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Brief Contents
1. Preface
2. Acknowledgments
3. About the Authors
4. Section I • The Purpose and Structure of American Courts
1. Chapter 1 • Introduction: Law and the Judicial Function
2. Chapter 2 • Sources of Law
3. Chapter 3 • Types of Law
4. Chapter 4 • Court Organization and Structure
5. Section II • Courtroom Actors and the Courtroom Workgroup
1. Chapter 5 • Prosecutors
2. Chapter 6 • Defense Attorneys
3. Chapter 7 • Judges
4. Chapter 8 • Criminal Defendants and Crime Victims
5. Chapter 9 • The Jury
6. Section III • Court Processes
1. Chapter 10 • Pretrial Procedures
2. Chapter 11 • The Criminal Trial
3. Chapter 12 • Sentencing
4. Chapter 13 • The Appellate Process
5. Chapter 14 • Specialized Courts
7. Glossary
8. References and Suggested Reading
9. Case Index
10. General Index
Detailed Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Section I • The Purpose And Structure of American Courts
Chapter 1 • Introduction: Law and the Judicial Function
Why Study Courts?
What Is Law?
The Code of Hammurabi
Two Opposing Perspectives: Consensus and Conflict
The Consensus Perspective
The Conflict Perspective
What Is the Relationship of Law to Justice?
The Rule of Law
Justice, the Law, and Packer’s Models of Criminal Justice
Two Models of Criminal Justice
The Crime Control Model
The Due Process Model
An Illustration of the Models in Action
The Ongoing Battle
Judicial Functions
How Judges “Make Law”
View From the Field
Development of the Common-Law System
Precedent
Comparative Courts
Stare Decisis
Judicial Review
Key Cases
The Role of Courts in the Criminal Justice System
Adjudication
Oversight
Movies and the Courts
Summary
Discussion Questions
 Key Terms
Internet Sites
Chapter 2 • Sources of Law
Introduction
Sources of Law
Sources of Individual Rights
The Constitution
Comparative Courts
The Bill of Rights
Movies and the Courts
Key Cases
Due Process and the Fourteenth Amendment
Standard of Review
Current Research
Incorporation of the Bill of Rights Into the Fourteenth
Amendment
View From the Field
Total Incorporation
Total Incorporation Plus
Fundamental Rights
Selective Incorporation
Summary
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Internet Sites
Chapter 3 • Types of Law
Introduction
Types of Law: Criminal and Civil
Criminal Law
Current Controversy
View From the Field
Civil Law
Comparative Courts
Movies and the Courts
Summary
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
 Internet Sites
Chapter 4 • Court Organization and Structure
Introduction
Jurisdiction
The Structure and Jurisdiction of U.S. Courts
A Brief Historical Overview
Federal Courts
District Courts
Courts of Appeals
The Supreme Court
Current Controversy
State Courts
Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
Courts of General Jurisdiction
Appellate Courts
State Supreme Courts
View From the Field
Court Actors
Judge
Judicial Selection Methods
Key Cases
Prosecutor
Defense Attorney
Jurors
Other Actors
Overview of the Criminal Process
Pretrial Proceedings
Pretrial Motions
Current Research
Jury Selection
The Trial
Sentencing
Appeals
Summary
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Internet Sites
Section II • Courtroom Actors and the Courtroom Workgroup
Chapter 5 • Prosecutors
Introduction
Historical Evolution of the American Prosecutor
The Federal Prosecutor
State Prosecutors
Selection of the Local Prosecuting Attorney
Organization and Operation of the Prosecutor’s Office
The Prosecutor’s Duties
Nonprosecutorial Duties
Prosecutorial Duties
Current Controversy
Current Research
Current Research
Assistant Prosecutors at Work
Working in the Courtroom Workgroup
The Expansion of the Prosecutor’s Discretionary Power
Prosecutorial Ethics and Misconduct
Current Controversy
Community Prosecution
Albany, New York: Prisoner Reentry Program
Wayne County, Michigan: Drug Property Seizure and
Abandoned Properties Program
Summary
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Internet Sites
Chapter 6 • Defense Attorneys
Introduction
Defense Attorney’s Role in the Criminal Justice System
Historical Development of the Right to Counsel
Limits on the Right to Counsel
At What Point in a Proceeding Is There a Right to an
Attorney?
Indigent Defense Systems
Assigned Counsel Programs
Contract Attorney Programs
 Public Defender Programs
Current Controversy
Private Versus Appointed Counsel: Which Is Better?
Current Research
Effective Assistance of Counsel
Right to Self-Representation
Current Controversy
Current Controversy
Right to an Attorney of One’s Choosing
Ethics and Lawyer–Client Relationships
Key Cases
Realities of Being a Defense Attorney
Summary
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Internet Sites
Chapter 7 • Judges
Introduction
Roles and Duties of Judges
Prearrest Judicial Roles
Postarrest/Pretrial Roles
Judicial Roles at Trial
Judicial Roles Posttrial
Current Research
Administrative Duties
View From the Field
Judicial Selection
Federal Judicial Selection
State Judicial Selection
Key Cases
Diversity on the Bench: The Effect of the Selection
System on Who Becomes a Judge
Current Research
Judicial Socialization and Development
Judicial Accountability and Judicial Independence
Comparative Courts
Judicial Performance Evaluations
 Accountability for Judicial Misconduct
Summary
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Internet Sites
Chapter 8 • Criminal Defendants and Crime Victims
Introduction
Criminal Defendants
Defendants in Court
Defendant Characteristics
Defendant Rights Prior to Prosecution: The Exclusionary
Rule
Defendant Rights in the Court Process
Key Cases
Hearsay and the Right of Confrontation
Victims and the Criminal Courts
Challenges Faced by Crime Victims
The Rise of the Victims’ Rights Movement
Current Controversy
Victims’ Advocates Offices
Current Research
Summary
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Internet Sites
Chapter 9 • The Jury
Introduction
History of Jury Trials
The Role of the Jury
Limits on the Right to Trial by Jury
Jury Size and Unanimity Requirements
Jury Size
Unanimous Verdicts
The Selection of Jurors
Stage 1: Developing a Master Jury List
Current Controversy
Stage 2: From Venire to Jury Panel
 Current Controversy
Stage 3: Voir Dire
Challenges for Cause and Peremptory Challenges
Key Cases
Reforms to the Jury System
Allowing Jurors to Take Notes
Allowing Jurors to Question Witnesses
Providing Written Copies of Instructions for Each Juror
Providing Jurors With a Trial Notebook
Current Research
Jury Nullification
Summary
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Internet Sites
Section III • Court Processes
Chapter 10 • Pretrial Procedures
Introduction
Arrest
Booking
The Charging Decision
Charging Policies and Practices in Sexual Assault Cases:
A Focus on Los Angeles
Factors Affecting Prosecutors’ Charging Decisions
Constraints on Prosecutorial Discretion
Information
Indictment
Current Controversy
Initial Appearance
Bail
Arraignment
Discovery
Pretrial Motions
View From the Field
Plea Bargaining
Defining Plea Bargaining
Ad Hoc Plea Bargaining
 Arguments for and Against Plea Bargaining
Attempts to Restrict or Ban Plea Bargaining
The Predictors of Plea Bargaining: Does Race Matter?
Comparative Courts
Jury Selection
Challenges to the Jury
Key Cases
Summary
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Internet Sites
Endnotes
Chapter 11 • The Criminal Trial
Introduction
Opening Statements
The Presentation of Evidence
Key Cases
Calling Witnesses
Privileged Communications
Privilege Against Self-Incrimination
Evidence and Rules of Evidence
Types of Evidence
Rules of Evidence
Current Controversy
Objecting to Introduction of Evidence or Questions
Asked
Restricting the Introduction of Evidence: Rape Shield
Laws
Closing Arguments
Current Controversy
Instructing the Jury
Jury Deliberations and Verdict
The Verdict: Guilty or Not Guilty?
Wrongful Conviction and Exoneration of the Innocent
Rape, Race, and Misidentification
Requirement of Unanimity
Current Research
 Jury Nullification
Hung Juries
Current Controversy
Announcing the Verdict
Comparative Courts
Summary
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Internet Sites
Chapter 12 • Sentencing
Introduction
The Goals of Sentencing
Why Punish?
How Much to Punish?
Key Cases
The Judge’s Options at Sentencing
The Death Penalty
Incarceration
Probation
Comparative Courts
Intermediate Sanctions
The Future of Intermediate Sanctions
Current Controversy
How Do Judges Decide? Modeling the Sentencing Process
View From the Field
Modeling the Sentencing Process
Current Research
Movies and the Courts
Summary
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Internet Sites
Chapter 13 • The Appellate Process
Introduction
Appealing to a Higher Court
Pre- and Postadjudication Appeals
The Appellate Court’s Options
 Appealing the Sentence
Current Controversy
The Appellate Courts
State Appellate Courts
Federal Appellate Courts
Key Cases
Comparative Courts
The “Right” to Appeal
Key Cases
Protections Afforded to Appellants
The Writ of Habeas Corpus
The Origins of Habeas Corpus
Postconviction Review Through Habeas Corpus
Expanding and Restricting Habeas Corpus
Current Controversy
How Do Appellate Courts Decide?
Current Research
Summary
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Internet Sites
Chapter 14 • Specialized Courts
Introduction
Current Controversy
Problem-Solving Courts
Origins of Problem-Solving Courts
Distinguishing Features of Problem-Solving Courts
Restorative Justice and Problem-Solving Courts
Drug Treatment Courts
Key Elements of Drug Courts
View From the Field
Do Drug Courts Work?
Domestic Violence Courts
View From the Field
Comparative Courts
Domestic Violence Courts: Victim Safety and Offender
Accountability
 Do Domestic Violence Courts Work?
Other Problem-Solving Courts
Juvenile Courts
Jurisdiction and Operation of the Juvenile Court
Transfer of Juveniles to Criminal Court
Current Controversy
Summary
Discussion Questions
Key Terms
Internet Sites
Glossary
References and Suggested Reading
Case Index
General Index
Preface
This is a textbook for an undergraduate criminal justice/criminology course
on courts. The book is comprehensive in its treatment of courts, covering all
the areas that are generally covered in courts textbooks intended for criminal
justice courses, such as court structure, courtroom actors, and the trial and
appeal process. In addition, it covers related areas often not covered in courts
textbooks. These include judicial decision making, specialized courts, and
comparative court systems. This comprehensive approach allows instructors
to cover all the “standard” material and also add selections that they consider
interesting and relevant to their particular course.

