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Quasi-criminal
Quasi-criminal means a lawsuit or equity proceeding that has some, but not all, of the qualities of a criminal prosecution. It may appear in either a common law or a civil law jurisdiction. It refers to "a court's right to punish for actions or omissions as if they were criminal". The origins of the phrase comes from the Latin language word, ''quasi'', meaning somewhat, sort-of, alike or akin, to criminal law, as in quasi-contract. ''Quasi'' is used "to indicate that one subject resembles another, with which it is compared, in certain characteristics, but there are intrinsic and material differences between them". During a civil or equity trial, a court may act as if it were a criminal case to punish a person for contempt of court. In some cases, a court may impose asset forfeiture or another penalty. For example, a court has the right to punish actions or omissions of a party in a child support case as if they were a criminal, penalizing the parent with a sentence of jail ...
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Status Offense
A status offense is an action that is prohibited only to a certain class of people, and most often applied only to crimes committed by minors. In the United States, the term status offense also refers to an offense such as a traffic violation where motive is not a consideration in determining guilt. In the United Kingdom and Europe, this type of status offense may be termed a regulatory offence or strict liability offence. Usage Definitions of status offense vary. A neutral definition may be " type of crime that is not based upon prohibited action or inaction but rests on the fact that the offender has a certain personal condition or is of a specified character." The United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines, for instance, states that a juvenile status offense is a crime which cannot be committed by an adult. For example, possession of a firearm ''by a minor'', by definition, cannot be done by an adult. In some states, the term "status offense" does not apply to adults at all ...
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Lawsuit
A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used with respect to a civil action brought by a plaintiff (a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions) who requests a legal remedy or equitable remedy from a court. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint or else risk default judgment. If the plaintiff is successful, judgment is entered in favor of the plaintiff, and the court may impose the legal or equitable remedies available against the defendant (respondent). A variety of court orders may be issued in connection with or as part of the judgment to enforce a right, award damages or restitution, or impose a temporary or permanent injunction to prevent an act or compel an act. A declaratory judgmen ...
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Sentence (law)
In criminal law, a sentence is the punishment for a crime ordered by a trial court after conviction in a criminal procedure, normally at the conclusion of a trial. A sentence may consist of imprisonment, a fine, or other sanctions. Sentences for multiple crimes may be a concurrent sentence, where sentences of imprisonment are all served together at the same time, or a consecutive sentence, in which the period of imprisonment is the sum of all sentences served one after the other. Additional sentences include intermediate, which allows an inmate to be free for about 8 hours a day for work purposes; determinate, which is fixed on a number of days, months, or years; and indeterminate or bifurcated, which mandates the minimum period be served in an institutional setting such as a prison followed by street time period of parole, supervised release or probation until the total sentence is completed. If a sentence is reduced to a less harsh punishment, then the sentence is sai ...
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Judiciary
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law in legal cases. Meaning The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets, defends, and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary can also be thought of as the mechanism for the resolution of disputes. Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the judiciary generally does not make statutory law (which is the responsibility of the legislature) or enforce law (which is the responsibility of the executive), but rather interprets, defends, and applies the law to the facts of each case. However, in some countries the judiciary does make common law. In many jurisdictions the judicial branch has the power to change laws through the process of judicial review. Courts with judicial review power may annul the laws ...
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Strict Scrutiny
In U.S. constitutional law, when a law infringes upon a fundamental constitutional right, the court may apply the strict scrutiny standard. Strict scrutiny holds the challenged law as presumptively invalid unless the government can demonstrate that the law or regulation is necessary to achieve a " compelling state interest". The government must also demonstrate that the law is "narrowly tailored" to achieve that compelling purpose, and that it uses the "least restrictive means" to achieve that purpose. Failure to meet this standard will result in striking the law as unconstitutional. Strict scrutiny is the highest and most stringent standard of judicial review in the United States and is part of the levels of judicial scrutiny that US courts use to determine whether a constitutional right or principle should give way to the government's interest against observance of the principle. The lesser standards are rational basis review and exacting or intermediate scrutiny. These ...
