Legal Brevis

In Latin, brevis is the word for short.

Legal in Brief

In legal terms, a brief is a written legal document that is presented to a court to argue why one party to a particular case should prevail over another. Many courts in the United States have a 15 page maximum on briefs. To many people, 15 pages of legal jargon is not brief at all but this is the typical length of a legal brief.

The expression proof in brief refers to the establishment of fact by the use of evidence as part of a legal brief.

Unless you are someone who is particularly interested in law, the chances of you finding a website full of legal briefs pretty boring and without much meaning, is fairly probable.

This is not that website.

Brevis is dedicated to providing its readers with short pieces of information, in order to give a broad overview of common legal issues and the areas of law they pertain to. The information is intended for anyone who is interested in it but it is assumed that more people who are not educated or working in the field of law will want these brief bits of information compared to people who do.

Law in the United States

The United States Constitution is the foundation of the federal government of the United States. It is the language and ideas from the Constitution that sets out the boundaries of federal law. Federal law consists of Acts of Congress, treaties ratified by the Senate, regulations promulgated by the executive branch, and case law originating from the federal judiciary.

The United States Code (an abbreviation of the, Code of Laws of the United States of America) is the official compilation of the general and permanent federal statutes. It is prepared by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the United States House of Representatives. They are organized by subject matter and the amended sections are eliminated when they expire.

Branches of Government

The federal government in the United States is divided into three parts or, into three branches. These are the Executive Branch, Legislative Branch, and the Judicial Branch. In addition to the federal branches, each state has its own government and within each state government there are many local government agencies such as county and city governments. States can make laws that differ from federal laws but federal laws take precedence over laws from state and local governments.

Congress

Congress is divided into the Senate and House of Representatives. The Senate is made up of two Senators from each state (for a total of 100 Senators) and the House of Representatives is made up of 435 Representatives. The number of representatives a state has is dependent on the state’s population. Senators and representatives are elected by voters from their state.