Legal Glossary

Fourth Amendment

Interests Protected The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides that "[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upo…

incorporation doctrine

Overview The incorporation doctrine is a constitutional doctrine through which parts of the first ten amendments of the United States Constitution (known as the Bill of Rights) are made applicable to the states through the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment…

Fifth Amendment

Overview The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution  "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in a…

elections

Elections are processes through which eligible citizens vote on candidates for public office or on ballot issues. Once votes are cast, they are counted to determine an official outcome. There are two main types of public elections: general elections, which occur at regu…

Second Amendment

The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."  Such language has created considerable debate regarding th…

personal autonomy

Overview The Supreme Court does not use the phrase "personal autonomy" very often. Unlike privacy, it is not a fundamental right. As such, it is still a very limited concept regarding its impact on legal jurisprudence. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), the Court …

constitutional law

Constitutional Law: An Overview The broad topic of constitutional law deals with the interpretation and application of the United States Constitution. As the Constitution is the source of legal authority for the United States, questions of constitutional law often relat…

Hyde Amendment

Named after the original congressional sponsor, Rep. Henry Hyde, the Hyde Amendment is a clause that is added to annual appropriation bills for the Department of Labor, the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services (and other related agencies)…

First Amendment

Overview The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference. It prohibits any laws that establish a national religion, impede the free exercise of religion, abridge the f…

criminal procedure

Criminal procedure deals with the set of rules governing the series of proceedings through which the government enforces substantive criminal law. Municipalities, states, and the federal government all have their own criminal codes, defining types of conduct that consti…

Fourteenth Amendment

The Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution contains several notable rights and protections, such as applying due process and equal protection to State law. It also addresses citizenship, state action, privacy rights, apportionment, disqualification for rebellion,…

privacy

Overview: There is a long and evolving history regarding the right to privacy in the United States. In the context of American jurisprudence, the Supreme Court first recognized the “right to privacy” in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965). Before Griswold, however, Louis Bra…

due process

What is due process? Due process (or due process of law) primarily refers to the concept found in the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution, which says no one shall be "deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law" by the federal government. The Fou…

media

Media Law: Overview  Media law refers to the regulations of mass media production and use. It includes various types of media forms such as broadcast television, radio, film, internet, and print; however, broadcast media is the most heavily regulated. Media Law can cove…

right to privacy

Overview: There is a long and evolving history regarding the right to privacy in the United States. In the context of American jurisprudence, the Supreme Court first recognized the “right to privacy” in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965). Before Griswold, however, Louis Bra…

order of authorities

In formal legal writing, the order of authorities refers to the sources which are used to validate claims made by the author of the paper. The sources should be arranged according to their order of importance, in accordance with Bluebook Rule 1.4.  Standard Order of A…

intermediate scrutiny

Overview Intermediate scrutiny is a test courts often use in the field of Constitutional Law to determine a statute's constitutionality. Intermediate scrutiny is only invoked when a state or the federal government passes a statute which discriminates against, negatively…

BCRA

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) was enacted by the 107th Congress, 2nd Session, and signed into law by President Bush on March 27, 2002 to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (now located at Title 52, Subtitle III of the U.S. Code) and othe…

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) was enacted by the 107th Congress, 2nd Session and signed into law by President Bush on March 27, 2002 to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (now located at Title 52, Subtitle III of the U.S. Code) and other…

forfeiture

Forfeiture, the government seizure of property connected to illegal activity, has been a major weapon in the federal government's "war on drugs" since the mid-eighties. Several developments called attention to the darker side of this practice, including  the decision by…

death penalty

The death penalty is the state-sanctioned punishment of executing an individual for a specific crime. Congress, as well as any state legislature, may prescribe the death penalty, also known as capital punishment, for crimes considered capital offenses. The Supreme Court…

civil rights

A civil right is a legally enforceable claim or privilege. When another party interferes with a civil right, the injured party may seek redress through legal action. Discrimination arises when these rights are denied or impaired because of a person's membership in a pro…

cruel and unusual punishment

Cruel and unusual punishment is an excessive penalty that is disproportionate to the crime committed, an act of retribution that causes deliberate pain or suffering, and/or conditions that violate basic human rights standards. The Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constituti…

electronic surveillance

Electronic surveillance is the use of electronic, mechanical, or other devices to collect the contents of wire or electronic communications in situations where at least one party has a reasonable expectation of privacy. The “contents” of a communication include any info…

Income Tax

Overview: The power to collect income tax is found in the Constitution of the United States. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1 (Also known as the Taxing and Spending Clause) sates: “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay…

forums

A “forum” in First Amendment law refers to the place in which a “speaker” speaks. The First Amendment's protections regarding the right to speak and assemble will vary based on the speaker's chosen forum. In Perry Educ. Ass’n v. Perry Educators’ Ass’n, 460 U.S. 37 (1983…

self-incrimination

Self-incrimination is the intentional or unintentional act of providing information that will suggest your involvement in a crime, or expose you to criminal prosecution. The Fifth Amendment provides protection to individuals from being compelled to incriminate themselv…

advocacy of illegal action

The advocacy of illegal action is a category of speech not protected by the First Amendment. It is also sometimes referred to as the advocacy of illegal conduct. First addressed in Whitney v. California (1927), the Supreme Court held that speech advocating illegal cond…

qualified immunity

Qualified immunity is a type of legal immunity that protects a government official from lawsuits alleging that the official violated a plaintiff's rights, only allowing suits where officials violated a “clearly established” statutory or constitutional right. “Qualified …

executive power

Executive Power: An Overview In its first three articles, the U.S. Constitution outlines the branches of the U.S. Government, the powers that each branch contains, and the limitations to those powers. Article II outlines the duties of the Executive Branch. The Presiden…