefly in the Revolutionary War before attending Liberty Hall, now called Washington and Lee U…
Tokyo Trial - Further Readings
American involvement in World War II formally began on December 8, 1941, when the United States declared war on Japan, and formally ended on September 2, 1945, when the Japanese surrendered in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri. For more than a decade before the war, the Japanese military had been expanding its foothold on the Asiatic mainland. During the war itself, Japan invaded or attacked Burma…
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
It was later revealed that the federal government had drafted the Tonkin Gulf Resolution fully six months before the attacks on the U.S. vessels occurred. It was also revealed that the United States provoked the attack by assisting the South Vietnamese in mounting clandestine military attacks against the North Vietnamese. Although the two U.S. vessels attacked were actually on intelligence-gatheri…