county. The largest territorial division for local government within a state, generally considered to be a political subdivision and a quasi-corporation. • Every county exists as a result of a sovereign act of legislation, either constitutional or statutory, separating it from the rest of the state as an integral part of its territory and establishing […]
blasphemy (blas-f[schwa]-mee), n. Irreverence toward God, religion, a religious icon, or something else considered sacred. • Blasphemy was a crime at common law and remains so in some U.S. jurisdictions, but it is rarely if ever enforced because of its questionable constitutionality under the First Amendment. Cf. PROFANITY. [Cases: Criminal Law 45.20. C.J.S. Criminal Law
strict scrutiny. Constitutional law. The standard applied to suspect classifications (such as race) in equal-protection analysis and to fundamental rights (such as voting rights) in due-process analysis. • Under strict scrutiny, the state must establish that it has a compelling interest that justifies and necessitates the law in question. See COMPELLING-STATE-INTEREST TEST T; SUSPECT CLASSIFICATION;
penumbra (pi-n[schwa]m-br[schwa]), n. A surrounding area or periphery of uncertain extent. • In constitutional law, the Supreme Court has ruled that the specific guarantees in the Bill of Rights have penumbras containing implied rights, esp. the right of privacy. Pl. penumbras, penumbrae (pi-n[ schwa]m-bree). — penumbral (pi-n[schwa]m-br[schwa]l), adj. “Problems of fringe meaning are sometimes spoken