In this textbook, we cover several areas: (a) criminal court processes; (b) the
courtroom actors and their different roles; (c) court structures and operation,
in both the federal and state systems and from trial through appeal; and (d)
the nature of legal and judicial reasoning.

Our Approach in This Book

In the first section of the book (Chapters 1–4), we provide a discussion of the
judicial function, the role and purpose of law, sources of law, the different
types of law, and the structure of the American court system. These topics are
essential building blocks for the detailed discussion of the criminal courts
system and its participants that follows. We first explain why it is important
to study courts and the decisions that court actors make as they process
criminal cases. We discuss the origins of the modern court system, which can
be traced back hundreds of years to early Roman law and to English common
law. We also explain how the traditional view of courts, in which courts and
court actors simply apply the law, is inadequate; because laws are often
vague and ambiguous, courts also make law. We then discuss two competing
views of the criminal justice system—the crime control model and the due
process model—and explain how these models can be used to examine and
analyze the criminal court system. We then provide an overview of the
historical development of the court system, and we discuss the structure and
organization of federal and state courts today. This is followed by an
introduction to each of the courtroom actors and the roles they play as well as
a discussion of the path that the typical criminal case follows as it is
processed through the court system.

In the second section of the book (Chapters 5–9), we provide an in-depth

discussion of the various participants in the criminal court system—
prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, criminal defendants, crime victims,
and the jury. While this book is intended to cover the criminal court system, a
complete understanding of the system is impossible without an understanding
of its major actors. We explain that the judge plays an important but limited
role in the criminal process; the power of judges is constrained by rules that
require them to be fair and unbiased, by procedures to disqualify or remove
them if they are not impartial, and by appellate court rulings on questions of
law and procedure. We also discuss the methods of selecting judges, the
effects of recruiting more women and racial minorities to the bench, and the
consequences of using nonlawyer judges. We discuss the inadequacies of the
traditional adversarial model and explain that criminal case processing is
characterized more by cooperation and consensus than by conflict. Our
discussion of prosecuting attorneys focuses on their highly discretionary and
largely invisible charging decisions and the factors that affect these decisions.
We also discuss legal and practical constraints on prosecutorial discretion.
Our discussion of defense attorneys includes an examination of the right to
counsel and of Supreme Court decisions interpreting that right as well as an
examination of research comparing the effectiveness of private attorneys and
public defenders. Our discussion of jurors focuses on the jury selection
process, with an emphasis on the issue of racial discrimination in the
selection of jurors. We also examine the role of jury consultants, the factors
that jurors take into consideration during deliberations, and the practice of
jury nullification.

In the third section of the book (Chapters 10–14), we discuss the pretrial,
trial, and posttrial processes. We cover a diverse range of court-related topics,
including the courtroom workgroup, courtroom legal culture, and plea
bargaining. We next discuss the goals of sentencing, focusing on retributive
and utilitarian justifications for punishment. We also examine the judge’s
options at sentencing and summarize the results of research analyzing the
factors that judges take into account as they attempt to fashion sentences that
fit offenders and their crimes. We discuss the rules that guide the appellate
process and explain how the writ of habeas corpus has evolved over time. We
conclude with a chapter on specialized, or problem-solving, courts. We
explain that these courts—drug courts, domestic violence courts, and juvenile
courts—take a broader and more comprehensive approach to delinquency and
criminality; they also attempt to address the underlying social and economic
factors that contributed to the defendant’s involvement in crime.

Pedagogy Included in This Book

In this book, we use several pedagogical tools designed to help the
undergraduate student gain a fuller understanding of the criminal court
system. These include the following:

1. The criminal court system as seen through the eyes of a participant.

Several chapters feature a “View From the Field” concerning a topic
covered in the text written from the perspective of a participant in the
process. This provides students with an enhanced understanding of the
rules and processes covered in the text, while explaining the nuances of
the court process and the interinstitutional aspect of the criminal justice
and court systems.
2. Examination of current controversies. Several chapters feature a
“Current Controversy” related to the chapter’s topic. This will serve
both to foster thought and discussion and to increase the student’s
interest in the subject matter. The discussion is presented in a neutral
manner with equal coverage to the various theoretical, political, or
ideological positions raised by the issue.
3. Comparative courts feature. Several chapters feature a “Comparative
Courts” item related to the chapter’s topic. This feature includes a
discussion of how a foreign court system deals with the topic. This
feature provides students with some context for their study of the
American court system and allows instructors to engage students in a
compare/contrast pedagogical exercise.
4. Discussion of relevant social science research. Several chapters include
a discussion of “Current Research” related to the chapter’s subject
matter. These discussions are written with the undergraduate reader in
mind and focus on how research can help policy makers and court
 system workers evaluate and implement processes and programs.
5. Movies and the courts. Several chapters feature a “Movies and the
Courts” discussion of famous movies depicting the court system and
how these movies correctly and incorrectly portray the court system.

In addition to these highlighted pedagogical features, each chapter includes

the following pedagogy:

1. Tables and figures in each chapter

2. Chapter-opening photographs that set the stage for the chapter to come
3. Key terms at the end of each chapter
4. Chapter summaries at the end of each chapter
5. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter
6. Lists of relevant Internet sites at the end of each chapter

Additional items included in the book include a glossary, references and

suggested readings, case index, and general index.

Instructor Teaching Site

A password-protected site, available at edge.sagepub.com/hemmens4e,
features an extensive test bank, PowerPoint presentations, lecture notes,
access to selected SAGE journal articles as well as video and web resources.

Student Study Site

An open-access student study site, available at
edge.sagepub.com/hemmens4e, provides access to several study tools,
including eFlashcards, web quizzes, selected SAGE journal articles as well as
video and web resources.

