Law - Answers That which is laid down, ordains, or established... a body of rules of action or conduct
prescribed by controlling authority, and having binding legal force.
Norms - Answers Unwritten rules that underlie and are inherent in the fabric of society.
Mores - Answers Unwritten, but generally known, rules that govern serious violations of the social
code.
Morals - Answers Ethical principles, or principles meant to guide human conduct and behavior;
principles or standards of right and wrong.
Crime - Answers Any act or omission in violation of penal law, committed without defense or
justifications, and made punishable by the state in a judicial proceeding.
Criminal Law - Answers The body of rules and regulations that defines and specifies punishments for
offenses of a public nature or for wrongs committed against the state or society. Also called penal law.
Penal Law - Answers The body of rules and regulations that defines and specifies punishments for
offenses of a public nature or for wrongs committed against the state or society. Also called criminal
law.
Natural Law - Answers The rules of conduct inherent in human nature and in the natural order, which
are thought to be knowable through intuition, inspiration, and the exercise of reason without the
need to refer to man-made laws.
Positive Law - Answers Law that is legitimately created and enforced by government.
Criminal Acts, Taboo Acts, and Violation of Norms - Answers The three primary types of offenses, from
greatest to least.
Taboo Acts - Answers "Defiant" behavior, a violation of mores.
Violation of Norms - Answers "Uncivilized" behaviors; immoral behavior.
Common Law - Answers Law originating from use and custom rather than from written statutes. The
term refers to non-statutory customs, traditions, and precedents that help guide judicial decision
making.
William the Conqueror's invasion of England in 1066 - Answers This is where common law originated.
Common Law State - Answers A jurisdiction in which the principles and precedents of common law
continue to hold sway.
The Code of Hammurabi - Answers This ancient set of laws applies predictably to punishments and
stresses retribution over cruelty. Created in 1750 BC.
The Twelve Tables - Answers A collection of basic rules based on fair practices, set guidelines for
family, religious, and economic life. Created 450 BC.
Corpus Juris Civilis (Roman Law) - Answers Its two categories deal with "public laws" (government
organization) and "private laws" (personal status protection). Created Mid-500s AD.
William the Conqueror declares Saxon law absolute over England. - Answers This unifies a law of the
land and established a hierarchy of courts. The doctrine of "stare decisis" is developed. This
establishes the concept of precedent, applying the same legal action to cases with the same facts.
Occurred in 1066 AD.
Tribal-Feudal; Common Law - Answers In 1200 AD, King Henry II takes England from a ____-____
system to a new system of ____ ____.
The Field Code - Answers Standardizes criminal and civil procedures in the state of New York in the
late 1800s.
Common Law; Civil; Penal - Answers In the late 1800s, ____ ____ principles were adapted into written
____ and ____ codes.
Civil Law - Answers The form of the law that governs relationships between parties.
Tort - Answers A private or civil wrong or injury; "the unlawful violation of a private legal right other
than a mere breach of contract, express or implied."
Tortfeasor - Answers An individual, business, or other legally recognized entity that commits a tort.
Actual Damages - Answers A financial award in a civil suit intended to compensate for injuries to a
person or property.
Punitive Damages - Answers A financial award in a civil suit that is intended to punish the defendant
and/or to deter similar future misconduct. These are monies beyond the actual damages suffered by
the plaintiff.
France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Franco-Africa, Latin America, Louisiana (limited) - Answers Where is civil
law legal tradition practiced?
, England, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Belize, Canada, Anglo-Africa - Answers Where is
common law tradition practiced?
Minimal - Answers What role do judges play in the development of the law in Civil Law Tradition?
Major - Answers What role to judges play in the development of the law in Common Law Tradition?
Periodic, sometimes abrupt - Answers What is legislative change like in Civil Law Tradition?
Evolutionary change through judicial decisions with occasional legislative change - Answers What is
legislative change like in Common Law Tradition?
Civil Law Tradition - Answers Rational and forward thinking.
Common Law Tradition - Answers More likely to change in response to current conditions.
Purpose of Criminal Law - Answers Protect members of the public from harm.
Purpose of Criminal Law - Answers Preserve and maintain social order.
Purpose of Criminal Law - Answers Support fundamental social values.
Purpose of Criminal Law - Answers Distinguish criminal wrongs from civil wrongs.
Purpose of Criminal Law - Answers Express communal condemnation of criminal behavior.
Purpose of Criminal Law - Answers Deter people from criminal activity.
Purpose of Criminal Law - Answers Stipulate the degree of seriousness of criminal conduct.
Purpose of Criminal Law - Answers Establish criteria for the clear determination of guilt or innocence
at trial
Purpose of Criminal Law - Answers Punish those who commit crimes.
Purpose of Criminal Law - Answers Rehabilitate offenders.
Purpose of Criminal Law - Answers Assuage victims of crime.
Police Power - Answers The authority of a state to enact and enforce a criminal statute.
Bill of Rights - Answers The first ten amendments to US Constitution, which were made part of the
Constitution in 1791.
Criminalize - Answers To make criminal; to declare an act or omission to be criminal or in violation of a
law making it so.
The Constitution - Answers Imposes limits on the government's police power.
The Constitution - Answers Imposes limits on strict liability crimes.
The Constitution - Answers Provides protection against "ex post facto" laws.
The Constitution - Answers Provides protection against laws that are vague and unclear.
The Constitution - Answers Provides protection of free thought and free speech.
The Constitution - Answers Provides protection of the right to keep and bear arms.
The Constitution - Answers Provides for the freedom of religion.
The Constitution - Answers Provides for the freedom of the press.
The Constitution - Answers Provides for the freedom to assemble peaceably.
The Constitution - Answers Provides for the freedom from unfair deprivation of life, liberty, and
property.
The Constitution - Answers Prohibits unreasonable search and seizures.
The Constitution - Answers Provides protection against warrants issued without probable cause.
The Constitution - Answers Provides protection against double jeopardy in criminal proceedings.
The Constitution - Answers Provides protections against self-incrimination.
The Constitution - Answers Provides for the right to a speedy and public trial before an impartial jury.
The Constitution - Answers Provides for the right to be informed of the nature of the charges.
The Constitution - Answers Provides for the right to confront witnesses.
The Constitution - Answers Provides for the right to the assistance of a defense counsel.
The Constitution - Answers Prohibits excessive bail and excessive fines.
The Constitution - Answers Prohibits cruel and unusual punishments.
The Constitution - Answers Guarantees equal protection of the laws.
Case Law - Answers The body of previous decisions, or precedents, that has accumulated over time
and to which attorneys refer when arguing cases and that judges use in deciding the merits of new
cases.
Statutory Law - Answers Law in the form of statutes or formal written codes made by a legislature or
governing body with the power to make law.
Stare Decisis - Answers The legal principle that requires that courts be bound by their own earlier
decisions and by those of higher courts having jurisdiction over them regarding subsequent cases on
similar issues of law and fact. The term literally means "standing by decided matters."