[Latin, With stronger reason.] This phrase is used in logic to denote an argument to the effect that because one ascertained fact exists, therefore another which is included in it or analogous to it and is less improbable, unusual, or surprising must also exist. …
Latin, From table and bed, but more commonly translated as "from bed and board." …
[Latin, From the effect to the cause.] A posteriori describes a method of reasoning from given, express observations or experiments to reach and formulate general principles from them. This is also called inductive reasoning. …
[Latin, From the cause to the effect.] This phrase refers to a type of reasoning that examines given general principles to discover what particular facts or real-life observations can be derived from them. Another name for this method is deductive reasoning. …
The illegality of the conduct or the revelation of the real facts makes the entire situation illegal ab initio (from the beginning), not just from the time the wrongful behavior occurs. A person who enters property under the authority of law but who then by misconduct abuses his or her right to be on the property is considered a trespasser ab initio. If a sheriff enters property under the authorit…
The surrender, relinquishment, disclaimer, or cession of property or of rights. Voluntary relinquishment of all right, title, claim, and possession, with the intention of not reclaiming it. The giving up of a thing absolutely, without reference to any particular person or purpose. For example, vacating property with the intention of not returning, so that it may be appropriated by the next comer o…
A reduction, a decrease, or a diminution. The suspension or cessation, in whole or in part, of a continuing charge, such as rent. With respect to estates, an abatement is a proportional diminution or reduction of the monetary legacies, a disposition of property by will, when the funds or assets out of which such legacies are payable are insufficient to pay them in full. The intention of the testat…
An entire overthrow or destruction of a suit so that it is quashed and ended. Today there are statutes that permit the revival of an action that was pending when a party died. An executor or administrator is substituted for the deceased party and the lawsuit continues. A lawsuit may not be revived unless the underlying cause of action, the ground for the suit, continues to have a legal existence a…
Benjamin Vaughn Abbott was born June 4, 1830, in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from New York University in 1850 and was admitted to the New York bar in 1852. From 1855 to 1870 Abbott, in collaboration with his brother Austin, wrote a series of law treatises and reports, including Digest of New York Statutes and Reports (1860). The series led to Abbott's New York Digest, the most recen…
Renunciation of the privileges and prerogatives of an office. The act of a sovereign in renouncing and relinquishing his or her government or throne, so that either the throne is left entirely vacant, or is filled by a successor appointed or elected before-hand. Also, where a magistrate or person in office voluntarily renounces or gives it up before the time of service has expired. It differs from…
Ralph Abernathy. BETTMANN/CORBIS buses by black passengers that led to the successful desegregation of local bus lines one year later. To build on this triumph, the pastors called a meeting of black leaders from ten southern states in January 1957 at an Atlanta church. This meeting marked the founding of the SCLC, which was devoted to the goal of furthering civil rights throughout the south…
To encourage or incite another to commit a crime. This word is usually applied to aiding in the commission of a crime. To abet another to commit a murder is to command, procure, counsel, encourage, induce, or assist. To facilitate the commission of a crime, promote its accomplishment, or help in advancing or bringing it about. In relation to charge of aiding and abetting, term includes knowledge o…
One who commands, advises, instigates, or encourages another to commit a crime. A person who, being present, incites another to commit a crime, and thus becomes a principal. To be an abettor, the accused must have instigated or advised the commission of a crime or been present for the purpose of assisting in its commission; he or she must share criminal intent with which the crime was committed. …
For example, until an order of foreclosure is granted by a court, a mortgagee does not have title to the property of a delinquent debtor that is the subject of a mortgage in those jurisdictions that follow the lien theory of mortgages. …
The Schempp ruling involved two cases: its namesake and Murray v. Curlett, 228 Md. 239, 179 A. 2d 698 (Md. 1962). The Schempp case concerned a 1949 Pennsylvania law that forced public schools to start each day with a reading of ten Bible verses (24 Pa. Stat. § 15-1516). The law did not specify which version of the Bible should be used—for instance, it could be the Catholic Douay text…
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The early abolitionists played an important role in outlawing slavery in Northern states by the early nineteenth century. Vermont outlawed slavery in 1777, and Massachusetts declared it inconsistent with its new state constitution, ratified in 1780. Over the next three decades, other Northern states, including Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, passed gradual emancipation laws that freed all …
