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Wakatsuki, Reijiro

(Encyclopedia)Wakatsuki, Reijiro rāˈjērō wäkätso͞oˈkē [key], 1866–1949, Japanese statesman. He served (1906, 1908–11) as vice minister of finance, was elected to parliament in 1911, and was minister of...

Bassett, Edward Murray

(Encyclopedia)Bassett, Edward Murray, 1863–1948, American urban planner, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. Amherst College, 1884, Columbia law school, 1886. He practiced law in Buffalo (1886–92) and New York City (1892�...

Richberg, Donald Randall

(Encyclopedia)Richberg, Donald Randall, 1881–1960, American public official, b. Knoxville, Tenn. He practiced law in Chicago, served as attorney for the city and for Illinois, and became nationally known after sp...

pragmatic sanction

(Encyclopedia)pragmatic sanction, decision of state dealing with a matter of great importance to a community or a whole state and having the force of fundamental law. The term originated in Roman law and was used o...

copyright

(Encyclopedia)copyright, right granted by statute to the author or originator of certain literary, artistic, and musical productions whereby for a limited period of time he or she controls the use of the product. T...

coercion

(Encyclopedia)coercion, in law, the unlawful act of compelling a person to do, or to abstain from doing, something by depriving him of the exercise of his free will, particularly by use or threat of physical or mor...

initiative

(Encyclopedia)initiative, the originating of a law or constitutional amendment by popular petition. It is intended to allow the electorate to initiate legislation independently of the legislature. This direct form ...

Goldberg, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Goldberg, Arthur, 1908–90, American labor lawyer and jurist, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1962–65), b. Chicago. He received his law degree from Northwestern Univ. in 1929. A corpor...

Americans with Disabilities Act

(Encyclopedia)Americans with Disabilities Act, U.S. civil-rights law, enacted 1990, that forbids discrimination of various sorts against persons with physical or mental handicaps. Its primary emphasis is on enablin...

Jordan, Vernon Eulion, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Jordan, Vernon Eulion, Jr., 1935–2021, African-American civil-rights leader and lawyer, b. Atlanta, Ga., DePauw Univ. (BA, 1957), Howard Univ. Law Sch...