law of the trial. A legal theory or court ruling that is not objected to and is used or relied on in a trial (neither party objected to the court’s jury instruction, so it became the law of the trial). Cf. LAW OF THE CASE. [Cases: Criminal Law 847; Trial 284. C.J.S. Trial §§ 738–739.]
three-strikes law. Slang. A statute prescribing an enhanced sentence, esp. life imprisonment, for a repeat offender’s third felony conviction. • About half the states have enacted a statute of this kind. — Also termed three-strikes-and-you’re-out law. [Cases: Sentencing and Punishment 1200–1219. C.J.S. Criminal Law §§ 1463, 1472, 1638–1643, 1645–1647, 1650–1653.]
An act that obstructs justice or attacks the integrity of the court. • A criminal-contempt pro-ceeding is punitive in nature. The purpose of criminal-contempt proceedings is to punish repeated or aggravated failure to comply with a court order. All the protections of criminal law and procedure apply, and the commitment must be for a definite
The age at which a child may be held responsible for a criminal act. • In American criminal law, some state statutes allow a child as young as 7 to be held responsible (as a juvenile) for some acts. See, e.g., N.D. Cent. Code § 12.1-04-01. The minimum age for imposing adult liability is as
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outlaw, n. 1. A person who has been deprived of the benefit and protection of the law; a person under a sentence of outlawry. 2. A lawless person or habitual criminal; esp., a fugitive from the law. 3. Int’l law. A person, organization, or nation under a ban or restriction because it is considered to
civil law. 1. (usu. cap.) One of the two prominent legal systems in the Western World, originally administered in the Roman Empire and still influential in continental Europe, Latin America, Scotland, and Louisiana, among other parts of the world; ROMAN LAW. • In reference to Romans, civil law (commonly referred to as jus civile) denotes
criminal science. The study of crime with a view to discovering the causes of criminality, devising the most effective methods of reducing crime, and perfecting the means for dealing with those who have committed crimes. • The three main branches of criminal science are criminology, criminal policy, and criminal law.
ex post facto law. A law that impermissibly applies retroactively, esp. in a way that negatively affects a person’s rights, as by criminalizing an action that was legal when it was committed. • Ex post facto criminal laws are prohibited by the U.S. Constitution. But retrospective civil laws may be allowed. See RETROACTIVE LAW. [Cases:
color of law. The appearance or semblance, without the substance, of a legal right. • The term usu. implies a misuse of power made possible because the wrongdoer is clothed with the authority of the state. State action is synonymous with color of [state] law in the context of federal civil-rights statutes or criminal law.