The spontaneous or artificially induced expulsion of an embryo or fetus. As used in legal context, the term usually refers to induced abortion. …
The case began on August 23, 1918, when Jacob Abrams, a Russian immigrant and a professed anarchist, was arrested in New York City with four others. Abrams and his comrades admitted to writing, printing, and distributing two sets of leaflets, one in English and one in Yiddish, assailing President Woodrow Wilson as a "coward" and a "hypocrite" for sending troops to fight…
To go in a clandestine manner out of the jurisdiction of the courts, or to lie concealed, in order to avoid their process. To hide, conceal, or absent oneself clandestinely, with the intent to avoid legal process. To postpone limitations. To flee from arresting or prosecuting officers of the state. …
One who absconds from creditors to avoid payment of debts. A debtor who has intentionally concealed himself or herself from creditors, or withdrawn from the reach of their suits, with intent to frustrate their just demands. Such act was formerly an act of bankruptcy. A person who moves out of the state may be an absconding debtor if it is that person's intention to avoid paying money that h…
One who has left, either temporarily or permanently, his or her domicile or usual place of residence or business. A person beyond the geographical borders of a state who has not authorized an agent to represent him or her in legal proceedings that may be commenced against him or her within the state. An absentee landlord is an individual who leases real estate to another but who does not reside in…
Participation in an election by qualified voters who are permitted to mail in their ballots. The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C.A. § 1973 ff et seq.) covers absentee voting in presidential elections, but the states regulate absentee voting in all other elections. According to Article I, Section 4, of the U.S. Constitution, "The Times, Places and Manner …
Complete; perfect; final; without any condition or incumbrance; as an absolute bond in distinction from a conditional bond. Unconditional; complete and perfect in itself; without relation to or dependence on other things or persons. Free from conditions, limitations or qualifications, not dependent, or modified or affected by circumstances; that is, without any condition or restrictive provisions.…
A document used to transfer unrestricted title to property. An absolute deed is different from a mortgage deed, which transfers ownership back to the mortgagee when the terms of the mortgage have been fulfilled. …
The concept under which a federal court exercises its discretion and equitable powers and declines to decide a legal action over which it has jurisdiction pursuant to the Constitution and statutes where the state judiciary is capable of rendering a definitive ruling in the matter. The abstention doctrine was adopted by the Supreme Court to allow the federal judiciary to refrain from ruling on cons…
To take or withdraw from; as, to abstract the funds of a bank. To remove or separate. To summarize or abridge. An abstract comprises—or concentrates in itself—the essential qualities of a larger thing—or of several things—in a short, abbreviated form. It differs from a transcript, which is a verbatim copy of the thing itself and is more comprehensive. …
A condensed history, taken from public records or documents, of the ownership of a piece of land. An abstract of title, or title abstract, briefly summarizes the various activities affecting ownership of a parcel of land. When a person or business agrees to purchase real estate, that person or business arranges for an examination of the history of the property's title. This examination is k…
Taking from someone with an intent to injure or defraud. …
Everything that is contrary to good order established by usage. Departure from reasonable use; immoderate or improper use. Physical or mental maltreatment. Misuse. Deception. To wrong in speech, reproach coarsely, disparage, revile, and malign. …
Using prior sexual or other physical abuse as evidence in a criminal defense is largely a result of research regarding mental disorders caused by such abuse. Psychologists and other researchers have identified disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder and battered woman syndrome, as causes for severe emotional instability that can lead to violent acts by the victim against his or her abu…
Where a trial court must exercise discretion in deciding a question, it must do so in a way that is not clearly against logic and the evidence. An improvident exercise of discretion is an error of law and grounds for reversing a decision on appeal. It does not, however, necessarily amount to bad faith, intentional wrong, or misconduct by the trial judge. For example, the traditional standard of ap…
Improper use of authority by someone who has that authority because he or she holds a public office. Abuse of power is different from usurpation of power, which is an exercise of authority that the offender does not actually have. …
The use of legal process to accomplish an unlawful purpose; causing a summons, writ, warrant, mandate, or any other process to issue from a court in order to accomplish some purpose not intended by the law. For example, a grocer rents a small building but complains to the landlord about the inadequate heating system, leaks in the roof, and potholes in the driveway. When the landlord fails to make …