New to This Edition

A new feature examines Key Cases that have impacted the courts, such
as Manuel v. City of Joliet, Illinois, et al. (2017) regarding Fourth
Amendment rights and Rippo v. Baker (2017) related to the importance
of judicial impartiality.
Many new Current Controversies are examined, such as the changing
laws on marijuana usage, the recent addition of Neil Gorsuch to the U.S.
Supreme Court, prosecutorial discretion, and the balance between
victim's rights and defendant's rights
Updated discussion of the death penalty, court-administered bail,
domestic violence courts, race and waiver to adult court, and new
research on habeas corpus and the effect of attorney type on bail
decisions offer coverage of important topics affecting the court system.
The latest cases, data, and research have been updated throughout to
provide students with a view of the court system today.
As recommended by reviewers, the chapter on Specialized Courts has
been moved to the end of the book and is now Chapter 14.
Chapter 8 now includes an example of a Victim Impact Statement.
The chapter material has been streamlined and the number of boxed
features has been reduced to enhance students' reading experience.
Acknowledgments
We would first of all like to thank SAGE executive editor Jessica Miller.
Jessica’s faith in and commitment to the project helped make this book a
reality. We also would like to thank Jessica’s editorial assistant, Rebecca Lee,
who helped shepherd the book through the review process and whose gentle
prodding ensured that deadlines would be met. Our copy editor, Colleen
Brennan, made sure that there were no errant commas, misspelled words, or
missing references and also smoothed out our occasionally tangled prose.
Thank you one and all.

We are also very grateful to the reviewers who took the time to review early
drafts of our work and who provided us with helpful suggestions for
improving the text. Their comments undoubtedly made the book better than it
otherwise would have been.

Heartfelt thanks to the following experts who reviewed the first edition:

Gad J. Bensinger
Loyola University Chicago
Alton Braddock
University of Louisiana at Monroe
Don Bradel
Bemidji State University
Jack E. Call
Radford University
Lisa Decker
Indiana State University
Eugene J. Evans Jr.
Camden County College
George Guay
Salem State University
Lori Guevara
Fayetteville State University
Peter Haynes
Arizona State University
 Richard Hill
University of Houston Downtown
Jennifer L. Lanterman
Rutgers University
Nancy Merritt
California State University Los Angeles
Steven Philbrick
Northwest Vista College
Eric W. Rise
University of Delaware
Joe Sanborn
University of Central Florida
David Spencer
Texas State University San Marcos
Sheryl Van Horne
Penn State Altoona
Keith Wilmot
Florida Atlantic University

Thanks also to the following experts who reviewed the second edition:

Rossie D. Alston
George Mason University
Elizabeth P. Biebe
Morehead State University
Catherine L. Bonventre
University at Albany, SUNY
Thomas Dreffein
Triton College
Melissa Garmo
Saginaw Valley State University
Tony Gaskew
University of Pittsburgh–Bradford
Jacinta Gau
University of Central Florida
Doug Henderson
University of South Florida
 Gale Iles
University of Tennessee–Chattanooga
Sara Jane Phillips
University of Texas, Arlington

Thanks also to the following experts who reviewed the third edition:

Rossie D. Alston Jr., Judge

Court of Appeals of Virginia
Sylvia Blake-Larson
Tarrant County College
Steven Briggs
North Dakota State University
Emil Moldovan, MPA
Radford University
Dr. Mai E. Naito
University of West Georgia
Elizabeth Perkins, PhD
Morehead State University
Danielle M. Romain
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee

And lastly, thanks to the following experts who reviewed the fourth edition:

Ross Allen
Rutgers University–Camden
Raymond L. Hasselman, JD, PhD
Northeastern State University
Barbara B. Koehler, JD
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Elizabeth B. Perkins, PhD
Morehead State University
Danielle M. Romain
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Mercedes Valadez, PhD
California State University, Sacramento
About the Authors
Craig Hemmens
is a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at
Washington State University. He holds a JD from North Carolina
Central University School of Law and a PhD in criminal justice from
Sam Houston State University. Professor Hemmens has published 20
books and more than 200 articles, many dealing with legal issues in
criminal justice. He currently serves as editor of the Criminal Law
Bulletin and previously served as the editor of the Journal of Criminal
Justice Education and as president of the Academy of Criminal Justice
Sciences. His current research interests include criminal law and
procedure.
David C. Brody
is a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at
Washington State University. He received a JD from the University of
Arizona College of Law and a PhD in criminal justice from the State
University of New York at Albany. He is the author of casebooks on
criminal law and criminal procedure, as well as scholarly articles that
have been published in such journals as the American Criminal Law
Review, Crime and Delinquency, Justice System Journal, and
Judicature. His current research focuses on the selection and evaluation
of judges, jury reform, and the interaction between law, politics, and
criminal justice policy.
Cassia Spohn
is School Director and Foundation Professor of Criminal Justice at
Arizona State University. She is the author of several books, including
The Color of Justice: Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America (with Sam
Walker and Miriam DeLone) and How Do Judges Decide? The Search
for Fairness and Equity in Sentencing. She has published a number of
articles examining prosecutors’ charging decisions in sexual assault
cases and exploring the effect of race/ethnicity on charging and
sentencing decisions. Her current research interests include the effect of
race and gender on court processing decisions, victim characteristics and
case outcomes in sexual assault cases, judicial decision making,
sentencing of drug offenders, and the deterrent effect of imprisonment.
In 1999, she was awarded the University of Nebraska Outstanding
Research and Creative Activity Award.
Section I The Purpose and Structure of American
Courts

Chapters
1. Introduction: Law and the Judicial Function
2. Sources of Law
3. Types of Law
4. Court Organization and Structure
1 Introduction: Law and the Judicial function

© Comstock/Stockbyte/Thinkstock Images

Master the content at edge.sagepub.com/hemmens4e

Why Study Courts?

A glance at the headlines of any major newspaper reveals that crime is a
pressing national concern. Stories about crime, especially violent crime,
figure prominently, as do the crime-fighting strategies proposed by
legislators, county attorneys, and other government officials. Decisions by
prosecutors and judges—particularly in high-profile cases involving heinous
crimes or well-known victims or defendants—also get front-page billing,
along with appellate court decisions that strike down or affirm criminal
convictions and Supreme Court decisions that affect the operation of the
criminal court system. Clearly, the editors of these newspapers believe that
the public has a voracious appetite for news about crime and the handling of
crime by our nation’s courts.

This degree of media attention to courts and their outcomes is not really
surprising. Every day, in cities throughout the United States, court officials
make decisions that affect the lives of ordinary Americans and determine
how private businesses and governmental institutions will operate. Some of
these decisions—such as a judge’s ruling that a woman ticketed for speeding
must pay a small fine—are relatively trivial and have little impact on persons
other than the speeder herself. Other decisions—for example, a prosecutor’s
decision to seek the death penalty or a jury’s decision to acquit a defendant
charged with a serious crime—are weightier and have greater impact.
Decisions of appellate courts, especially those handed down by the U.S.
Supreme Court, have a farther reaching impact. Consider, for example, the
Supreme Court’s 1963 decision that all persons charged with felonies in state
courts have the right to an attorney (Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963) or its
decision in 2005 that U.S. district court judges are not required to follow the
federal sentencing guidelines (United States v. Booker, 2005).

Courts provide several functions. First, courts settle disputes by providing a

forum for obtaining justice and resolving disputes through the application of
legal rules and principles. It is in court that injured parties may seek
compensation and the state may seek to punish wrongdoers. Private parties
may seek redress in civil court, and the state may seek to punish violators of
the criminal law in criminal court. Although the courtroom is obviously not
the only place that people may go to settle disputes, Americans traditionally
have turned to the courts for redress. Other cultures, such as the Japanese, use
the courts much less frequently.

Second, courts make public policy decisions. Policy making involves the
allocation of limited resources (such as money and property) to competing
interests. America has a long tradition of settling difficult policy questions in
the courtroom rather than in the legislature. This is because politicians often
avoid settling complex or difficult problems for fear of alienating their
constituents or because the competing interests are unable to compromise. In
addition, the rights of minorities are often unprotected by the legislature,
which, by its very nature, represents primarily the interests of the majority, so
courts are forced to step into the breach. Finally, there is a tradition of using
litigation as a tool for social change.

