Criminal conversation is a common law tort that allows a spouse to sue a third party for engaging in sexual intercourse with their spouse, it is the civil claim for adultery. Criminal conversation or “heartbalm actions” are considered an...
legal history
criminal insanity
Criminal insanity refers to a mental illness or disease that makes it impossible for a defendant to know they were committing a crime or to understand that their actions are wrong. A defendant found to be criminally insane can assert an...
Daubert Standard
The “Daubert Standard” provides a systematic framework for a trial court judge to assess the reliability and relevance of expert witness testimony before it is presented to a jury. Established in the 1993 U.S. Supreme Court case Daubert v....
de facto segregation
De facto segregation was a term used during the 1960s racial integration efforts in schools, to describe a situation in which legislation did not overtly segregate students by race, but nevertheless school segregation continued. In Balsbaugh...
deadhand control
Deadhand control refers to individuals controlling how their property will be used after their death through different mechanisms. Historically, deadhand control has been criticized and limited as wealthy individuals attempted to make their...
death penalty
The death penalty is the state-sanctioned punishment of executing an individual for a specific crime. Congress, as well as any state legislature, may prescribe the death penalty, also known as capital punishment, for crimes considered capital...
descriptive
The nature of a statement that claims to describe reality. A descriptive theory is one that claims to describe how things really are, as opposed to how they should be. See also: prescriptive (contrast).
Descriptive, in law,...
dicta
Dicta is short for the Latin phrase obiter dictum, meaning "something said in passing."
Dicta in law refers to a comment, suggestion, or observation made by a judge in an opinion that is not necessary to resolve the case,...
dictum
Dictum is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase "obiter dictum." As a legal term, a dictum is any statement or opinion made by a judge that is not required as part of the legal reasoning to make a judgment in a case. Although dictum may be...
diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a State or national government to conduct diplomatic activities with a foreign State or government, or with foreign entities such as international organizations. Diplomats are often public officers...