Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Term: Judge Lynch
Definition: Judge Lynch is a term used to describe the practice of punishing someone for a crime without legal authority. This often involves the use of violence, including death, and is also known as Lynch Law. It is named after a personification of the practice, Judge Lynch.
Lyndhurst's Act: Lyndhurst's Act, also known as Lord Lyndhurst's Act, was an English law that made marriages within certain degrees of kinship invalid. It was passed in 1835 and is officially called the Marriage Act of 1835, 5 & 6 Will. 4, ch. 54.
Definition: Judge Lynch is another term for Lynch Law, which refers to the administration of summary punishment, often death, for an alleged crime without legal authority. The term is personified as Judge Lynch.
Example: In the Wild West, vigilante groups would often take matters into their own hands and carry out lynchings without a trial or legal process. These groups were often referred to as Judge Lynch.
Explanation: The example illustrates how the term Judge Lynch was used to describe vigilante groups who carried out lynchings without legal authority. The term personifies the idea that these groups acted as judges and executioners, taking the law into their own hands.
Definition: Lyndhurst's Act was an English statute that declared marriages within certain degrees of kinship null and void. It is also known as Lord Lyndhurst's Act.
Example: The Marriage Act of 1835, also known as Lyndhurst's Act, prohibited marriages between a man and his deceased wife's sister.
Explanation: The example illustrates how Lyndhurst's Act was used to prohibit marriages between certain relatives. The act was named after Lord Lyndhurst, who introduced the legislation in Parliament.