Third, courts serve to clarify the law through interpretation of statutes and the
application of general principles to specific fact patterns. Courts are different
from the other branches of government in many ways, but perhaps the most
significant difference is that courts are reactive; that is, courts do not initiate
cases but rather serve to settle controversies brought to them by others—
plaintiffs and defendants, in legal parlance. This frequently involves the
interpretation of statutes written by the legislature.

What Is Law?
Laws are created by the legislature, provide rules to guide conduct, and are a
means of resolving disputes and maintaining order through the medium of the
courts. Courts are forums for dispute resolution. This dispute may be between
two private parties, such as a dispute between a landlord and a tenant or
between a buyer and a seller of property. Or the dispute may be between the
state and an individual, as when a defendant is charged with violating some
provision of the criminal code.

The court system has a complex set of rules and procedures. Evidence law
governs what information the jury can see and hear and how this evidence
may be presented to them. There are seemingly innumerable rules governing
how parties to a lawsuit may proceed and what motions they can make, either
prior to or during trial (and even after the verdict is entered!). The court
system has a number of important roles. These include the prosecutor,
defense attorney, judge, witnesses, and the defendant.

Courts are charged with settling legal disputes. But what is a legal dispute?
For our purposes, a legal dispute is a disagreement about a law—what it
means, how it is implemented, or, in the case of criminal law, whether a
person has violated the law. The next question, then, is what exactly is
“law”? Our definition is this: Law is a written body of rules of conduct
applicable to all members of a defined community, society, or culture that
emanate from a governing authority and are enforced by its agents by the
imposition of penalties for their violation.

This definition is appropriate for all modern systems of law, but it would not
completely fit preliterate societies because, by definition, such societies do
not possess writing, nor do they typically employ agents to enforce rules of
conduct. However, law as a system of proscribed and prescribed behavior is
certainly not unique to highly developed societies with written statutes and a
formal system of law enforcement. All people living together in organized
groups have had at least some type of rudimentary rules for governing
conduct. They would not last very long as organized groups if they did not,
for law is at the center of all organized social life. Indeed, the word law itself
has come to us from a variety of Latin and Nordic words meaning “to bind”
(people together). People who are “bound together” share a common culture,
and all cultures share certain core elements. Our first task is to see how these
common elements are related to law.

