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Maxims, axioms & idioms · a browsable collection

Legal maxims, political axioms, and the idioms that carry them into everyday argument — each with a plain-English gloss and where it comes from. We state what a maxim means and where it's from; we do not tell you it is right. Open any maxim to see the case law that cites or applies it — curated landmark cases plus a live search of the public record. The legal maxims cross-reference the same categories as our case law.

Legal maximsPolitical axiomsIdioms & mottosAll
Sic semper tyrannis idiom · Latin
“Thus always to tyrants”
The motto of Virginia; a declaration against tyranny. (Historically also shouted by Booth at Lincoln's assassination — stated as fact, not celebrated.)
Provenance: Virginia state motto (1776).

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Give me liberty, or give me death! idiom · English
Freedom is worth dying for — a Revolutionary rallying cry.
Provenance: Patrick Henry, 1775 (as later reconstructed).

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No taxation without representation idiom · English
Government may not tax those it does not represent — a founding American grievance.
Provenance: American Revolution-era slogan.

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The whole world is watching idiom · English
Publicity as a check on state violence against protesters.
Provenance: Chicago, 1968 Democratic Convention protests.

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Vox populi, vox Dei idiom · Latin
“The voice of the people is the voice of God”
Popular will carries great authority — though it is usually quoted against its original cautionary sense.
Provenance: Attrib. Alcuin (c. 800), who wrote it to WARN against trusting the crowd.

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