Tending to deceive; practicing abuse; prone to ill-treat by coarse, insulting words or harmful acts. Using ill treatment; injurious, improper, hurtful, offensive, reproachful. Using abusive language, even though offensive, is not criminal unless it amounts to fighting words that, by their very utterance, tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. …
To reach; to touch. To touch at the end; be contiguous; join at a border or boundary; terminate on; end at; border on; reach or touch with an end. The term abutting implies a closer proximity than the term adjacent. When referring to real property, abutting means that there is no intervening land between the abutting parcels. Generally, properties that share a common boundary are abutting. A statu…
Bella Abzug. AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS With her raspy voice, New York accent, and trademark floppy hat, Abzug was one of the most recognizable public figures in recent U.S. history. Bella Savitsky was born on July 24, 1920, in New York City and was raised in the Bronx. The daughter of Russian immigrant Jews, her father was a butcher who operated the "Live and Let Live" meat market.…
The right to teach as one sees fit, but not necessarily the right to teach evil. The term encompasses much more than teaching-related speech rights of teachers. Educational institutions are communities unto themselves with rules of their own, and when conflicts arise, the most common and compelling arguments involve freedom. As a result, the academic community is famous for blazing new trails of f…
That period of time necessary to complete an actual course of study during a school year. …
The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) was founded in 1963 to foster professionalism in the criminal justice system by advancing the quality of education and research programs in the field. The academy seeks to enrich education and research programs in institutions of higher learning, criminal justice agencies, and agencies in related fields by improving cooperation and communication, by …
To consent or to agree, as to accede to another's point of view. To enter an office or to accept a position, as to accede to the presidency. …
A hastening; a shortening of the time until some event takes place. A person who has the right to take possession of property at some future time may have that right accelerated if the present holder loses his or her legal right to the property. If a life estate fails for any reason, the remainder is accelerated. A sample acceleration clause move the right to remedies back to the time of re…
The provision in a credit agreement, such as a mortgage, note, bond, or deed of trust, that allows the lender to require immediate payment of all money due if certain conditions occur before the time that payment would otherwise be due. The agreement may call for acceleration whenever there is a default of any important obligation, such as nonpayment of principal or interest, or the failure to pay…
An express act or implication by conduct that manifests assent to the terms of an offer in a manner invited or required by the offer so that a binding contract is formed. The exercise of power conferred by an offer by performance of some act. The act of a person to whom something is offered or tendered by another, whereby the offeree demonstrates through an act invited by the offer an intention of…
In real property law, the term access denotes the right vested in the owner of the land that adjoins a road or other highway to go and return from his own land to the highway without obstruction. Access to property does not necessarily carry with it possession. Prisoners are entitled to have access to court. Prison officials cannot prevent prisoners from filing papers or appearing in court even if…
Coming into possession of a right or office; increase; augmentation; addition. The right to all that one's own property produces, whether that property be movable or immovable; and the right to that which is united to it by accession, either naturally or artificially. The right to own things that become a part of something already owned. The commencement or inauguration of a sovereign…
Aiding or contributing in a secondary way or assisting in or contributing to as a subordinate. One who aids, abets, commands, or counsels another in the commission of a crime. In common law, an accessory could not be found guilty unless the actual perpetrator was convicted. In most U.S. jurisdictions today, however, an accessory can be convicted even if the principal actor is not arrested or is ac…
The word accident is derived from the Latin verb accidere, signifying "fall upon, befall, happen, chance." In its most commonly accepted meaning, or in its ordinary or popular sense, the word may be defined as meaning: some sudden and unexpected event taking place without expectation, upon the instant, rather than something that continues, progresses or develops; something happening …
A provision of a life insurance policy stating that if the insured—the person whose life has been insured—dies in an accident, the beneficiary of the policy—the person to whom its proceeds are payable—will receive twice the face value of the policy. The insurance company that is liable for the payment of such a benefit will conduct a thorough investigation into the caus…
A death caused by a lawful act done under the reasonable belief that no harm was likely to result. Although most states have abolished the common law of crimes, some of the concepts underlying the common law distinctions between manslaughter and accidental killings continue to appear in statutory classifications of manslaughter. …
