|
Necessity Defense
In the criminal law of many nations, necessity may be either a possible justification or an exculpation for breaking the law. Defendants seeking to rely on this defense argue that they should not be held liable for their actions as a crime because their conduct was ''necessary'' to prevent some greater harm and when that conduct is not excused under some other more specific provision of law such as self defense. As a matter of political expediency, states usually allow some classes of person to be excused from liability when they are engaged in socially useful functions but intentionally cause injury, loss or damage. For example, a drunk driver might contend that they drove their car to get away from being kidnapped (cf. ''North by Northwest''). Most common law and civil law jurisdictions recognize this defense, but only under limited circumstances. Generally, the defendant must affirmatively show (i.e., introduce some evidence) that (a) the harm they sought to avoid out ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Criminal Law
Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law is established by statute, which is to say that the laws are enacted by a legislature. Criminal law includes the punishment and rehabilitation of people who violate such laws. Criminal law varies according to jurisdiction, and differs from civil law, where emphasis is more on dispute resolution and victim compensation, rather than on punishment or rehabilitation. Criminal procedure is a formalized official activity that authenticates the fact of commission of a crime and authorizes punitive or rehabilitative treatment of the offender. History The first civilizations generally did not distinguish between civil law and criminal law. The first written codes of law were designed by the Sumerians. Around 2100–2050 BC Ur-Nammu, the N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fire Break
A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebreak may occur naturally where there is a lack of vegetation or "fuel", such as a river, lake or canyon. Firebreaks may also be man-made, and many of these also serve as roads, such as a logging road, four-wheel drive trail, secondary road, or a highway. Overview In the construction of a firebreak, the primary goal is to remove deadwood and undergrowth down to mineral soil. Various methods may be used to accomplish this initially and to maintain this condition. Ideally, the firebreak will be constructed and maintained according to the established practices of sustainable forestry and fire protection engineering, also known as best management practices (BMP). The general goals are to maximize the effectiveness of the firebreak at slowing th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pikuach Nefesh
''Pikuach nefesh'' ( he, פקוח נפש, lit=watching over a soul) is the principle in Halakha (Jewish law) that the preservation of human life overrides virtually any other religious rule of Judaism. In the event that a person is in critical danger, most ''mitzvot'', including those from the Ten Commandments of the Torah, become inapplicable if they would hinder the ability to save oneself or someone else in such a situation. However, there are certain exceptions; some rules and commandments may not be broken under any circumstances and thus sanction an act of self-sacrifice. Origin and interpretation Biblical source The Torah, in Leviticus 18:5, states simply: "You shall keep My statutes and My laws, which a person shall do and shall live by them. I am the ." Ezekiel 20:11 states the following: "And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgements, which if a man do, he shall even live in them." Talmudic discussion In the Talmud (Yoma 85b), Samuel of Nehardea interpret ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winooski 44
The Winooski 44 were a group of Vermont citizens in the United States who were given permission by the Senator's staff to occupy a hallway outside Senator Robert Stafford's office in March 1984. The group of citizens had attempted, for months, to organize a public forum, in Burlington, and invited Senator Stafford to be present. They all had personal experiences in Central America, which they wanted to share with the Senator, a leading Republican, and his Vermont constituency. The group wanted to influence Senator Stafford so he would change his vote, and instead vote against the US Government's policy of selling arms to Nicaraguan contras. The sit-in lasted for three days in March 1984. Twenty-six were tried on trespassing charges in November 1984, and were permitted to present a "necessity" defense, and all were acquitted.Ben Bradley (ed). ''Por Amor Al Pueblo: Not Guilty! - The Trial of the Winooski 44'' (1986) () Witnesses for the defense included historian and activist Howa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax law. It is an agency of the Department of the Treasury and led by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, who is appointed to a five-year term by the President of the United States. The duties of the IRS include providing tax assistance to taxpayers; pursuing and resolving instances of erroneous or fraudulent tax filings; and overseeing various benefits programs, including the Affordable Care Act. The IRS originates from the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, a federal office created in 1862 to assess the nation's first income tax to fund the American Civil War. The temporary measure provided over a fifth of the Union's war expenses before being allowed to expire a decade later. In 1913, the Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitutio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States V
