Author: Danny W.

  • Witness

    Introduction to Witness Witness, in law, in the United Kingdom and the United States, a term used to designate either a person who testifies or gives evidence in a judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding or someone who attests to or is present at the execution of a legal instrument such as a […]

  • Puritanism

    British Political and Social Thought: Contribution of Puritanism Introduction to Puritanism The militant Puritans who supported Cromwell, particularly the Levellers, took more extreme measures to defend the rights of Parliament and Englishmen during the constitutional crisis. Members of […]

  • Downing Street

    Introduction to Downing Street Downing Street, street in central London, England, near the British Parliament. It is named in honor of Sir George Downing, secretary of the treasury in 1667. Number 10 Downing Street has been the official residence of British prime ministers since Sir Robert […]

  • Witenagemot

    Witenagemot is the meeting of the witan or royal advisors in the middle ages. Introduction to Witenagemot Witenagemot (Old English, meeting of the wise men), assembly of councillors in Anglo-Saxon England that met to advise the king of judicial and administrative matters. Originally a […]

  • Justice of the peace

    Introduction to Justice of the Peace Justice of The Peace, in the judicial system of the United Kingdom and the U.S., a judicial public officer with limited powers. In the U.S. the jurisdiction of the justice of the peace is defined by the statutes of the several states. In some states a […]

  • Civil Courts Structure

    The Structure of the courts: Civil Matters Introduction to Civil Courts Structure Other than the limited jurisdiction of the magistrates’ court, mostly concerned with family matters, most unexceptional civil disputes come to the county court. This was created by an Act of Parliament, but […]

  • Thomas Hobbes

    British Political and Social Thought: Thomas Hobbes Introduction to Thomas Hobbes The political and constitutional crisis of the 17th century produced two of the most important figures in the history of British political thought. The first, philosopher Thomas Hobbes, challenged the assertions […]

  • William Blackstone

    Introduction to William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (1723-1780), British jurist and legal scholar, whose work Commentaries on the Laws of England was used for more than a century as the foundation of all legal education in Great Britain and the United States. Sir William Blackstone […]

  • Tudors

    British Political and Social Thought: Division of Power Under the Tudors Introduction to Tudors In the 16th century the ruling Tudor monarchy increased the level of cooperation among royalty, local aristocrats, and wealthy merchants. Although the Tudors maintained their belief in the divine […]

  • Rape History

    Rape Legal History of Rape English Common Law Introduction to Rape History During the 12th and 13th centuries, an elaborate system of law based on judicial decisions, known as the common law, developed in England. The common law made rape a crime and provided for punishment of the rapist (but […]

  • Thomas Erskine

    Erskine Thomas 1st Baron Erskine of Restormel Introduction to Thomas Erskine Thomas Erskine (1750-1823), British statesman and noted advocate, who at various times successfully defended the principles of freedom of the press, trial by jury, and the right to select one's own counsel. […]

  • Republicanism

    British Political and Social Thought: Republicanism Introduction to Republicanism The English Revolution produced another school of political thought, republicanism, which was drawn from classical Greek and Roman theories of government. The word republic derives from the Latin res publica, […]

  • Thomas Littleton

    Littleton Sir Thomas Introduction to Thomas Littleton Thomas Littleton (1422-1481), English jurist and writer, born in Frankley Manor House, Worcestershire. He was a well-known counsel at law in 1445 and served as recorder of Coventry in 1450. He became a justice of common pleas in 1466, and […]

  • Suffrage Movement

    British Suffrage Movement Introduction to Suffrage Movement In Britain the woman-suffrage movement roughly paralleled that of the United States, but in the movement's later stages more vigorous and violent tactics were often employed. The great pioneer figure of British feminism was the […]

  • Scottish Enlightenment

    British Political and Social Thought: The Scottish Enlightenment Introduction to Scottish Enlightenment Another group of 18th-century British thinkers, Scottish intellectuals from Glasgow, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews, offered a conception of human nature and an interpretation of history rather […]