What is an example of a vague law?
The Supreme Court has often declared that the Constitution prohibits the enforcement of vague laws. Other vague laws have also been used to harass and intimidate businesses. The “wiretapping statute,” for example, prohibits the interception of transmitted messages.
Whats does vague mean?
1a : not clearly expressed : stated in indefinite terms vague accusations. b : not having a precise meaning a vague term of abuse. 2a : not clearly defined, grasped, or understood : indistinct only a vague notion of what’s needed also : slight a vague hint of a thickening waistline hasn’t the vaguest idea.
Why is the rule of law vague?
Vagueness in the law makes arbitrary government in the first three senses unavoidable. If the law is vague, judges are sometimes called on to resolve disputes for which the law provides no resolution. 7 With respect to such disputes, the law does not constrain the will of the judge.
What does it mean if a law is overbroad?
Overbreadth is shorthand for the overbreadth doctrine, which provides that a regulation of speech can sweep too broadly and prohibit protected as well as non-protected speech. A regulation of speech is unconstitutionally overbroad if it regulates a substantial amount of constitutionally protected expression.
Are Vague laws bad?
Vague laws involve three basic dangers: First, they may harm the innocent by failing to warn of the offense. Second, they encourage arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement because vague laws delegate enforcement and statutory interpretation to individual government officials.
What is the synonyms of vague?
Some common synonyms of vague are ambiguous, cryptic, dark, enigmatic, equivocal, and obscure.
What does it mean to think vaguely?
(of persons) not clear or definite in thought, understanding, or expression: vague about his motives;a vague person. (of the eyes, expression, etc.) showing lack of clear perception or understanding: a vague stare.
What is the substantive rule of law?
The most common substantive version includes individual rights within the rule of law. It assumes that citizens have moral rights and duties with respect to one another, and political rights against the state as a whole.
What rule of law means?
The Rule of Law, in its most basic form, is the principle that no person is above the law. The rule follows from the idea that truth, and therefore law, is based upon fundamental principles which can be discovered, but which cannot be created through an act of will.
Can a law be vague and overbroad?
Overbreadth and vagueness are grounds for a court to rule that a statute is unconstitutional. Courts typically apply these doctrines to First Amendment freedom of speech cases.
What are the problems with vague laws?
What is a vague constitution?
Vagueness sets the Constitution against law that is open to interpretation. It favors rules over standards—the more mechanical, the better. It takes no law off the table for being over-harsh: it only requires that the law’s harshness be clear, which can often be accomplished by making the law’s rules more sweeping.
What is the effect of vagueness on the law?
Vagueness turns the law into a sword dangling over citizens’ heads–and because government officials can choose when and how to enforce their own interpretations of the law, vagueness gives them power to make their decisions from unfair or discriminatory motives.
What is a voidvoid for vagueness?
Void for vagueness refers to a concept in American Constitutional law declares a law void and unenforceable if it is too vague for an average citizen to understand.
Why are overly vague laws unconstitutional?
But the Court did suggest three reasons why overly vague statutes are unconstitutional. First, due process requires that a law provide fair warning and provides a “persons of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to know what is prohibited, so that he may act accordingly.”
What is the meaning of the word vaguest?
Definition of vague 1 a : not clearly expressed : stated in indefinite terms vague accusations b : not having a precise meaning a vague term of abuse 2 a : not clearly defined, grasped, or understood : indistinct only a vague notion of what’s needed also : slight a vague hint of a thickening waistline hasn’t the vaguest idea