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nonjurors

(Encyclopedia)nonjurors [Lat.,=not swearing], those English and Scottish clergymen who refused to break their oath of allegiance to James II and take the oath to William III after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. T...

Eaton, Dorman Bridgman

(Encyclopedia)Eaton, Dorman Bridgman, 1823–99, American reformer, b. Hardwick, Vt. He was a law partner of William Kent in New York City. His major interests were reform in municipal administration and abolition ...

Melbourne, William Lamb, 2d Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Melbourne, William Lamb, 2d Viscount mĕlˈbərn [key], 1779–1848, British statesman. He entered Parliament as a Whig in 1805, was (1827–28) chief secretary for Ireland, and entered (1828) the Hou...

Kent, James

(Encyclopedia)Kent, James, 1763–1847, American jurist, b. near Brewster, N.Y. He was admitted to the bar in 1785 and began practice in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Active in the Federalist party, he served several terms in...

Draco, Athenian politician and law codifier

(Encyclopedia)Draco drāˈkŏn [key], fl. 621 b.c., Athenian politician and law codifier. Of his codification of Athenian customary law only the section dealing with involuntary homicide is preserved. From this and...

composition, in ancient and medieval law

(Encyclopedia)composition, in ancient and medieval law, a sum of money paid by a guilty party as satisfaction to the family of the person who was injured or killed. Failure to make the payment might justify retalia...

Ellenborough, Edward Law, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Ellenborough, Edward Law, 1st Baron, 1750–1818, British jurist and statesman. He achieved fame through his successful defense of Warren Hastings in the impeachment trial (1788–95), but his princip...

Bracton, Henry de

(Encyclopedia)Bracton, Henry de, d. 1268, English writer on law. He was the author of De legibus et consuetudinibus Angliae [on the laws and customs of England], a broad, philosophic treatise that is often called t...

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