There's an old saying: Ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it. Yet for most people

Provides current information on more than 5,000 legal topics. Includes completely revised articles covering important issues, biographies, definitions of legal terms and more. Covers such high-profile topics as the Americans with Disabilities Act, capital punishment, domestic violence, gay and lesbian rights, and physician-assisted suicide.

Rev. ed. of: West's encyclopedia of American law. 2nd ed. c2005.

Provides current information on more than 5,000 legal topics. Includes completely revised articles covering important issues, biographies, definitions of legal terms and more. Covers such high-profile topics as the Americans with Disabilities Act, capital punishment, domestic violence, gay and lesbian rights, and physician-assisted suicide.

Contains over four thousand alphabetically arranged entries that provide information about terms, concepts, events, movements, cases, and persons significant to U.S. law; and includes sidebars and In Focus articles, tables and indexes, and a variety of reference materials.

Preface: The U.S. legal system is admired around the world for the freedoms it allows the individual and the fairness with which it attempts to treat all persons. On the surface, it may seem simple, yet those who have delved into it know that this system of federal and state constitutions statues, regulations and common-law decisions is elaborate and complex. It derives from the English common law, but includes principles older than England, along with some principles from other lands. The U.S. legal system, like many others, has a language all its own, but too often it is an unfamiliar language: many concepts are still phrased in Latin. The third edition of Gale Encyclopedia of American Law (GEAL), formerly West's Encyclopedia of American Law, explains legal terms and concepts in everyday language. It covers a wide variety of persons, entities, and events that have shaped the U.S. legal system and influenced public perceptions of it. The main features of this set are: Entries; Definitions; Further readings; Cross-references; In focus essays; Sidebars; Biographies; Enhancements; Appendixes; Milestone cases in the law; Primary documents and Citations.