The Law Dictionary for Everyone
Romeo and Juliet laws address the issue of consensual sex between teens and young adults. Historically, these young adults could be charged with statutory rape when engaging in a relationship or sexual relations with someone who is technically under the age of consent. Romeo and Juliet laws typically reduce or eliminate the statutory rape penalty in many cases, though the […]
Read moreThe term racketeering refers to the operation of a business that causes a problem, with the intent to offer to solve the problem. These problems involve illegal activities, and racketeering is just as illegal as the other party’s illegal business. Racketeering may include services to solve problems related to someone’s involvement in such unlawful activities as prostitution rings, gambling operations, […]
Read moreA pyramid scheme is a fraudulent business model that uses new recruits, who are promised payment to enroll others. The illegal investment scam begins when an individual or company recruits investors by promising high returns. These recruits are led to believe that the more people brought into the business, the higher the profits will be. Pyramid schemes only benefit the […]
Read morePrice gouging is a term that refers to the practice of raising the price of goods, services, or commodities, to an unreasonable or unfair level. Such an increase in price is often a result of a sudden increase of demand and shortage of goods, such as in the event of a natural disaster or other crisis, and it is illegal […]
Read moreParaphernalia is the term used to describe equipment, materials, or products used for specific activities. In the legal sense, paraphernalia is most commonly used to describe any items that are associated with the making, concealing, packaging, or using of illegal drugs for recreational purposes. Drug paraphernalia covers a wide range of items for various types of drugs, such as marijuana, […]
Read moreThe Miranda rights is a set of instructions that are required to be given to a person taken into custody on suspicion of having committed a criminal act, before he can be questioned by police. The purpose of the Miranda rights is to ensure such individuals are made aware of their right to not make any statement that incriminates themselves, […]
Read moreMegan’s Law is a federal law that requires information about convicted sex offenders to be made available to the public. The law was enacted in response to the 1986 murder of seven-year old Megan Nicole Kanka, after having been lured into her neighbor’s house and raped. The neighbor had previously been convicted of sexual molestation of a child. Following the […]
Read moreMalicious prosecution it a legal term that refers to the filing of a civil or criminal case that has no probable cause, and is filed for some purpose other than obtaining justice. When such a case is decided in favor of the defendant, he may turn around and file a civil lawsuit against the plaintiff or prosecutor for malicious prosecution, […]
Read moreThe term loitering refers to lingering or hanging around in a public area without any apparent purpose for being there. In some areas loitering is illegal. Laws of each jurisdiction define how long a person might hang around before it is considered too long. If a person loiters with the intent to commit another crime, the charges can be more […]
Read moreInvoluntary manslaughter is the unintended killing of a person while committing a crime, or acting in a reckless or negligent manner. This type of homicide is committed without malice or intent, even accidentally, and is considered a less serious crime than murder. To explore this concept, consider the following involuntary manslaughter definition. Definition of Involuntary Manslaughter noun. The unintentional killing […]
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