1.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act: An act that prohibits age discrimination in people over 40 in hiring practices unless age is related to job performance
2.
Amend: to make better or add to
3.
Americans with Disabilities Act: Passed by Congress in 1991, an act that banned discrimination against the disabled in employment and mandated easy access to all public and commerical buildings.
4.
Appeal: a legal proceeding in which someone takes a case to a higher court for review and possible reversal of the lower court's decision
5.
Articles of Confederation: the first constitution that created the first central government for the United States, ratified in 1781; it was replaced by the Constitution in 1788
6.
Checks and Balances: a system in which political power is divided among the three branches of government, with each having some control over the others
7.
Civil Law: the type of law dealing with the rights and relationships of private citizens
8.
Constitution: a written document that defines the principles of a government, on which all other laws are based
9.
Criminal Law: the type of law dealing with crimes and providing for their punishment
10.
Defendant: the person who is accused of the crime or the person that a civil case is filed against
11.
Due Process: the principle that federal and state government must not deprive an individual of life, liberty or property by unfair or unreasonable actions
12.
Eminent Domain: the power of the government to take private property for public use, but "just compensation" must be made
13.
Ex Post Facto: Prohibits convicting someone of a crime that became illegal after the act.
14.
Exclusionary Rule: the rule that evidence gathered in violation of the Constitution cannot be presented in trial
15.
Federalism: the division of governmental power between the national government and the 50 states
16.
Government: the institutions, people, and processes by which a nation-state or political unit is ruled
17.
Impeach: legal process to formally remove a federal officer for misconduct in office
18.
John Locke: the first introducer of the natrual rights
19.
Miranda Rights: Rights possessed by people who are arrested by the police; i.e. the right to remain silent
20.
Natural Rights: the legal rights to life, liberty and property
21.
Plaintiff: the person who files the suit in a civil case
22.
Popular Sovereignty: the fundamental principle that the power to govern belongs to the people and that government must be based on the consent of the governed
23.
Precedent: a judicial decision that is used as a standard in later similar cases
24.
Privacy Rights: the right of the people that prohibits personal information or affairs from being divulged to the public by the government
25.
Probable Cause: reasonable belief that a crime has been committed based on some limited evidence; justification for a warrant
26.
Search Warrant: a judge's order authorizing the search of a place or person and specifying what evidence can be seized
27.
Separation of Powers: the division of of a government's executive, legislative and judicial powers into three separate branches
28.
Sovereignty: the authority of a nation-state's right to rule itself
29.
Symbolic Speech: a nonverbal action that expresses a political message which is likely to be understood by others
30.
Writ of Habeas Corpus: A court order requiring explanation to a judge about why a prisoner is being held in custody.
