Law, Crime & Punishment, UNI-WHY
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
United States District Court
United States District Court, in the United States, any of the basic trial-level courts of the federal judicial......
United States presidential election of 1860
A deeply divided nation went to the polls on November 6, 1860, to choose a new president at a time of profound......
United States v. American Library Association
United States v. American Library Association, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 23, 2003, ruled (6â3)......
United States v. E.C. Knight Company
United States v. E.C. Knight Company, (1895), legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court first interpreted the......
United States v. Lopez
United States v. Lopez, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on April 26, 1995, ruled (5â4) that the federal......
United States v. Stevens
United States v. Stevens, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on April 20, 2010, ruled (8â1) that a federal law......
United States v. Thomas
United States v. Thomas, U.S. legal case that was one of the first prosecutions involving the distribution of âobsceneâ......
United States v. Windsor
United States v. Windsor, legal case, decided on June 26, 2013, in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Section......
United States v. Wong Kim Ark
United States v. Wong Kim Ark, legal case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled (6â2) on March......
United States, Great Seal of the
Great Seal of the United States, official seal of the United States of America. The design of the obverse is the......
unlawful assembly
unlawful assembly, gathering of persons for the purpose of committing either a crime involving force or a noncriminal......
USA PATRIOT Act
USA PATRIOT Act, U.S. legislation, passed by Congress in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks......
Use
Use, in medieval English property law, the right of one person to take the profits of land belonging to another.......
USS Cole attack
USS Cole attack, attack by Muslim militants associated with the organization al-Qaeda against a U.S. naval destroyer,......
UstaĆĄa
UstaĆĄa, Croatian fascist movement that nominally ruled the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. In......
Usufruct
Usufruct, in Roman-based legal systems, the temporary right to the use and enjoyment of the property of another,......
vagrancy
vagrancy, state or action of one who has no established home and drifts from place to place without visible or......
veche
veche, popular assembly that was a characteristic institution in Russia from the 10th to the 15th century. The......
Vellore Mutiny
Vellore Mutiny, outbreak against the British on July 10, 1806, by sepoys (Indian troops employed by the British)......
VentĂŽse Decrees
VentĂŽse Decrees, during the French Revolution, laws providing for the confiscation of the property of enemies of......
Venue
Venue, in law, locality in which a criminal offense or civil litigation is to be conducted. The concept of venue......
Vernacular Press Act
Vernacular Press Act, in British India, law enacted in 1878 to curtail the freedom of the Indian-language (i.e.,......
Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton
Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26, 1995, ruled (6â3)......
victimology
victimology, branch of criminology that scientifically studies the relationship between an injured party and an......
Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp.
Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp., case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on......
Violence Against Women Act
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), U.S. federal legislation that expanded the juridical tools to combat violence......
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, (1798), in U.S. history, measures passed by the legislatures of Virginia and......
voice identification
voice identification, police technique for identifying individuals by the time, frequency, and intensity of their......
Voir dire
Voir dire, in law, process of questioning by which members of a jury are selected from a large panel, or venire,......
Volstead Act
Volstead Act, U.S. law enacted in 1919 (and taking effect in 1920) to provide enforcement for the Eighteenth Amendment,......
vote of confidence
vote of confidence, procedure used by members of a legislative body (generally the lower house in a bicameral system)......
Voter ID law
Voter ID law, any U.S. state law under which would-be voters are required or at least requested to present proof......
Voting Rights Act
Voting Rights Act, U.S. legislation (August 6, 1965) that aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local......
Wade-Davis Bill
Wade-Davis Bill, (1864), unsuccessful attempt by Radical Republicans and others in the U.S. Congress to set Reconstruction......
Wagner Act
Wagner Act, the most important piece of labour legislation enacted in the United States in the 20th century. Its......
wait
wait, an English town watchman or public musician who sounded the hours of the night. In the later Middle Ages......
wakĆ
wakĆ, any of the groups of marauders who raided the Korean and Chinese coasts between the 13th and 16th centuries.......
