1. Law and Order

2. Laws
Laws- rules that all people are expected to follow, which are enforced by government
Laws are meant to bring order and set standards in all areas.
Examples: Traffic laws, illegal downloading, getting hit by a car, someone breaking into your house, murder,
protection from “fake” Jordans,
eating non- poisonous food

3. Laws Laws are based on Morals
Morals- beliefs on what is fair, and what is right and wrong
Civil disobedience- breaking a law in a nonviolent way because it goes against personal morals
Example- SELMA march by Dr. MLK

4. Kinds of Laws Statutes- laws written by elected legislatures
Example- drinking age is 21
Common law- judges determine what a law should be based on beleifs of the people and needs of society
Example- pollution standards
Legal codes- laws written by
and organized by subject
Example- tax law, family law, personal injury law

5. Breaking the Law
Crime- any behavior considered illegal because the government considers it harmful
Criminal law- refers to the group of laws that tells which acts are crimes, how accused should be tried in court, and how crimes should be punished

6. Breaking the Law
Felony- a serious crime in which the punishment can be imprisonment for more than a year
Example- murder, kidnapping
Misdemeanor- less serious crime where penalty is often a fine or community service
Example- littering while driving,
shoplifting

7. Civil Law
Civil law- group of laws that settle disagreements between people
Example- “lemon law” for cars, defective merchandise from store

8. Other kinds of Crimes
Burglary- breaking into a building to do something illegal
Larceny- taking something without force
Robbery- taking something through force or threat of force
Assault- placing someone in fear without physical contact
Battery- if physical contact occurs with placing of fear

9. Other kinds of crime
Embezzlement- stealing money that has been trusted to your care
Homicide- killing someone
Murder- killing someone with no excuse
Manslaughter- Killing someone on accident

10. Other kinds of crime
Treason- betrayal of one’s country by helping its enemies
Terrorism- threat or action in trying to use violence in order to get what they want from a government
Examples- cyber, action, criminal, political

11. Causes of Crime
1 Poverty- unemployment and not earning enough money to support themselves
2 Social change- technology for older people
3 Poor parenting- not teaching the difference between right and wrong
4 Drug use and mental illness- committing crimes while under the influence, and mental illness not treated with medication
5 Not enough Police, 6 violence in media, and 7 biased courts

12. Justice System
Probable cause- good reason to believe a crime or illegal activity is taking place
Warrant- legal paper issued by court, that gives police right to arrest, search or seizure of items
Bail- money paid for release of criminal with intent on returning for trial
Indictment- formal charge against accused criminal
Arraignment-court hearing where criminal is formally charged
Parole- letting an inmate go free for rest of sentence, example- good behavior

13. Juvenile courts
Delinquent- juvenile or under age of 16 or 17, who has broken the law
Status offender- youth who has been found guilty of breaking the law
Dispositional hearing- judge usually will determine the sentence for a juvenile based on history and family involvement
Probation- a period of time in which a criminal must maintain a clean record

14. Civil Law Lawsuits- case in which a court is asked to settle a dispute
Compensation and damages- money paid out by defendant for loss of time, income, property

15. Court terms Subpoena- court produced witness or testimony
If you witness a crime you can be subpoenaed to testify against someone
Disposition- line of questioning asked of a witness during a trial
Expert witness- a person who can be brought in to prove a point, or defend an action

16. Legal terms
Arbitration- bringing in a third party to discuss legal decisions to be made
Example- Miguel Cabrera may enter arbitration to discuss a new contract with the Detroit Tigers.

17. Legal terms
Small claims court- civil court where people seeking to recover money totaling less than $3,000