An imprecise term that refers generally to a continuous body of a mineral or mineralized rock filling a seam other than the principal vein that led to the discovery of the mining claim or location. …
Mishaps that are peculiar to travel by sea or to normal navigation; accidents caused at sea by the action of the elements, rather than by a failure to exercise good handling, working, or navigating of a ship. Such accidents could not have been avoided by the exercise of nautical skill or prudence. …
An accommodation endorsement is a loan of the endorser's credit up to the face amount of the paper. …
Accommodation paper guarantees that the money lent will be repaid by the accommodation party on the date specified in the commercial paper if the accommodated party fails to repay it. A lender often uses an accommodation paper when the person who is seeking a loan is considered a poor credit risk, such as a person who has a history of being delinquent in the payment of installment loans. By having…
A person wanting to obtain a car loan, for example, may offer a finance company a promissory note for the amount of the requested loan, promising to repay the amount over a number of years. If the company does not consider the person a good credit risk (one who will be able to repay the loan), it will request that someone else sign the note to ensure that the company will be repaid. Such a person …
To go along with; to go with or to attend as a companion or associate. A motor vehicle statute may require beginning drivers or drivers under a certain age to be accompanied by a licensed adult driver whenever operating an automobile. To comply with such a law, the licensed adult must supervise the beginner and be seated in such a way as to be able to render advice and assistance. …
An accomplice may assist or encourage the principal offender with the intent to have the crime committed, the same as the chief actor. An accomplice may or may not be present when the crime is actually committed. However, without sharing the criminal intent, one who is merely present when a crime occurs and stands by silently is not an accomplice, no matter how reprehensible his or her inaction. A…
Generally, there can be no conviction solely on the basis of what is said by an accomplice witness; there must be evidence from an unrelated source to corroborate the witness's testimony. …
An agreement that settles a dispute, generally requiring an obligee to accept a compromise or satisfaction from the obligor with something less than what was originally demanded. Also often used synonymously with treaty. …
An accord and satisfaction can be made only by persons who have the legal capacity to enter into a contract. A settlement is not binding on an insane person, for example; and an infant may have the right to disaffirm the contract. Therefore, a person, such as a guardian, acting on behalf of a person incapable of contracting for himself or herself may make an accord and satisfaction for the person …
The act of giving birth to a child. The fact of accouchement may be proved by the direct testimony of someone who was present, such as a midwife or a physician, at the time of birth. It may be significant in proving parentage; for example, where there is some question about who is entitled to inherit property from an elderly person who died leaving only distant relatives. …
A written list of transactions, noting money owed and money paid; a detailed statement of mutual demands arising out of a contract or a fiduciary relationship. An account can simply list payments, losses, sales, debits, credits, and other monetary transactions, or it may go further and show a balance or the results of comparing opposite transactions, like purchases and sales. Businesspersons keep …
An action on account is different from a modern-day accounting, which is a settling of accounts or a determination of transactions affecting two parties, often when one party asks a court to order the other party to account. …
A debt owed by a business that arises in the normal course of its dealings, that has not been replaced by a note from another debtor, and that is not necessarily due or past due. Bills for materials received or obligations on an open account may be accounts payable. This kind of liability usually arises from a purchase of merchandise, materials, or supplies. …
A debt owed by a business that arises in the normal course of dealings and is not supported by a negotiable instrument. The charge accounts of a department store are accounts receivable, but income from investments usually is not. Accounts receivable generally arise from sales or service transactions. They are not necessarily due or past due. Insurance may be purchased to protect against the risk …
A statement of transactions made out by a creditor and presented to the debtor. After the debtor has examined the account and accepted it, an account rendered becomes an account stated. …
An amount that accurately states money due to a creditor; a debt arising out of transactions between a debtor and creditor that has been reduced to a balance due for the items of account. A creditor agrees to accept and a debtor agrees that a specific sum is a true and exact statement of the amount he or she owes. The debtor may agree in words to pay the amount, or it may be understood that the de…