Waldheim affair
Waldheim affair, controversy concerning the military record of former Austrian diplomat and statesman Kurt Waldheim......
Wales, prince of
prince of Wales, title reserved exclusively for the heir apparent to the British throne. It dates from 1301, when......
Walker Law
Walker Law, (1920), first significant U.S. legislation concerning the sport of boxing, enacted in the state of......
Wallace v. Jaffree
Wallace v. Jaffree, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 4, 1985, ruled (6â3) that an Alabama statute that......
War crime
War crime, in international law, serious violation of the laws or customs of war as defined by international customary......
War on Drugs
War on Drugs, the effort in the United States since the 1970s to combat illegal drug use by greatly increasing......
War on Poverty
War on Poverty, expansive social welfare legislation introduced in the 1960s by the administration of U.S. Pres.......
war on terrorism
war on terrorism, term used to describe the American-led global counterterrorism campaign launched in response......
War Powers Act
War Powers Act, law passed by the U.S. Congress on November 7, 1973, over the veto of Pres. Richard Nixon. The......
war, Law of
Law of war, that part of international law dealing with the inception, conduct, and termination of warfare. Its......
Wardship and marriagemarriage
Wardship and marriagemarriage, in feudal law, rights belonging to the lord of a fief with respect to the personal......
Warrant
Warrant, in law, authorization in writing empowering the bearer or bearers to perform an act or to execute an office.......
warranty
warranty, a promise or guarantee made by a seller or lessor about the characteristics or quality of property, goods,......
Was Lizzie Borden guilty?
On August 4, 1892, Lizzie Bordenâs father and stepmother, Andrew and Abby Borden, were murdered in the familyâs......
Was the Monster of Florence Ever Found?
While two men were convicted of the crimes associated with the serial killer known as the Monster of Florence,......
Waterboarding
Waterboarding, method of torture in which water is poured into the nose and mouth of a victim who lies on his back......
Watergate scandal
Watergate scandal, interlocking political scandals of the administration of U.S. Pres. Richard M. Nixon that were......
Watts Riots of 1965
Watts Riots of 1965, series of violent confrontations between Los Angeles police and residents of Watts and other......
Welsh law
Welsh law, the native law of Wales. Although increasingly superseded by English law after the 13th century, Welsh......
Wergild
Wergild, (Old English: âman paymentâ), in ancient Germanic law, the amount of compensation paid by a person committing......
West Memphis Three
West Memphis Three, three American men who in 1994, while teenagers, were found guilty of murdering three young......
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 14, 1943,......
Westminster, Statute of
Statute of Westminster, (1931), statute of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that effected the equality of Britain......
Westminster, Statutes of
Statutes of Westminster, (1275, 1285, 1290), three statutes important in medieval English history, issued in âparliamentsâ......
What are squatters?
In 19th-century Australia, squatters were people who occupied grazing land that was owned by the crown and beyond......
What are the 3 branches of the U.S. government?
The framework for how the U.S. government works is laid out in less than 4,000 words in Articles I, II, and III......
What Are the Differences Between First-, Second-, and Third-Degree Murder?
Murder is the act of causing the death of another person without legal justification or excuse. The U.S. federal......
What Are the Epstein Files? A Timeline
The âEpstein filesâ is how the world has come to know the thousands of pages of documents related to two criminal......
What Happened at the Rock Springs Massacre?
Gunshots rang out on the afternoon of September 2, 1885, in Rock Springs, Wyoming Territory. Home to hundreds of......
What Happened to Aileen Wuornosâs Girlfriend?
In 1986 Aileen Wuornos met Tyria Moore at a bar in South Daytona, Florida, and the two women began a romantic relationship.......
What Happened to Emmett Tillâs Killers?
On August 28, 1955, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, both of whom were white, kidnapped and killed Emmett Till, an African......
What If the President Is Impeached?
Impeachment proceedings begin when the president is accused of âTreason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanorsâ......
What impact did the sexual abuse crisis have on the Catholic Church in America?
In 2002, Americans were rocked by a news investigation that exposed widespread sexual abuse of children in one......
What Is an Injunction?