The Code of Hammurabi

The first legal codes showed that there were well-advanced societies that
exhibited signs of mature civilizations many centuries ago. The Code of
Hammurabi (Hammurabi was a king of Babylonia who lived from 2123 to
2081 BC) was long acknowledged as the oldest known written code of law.
We now know, however, that other documents of this type existed in the area
of the Middle East called Mesopotamia, but no other was so broad in its
scope. The code was discovered inscribed on a round pillar 7 feet, 4 inches
high. On the top of the pillar was Shamash, the Sun god, handing the legal
code to Hammurabi. On the back and front of the lower portion of the obelisk
was the legal code of King Hammurabi. It was not law in the sense that law is
understood today—that is, a set of abstract principles applicable to all.
Rather, it was a set of judgments originally pronounced to solve a particular
case. Nor was it an attempt to cover all possible situations as modern codes
do, and as far as we know, it was never copied and distributed to those
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 light, trivial, fragile; illegal, illegitimate, invalid, defective;
insubstantial, fallacious, hollow, unfounded.
Sovereign, n. King, prince, potentate, monarch, emperor; ruler.
Ant. Subject, peasant, serf.
Sovereign, a. Supreme, paramount, superior, chief; independent,
unlimited, absolute; controlling, efficacious; princely, royal;
primary, principal, regal, imperial; predominant.
Ant. Inferior, subordinate, subservient, ministerial, secondary,
subject; popular, menial; inefficient, unefficacious, uncertain,
weak.
Space. Extension, room; interval, duration, time; capacity,
distance, measure, quantity; boundlessness, illimitableness;
immeasurableness, immensity.
Ant. Confinement, proximity, limitation, restriction, contiguity,
continuity.
Spare, a. Scanty, sparing, frugal, wanting, lacking, parsimonious,
needed, chary; superfluous; lean, meager, thin, gaunt.
Ant. Ample, abundant, profuse, plentiful, liberal, bountiful,
unsparing, unstinted, unrestricted, generous; plump, fat,
corpulent, portly.
Sparse. Scattered, sprinkled, infrequent, thin, scanty, meager, few.
Ant. Dense, thick, plentiful, many, populous, crowded,
numerous, frequent, multitudinous.
Speak. Say, talk, tell, utter, discourse, articulate, converse, express,
chat, chatter, enunciate, pronounce; announce, declaim, declare,
deliver.
Ant. Be mute or dumb; keep silence, be taciturn; suppress;
recall.
Speculation. Venture; theory, view, notion, conjecture;
consideration, meditation, contemplation, thought, weighing;
hypothesis, scheme.
Ant. Certainty, fact, verity, proof, realization, verification.
Speech. Address, discourse, language, speaking, talk, oration,
utterance, sermon, harangue, dissertation, oratory, disquisition.
Ant. Hush, silence, stillness, taciturnity, speechlessness.
Spirit. Life, soul; ghost, specter; fairy, sprite; energy, vivacity,
ardor, courage, enthusiasm; intellectuality; meaning, intent; vapor;
distilled liquid; air, breath; intelligence, immateriality, essence,
disembodiment, apparition; activity, earnestness, zeal; temper,
disposition; principle, motive.
Ant. Substance, body, corporeity, flesh, frame, materiality,
embodiment, organization; spiritlessness, timidity, lifelessness,
soullessness, deadness, torpor, dejection, slowness.
Spiritual. Immaterial, incorporeal, mental, intellectual; holy,
divine, heavenly-minded; ecclesiastical, sacred; moral; religious,
ethical.
Ant. Carnal, fleshly, material, sensuous; gross; unspiritual.
Splendid. Shining, showy, magnificent, sumptuous, pompous;
illustrious, brilliant, famous; gorgeous, grand, glorious; imposing;
superb, heroic, noble.
Ant. Dull, tame, obscure, tarnished, tawdry, somber, beggarly,
gloomy, poor, ordinary, ineffective, inglorious, insignificant,
mean, low.
Spontaneous. Free, intentional, voluntary, willing, unbidden,
impulsive, automatic, instinctive, deliberate.
Ant. Forced, compelled, coerced, unwilling, reluctant.
Spread, v. Open, unfurl, disperse, distribute, scatter, circulate,
disseminate, dispense; extend, stretch, expand, amplify; divulge,
propagate, publish, diffuse.
Ant. Collect, condense, contract, furl, gather, close, shut;
confine, suppress, restrict, recall, conceal, hush, localize.
Spring, v. Leap, bound, jump; shoot, fly, dart, start; emerge; bend,
warp; proceed, issue, result; burst, emanate, flow; rise, originate,
germinate.
Ant. Settle, alight, arrive, land, drop; end, terminate, debouch,
finish, eventuate.
Spy. Scout, emissary, detective.
Stable, a. Steady, abiding, firm, strong, durable; fixed, established;
constant, resolute, unwavering; secure, stanch, permanent; solid,
lasting, perpetual; immobile, rigid, unmovable.
 Ant. Vacillating, wavering, unsteady, toppling, weak, tottering,
infirm, insecure, precarious, frail, unstable; transient, ephemeral,
evanescent, vanishing, non-durable.
Stain, v. Blot, spot, sully, tarnish, tinge, tint, color, discolor,
disgrace, dishonor, dye, soil.
Ant. Preserve inviolate or unspotted.
Stand, v. Rest, continue upright or erect, be situated or located;
cease, stop, pause, halt; endure, last; maintain, be fixed or steady;
be, consist; agree, accord; endure, sustain, bear; withstand; submit
to.
Ant. Advance, move, proceed, progress; fail, fall, die, depart,
run, yield, succumb, drop; give up, surrender; retaliate, avenge,
resent.
Standard, n. Flag, colors, banner, ensign; criterion, test; support,
frame; model, type, norm; gage, measure, scale; upright; exemplar.
Ant. Misrule, mismeasurement, misadjustment, misfit, non-
criterion.
State, v. Declare, tell, assert, affirm, asseverate, allege, testify,
assure, swear, set forth, protest, predicate, pronounce, specify,
propound, maintain, inform, express, depose, claim, avow, avouch,
aver, certify.
Ant. Deny, contradict, controvert, disprove, refute, repudiate,
waive, contravene, dispute, gainsay, oppose, retract.
Station. Depot; place, spot, position, stand; office, sphere; state,
rank, condition, occupation, business.
Ant. Removal, departure; dislodgment, ejection, displacement;
locomotion.
Stay, v. Stop; prop, hold up, support, sustain; hold, restrain; hold
back, hinder, delay; check; fasten, secure; continue, abide, remain;
dwell, tarry, linger, wait; forbear; rest, depend, rely.
Ant. Loose, liberate, free; fail, let fall; expedite, speed,
accelerate; proceed, advance, progress, go on; move, depart;
oppress, burden; overthrow.
Steadfast. Established, firm; constant, resolute; grounded, rooted,
placed; resolved, unwavering, stanch.
 Ant. Unsteady, unattached; vacillating, wavering, weak,
insecure, irresolute, inconstant, unreliable.
Steep. Sharp, sheer, high, precipitous, abrupt.
Ant. Gradual, level, slight, flat, easy, gentle, horizontal, low.
Stiff. Rigid, inflexible, strong, obstinate, pertinacious, rigorous,
constrained, affected; unbending, unpliant; starched; formal,
ceremonious, difficult, punctilious, stately; austere, peremptory,
inexorable, uncompromising.
Ant. Flexible, pliant, unaffected, amenable, easy, yielding,
affable, genial, unceremonious, informal; pliable, malleable;
considerate, compromising.
Still. Noiseless; inert, stagnant, serene; motionless, restful, quiet;
silent, calm, soundless, low; hushed, mute, placid, quiescent;
stationary; gentle, soft, mild, pacific, peaceful.
Ant. Disturbed, agitated, moved, restless; noisy, moving, loud,
resonant, turbulent; unquiet, rough, harsh.
Stop. Suppress, discontinue, delay, interrupt; close, obstruct;
arrest, impede; restrain, hinder, repress; cease, halt, stay, tarry;
bar, seal; suspend, end, terminate.
Ant. Assist, advance, continue, expedite, speed, hasten,
promote; clear, open; improve, push, benefit; progress; facilitate;
initiate, commence, begin.
Storm. Agitation, disturbance, tempest.
Ant. Calm, hush, peace, serenity, stillness, tranquillity, fair
weather.
Story. Narrative, legend, anecdote, account, tale, record, recital,
incident, myth, narration, novel, relation.
Ant. Annals, chronicle, biography, history, memoir.
Stout. Corpulent; portly; vigorous, strong, lusty, robust; firm,
resolute, bold; tough; large, bulky; brawny; valiant, courageous,
redoubtable.
Ant. Thin, slender, weak, lean, frail, feeble, attenuated,
emaciated; timid, irresolute, cowardly.
Strange. Outlandish, wonderful, astonishing, marvelous,
uncommon, irregular, queer, odd, eccentric; foreign, new, novel,
 unusual; reserved, distant; unfamiliar, unaccustomed,
inexperienced.
Ant. Familiar, usual, common, general, universal, accustomed,
ordinary, home, domestic, regular, customary, habitual,
commonplace.
Strength. Robustness, toughness, hardness, stoutness, spirit,
lustiness, puissance, authority; force, vigor, power; endurance,
resistance; security, validity; firmness; intensity; virtue; energy,
nerve, sinew, fiber; soundness.
Ant. Weakness, thinness, frailty, softness, delicacy; imbecility,
feebleness; spiritlessness, impotence, inability; insecurity,
invalidity; wavering.
Strenuous. Eager, pressing, urgent; zealous, ardent, earnest; bold,
intrepid; strong, determined, resolute; vigorous, energetic,
vehement, forceful.
Ant. Weak, irresolute, vacillating, wavering, enervated,
undetermined.
Strong. Powerful, cogent, muscular; robust, lusty, sinewy, hale,
hearty, vigorous, forceful; enduring, resistant; violent, forcible;
ardent, zealous, vehement, earnest, solid, nourishing; firm;
