Law, Crime & Punishment, REA-SEA
Every society draws lines between order and disorder. Explore the laws, crimes, courts, and punishments that reveal how communities define justice and respond when rules are broken.
Law, Crime & Punishment Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Real and personal propertypersonal property
Real and personal propertypersonal property, a basic division of property in English common law, roughly corresponding......
Real Irish Republican Army
Real Irish Republican Army, a splinter group of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) that continues to use violence......
Rebecca Riots
Rebecca Riots, disturbances that occurred briefly in 1839 and with greater violence from 1842 to 1844 in southwestern......
Receivership
Receivership, in law, the judicial appointment of a person, a receiver, to collect and conserve certain assets......
recidivism
recidivism, tendency toward chronic criminal behaviour leading to numerous arrests and re-imprisonment. Studies......
Recognizance
Recognizance, in Anglo-American law, obligation entered into before a judge or magistrate whereby a party (the......
Reconstruction Acts
Reconstruction Acts, U.S. legislation enacted in 1867â68 that outlined the conditions under which the Southern......
Recorder
Recorder, in Anglo-American judicial systems, an officer appointed by a city, county, or other administrative unit......
Red Army Faction
Red Army Faction (RAF), West German radical leftist group formed in 1968 and popularly named after two of its early......
Red Brigades
Red Brigades, militant left-wing organization in Italy that gained notoriety in the 1970s for kidnappings, murders,......
Red Guards
Red Guards, in Chinese history, groups of militant university and high school students formed into paramilitary......
Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC
Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 1969 U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld the Federal Communications Commission......
Reform Bill
Reform Bill, any of the British parliamentary bills that became acts in 1832, 1867, and 1884â85 and that expanded......
reformatory
reformatory, correctional institution for the treatment, training, and social rehabilitation of young offenders.......
Regulating Act
Regulating Act, (1773), legislation passed by the British Parliament for the regulation of the British East India......
regulation
regulation, in government, a rule or mechanism that limits, steers, or otherwise controls social behaviour. Regulation......
Regulators of North Carolina
Regulators of North Carolina, (1764â71), in American colonial history, vigilance society dedicated to fighting......
regulatory agency
regulatory agency, independent governmental body established by legislative act in order to set standards in a......
relief
relief, in European feudalism, in a form of succession duty paid to an overlord by the heir of a deceased vassal.......
Religious Freedom Restoration Act
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), (1993), U.S. legislation that originally prohibited the federal government......
Remainder
Remainder, in Anglo-American law, a future interest held by one person in the property of another, which, upon......
Remembering the September 11 Attacks Through Photographs
The attacks of September 11, 2001, were the deadliest terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, killing nearly 3,000. People......
Replevin
Replevin, a form of lawsuit in common-law countries, such as England, Commonwealth countries, and the United States,......
Representation of the People Acts
Representation of the People Acts, (1918, 1928) parliamentary acts that expanded suffrage in Britain. The act of......
Requests, Court of
Court of Requests, in England, one of the prerogative courts that grew out of the kingâs council (Curia Regis)......
Res judicata
Res judicata, (Latin: âa thing adjudgedâ), a thing or matter that has been finally juridically decided on its merits......
Reservation
Reservation, tract of land set aside by a government for the use of one or more aboriginal peoples. In the early......
residencia
residencia, in colonial Spanish America, judicial review of an officialâs acts, conducted at the conclusion of......
Respect for Marriage Act
Respect for Marriage Act, U.S. federal legislation, passed by Congress in December 2022, that defines marriage,......
respondeat superior
respondeat superior, in Anglo-American common law, the legal doctrine according to which an employer is responsible......
restorative justice
restorative justice, response to criminal behaviour that focuses on lawbreaker restitution and the resolution of......
Restrictive covenant
Restrictive covenant, in Anglo-American property law, an agreement limiting the use of property. Known to Roman......
Resumption Act of 1875
Resumption Act of 1875, in U.S. history, culmination of the struggle between âsoft moneyâ forces, who advocated......
retributive justice
retributive justice, response to criminal behaviour that focuses on the punishment of lawbreakers and the compensation......
Reversion
Reversion, in Anglo-American law, interest held by a prior owner in property given to another, which, upon the......
Revolutionary Peopleâs Liberation Party/Front
Revolutionary Peopleâs Liberation Party/Front, left-wing Marxist-Leninist terrorist group in Turkey, formed in......
Revolutionary Tribunal
Revolutionary Tribunal, court that was instituted in Paris by the National Convention during the French Revolution......
Rhodian Sea Law
Rhodian Sea Law, body of regulations governing commercial trade and navigation in the Byzantine Empire beginning......
Ricci v. DeStefano
Ricci v. DeStefano, case alleging racial discrimination that was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 29,......
Richmond Bread Riot
Richmond Bread Riot, riot in Richmond, Virginia, on April 2, 1863, that was spawned by food deprivation during......
Right-to-work law
Right-to-work law, in the United States, any state law forbidding various union-security measures, particularly......
Rights, Bill of
Bill of Rights, in the United States, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which were adopted as a......
Rights, Bill of
Bill of Rights, one of the basic instruments of the British constitution, the result of the long 17th-century struggle......
Rio Branco Law
Rio Branco Law, measure enacted by the Brazilian parliament in 1871 that freed children born of slave parents.......
riot
riot, in criminal law, a violent offense against public order involving three or more people. Like an unlawful......
Riparian right
Riparian right, in property law, doctrine pertaining to properties adjacent to a waterway that (a) governs the......
robbery
robbery, in criminal law, an aggravated form of theft that involves violence or the threat of violence against......
Robin Hood
Robin Hood, legendary outlaw hero of a series of English ballads, some of which date from at least as early as......