In law, an injunction is an order by a court to one or more of the parties in a civil trial to refrain from doing,......
What Is the Difference Between Criminal Law and Civil Law?
In the United States, there are two bodies of law whose purpose is to deter or punish serious wrongdoing or to......
What Is the Emoluments Clause?
The emoluments clause, also called the foreign emoluments clause, is a provision of the U.S. Constitution (Article......
What Is the Epstein Files Transparency Act?
In July 2025 U.S. Reps. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, teamed up on......
What Is the Origin of the Term Holocaust?
Human history has few tragedies that rival the magnitude and moral bankruptcy of the Holocaust, the systematic......
What Is the Origin of the Term âJim Crowâ?
From the late 1870s until the triumphs of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and â60s, regimented racial segregation......
What Is the Origin of the Word Mafia?
The word Mafia refers to an organized criminal association and often evokes images of mobsters, secret crime families,......
What is the role of the parliamentarians in the U.S. Congress?
The legislative business of the U.S. Congress is governed by parliamentary procedureâagreed-upon and published......
What was stolen from the Louvre?
Soon after the Louvre in Paris unlocked its doors to visitors on Sunday, October 19, 2025, a team of thieves brazenly......
What Was the Armenian Genocide?
From 1915 to 1916 hundreds of thousands of Armenians were deported from their homeland in the eastern Ottoman Empire......
What Were the September 11 Attacks?
The September 11 attacks were a series of airplane hijackings and suicide attacks committed in 2001 by 19 terrorists......
Whatâs the difference between a war crime, a crime against humanity, and genocide?
Each of these very serious crimes is officially defined under the Rome Statute of 1998, which established the International......
Whatâs the Difference Between Libel and Slander?
Libel and slander are forms of defamation, which is an untrue statement presented as fact and intended to damage......
When has the Insurrection Act been invoked?
Pres. Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act (1807) in response to huge protests against his......
Where Bonnie and Clyde diedâand still live on
It is a strange thing to grow up in a town marked by killers and killing, a town in flight from its own infamy.......
Where Did Jeffrey Epstein Get His Money?
At the time of his death, financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was worth close to $600 million.......
Which U.S. Presidents Have Been Impeached?
The short answer is: Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump (twice). But to truly understand what happened......
white-collar crime
white-collar crime, crime committed by persons who, often by virtue of their occupations, exploit social, economic,......
Who Killed Tupac Shakur?
Tupac Shakur died on September 13, 1996, six days after a gunman in a white Cadillac shot him four times while......
Who owns the oceans?
The ocean, understood as the body of saltwater that covers nearly three-quarters of the Earthâs surface, is not......
Who Planned the September 11 Attacks?
Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is considered the mastermind of the September 11 attacks, though Khalid Sheikh......
Who Survives a Political Scandal?
History is littered with the careers of politicians who committed crimes or engaged in moral indiscretions and......
Who Was Ed Geinâs Girlfriend, Adeline Watkins?
The 2025 installment in Netflixâs Monster series tells the story of one of the United Statesâ most notorious criminals:......
Who Was El Mencho?
Nemesio RubĂ©n Oseguera Cervantes, notoriously known as âEl Mencho,â was the leader of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva......
Who Were the Assassins?
In 1167 CE Benjamin of Tudela, a Spanish rabbi, visited Syria on a 13-year journey through the Middle East and......
Why are so many companies incorporated in Delaware?
Delaware is home to more than half of all Fortune 500 companies, but it is not because of tax breaks or proximity......
Why Are Some Scandals Called â-Gatesâ?
In the early morning hours of June 17, 1972, five burglars broke into Democratic National Committee offices at......
Why Are There Nine Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court?
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) was established by Congress in 1789 and acts as the head of the......
Why Did the Manson Family Murder Sharon Tate?
On the night of August 8â9, 1969, followers of Charles Manson brutally murdered Sharon Tate and four others at......
Why Does Minnesota Have the Northwest Angle?
If you consult a map of Minnesota, you will see a tiny northern notch of land that borders the Canadian provinces......