capable, potent, effective, influential, sound; pungent; hardy,
tenacious.
Ant. Weak, feeble, infirm, sickly, exhausted, debilitated,
wanting, pliant, frail, soft; low, faint; spiritless, foolish;
wavering, impotent, powerless, defenseless, insecure, delicate;
unefficacious, unconvincing, unsatisfactory, unavailing, flaccid,
nerveless.
Stubborn. Obstinate, inflexible, obdurate, headstrong, harsh,
intractable, firm, contumacious, heady; unbending, unyielding,
persistent, refractory.
Ant. Yielding, pliant, mild, gentle, docile, tractable,
manageable, flexible, pliable; vacillating, wavering, irresolute,
undecided.
Studious. Contemplative, observant; sedulous, earnest, diligent;
studied; absorbed, meditative, thoughtful, attentive, pondering,
devoted, musing, cogitative; careful, literary, reflective, assiduous.
 Ant. Illiterate, unliterary, idle, indulgent, careless, inattentive,
thoughtless, negligent, regardless, indifferent.
Study, n. Application, learning, acquisition, meditation,
contemplation; diligence, consideration, thought, research,
endeavor, knowledge, purpose, intention, attention, concentration.
Ant. Idleness, dawdling, illiteracy, ease, indifference,
indiligence, negligence, carelessness, unstudiousness,
thoughtlessness.
Stupid. Simple, insensible, sottish, sluggish, senseless, doltish,
heavy, dull; stolid, insensate, obtuse, prosy.
Ant. Quick, bright, sharp, intelligent, responsive, clever,
sensible, eager, animated, penetrating.
Stupidity. Slowness, dulness, obtuseness, insensibility,
sluggishness, stupor, apathy.
Ant. Intelligence, animation, brilliancy, acuteness, sensibility,
cleverness, sense, sagacity, quickness, readiness, alertness,
keenness.
Stupor. Apathy, swoon, torpor, lethargy, coma, fainting,
unconsciousness, stupefaction, asphyxia, swooning, insensibility,
syncope.
Sublime. Exalted, lofty, noble, majestic, grand, stately,
magnificent, dignified, elevated, august, pompous, high, eminent,
glorious.
Ant. Low, ignoble, debased, degraded, inglorious, ordinary,
mean, undignified, inconspicuous, unimposing, ridiculous.
Submissive. Obedient, compliant, yielding, obsequious,
subservient, humble, modest, passive, docile, acquiescent.
Ant. Disobedient, haughty, proud, arrogant, unyielding,
conceited, active, rebellious, reluctant, defiant, refractory,
resistant.
Subsidy. Aid, allowance, gift, bounty, reward, tribute, support,
subvention, pension, bonus, premium, grant, indemnity.
Substantial. Real, solid, true, existing, essential; corporeal,
material; strong, stout, resourceful, massive, tangible, bulky;
sensuous.
 Ant. Imaginary, unreal, insubstantial, fictitious, supposititious,
immaterial, weak, chimerical, visionary, spiritual, disembodied,
ghostly.
Subtle. Artful, crafty, cunning, shrewd, sly, wily; astute, guileful,
discriminating, insinuating, sophistical.
Ant. Frank, honest, open, sincere, artless, undiscriminating,
undiscerning, simple, direct, blunt, unsophisticated.
Subvert. Destroy, ruin, supplant, suppress, supersede, extinguish,
overthrow, overturn.
Ant. Conserve, preserve, uphold, sustain, keep, perpetuate.
Succeed. Follow, pursue; ensue, result, be subsequent; descend,
devolve; gain, acquire, attain, obtain, achieve, accomplish;
supervene; flourish, prosper, thrive.
Ant. Precede, anticipate, antecede; fail, deteriorate, be lacking,
lose, miss, disappoint, be deficient in; decline, wane, decay.
Succession. Succeeding, series, sequence, order; lineage, descent;
following, continuity, consecution, rotation, regularity.
Ant. Antecedence, precedence, anticipation, forerunning,
prevention; disorder, irregularity, non-sequence, intermission,
gap, failure, inconsecutiveness.
Sudden. Unexpected, unusual, abrupt, unlooked for, hasty,
unanticipated, unforeseen, unprovided for; rash, quick, heedless,
reckless.
Ant. Anticipated, foreseen, expected; slow, gradual,
transitional, moderate; wary, cautious, careful, provident.
Suffer. Support, sustain, tolerate, permit; allow, let, grant, consent
to; endure, bear, submit to, undergo, be affected by, experience.
Ant. Resist, rebel, repel, withstand; forbid, disallow, refuse,
reject, expel, repudiate; fight, antagonize, challenge.
Sufficient. Competent, satisfactory, full, ample; equal, adequate,
enough; qualified, capable, responsible; efficient; adapted, fitted.
Ant. Inadequate, incompetent, unsatisfactory, lacking,
wanting, unequal, unfit, incapable, unqualified, insufficient,
unsuited, meager, short, deficient, scanty.
Suggestion. Hint, innuendo, intimation, insinuation, implication.
Suitable. Proper, competent, correspondent, consonant,
compatible, congruous, consistent; fitting, accordant, becoming,
adapted; seemly, appropriate, agreeable, convenient; harmonious,
uniform; homogeneous.
Ant. Improper, divergent, incompetent, incompatible,
dissonant, incongruous, inconsistent, unfit, discordant,
unbecoming; unseemly, inappropriate, inconvenient;
unharmonious, different, heterogeneous.
Sum. Aggregate, quantity, magnitude, amount; compendium,
substance, gist; height, completion; total, whole, computation;
example, problem; collection; drift, bearing.
Ant. Part, portion, half, fraction, item, particular;
incompleteness, imperfection, discrepancy; article, detail,
fragment, component, constituent, element.
Superb. Grand, magnificent, august, stately; rich, elegant; showy,
excellent; princely, gorgeous, splendid; proud.
Ant. Mean, shabby, poor, undignified, dingy; meager; tawdry,
impoverished; ordinary, common; humble, plain, unimposing.
Superior. Elevated, higher, upper; surpassing, greater;
preëminent, excellent, ascendent, predominant, prevalent,
advantageous, beneficial.
Ant. Inferior, lower, worse, deeper, meaner, subordinate,
lesser, mediocre, ordinary, average, common, unremarkable,
inconspicuous, detrimental, disadvantageous; declining,
deteriorating.
Supernatural. Miraculous, preternatural, superhuman.
Ant. Common, natural, ordinary, commonplace, everyday,
usual.
Supple. Pliant, flexible, bending; fawning, soft; yielding,
compliant, submissive; flattering, obsequious, subservient, servile,
cringing, adulatory; lithe, limber, elastic.
Ant. Firm, stiff, unyielding, obstinate, inflexible, hard,
dominant, domineering; abusive, scolding, tyrannous;
unbending, stubborn, independent, self-assertive, supercilious,
arrogant, haughty.
Support. Maintain, sustain, uphold, cherish, keep, bear, prop,
carry, tolerate, hold up, keep up.
Ant. Demolish, abandon, betray, destroy, drop, desert, wreck,
break down, cast down, overthrow, let go, throw down.
Suppose. Deem, guess, imagine, think, conjecture, surmise.
Ant. Conclude, ascertain, discover, prove, know, be sure.
Suppress. Repress, subdue, restrain, overthrow, quell, overwhelm,
conceal, stifle, smother, stop; overpower, extinguish, destroy.
Ant. Excite, fan, increase, augment, strengthen, raise,
aggravate; publish, promulgate, advertise, spread, disseminate;
intensify.
Sure. Unfailing, infallible, permanent, steady, stable, strong,
indisputable, confident, positive, firm; certain, safe, secure,
assured, believing, trusting, unquestioning; abiding, fast.
Ant. Insecure, fallible, unsteady, inconstant, wavering,
indeterminate, dubitable, uncertain, questionable, impermanent,
doubtful, hesitating, distrustful, precarious, disputable, loose.
Surrender. Abandon, give over, relinquish, resign, waive, yield,
alienate, capitulate, cede, let go, sacrifice, give one’s self up.
Ant. Resist, withstand, oppose, thwart, baffle; die.
Suspense. Uncertainty, expectation, apprehension, anxiety,
indetermination, indecision; solicitude, intermission, protraction,
abeyance, doubt; pause, stop.
Ant. Decision, settlement, determination, finality, execution;
achievement, termination, accomplishment, end; uninterruption,
continuance, continuity, regularity, sequence.
Sustenance. Subsistence, food, provision, maintenance, support;
supplies, aliment, nutriment, nourishment; livelihood, living,
nutrition, sustentation.
Ant. Starvation, want, indigence, poverty, hunger, lack, thirst,
inanition, exhaustion; non-subsistence, non-support.
Sweet. Sugary, saccharine, dulcet, luscious; agreeable, pleasing,
fragrant, soft, melodious; beautiful, mild, fair; fresh; amiable,
winning; wholesome.
 Ant. Sour, bitter, sharp, acid; discordant, inharmonious,
dissonant; disagreeable, displeasing; fetid, malodorous; plain,
homely; stale, unwholesome, spoiled; offensive, repulsive,
unlovely.
Swift. Quick, fleet, speedy, expeditious, rapid, prompt; accelerated,
nimble, alert, ready, headlong, eager, fast.
Ant. Slow, tardy, delaying, late, unready, laggard, deliberate,
sedate, reluctant, lingering, lazy, loitering, inactive, sluggish,
inexpeditious.
Symmetry. Proportion, grace, conformity, uniformity, similarity,
regularity, shapeliness, harmony, agreement; comeliness.
Ant. Disproportion, disharmony, incongruity, irregularity,
disagreement, disparity, shapelessness; interdisparity.
Sympathy. Pity, compassion, commiseration, tenderness,
condolence; fellow-feeling; agreement, conformity, reciprocity;
congeniality.
Ant. Antipathy, harshness, antagonism, unkindness, coldness,
mercilessness, pitilessness.
Synonymous. Similar, correspondent, like, identical,
interchangeable, alike, same, corresponding, synonymic,
equivalent.
Ant. Antonymic.
System. Order, mode, method, regularity, rule, manner.
Ant. Confusion, chaos, disorder, derangement, irregularity,
disarrangement.
 T

