Culture and Society: Law

“For fifty minutes a day, five days a week, you abide by my rules. Or you fail. The choice is yours. Both of you leave.” Looking for Alaska

“Get permission from the authorities to come see me in jail.” One Hundred Years of Solitude

There he was put on trial before a military court, which found him guilty. George Washington, Spymaster

The state had not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the crime the defendant had been charged with had in fact occurred. Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel

Prison did not deter crime significantly, many experts concluded. The New Jim Crow

Thirty-six states enacted laws that gave victims specific rights to participate in the trial process or to make victim impact statements. Just Mercy

The government went to insane lengths to try to enforce these new laws. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

“Believe me, all the guilty parties will be found and punished accordingly,” the judge continued, her voice overpowering everything. The Strangers

The inequalities were so great that if a man chose to put his children up for adoption, his wife was legally defenseless to object. 1919 The Year That Changed America

"If Crow is innocent," Theo said, "that means the murderer is still here in this room." The Westing Game

Success would depend on putting the right case in front of the right judges in the right courtroom. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

The court clerk asked, “Gentlemen of the jury, have you agreed upon a verdict?” Ambushed!

I’ve sat on juries, and it always amazes me the way these lawyers can talk, and talk and talk, even when the case is as obvious as this one. Twelve Angry Men

Next Gray began to look for plaintiffs—those people whose names would appear on the lawsuit and who would testify in court. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

The prosecutor is also free to file more charges against a defendant than can realistically be proven in court, so long as probable cause arguably exists. The New Jim Crow

She declined Secret Service protection and avoided the media in order to keep her profile low and her footprint light. Becoming

A verdict of guilty in a capital case required a complete proof of guilt, for example the testimony of two witnesses who had seen the crime occur, or a confession. The Invention of Science

The security guard was arrested and put on trial and found guilty of animal abuse. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

“Upon this evidence I suppose there is no question for the jury and that the jury should be directed to find a verdict of guilty,” he said. Votes for Women!

A witness later testified that Peace had claimed his wife was feeding him “some kind of poison, that she was killing him.” Killers of the Flower Moon