United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two film Literature * ''United!'' (novel), a 1973 children's novel by Michael Hardcastle Music * United (band), Japanese thrash metal band formed in 1981 Albums * ''United'' (Commodores album), 1986 * ''United'' (Dream Evil album), 2006 * ''United'' (Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell album), 1967 * ''United'' (Marian Gold album), 1996 * ''United'' (Phoenix album), 2000 * ''United'' (Woody Shaw album), 1981 Songs * "United" (Judas Priest song), 1980 * "United" (Prince Ital Joe and Marky Mark song), 1994 * "United" (Robbie Williams song), 2000 * "United", a song by Danish duo Nik & Jay featuring Lisa Rowe Television * ''United'' (TV series), a 1990 BBC Two documentary series * ''United!'', a soap opera that aired on BBC One from 1965-19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Global Warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global average temperature is more rapid than previous changes, and is primarily caused by humans burning fossil fuels. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices increase greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide and methane. Greenhouse gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight. Larger amounts of these gases trap more heat in Earth's lower atmosphere, causing global warming. Due to climate change, deserts are expanding, while heat waves and wildfires are becoming more common. Increased warming in the Arctic has contributed to melting permafrost, glacial retreat and sea ice loss. Higher temperatures are also causing m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crédit Suisse
Credit Suisse Group AG is a global Investment banking, investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, it maintains offices in all Financial centre, major financial centers around the world and is one of the nine global "Bulge Bracket" banks providing services in investment banking, private banking, asset management, and shared services. It is known for strict Bank secrecy, bank–client confidentiality and Banking in Switzerland, banking secrecy. The Financial Stability Board considers it to be a Systemically important financial institution, global systemically important bank. Credit Suisse is also primary dealer and Forex counterparty of the Federal Reserve, Fed. Credit Suisse was founded in 1856 to fund the development of Rail transport in Switzerland, Switzerland's rail system. It issued loans that helped create Switzerland's electrical grid and the Rail transport in Europe, European rail system. In the 1900s, it be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
R V Dudley And Stephens
''R v Dudley and Stephens'' (188414 QBD 273, DCis a leading English criminal case which established a precedent throughout the common law world that necessity is not a defence to a charge of murder. The case concerned survival cannibalism following a shipwreck, and its purported justification on the basis of a custom of the sea. The four-man crew of the wrecked yacht ''Mignonette'' were cast adrift in a small lifeboat without provisions. After nearly three weeks at sea, and with little hope of rescue, two of the crew, Dudley and Stephens, decided that in order to save their own lives they would need to kill and eat the ship's 17-year-old cabin boy Richard Parker, who by that time had fallen seriously ill after drinking seawater. This they subsequently did. The defendants were found guilty and were sentenced to the statutory death penalty, though with a recommendation of mercy. The case marked the culmination of a long history of attempts by the law, in the face of a bank of p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Necessity In English Law
In English law, the defence of necessity recognizes that there may be situations of such overwhelming urgency that a person must be allowed to respond by breaking the law. There have been very few cases in which the defence of necessity has succeeded, and in general terms there are very few situations where such a defence could even be applicable. The defining feature of such a defence is that the situation is not caused by another person (which would fall under either duress or self-defence) and that the accused was in genuine risk of immediate harm or danger. For the most part crimes that could be justified as necessary are minor in nature, such as driving over the speed limit to reach medical care, or damaging property to escape a fire. In almost all cases where a serious crime has taken place, necessity is unlikely to be a successful defence as courts have mostly taken the view that directly harming another person could not be justified even by extreme circumstances unless it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
R V Latimer
''R v Latimer'', 0011 SCR 3 was a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada in the controversial case of Robert Latimer, a Saskatchewan farmer convicted of murdering his disabled daughter Tracy Latimer. The case had sparked an intense national debate as to the ethics of what was claimed as a mercy killing. In its decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the crime could not be justified through the defence of necessity, and found that, despite the special circumstances of the case, the lengthy prison sentence given to Latimer was not cruel and unusual and therefore not a breach of section 12 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms''. The court also ruled that Latimer was not denied rights to jury nullification, as no such rights exist. The prison sentence was thus upheld, although the court specifically noted that the federal government had the power to pardon him. Background The Supreme Court described the background this way: Robert Latimer's daughter, Tracy Latimer, was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