Tacit. Silent, implied, granted, unexpressed, understood, implicit.

Ant. Mentioned, expressed, explicit, declared.
Taciturn. Mute, silent, speechless, reserved, close, dumb,
uncommunicative, reticent.
Ant. Communicative, free, garrulous, loquacious, talkative,
unreserved.
Take. Lay hold, seize, grasp, obtain; capture, fasten on; attack;
gain, captivate, charm; choose, turn to; employ, use, demand,
require; copy, delineate; assume, adopt; acquire; engage in,
indulge in; carry, convey, conduct; remove, withdraw, deduct;
acknowledge, accept; receive, admit; partake of, swallow;
undertake, clear; tolerate, endure; consider, interpret, suppose;
receive, submit to, bear.
Ant. Drop, reject, abandon, surrender, miss, lose, repel, refuse,
decline, repulse, spurn.
Talent. Ability, gift, endowment, genius, faculty; capacity,
cleverness, aptitude, forte.
Ant. Inability, ineptitude, incompetence, imbecility, stupidity.
Tangible. Perceptible, tactile, palpable; apprehensible, evident,
manifest, clear; material, substantial, sensible, obvious.
Ant. Impalpable, spiritual, intangible, incorporeal, immaterial,
incomprehensible.
Tart. Sharp, acid, sour; keen, severe; harsh, caustic, petulant,
acrimonious.
Ant. Gentle, mild, genial, kindly, polite; mellow, sweet.
Taste, n. Savor, relish, flavor, sensibility, judgment; discernment,
nicety, perception, zest, choice, elegancy, refinement.
 Ant. Disrelish, insipidity, ill-savor, coarseness, indelicacy, non-
perception, indiscrimination.
Tasteful. Delicate, artistic, elegant, dainty, esthetic, exquisite,
fastidious, fine, chaste, nice, tasty, delicious, esthetical.
Ant. Coarse, rough, rude, harsh, hideous, clumsy, disgusting,
deformed, displeasing, fulsome, gaudy, grotesque, distasteful,
horrid, inartistic, inharmonious, meretricious, offensive, ragged,
tawdry.
Taunt, v. Ridicule, mock, jeer, deride, revile, flout, scoff, scorn,
insult; reproach, rebuke, censure.
Ant. Compliment, flatter, approve of, congratulate.
Teach. Discipline, instruct, tutor, school, train, educate, enlighten,
drill, inculcate, give lessons, give instructions, indoctrinate, inform,
initiate, instill, nurture.
Ant. Learn, study, practice, investigate, experiment, try,
develop, receive, drink in, acquire, attain, imbibe, understand,
glean, gather, collect.
Tedious. Wearisome, fatiguing, irksome, tiresome; prolix, dull,
slow, monotonous, tiring, trying.
Ant. Interesting, exciting, amusing, charming, delightful,
stirring, bright, entertaining.
Tell. Enumerate, communicate, impart, reveal, disclose, report,
acquaint, repeat, rehearse, discover; count, number, reckon,
recount; narrate, divulge; inform, teach; order, command, request.
Temerity. Audacity, foolhardiness, rashness, presumption,
recklessness, hardihood, hastiness, heedlessness, precipitation,
overconfidence, precipitancy, venturesomeness.
Ant. Care, caution, hesitation, cowardice, timidity, wariness,
circumspection.
Temporal. Transient, fleeting, transitory, temporary; terrestrial,
worldly, secular, mundane.
Ant. Eternal, permanent, everlasting; religious, spiritual.
Tendency. Proneness, drift, aim, disposition; direction, course;
influence; inclination, leaning, bent, bias; proclivity, aptitude,
propensity, liability.
 Ant. Aversion, repulsion, repugnance; opposition, reluctance,
divergence, tangency, deviation.
Tender. Effeminate, soft, sensitive, compassionate, humane, kind,
merciful, pitiful, dear, delicate; gentle, mild, susceptible.
Ant. Hard, pitiless, callous, careless, heedless, rough, coarse,
unkind, inhuman, unmerciful, unfeeling; hardy, strong, sturdy.
Tension. Strain, stretch, effort, stretching, tensity, tenseness, rigor,
severity, harshness, stiffness, tightness.
Ant. Relaxation, release, relief, laxity, slackness, looseness.
Term. Boundary, limit; expression, phrase, word, name; member,
condition, denomination.
Termination. Limit, end, conclusion, bound, result; completion,
consequence, effect; fulfilment, consummation, accomplishment,
achievement, finis, finality, exit, issue.
Ant. Beginning, initiation, inception, commencement, rise,
start, origin, source, cause, process, course.
Terrible. Terrific, fearful, horrible, shocking, awful; dreadful,
formidable, frightful; tremendous; astounding, startling.
Ant. Insignificant, amusing, pleasing; unastonishing.
Terse. Concise, pithy, succinct, short, brief, laconic, compact,
sententious, condensed, compendious, neat.
Ant. Long, lengthy, tedious, wordy, diffuse, prolix, verbose.
Testimony. Affirmation, certification, deposition, proof, evidence,
witness, affidavit, attestation, oath.
Ant. Demonstration.
Theory. Hypothesis, speculation; doctrine, conjecture,
explanation; assumption, scheme, postulate, plan; science,
philosophy; exposition, rationale; supposition.
Ant. Fact, truth, verity, actuality.
Therefore. Consequently, then, hence, thence, whence, wherefore,
accordingly.
Ant. Because, as for, inasmuch as, since.
Thick. Dense, close, compact, solid, coarse, gross; muddy, turbid,
misty; crowded, abundant; indistinct; dull; numerous; inarticulate.
 Ant. Thin, rare, sparse, infrequent; pure, limpid, crystalline,
clear, distinct, incompact, shallow, articulate.
Think. Cogitate, contemplate; remember, reflect, muse, meditate,
ponder, consider, deliberate, judge, conclude, believe; purpose,
intend, design, mean; presume, venture; imagine, apprehend.
Ant. Guess, hazard; dream, idle, stargaze, wander, rove.
Thought. Imagination, fancy, conceit, notion, consideration,
supposition, contemplation, deliberation; reflection, cogitation,
meditation, conception, solicitude, care, concern; reasoning; idea,
opinion, concept, judgment, purpose, intention, provision.
Ant. Thoughtlessness, giddiness, carelessness, inconsideration,
dreaminess, dulness, stupidity, rashness, impulsiveness; vacuity,
dream, hallucination, aberration.
Threat. Menace, denunciation, threatening, intimidation.
Ant. Promise, encouragement, allurement, enticement;
anticipation.
Thrifty. Economical, saving, careful; sparing, frugal, industrious,
prosperous, thriving; provident, foresighted.
Ant. Wasteful, prodigal, uneconomical, lavish, spendthrift,
extravagant; slack, lazy; improvident, unprepared.
Throng. Concourse, crowd, host, jam, mass, multitude, press.
Ant. Solitude; wilderness, desert, waste.
Tidings. Message, information, intelligence, news, rumor, report,
advices, announcement.
Ant. Suppression, censorship, misinformation, canard.
Time. Epoch, era, period, date, age, eon, season, term, while,
succession, sequence, duration.
Timid. Fearful, timorous, cowardly, afraid, pusillanimous, faint-
hearted, shrinking, retiring, shy; diffident, bashful.
Ant. Bold, confident, venturesome, courageous, adventurous,
heedless.
Tip. Incline, lean, list, slant, slope, tilt, cant, careen, dip, heel over.
Tire. Exhaust, fag, weary, fatigue, jade, harass, wear out.
Ant. Refresh, recreate, rest, relax, relieve, repose, restore,
invigorate.
Title. Epithet, name, appellation, designation, cognomen,
denomination; address, inscription, heading, style.
Ant. Nondescript, namelessness.
Together. With, in company, associated, conjoined, unitedly,
simultaneously, contemporaneously, coincidently.
Ant. Separately, variously, independently.
Toil. Labor, drudgery, work, exertion, employment, occupation,
task, travail.
Ant. Rest, relaxation, recreation, ease; amusement, pleasure,
enjoyment, fun.
Tolerable. Endurable, bearable, supportable; passable, medium,
ordinary, mediocre, indifferent.
Ant. Intolerable, unendurable, insufferable, unbearable,
insupportable.
Tool. Appliance, implement, apparatus, mechanism, utensil,
machine, weapon.
Topic. Head, division, motion, point, proposition, question, issue,
subject, theme, matter.
Torment. Pain, misery, agony, anguish, torture, distress.
Ant. Enjoyment, pleasure, comfort, ease, gratification, delight.
Total, a. Whole, entire, full, absolute, complete, undivided.
Ant. Partial, imperfect, incomplete, divided, fractional,
sectional.
Trace. Mark, remains, sign, vestige, track, token, trail, footmark,
footprint, footstep, impression, memorial, remnant.
Trade. Profession, occupation, office, calling, avocation,
employment, commerce, dealing, traffic.
Ant. Stagnation, inactivity, dulness, embargo; leisure,
vacation, idleness, vacancy.
Tragedy. Mournful drama; catastrophe, calamity, adversity,
disaster, affliction.
Ant. Comedy, happiness, mirthful drama, prosperity, luck,
good fortune.
Traitor. Betrayer, turncoat, renegade, rebel, deceiver, apostate;
insurgent, deserter, mutineer.
Ant. Patriot, adherent, defender, supporter.
Tranquil. Quiet, calm, undisturbed, peaceful, unagitated;
unruffled, composed, poised, collected, cool.
Ant. Agitated, excited, uneasy, anxious, troubled, restless.
Transact. Conduct, carry on, perform, act, accomplish, do,
negotiate, treat.
Ant. Leave alone, rest, stop, refrain, desist, cease.
Transaction. Business, action, deed, proceeding, doing, affair, act,
negotiation, performance.
Ant. Inactivity, quiescence, rest, neglect, inaction, passivity.
Transgression. Infringement, misdemeanor, misdeed, affront;
violation, breach, fault, crime, offense, sin.
Ant. Innocence, guiltlessness; purity, righteousness;
observance, obedience, fulfilment.
Transient. Fleeting, temporary, transitory, ephemeral, evanescent,
brief, flitting, flying, momentary, passing, fugitive, short.
Ant. Permanent, perpetual, lasting, enduring, abiding,
immortal, everlasting, unfading, undying, persistent, eternal,
imperishable.
Transparent. Translucent, pellucid, clear, lucid; diaphanous;
open, porous; crystalline, limpid, bright; perspicuous.
Ant. Opaque, thick, turbid; mysterious, questionable, dubious.
Travel. Go, pass, journey, migrate, move, traverse, wander, roam.
Ant. Dwell, reside, stay, remain, settle.
Treasure. Wealth, abundance, plenty; money, jewels, cash,
valuables, hoard, riches, bullion; reserve.
Ant. Refuse, trash, offal; dregs, trifles.
Treaty. Negotiation, compact, agreement, covenant, alliance,
convention, contract.
Ant. Neutrality, non-interference, non-intervention.
Tremendous. Frightful, terrific, horrible, awful; fearful, appalling,
alarming, horrifying, dreadful.
 Ant. Unappalling, inconsiderable, unimposing.
Trial. Attempt, endeavor, essay; effort, exertion; experience, proof,
test; examination, experiment; criterion, ordeal, assay; temptation,
trouble, affliction, distress, grief, suffering, tribulation.
Ant. Non-attempt; ease, facility; acceptance; oversight,
disregard; trifle, triviality.
Trick. Stratagem, wile, fraud, cheat, juggle, finesse, sleight;
deception, imposture, delusion, imposition; artifice, machination,
contrivance, legerdemain.
Ant. Exposure, revelation, examination; blunder, botch,
bungling, fumbling, maladroitness, mishap; genuineness,
artlessness, openhandedness.
Triumph. Success, conquest, victory; ovation, celebration, jubilee,
jubilation, exultation; achievement, attainment.
Ant. Defeat, failure, disappointment, discomfiture, abortion,
baffling.
Trouble. Affliction, sorrow, disturbance, perplexity, vexation,
molestation, annoyance, inconvenience, calamity, misfortune,
adversity, misery; tribulation, distress, disaster, torment, difficulty,
anxiety.
Ant. Blessing, peace, composure, alleviation, appeasement,
pleasure, fortune, boon, affluence, happiness, joy, success,
gladness, ease, facility, amusement, recreation.
True. Correct, accurate, precise, exact; unwavering, faithful, loyal;
actual, pure, real, genuine; veritable.
Ant. Untrue, false, fictitious, unreliable, incorrect, inaccurate,
inexact; vacillating, disloyal, faithless; counterfeit, impure,
unreal, factitious, untrustworthy, adulterated, spurious, fickle,
treacherous.
Trust, n. Confidence, belief, expectation, faith, hope; reliance.
Ant. Doubt, misgiving, distrust, skepticism, suspense; despair.
Truth. Fact, reality, fidelity, conformity, exactness; steadfastness;
veracity, verity; accuracy, precision, faithfulness.
Ant. Falsehood, falsity, lie, untruth, fabrication, fiction; fallacy,
mistake, sophism.
Tumult. Ferment, disturbance, turbulence, disorder, bluster,
hubbub, bustle, brawl, riot; excitement, distraction, confusion,
turmoil, noise.
Ant. Peace, order, orderliness, pacification, quiet, subsidence.
Turn, n. Revolution; alteration, vicissitude; winding, bending,
meandering; stroll; succession, alternation; chance, occasion;
convenience, purpose, exigence; form, cast, shape, manner,
fashion; rotation, recurrence; opportunity; deed, office, treatment,
act; tendency, talent, gift; crisis.
Ant. Fixity, unchangeableness, immobility, uniformity,
stability, continuity; independence; malformation, shapelessness.
Turn, v. Revolve, reverse, deflect, change; divert, transfer, use,
employ, apply, devote; alter, metamorphose, transform, convert;
shape, mold, adapt; whirl; hinge, depend; eventuate, issue,
terminate.
Ant. Stick, stop, remain; adhere, hold to; persist, continue;
stabilitate, perpetuate, arrest, stereotype.
Tutor. Teacher, instructor, professor, preceptor, master, savant,
guardian, governor.
Ant. Pupil, student, novice, disciple, scholar, ward, learner.
Twist, v. Contort, writhe, convolve; pervert, distort; wind, wreathe;
insinuate; encircle.
Ant. Straighten, untwist, rectify, unwind, disentangle, unravel;
verify, substantiate.
Type. Mark, stamp, sign, emblem; style, semblance;
representation, similitude, figure, symbol, token; character,
pattern, archetype, model, norm; cast, mold, fashion.
Ant. Caricature, monstrosity, abnormity; falsification,
deviation; misrepresentation.
 U

