A mistake of law is a mistake about the legal effect of a factual situation. Pointing to a mistake of law almost never works as a criminal defense unless the relevant criminal statute requires the state to prove knowledge of the illegality of...
statutory interpretation
modification
In a legal context, the term "modification" generally refers to the act of changing, altering, or amending something that is already established, such as a contract, statute, court order, or legal document. It involves making revisions or...
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association (NYSRPA) v. Bruen (2022)
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association (NYSRPA) v. Bruen is an influential Supreme Court case in the field of constitutional law regarding the interpretation of the Second Amendment. The holding in Bruen reaffirms the precedent set in...
originalism
Originalism is a theory of interpreting legal texts holding that a text in law, especially the U.S. Constitution, should be interpreted as it was understood at the time of its adoption. The original meaning of the constitutional text can be...
overbreadth
Overbreadth is a term used in the context of Constitutional Law to describe a statute or regulation that reaches beyond the scope of the subject matter it was originally intended to cover, causing it to cover activity that it was not intended...
preemption
Preemption is a doctrine in constitutional law that applies when two authorities conflict with one another. It refers to the idea that a higher authority of law will displace the law of a lower authority of law when the two authorities come...
Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935)
Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, 295 U.S. 495, is a Supreme Court case that invalidated a provision of the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) that authorized the President to approve “codes of fair competition” for the poultry...
secondary right of disposition
In mortuary law, the secondary right of disposition refers to the right of the state or local government to control the disposition of a corpse where no next of kin can be found according to statute. Typically when someone passes, the next of...
statutory construction
Statutory construction is the process of determining what a particular statute means so that a court may apply it accurately; also known as statutory interpretation. Although sometimes the words of a statute may have a plain meaning; in many...
statutory interpretation
Statutory interpretation is the process where courts interpret and apply legislation; also known as statutory construction. Although sometimes the words of a statute may have a plain meaning; in many cases there may be some level of ambiguity...