Simple English definitions for legal terms
Read a random definition: declaratory statute
DOOM: A word that means judgment or decision. Long ago, it was used to describe laws and sentences in criminal cases. It also meant fairness and the process of making a decision. Today, we use different words to describe the people who make laws and those who interpret and apply them. But in the past, the word "doom" was used to describe both.
Definition: Doom is a word that was used in the past to mean a law or judgment. It was also used to describe the process of making a decision in a criminal case. Today, it is mostly used to describe a sense of impending disaster or misfortune.
Example: In Anglo-Saxon times, the dooms were judgments that declared the law of the people. For example, if someone was accused of a crime, they would go through a trial and the dooms would be the final decision on whether they were guilty or not.
Example: Today, people might use the word doom to describe a feeling of hopelessness or despair. For example, if someone says "we're doomed" when talking about the state of the environment, they mean that they believe there is no hope for the future.
The examples illustrate the definition of doom as a law or judgment in the past, and as a feeling of hopelessness or despair in the present. The first example shows how the word was used in Anglo-Saxon times to describe the process of making a decision in a criminal case. The second example shows how the word is used today to describe a sense of impending disaster or misfortune.