Ubiquity. Omnipresence; universal presence, all-pervasiveness.

Ant. Localization, limitation.
Ugly. Loathsome, unsightly, repulsive; ill-natured, quarrelsome;
unpleasant; plain, ordinary, homely, hideous, frightful; cross,
vicious.
Ant. Attractive, handsome, fair, pleasant, agreeable, beautiful,
shapely, comely; lovely, kindly, good-natured, gentle.
Ultimate. Final, last, conclusive, farthest, extreme, most remote;
elemental.
Ant. Initial, nearest, beginning, primary.
Un-. A prefix meaning not or without, or simply intensive, which is
prefixed to nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and the participles of verbs.
Words whose meaning is simply that of the root word with
negative or intensive emphasis are omitted here, and their
synonyms and antonyms may be formed from those of the root
word.
Unction. Anointing, ointment; power, fervor, animation, fervency,
ardor, enthusiasm, energy, spirit, emotion.
Ant. Tameness, perfunctoriness, coldness, lifelessness.
Unctuous. Fatty, oily, greasy; bland, suave, tender, fervid;
obsequious, fawning, servile, sycophantic.
Ant. Blunt, brush, abrupt; cynical, sarcastic; harsh,
unmannerly, uncomplimentary.
Under-. A prefix meaning beneath or below. Words whose
meaning is simply that of the root word with the meaning of the
prefix added are omitted in this place, and their synonyms and
antonyms may be formed in many cases from those of the root
word.
Under, prep. Below, beneath, underneath.
Ant. Above, upon, over.
Understand. Know, comprehend; learn, be informed, hear;
recognize, interpret; imply, assume; apprehend, discern, see,
perceive, conceive, penetrate.
Ant. Misunderstand, miscomprehend, misinterpret; declare,
state; express, inform.
Understanding. Sense, intelligence, conception, perception,
discernment, knowledge, intuition, cognition, reason;
interpretation; mind, brains.
Ant. Insensibility, stupidity, dulness, obtuseness, senselessness,
slowness, irrationality, sluggishness, ignorance, unintelligence.
Undertake. Engage, enter, set about, attempt; covenant, contract;
guarantee, promise, affirm; project, commence; stipulate.
Ant. Abandon, drop, desist, discontinue, decline; complete,
finish, end, terminate.
Undertaking. Enterprise, engagement, attempt, adventure,
business, effort, endeavor; experiment, venture, interest, affair,
matter, concern.
Ant. Leisure, inactivity; recreation.
Undulation. Waving motion; vibration; wavy outline; pulsation;
oscillation, swelling; wave, ripple.
Ant. Equilibrium; arrestation, standing; plain, tableland.
Uniform. Unchanging, equable, consistent, homogeneous;
consonant; regular, constant, invariable, steady; similar, unvaried,
alike.
Ant. Heterogeneous, variable, varying, diverse; irregular,
inconsistent, erratic, eccentric, unsymmetrical.
Union. Unity, connection, concord, combination, confederacy,
alliance; coalition, conjunction; harmony, concert, agreement;
league, confederation, consolidation; oneness, juncture,
unification.