A person who has the requisite skill and experience in establishing and maintaining accurate financial records for an individual or a business. The duties of an accountant may include designing and controlling systems of records, auditing books, and preparing financial statements. An accountant may give tax advice and prepare tax returns. A public accountant renders accounting or auditing services…
A system of recording or settling accounts in financial transactions; the methods of determining income and expenses for tax and other financial purposes. Also, one of the remedies available for enforcing a right or redressing a wrong asserted in a lawsuit. The cost method of accounting records the value of assets at their actual cost, and the fair value method uses the present market value for th…
In certain states—for example, California—it is acceptable for a law school to be accredited by the state and not by either the AALS or the ABA. In most states, however, only graduates of AALS or ABA accredited law schools are permitted to take the state bar examination. …
The act of adding portions of soil to the soil already in possession of the owner by gradual deposition through the operation of natural causes. The growth of the value of a particular item given to a person as a specific bequest under the provisions of a will between the time the will was written and the time of death of the testator—the person who wrote the will. Accretion of land is of t…
Taxpayers who use the accrual method must include in their taxable income any money that they have the right to receive as payment for services, once it has been earned. Any expenses that they may take as deductions when computing taxable income must be due at the time the deduction is taken. For example, suppose a surgeon performed a tonsillectomy in October 2003, and on December 31, 2003, he rec…
To increase; to augment; to come to by way of increase; to be added as an increase, profit, or damage. Acquired; falling due; made or executed; matured; occurred; received; vested; was created; was incurred. To attach itself to, as a subordinate or accessory claim or demand arises out of, and is joined to, its principal. The term is also used of independent or original demands, meaning to arise, t…
An arrangement whereby property is transferred by its owner—the settlor—with the intention that it be administered by someone else—a trustee—for another person's benefit, with the direction that the trustee gather, rather than distribute, the income of the trust and any profits made from the sale of any of the property making up the trust until the time specified…
A second or additional judgment against a person who has already been convicted and sentenced for another crime; the execution of the second judgment is postponed until the person's first sentence has been completed. …
A sentence—a court's formal pronouncement of the legal consequences of a person's conviction of a crime—additional to others, imposed on a defendant who has been convicted upon an indictment containing several counts, each charging a distinct offense, or who is under conviction at the same time for several distinct offenses; each sentence is to run consecutively, beginn…
A formal criminal charge against a person alleged to have committed an offense punishable by law, which is presented before a court or a magistrate having jurisdiction to inquire into the alleged crime. …
To acknowledge is to admit, affirm, declare, testify, avow, confess, or own as genuine. Admission or affirmation of obligation or responsibility. Most states have adopted the Uniform Acknowledgment Act. The requirement for acknowledgments on certain documents—such as deeds transferring the ownership of real property, wills giving the ownership of property to a decedent's heirs after …
Conduct recognizing the existence of a transaction and intended to permit the transaction to be carried into effect; a tacit agreement; consent inferred from silence. …
A disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that produces disorders and infections that can lead to death. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), a fatal disease that attacks the body's immune system making it unable to resist infection, is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which is communicable in some bodily fluids and transmitted primarily through sexu…
A fee imposed upon a borrower who satisfies a loan prior to the date of payment specified in the loan agreement. Many home mortgages provide that if the persons who borrowed the money want to repay their mortgage within two years, they must pay an acquisition charge of a small percentage of the outstanding balance of the mortgage. Prepayment penalty is another name for acquisition charge. …
To set free, release or discharge as from an obligation, burden or accusation. To absolve one from an obligation or a liability; or to legally certify the innocence of one charged with a crime. …
The legal and formal certification of the innocence of a person who has been charged with a crime. …
Something done; usually, something done intentionally or voluntarily or with a purpose. The term encompasses not only physical acts—such as turning on the water or purchasing a gun—but also refers to more intangible acts such as adopting a decree, edict, law, judgment, award, or determination. An act may be a private act, done by an individual managing his or her personal affairs, or…
