Breach of the peace is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries, and in a wider public order sense in Britain. Constitutional law is the study of foundational laws that govern the scope of powers and authority of various bodies in relation to the creation and execution of other laws by a government. ...

Constitutional law

In the United States, Article One of the United States Constitution provides that members of Congress shall be immune from arrest in going to and departing from sessions and while Congress is in session except for cases of "Treason, Felony, and Breach of the Peace". A similar protection applies to members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom during a session of Parliament and 40 days to either side of a session. This protection also extends to Peers of the United Kingdom at all times, although it has been used only twice since 1945. Wikisource has original text related to this article: Article One of the United States Constitution Article One of the United States Constitution establishes the legislative branch of the United States government, known as the Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. ... Congress in Joint Session. ... In law, treason is the crime of disloyalty to ones nation or state. ... A felony, in many common law legal systems, is the term for a very serious crime; misdemeanors are considered to be less serious. ... The Houses of Parliament, seen over Westminster Bridge The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ...

The first two are somewhat self-explanatory; it has been suggested that the third is deliberately somewhat vague. The doctrine thus established is called Congressional immunity; it arose out of the necessity to prevent a vengeful executive from arresting members of the legislative branch on a pretext to prevent them from taking actions that the executive might find to be displeasing. In recent years, this doctrine has been used to prevent members from being stopped and held for speeding on their way to sessions; this apparently is not a "breach of the peace", where as perhaps another misdemeanor such as "drunk and disorderly" might be construed to be such. Doctrine, from Latin doctrina, (compare doctor), means a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system. ... The Chicago Police Department arrests a man A protester is arrested during a demonstration. ... A legislature is a governmental deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. ... A speed limit is the maximum speed allowed by law for vehicles on a road. ... A misdemeanors (or misdemeanour), in many common law legal systems, is a lesser criminal act. ...

Most states of the United States and most other English-speaking jurisdictions have extended this privilege to members of their legislatures on the theory outlined above. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Public order

Main article: Disturbing the peace (crime)

The concept of a "breach of the peace" is more widely used in English law, however. Theoretically all criminal offences cognizable by English law involve "a breach of the King's (or Queen's) Peace, and all indictments conclude "against the Peace of our Lord the King (Queen), his (her) Crown and Dignity". Disturbing the peace is a crime generally defined as the unsettling of proper order in a public space through ones actions. ... English law is a formal term of art that describes the law for the time being in force in England and Wales. ... In English law, the Queens peace (or Kings peace, when a male is on the throne) is the peaceful, violence-free state that the realm should endure in at all times. ... The Crown is a term which is used to separate the government authority and property of the state in a kingdom from any personal influence and private assets held by the current Monarch. ...

Historically this phrase, now legally superfluous, represents the last trace of the process by which the royal courts assume jurisdiction over all offences, and gradually extruded the jurisdiction of the sheriff and of lords of manors and franchises, making crime a matter of national concern as distinguished from civil wrongs or infractions of the rights of local magnates. The Peace of the King was sworn on his accession or full recognition, and the jurisdiction of his courts to punish all violations of that peace was gradually asserted. The completion of this process is marked by the institution of the office of Justice of the Peace. A court is an official, public forum which a sovereign establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ... Sheriff is both a political and a legal office held under English common law, Scots law or U.S. common law, or the person who holds such office. ... In England, Lord of the Manor is a feudal title. ... In law, an exclusive right is the power or right to perform an action in relation to an object or other thing which others cannnot perform. ... In the common law, a tort is a civil wrong, other than a breach of contract, for which the law provides a remedy. ... A Justice of the Peace (JP) is someone appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. ...

The conclusion has also found its way into constitutional law in many United States state constitutions, which mandate that indictments within the state end in a similar manner to the above, usually omitting the "crown" part or substituting "government". For example New Jersey's is "against the peace of this State, the government and dignity of the same. [1] In the context of the United States of America, a state constitution is the governing document of a U.S. state, comparable to the U.S. Constitution which is the governing document of the United States. ... Official language(s) None defined, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 47th 22,608 km² 110 km 240 km 14. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.