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Constitutional Rights
A constitutional right can be a prerogative or a duty, a power or a restraint of power, recognized and established by a sovereign state or union of states. Constitutional rights may be expressly stipulated in a national constitution, or they may be inferred from the language of a national constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, meaning that laws that contradict it are considered unconstitutional and invalid. Usually any constitution defines the structure, functions, powers, and limits of the national government and the individual freedoms, rights, and obligations which will be protected and enforced when needed by the national authorities. Nowadays, most countries have a written constitution comprising similar or distinct constitutional rights. Other coded set of laws have existed before the first Constitutions were developed having some similar purpose and functions, like the United Kingdom's 1215 Magna Carta or the Virginia Bill of Rights of 1776. Specific rights ...
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Fundamental Rights
Fundamental rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by a high degree of protection from encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in a constitution, or have been found under due process of law. The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 17, established in 2015, underscores the link between promoting human rights and sustaining peace. List of important rights Some universally recognised rights that are seen as fundamental, i.e., contained in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the U.N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, or the U.N. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, include the following: * Self-determination * Liberty * Due process of law * Freedom of movement * Right to privacy * Freedom of thought * Freedom of conscience * Freedom of religion * Freedom of expression * Freedom of assembly * Freedom of association Specific jurisdictions Canada In Canada, the Chart ...
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Ex Rel
''Ex rel.'' is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase "''ex relatione'' (meaning " risingout of the relation/narration f the relator ). The term is a legal phrase; the legal citation guide, the ''Bluebook'', describes ''ex rel.'' as a "procedural phrase" and requires using it to abbreviate "on the relation of", "for the use of", "on behalf of", and similar expressions. It is most commonly used when a government brings a cause of action upon the request of a private party who has some interest in the matter. The private party is called the '' relator'' in such a case. The government acts on the basis of the narration or recounting (Latin ''relatione'') of the alleged facts by the relator. Governments typically accept applications and commence litigation for ''ex rel.'' actions only if the interest advanced by the private party is similar to the interest of the government. New York has a " forever wild" constitutional article, which is enforceable by action of the New York State Att ...
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Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), executive, and judiciary. Government is a means by which organizational policies are enforced, as well as a mechanism for determining policy. In many countries, the government has a kind of constitution, a statement of its governing principles and philosophy. While all types of organizations have governance, the term ''government'' is often used more specifically to refer to the approximately 200 list of sovereign states, independent national governments and government agency, subsidiary organizations. The main types of modern political systems recognized are democracy, democracies, totalitarian regimes, and, sitting between these two, authoritarianism, authoritarian regimes with a variety of hybrid regimes. Modern classification systems also ...
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Writ
In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are common types of writs, but many forms exist and have existed. In its earliest form, a writ was simply a written order made by the English monarch to a specified person to undertake a specified action; for example, in the Feudalism in England, feudal era, a military summons by the king to one of his tenant-in-chief, tenants-in-chief to appear dressed for battle with retinue at a specific place and time. An early usage survives in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia in a writ of election, which is a written order issued on behalf of the monarch (in Canada, by the Governor General of Canada, Governor General and, in Australia, by the Governor-General of Australia, Governor-General for elections for the House of Representatives, or state gove ...
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Family Court
Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintiff came into court with "clean hands" and the request was reasonable, " quantum meruit". Changes in laws and rules have made this distinction superfluous. Family courts hear all cases that relate to familial and domestic relationships. Each US state and each country has a different system utilized to address family law cases including decisions regarding divorce cases. Family courts have been accused of sentencing disparity both discriminating against women and discriminating against men. In the United States Family courts were first established in the United States starting in the late 1910s at the behest of probation officers invested in the success of specialized domestic relations courts. Members of the National Probation Associ ...
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Motor Vehicle
A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on railway track, rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such as airplanes or helicopters), does not float on water (such as boats or ships), and is used for the transportation of people or cargo. The propulsion#Vehicular propulsion, vehicle propulsion is provided by an engine, engine or motor, usually a gasoline engine, gasoline/diesel engine, diesel internal combustion engine or an electric motor, electric traction motor, or some hybrid vehicle drivetrain, combination of the two as in hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles. For legal purpose, motor vehicles are often identified within a number of vehicle classes including cars, buses, motorcycles, off-road vehicles, light trucks and regular trucks. These classifications vary according to the legal codes of each country. Internationa ...
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