Glossary

Equal Rights Amendment

a proposed US Constitutional amendment to guarantee equal legal rights for all citizens regardless of sex.

Eugenics

the scientifically inaccurate theory that humans can be improved through selective breeding of populations

Eulogy

A speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly, typically someone who has just died.

Evarts Act of 1891

also known as the Judiciary Act of 1891; established an intermediary level of courts that could hear appeals from the trial courts that previously went straight to the Supreme Court.

Exclusionary Rule

states that evidence obtained unconstitutionally through unreasonable search and seizure cannot be used at trial

Executive privilege

the authority of the President to withhold documents or information in his possession or in the possession of the Executive Branch from the Legislative or Judicial Branch of the government, described in Article II of the Constitution.

explicit power

powers granted to a branch of government that are written in the Constitution

Fair Labor Standards Act

a 1938 New Deal law that established minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor standards

Federal Common Law

Law developed by the federal courts rather than state courts.

Federal courts

Cases involving the constitutionality of a law, cases involving the laws and treaties of the U.S. ambassadors and public ministers, disputes between two or more states, admiralty law, also known as maritime law, and bankruptcy cases.