An event that directly and exclusively results from the occurrence of natural causes that could not have been prevented by the exercise of foresight or caution; an inevitable accident. Courts have recognized various events as acts of God—tornadoes, earthquakes, death, extraordinarily high tides, violent winds, and floods. Many insurance policies for property damage exclude from their protec…
Conduct; behavior; something done; a series of acts. A case or lawsuit; a legal and formal demand for enforcement of one's rights against another party asserted in a court of justice. …
Case differs from trespass in that it redresses more indirect injuries than the willful invasion of the plaintiff's property contemplated by trespass. It was designed to supplement the action of trespass. For example, a person struck by a log thrown over a fence could maintain an action in trespass against the thrower. If, instead, the wrongdoer tossed the log into the street and the plaint…
Legally sufficient to support a lawsuit in itself. …
The fair or reasonable cash price for which a property could be sold in the market in the ordinary course of business, and not at forced sale. The price it will bring in a fair market after reasonable efforts to find a purchaser who will give the highest price. What property is worth in money, allowing for depreciation. Ordinarily, actual cash value, fair market value, and market value are synonym…
Conveying facts to a person with the intention to apprise that person of a proceeding in which his or her interests are involved, or informing a person of some fact that he or she has a right to know and which the informer has a legal duty to communicate. When such notice has been given to someone personally, it is called express actual notice or express notice. If a tenant notifies a landlord tha…
The profession also includes statisticians who provide expert data analysis on risk assessment and risk management for the financial services sector. Actuaries are most often employed within the insurance industry, but also prepare and assess data for commercial and investment banks, retirement and pension fund administrators, or are self-employed as consultants. Specific data prepared by actuarie…
[Latin, Guilty act.] As an element of criminal responsibility, the wrongful act or omission that comprises the physical components of a crime. Criminal statutes generally require proof of both actus reus and mens rea on the part of a defendant in order to establish criminal liability. …
[Latin, To the loss.] The clause in a complaint that sets a maximum amount of money that the plaintiff can recover under a default judgment if the defendant fails to appear in court. In some states, the ad damnum sets an absolute limit on the amount of damages recoverable in the case, regardless of how much loss the plaintiff is able to prove at trial. The reason for this rule is that a defendant …
[Latin, For this; for this special purpose.] An attorney ad hoc or a guardian or curator ad hoc is one appointed for a special purpose, generally to represent the client, ward, or child in the particular action in which the appointment is made. …
[Latin, To the person.] A term used in debate to denote an argument made personally against an opponent, instead of against the opponent's argument. …
[Latin, In the meantime.] An officer ad interim is a person appointed to fill a position that is temporarily open, or to perform the functions of a particular position during the absence or temporary incapacity of the individual who regularly fulfills those duties. …
According to value. An article of commerce may be subjected to an ad valorem tax in proportion to its value, which is determined by assessment or appraisal. Duties, taxes on goods imported or brought into this country from a foreign country, are either ad valorem or specific. An ad valorem duty is one in the form of a percentage on the value of the property, unlike a specific duty that is a fixed …
John Adams achieved prominence on many levels—as jurist, statesman, and as the second president of the United States. Known for his sharp diplomatic skills, his flair for words, and his spirited activism, he was an instrumental figure in forging the fledgling nation that would become the United States of America. John Adams. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS independent nation. In 1785, Adams beca…
Adams was born on July 11, 1767, in Brain-tree, Massachusetts (now Quincy, Massachusetts). As the son of one of the nation's founders, he had many opportunities not available to other young men. Before reaching the age when young people today graduate from high school, Adams had established himself as a diplomat. He accompanied his father on diplomatic missions to Europe in 1778 and 1780, w…
The act or process of modifying an object to render it suitable for a particular or new purpose or situation. In the law of patents—grants by the government to inventors for the exclusive right to manufacture, use, or market inventions for a term of years—adaptation denotes a category of patentable inventions, which entails the application of an existing product or process to a new u…
A purchase of additional goods before payment is made for goods already purchased. An add-on may be covered by a clause in an installment payment contract that allows the seller to hold a security interest in the earlier goods until full payment is made on the later goods. …
