Abortion is the voluntary termination of a pregnancy. In 2022, nearly 50 years after Roe v. Wade changed the legal status of abortion by striking down a Texas law that criminalized abortion except as a means of saving the life of the pregnant...
constitutional law
abrogate
To abrogate is to formally annul or repeal a law through an act of legislation, constitutional authority, or custom. For example, the Supreme Court of Michigan explained in Ferency v. Secretary of State that “an existing constitutional...
absentee ballot
An absentee ballot is a paper ballot submitted, before an election day and often by mail, by a voter who is unable to attend the official polling station on election day. It is also referred to as an absentee vote. Generally, such a vote is...
absolute disparity
Absolute disparity is a calculation used to analyze a claim that a jury pool did not represent a fair cross-section of the community. For instance, a jury pool that is composed of only white jurors in a community that is predominantly Black....
absolute privilege
Absolute privilege, in defamation cases, refers to the fact that in certain circumstances, an individual is immune from liability for defamatory statements.
Absolute privilege applies to statements made in certain contexts...
abstention
The abstention doctrine is an authority that precludes federal courts from hearing cases within its jurisdictions, instead, giving state courts authority over the case. The policy behind this doctrine is rooted in federalism, and the interest...
accused
"Accused" is a person who has been arrested for or formally charged with a crime. It is a generic name for the defendant in a criminal case.
This case from Tennessee, explains that a person becomes "accused" for purposes of...
acquittal
An acquittal is a resolution of some or all of the factual elements of the offense charged. The trier of fact, whether the jury or the court, must render a verdict of finding not guilty of the charged offense. A not guilty finding is an...
adequate and independent state grounds
Adequate and independent state grounds refers to the standard used by the Supreme Court to determine if it will hear a case from a state court. The Supreme Court will hear a case from a state court only if the state court judgment is...
adequate remedy
An adequate remedy is one that affords complete relief with reference to the particular matter in controversy, and which is appropriate given the circumstances of the case. An adequate remedy has also been described as a remedy that is...