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The trial of Lizzie Borden shows the effect that public opinion can have on the life of an accused person, regardless of the outcome of a fair trial.
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Leniency or mercy. A power given to a public official, such as a governor or the president, to in some way lower or moderate the harshness of punishment imposed upon a prisoner.
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A phrase used with reference to the jurisdiction of the federal courts which, under the U.S. Constitution, Art. III, § 2, extends to cases between citizens of different states designating the condition existing when the party on one side of a lawsuit is a citizen of one state and the party on the other side is a citizen of another state, or between a citizen of a state and an alien. The requisite jurisdictional amount must, in addition, be met.
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A special privilege to do certain things that is conferred by government on an individual or a corporation and which does not belong to citizens generally of common right, e.g., a right granted to offer cable television service.
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Death is the end of life. Dying is the process of approaching death, including the choices and actions involved in that process.
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The killing of one human being by another human being.
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On June 15, 1215, King John (1199-1216) was surrounded on the battlefield at Runnymede by a cordon of England's most powerful barons, who demanded royal recognition for certain liberties and legal procedures they enumerated in a written document known today as the Magna Charta. Contained in the Magna Charta's sixty-three chapters are the seeds of trial by jury, due process, habeas corpus, and equality under the law. The Magna Charta was reissued three times during the reign of Henry III (1216-72) with some minor alteration, and confirmed by the Crown more than thirty times thereafter.
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The act of offering one's self for hire to engage in sexual relations.
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The English translation of a nolo contendere plea used in criminal cases. Generally the terms nolo contendere and no contest are used interchangeably in the legal community. The operation of a no contest plea is similar to a plea of guilty. A defendant who enters a no contest plea concedes the charges alleged without disputing or admitting guilt and without offering a defense. No contest has a different meaning in the context of a will.
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In 1924, the city of Chicago, Illinois, was shocked by the brutal and senseless murder of adolescent Bobby Franks. The crime resulted in a sensational murder trial wherein eminent attorney Clarence Darrow achieved a brilliant victory despite an overwhelming amount of incriminating evidence.
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