Addams was the youngest of eight children born to John H. and Sarah Addams. Her mother died when she was two years old, and her teenage sisters, Mary, Martha, and Alice, took over her upbringing. Her family followed the Quaker faith, and valued hard work and change through peaceful efforts. Addams idolized her father, whom she described as a man of great integrity. He remained a pivotal figure in …
Any individual who habitually uses any narcotic drug so as to endanger the public morals, health, safety, or welfare, or who is so drawn to the use of such narcotic drugs as to have lost the power of self-control with reference to his or her drug use. Addiction to narcotics is not a crime in itself, but that does not excuse violation of related statutes. It may be an offense to be under the influe…
A provision added to an insurance policy to extend the scope of coverage to include further risks to dwellings. …
A charge given to a jury by a judge after the original instructions to explain the law and guide the jury in its decision making. Additional instructions are frequently needed after the jury has begun deliberations and finds that it has a question concerning the evidence, a point of law, or some part of the original charge. …
The power of the trial court to assess damages or increase the amount of an inadequate award made by jury verdict, as a condition of a denial of a motion for a new trial, with the consent of the defendant whether or not the plaintiff consents to such action. This is not allowed in the federal system. Damages assessed by a jury may be set aside when the amount is shocking to the judicial conscience…
To present, offer, bring forward, or introduce. For example, a bill of particulars that lists each of the plaintiff's demands may recite that it contains all the evidence to be adduced at trial. …
The failure of a gift of personal property—a bequest—or of real property—a devise—to be distributed according to the provisions of a decedent's will because the property no longer belongs to the testator at the time of his or her death or because the property has been substantially changed. There are two types of ademption: by extinction and by satisfaction. …
Sufficient; equal to what is required; suitable to the case or occasion. …
Sufficient compensation by way of monetary damages. …
A type of contract, a legally binding agreement between two parties to do a certain thing, in which one side has all the bargaining power and uses it to write the contract primarily to his or her advantage. An example of an adhesion contract is a standardized contract form that offers goods or services to consumers on essentially a "take it or leave it" basis without giving consumers…
Lying near or close to; neighboring. Adjacent means that objects or parcels of land are not widely separated, though perhaps they are not actually touching; but adjoining implies that they are united so closely that no other object comes between them. …
Those persons, such as next-door and backyard neighbors, who own lands that share common boundaries and therefore have mutual rights, duties, and liabilities. …
When a term is adjourned, it is actually prolonged due to a temporary putting off of the business being conducted. …
A putting off or postponing of proceedings; an ending or dismissal of further business by a court, legislature, or public official—either temporarily or permanently. If an adjournment is final, it is said to be sine die, "without day" or without a time fixed to resume the work. An adjournment is different from a recess, which is only a short break in proceedings. In legislatur…
To determine by a judge; to pass on and decide judicially. A person adjudged guilty is one who has been convicted in court. …
The legal process of resolving a dispute. The formal giving or pronouncing of a judgment or decree in a court proceeding; also the judgment or decision given. The entry of a decree by a court in respect to the parties in a case. It implies a hearing by a court, after notice, of legal evidence on the factual issue(s) involved. The equivalent of a determination. It indicates that the claims of all t…
Adjudicative facts, of which a trial court may take notice if a fact is not subject to reasonable dispute, are those to which law is applied in the process of adjudication; they are facts that, in a jury case, normally go to the jury. The role of a U.S. court is to resolve the dispute that has brought the parties before it. Determining what happened to whom, when and how it happened, and what the …
Attachment or affixing to another. Something attached as a dependent or auxiliary part. …
A swearing; taking an oath to be truthful. To adjure is to command solemnly, warning that penalties may be invoked. …
To settle or arrange; to free from differences or discrepancies. To bring to a satisfactory state so that parties are agreed, as to adjust amount of loss by fire or controversy regarding property or estate. To bring to proper relations. To determine and apportion an amount due. The term is sometimes used in the sense of pay, when used in reference to a liquidated claim. Determination of an amount …
The rules for computing adjusted gross income for federal income tax may differ from the rules in a state that imposes a state income tax. …
A person appointed or employed to settle or arrange matters that are in dispute; one who determines the amount to be paid on a claim. An insurance adjuster determines the extent of the insurance company's liability when a claim is submitted. A public adjuster is a self-employed person who is hired by litigants to determine or settle the amount of a claim or debt. …
