Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) plea bargaining, negotiation in which a defendant agrees to plead guilty to a criminal charge in exchange for concessions by the prosecutor (representing the state). The defendant waives the right to ...

(Encyclopedia) Portsmouth, Treaty of, 1905, treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War. It was signed at the Portsmouth Naval Base, New Hampshire, on Sept. 5, 1905. Negotiations leading up to the treaty began in the sprin...

(Encyclopedia) Jericho jĕrˈĭkō [key] [Heb.,=fragrant, or city of the moon god], Arab. Ariha, town (2003 est. pop. 19,000), West Bank, in the Jordan valley N of the Dead Sea; nearby is the site of the ancient cit...

(Encyclopedia) Hay-Pauncefote Treaties hā-pônsˈfo͝ot [key], negotiated in 1899 and 1901 by Secretary of State John Hay, for the United States, and Lord Pauncefote of Preston, British ambassador to the United Sta...

(Encyclopedia) liberation theology, belief that the Christian Gospel demands “a preferential option for the poor,” and that the church should be involved in the struggle for economic and political justice in the...

(Encyclopedia) lien, claim or charge held by one party, on property owned by a second party, as security for payment of some debt, obligation, or duty owed by that second party. A lien may arise by agreement between...

(Encyclopedia) Aroostook War, Feb.–May, 1839, border conflict between the United States and Canada. In 1838, Maine and New Brunswick both claimed territory left undetermined on the U.S.-Canadian border, including ...

(Encyclopedia) Duque Márquez, Iván, 1976–, Colombian lawyer and political leader, b. Bogotá, grad. Sergio Arbolida Univ., Bogotá, 2000, studied American Univ. and Georgetown Univ., Washington, D.C. From a well...

(Encyclopedia) duress dyo͝oˈrĭs, do͝oˈ–, do͝orĕsˈ [key], in law, actual or threatened violence or imprisonment, by reason of which a person is forced to enter into an agreement or to perform some other act...

(Encyclopedia) Aehrenthal, Alois Lexa, Graf von äˈlōēs lākˈsä gräf fən ârˈəntäl [key], 1854–1912, Austro-Hungarian foreign minister (1906–12). The chief event of his ministry was the Austrian annexa...