The “Daubert Standard” provides a systematic framework for a trial court judge to assess the reliability and relevance of expert witness testimony before it is presented to a jury. Established in the 1993 U.S. Supreme Court case Daubert v....
legal history
de facto segregation
De facto segregation was a term used during the 1960s racial integration efforts in schools, to describe a situation in which legislation did not overtly segregate students by race, but nevertheless school segregation continued. In Balsbaugh...
deadhand control
Deadhand control refers to individuals controlling how their property will be used after their death through different mechanisms. Historically, deadhand control has been criticized and limited as wealthy individuals attempted to make their...
death penalty
The death penalty is the state-sanctioned punishment of executing an individual for a specific crime. Congress, as well as any state legislature, may prescribe the death penalty, also known as capital punishment, for crimes considered capital...
descriptive
The nature of a statement that claims to describe reality. A descriptive theory is one that claims to describe how things really are, as opposed to how they should be. See also: prescriptive (contrast).
Descriptive, in law,...
dicta
Dicta is short for the Latin phrase obiter dictum, meaning "something said in passing."
Dicta in law refers to a comment, suggestion, or observation made by a judge in an opinion that is not necessary to resolve the case,...
dictum
Dictum is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase "obiter dictum." As a legal term, a dictum is any statement or opinion made by a judge that is not required as part of the legal reasoning to make a judgment in a case. Although dictum may be...
diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a State or national government to conduct diplomatic activities with a foreign State or government, or with foreign entities such as international organizations. Diplomats are often public officers...
doctrine
A doctrine is a single important rule, a set of rules, a theory, or a principle that is widely followed in a field of law. It is formed via the continuous application of legal precedents. Calling something a doctrine usually means at least...
doctrine of discovery
The doctrine of discovery refers to a principle in public international law under which, when a nation “discovers” land, it directly acquires rights on that land. This doctrine arose when the European nations discovered non-European lands,...