Legal ethics broadly refer to the unique responsibilities of lawyers and the legal system given the important role and influence they have in society. Because of their role and their close involvement in the administration of law, lawyers are subject to special standards, regulation, and liability.
Legal formalism refers to an approach to jurisprudence that emphasizes the discovery of legal principles through logical analysis, and the application of those principles to the facts of a case.
Legal realism is a legal theory predicated on the notion that all law derives from prevailing social interests and public policy, as opposed to purely formalistic legal considerations. Legal realism is also thought of as a naturalistic approach to law in that jurisprudence should emulate the methods of natural science; that is, it should rely on empirical evidence and hypotheses that have been tested against the reality of the world, rather
A legal system is the framework of rules, procedures, and institutions that a community uses to interpret and enforce their laws. A legal system is binding on all legal disputes within its jurisdiction.
Legitimate has several legal meanings. When it is used as an adjective, it means lawful, or right. It can also be an antiquated term for an individual of lawful parentage or lawful issue, meaning that they weren’t born out of wedlock. In other words, their parents were married when the individual was born.
The Lochner Era refers to a period of history in the United States characterized by strong judicial protections for economic liberties, especially freedom of contract. The period takes its name from a landmark case, Lochner v.
The Magna Carta was a charter of rights agreed to by King John of England in 1215, and was Europe’s first written constitution. Prior to the implementation of the Magna Carta, English monarchs were considered above the law of the land and ruled with relatively absolute power.
Marbury v. Madison (1803) was the U.S. Supreme Court case that established the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review. (Read the opinion here).
The Model Penal Code (or MPC) is a model code assembled by the American Legal Institute that was first promulgated in 1962. Following the MPC’s promulgation, many states’ criminal codes underwent significant reforms, and to this day, many states’ criminal codes are based on the MPC.
The term penitentiary is derived from the Latin term paenitentia, meaning repentance.
