JUSTIFICATION  , in See also:

• LAW
• LAW (0. Eng. lagu, M. Eng. lawe; from an old Teutonic root lag, " lie," what lies fixed or evenly; cf. Lat. lex, Fr. loi)
• LAW, JOHN (1671—1729)
• LAW, WILLIAM (1686-1761)

law, the showing by a See also:

• DEFENDANT

defendant in a suit of sufficient See also:

• REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

reason why he did what he was called upon to See also:

• ANSWER (derived from and, against, and the same root as swear)

answer, For example, in an See also:

• ACTION

action for See also:

• ASSAULT (from Lat. ad, to or on, and saltare, to leap)

assault and See also:

• BATTERY (Fr. batterie, from battles, to beat)

battery, the defendant may prove in justification that the prosecutor assaulted or See also:

• BEAT (a word common in various forms to the Teutonic languages; it is connected with the similar Romanic words derived from the Late Lat. battere)

beat him first, and that he acted merely in self-See also:

• DEFENCE
• DEFENCE (Lat. defendere, to defend)

defence . The word is employed particularly in actions for See also:

• DEFAMATION (from the classical Lat. diffamare, to spread abroad an evil report—the English form in de is taken from the Late Lat. defamare)

defamation, and has in this connexion a somewhat See also:

• SPECIAL

special meaning . When a See also:

• LIBEL

libel consists of a specific See also:

• CHARGE
• CHARGE (through the Fr. from the Late Lat. carricare, to load in a carrus or wagon; cf. " cargo ")

charge a plea of justification is a plea that the words are true in substance and in fact (see LIBEL AND See also:

• SLANDER

SLANDER) .