Robinson-Patman Act
Robinson-Patman Act, U.S. law enacted in 1936 that protects small businesses from being driven out of the marketplace......
Robotpatent
Robotpatent, (German: âForced-Labour Patentâ), law governing compulsory labour, performed by peasants for their......
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on January 22, 1973, ruled (7â2) that unduly restrictive......
Roe v. Wade: At a Glance
Roe v. Wade (1973) is a legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that unduly restrictive state regulation......
Roemer v. Board of Public Works of Maryland
Roemer v. Board of Public Works of Maryland, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 21, 1976, upheld......
Rogers v. Paul
Rogers v. Paul, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on December 6, 1965, ruled (5â0) that an Arkansas school boardâs......
Roman law
Roman law, the law of ancient Rome from the time of the founding of the city in 753 bce until the fall of the Western......
Roman legal procedure
Roman legal procedure, long evolving system used in the Roman courts, which in its later stages formed the basis......
Roman-Dutch law
Roman-Dutch law, the system of law produced by the fusion of early modern Dutch law, chiefly of Germanic origin,......
Romer v. Evans
Romer v. Evans, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on May 20, 1996, voided (6â3) an amendment to the Colorado......
Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia
Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled......
Rosewood massacre of 1923
Rosewood massacre of 1923, an incident of racial violence that lasted several days in January 1923 in the predominantly......
Round Table Conference
Round Table Conference, (1930â32), in Indian history, a series of meetings in three sessions called by the British......
Rowlatt Act
Rowlatt Act, set of legislative measures enacted in 1919 by the British colonial government to clamp down on nationalist......
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canadaâs federal police force. It is also the provincial and criminal police......
Royal Courts of Justice
Royal Courts of Justice, in London, complex of courtrooms, halls, and offices concerned primarily with civil (noncriminal)......
Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), state police force in Northern Ireland, established in 1922. The RUC had a paramilitary......
Royalty
Royalty, in law, the payment made to the owners of certain types of rights by those who are permitted by the owners......
rule of law
rule of law, the mechanism, process, institution, practice, or norm that supports the equality of all citizens......
Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights
Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on March 6,......
Rurales
Rurales, federal corps of rural police established on May 6, 1861, by the Mexican president Benito JuĂĄrez to combat......
ryotwari system
ryotwari system, one of the three principal methods of revenue collection in British India. It was prevalent in......
RĂšglement Organique
RĂšglement Organique, 19th-century constitution, imposed under a Russian protectorate, that introduced elected political......
rÄjÄkariya
rÄjÄkariya, traditional system of land tenure in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) until the early 19th century in which land......
SA
SA, in the German Nazi Party, a paramilitary organization whose methods of violent intimidation played a key role......
Sachsenspiegel
Sachsenspiegel, the most important of the medieval compilations of Saxon customary law. Collected in the early......
Sadki Na grades
Sadki Na grades, (1454), rules of land tenure established in Thailand by King Trailok of Ayutthaya (1448â88) to......
Safe-conduct
Safe-conduct, procedure by which a person is permitted to enter or leave a jurisdiction in which he would normally......
Salic Law
Salic Law, the code of the Salian Franks who conquered Gaul in the 5th century and the most important, although......
Salic Law of Succession
Salic Law of Succession, the rule by which, in certain sovereign dynasties, persons descended from a previous sovereign......
Salvage
Salvage, in maritime law, the rescue of a ship or its cargo on navigable waters from a peril that, except for the......
San Francisco Conference
San Francisco Conference, international meeting (April 25âJune 26, 1945) that established the United Nations. The......
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison, maximum-security correctional facility for men located in San Quentin, near San Francisco,......
Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe
Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 19, 2000, ruled (6â3)......
Santa Hermandad
Santa Hermandad, constabulary created in the late 15th century by the Catholic Monarchs (Ferdinand and Isabella)......
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, U.S. federal law adopted in the wake of multiple corporate accounting scandals, including......
Scandinavian law
Scandinavian law, in medieval times, a separate and independent branch of early Germanic law, and, in modern times,......
Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States
Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, case in which on May 27, 1935, the Supreme Court of the United States......
Schenck v. United States
Schenck v. United States, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on March 3, 1919, that the freedom of......
School Board of Nassau County v. Arline
School Board of Nassau County v. Arline, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on March 3, 1987, ruled (7â2) that......
School Committee of the Town of Burlington v. Massachusetts Department of Education
School Committee of the Town of Burlington v. Massachusetts Department of Education, case in which the U.S. Supreme......
School District of Abington Township v. Schempp
School District of Abington Township v. Schempp, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 17, 1963, ruled......
school shooting
school shooting, in the typical case, an event in which a student at an educational institutionâan elementary,......
Schuman Plan
Schuman Plan, proposal by French foreign minister Robert Schuman on May 9, 1950, for the creation of a single authority......
Schutzbund
Schutzbund, (German: Republican Defense League), paramilitary socialist organization active in Austria between......
Schöffe
Schöffe, in Germany, a lay jurist or assessor assigned primarily to a lower criminal court to make decisions both......
Scopes Trial
Dubbed the âtrial of the century,â the 1925 case of State of Tennessee v. John T. Scopesâcommonly known as the......
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police and, by association, a name often used to denote......
Scottish law
Scottish law, the legal practices and institutions of Scotland. At the union of the parliaments of England and......
Scottsboro case
Scottsboro case, major U.S. civil rights controversy of the 1930s surrounding the prosecution in Scottsboro, Alabama,......
Scutage
Scutage, (scutage from Latin scutum, âshieldâ), in feudal law, payment made by a knight to commute the military......
seal
seal, in documentation, an impression made by the impact of a hard engraved surface on a softer material such as......