Stocks and bonds of a new corporation that are issued to stockholders during a corporate reorganization in exchange for stock held in the original corporation before it was reorganized. …
To give an oath, as to administer the oath of office to the president at the inauguration. To direct the transactions of business or government. Immigration laws are administered largely by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. To take care of affairs, as an executor administers the estate of a deceased person. To directly cause the ingestion of medications or poisons. To apply a court decre…
An executor or administrator must carry out the responsibilities of administration, including collection and preservation of the decedent's assets; payment of debts and claims against the estate; payment of estate tax; and distribution of the balance of the estate to the decedent's heirs. …
The Office of Administration was established within the Executive Office of the President The Office of Administration provides administrative support services to all EOP offices in the White House, including services that are in direct support of the president. The services provided by the Office of Administration include personnel management; financial management; data processing; and offic…
Whatever actions are necessary to carry out the intent of statutes; those acts required by legislative policy as it is expressed in laws enacted by the legislature. …
Most formal proceedings before an administrative agency follow the process of either rule making or adjudication. Rule making formulates policy by setting rules for the future conduct of persons governed by that agency. Adjudication applies the agency's policy to the past actions of a particular party, and it results in an order for or against that party. Both methods are strictly regulated…
Administrative agencies are created by the federal Constitution, the U.S. Congress, state legislatures, and local lawmaking bodies to manage crises, redress serious social problems, or oversee complex matters of governmental concern beyond the expertise of legislators. Although Article I, Section 1, of the federal Constitution plainly states that "[a]ll legislative Powers herein granted sha…
Created in 1968, the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) was a federal independent agency and advisory committee chartered for the purpose of ensuring the fair and efficient administration of various federal agencies. The ACUS studied administrative processes and recommended improvements in the procedures by which federal agencies administered regulatory, benefit, and other gover…
The exercise of professional expertise and judgment, as opposed to strict adherence to regulations or statutes, in making a decision or performing official acts or duties. …
Administrative law is the body of law that allows for the creation of public regulatory agencies and contains all of the statutes, judicial decisions, and regulations that govern them. It is created by administrative agencies to implement their powers and duties in the form of rules, regulations, orders, and decisions. Administrative procedure constitutes the methods and processes before administr…
Since its original enactment in 1946, the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C.A. §§ 501 et seq., has governed the process that federal administrative agencies follow. The statute applies to all federal agencies except for those that are expressly exempted from its provisions. Despite the broad nature of the act, however, it allows flexibility among the various agencies in car…
A person appointed by the court to manage and take charge of the assets and liabilities of a decedent who has died without making a valid will. When such a person is a male, he is called an administrator, while a woman is called an administratrix. An administrator c.t.a. (cum testamento annexo, Latin for "with the will annexed") is appointed by the court where the testator had made a…
A term used to describe information that is relevant to a determination of issues in any judicial proceeding so that such information can be properly considered by a judge or jury in making a decision. Evidence is admissible if it is of such a character that the court is bound to accept it during the trial so that it may be evaluated by the judge or jury. Admissible evidence is the foundation of t…
In a lawsuit over whether a defendant negligently drove a car into the plaintiff pedestrian, the defendant's apology to the plaintiff and payment of the plaintiff's medical bills are admissions that may be introduced as evidence against the defendant. An admission may be express, such as a written or verbal statement by a person concerning the truth, or it may be implied by a person&…
The procedure that governs the authorization of attorneys to practice law before the state and federal courts. Statutes, rules, and regulations governing admission to practice law have been enacted to protect the public interest, in terms of preventing the victimization of clients by incompetent practitioners. The courts have inherent power to promulgate reasonable rules and regulations for admiss…
To accept, appropriate, choose, or select, as to adopt a child. To consent to and put into effect, as to adopt a constitution or a law. …
A two-step judicial process in conformance to state statutory provisions in which the legal obligations and rights of a child toward the biological parents are terminated and new rights and obligations are created between the child and the adoptive parents. Adoption involves the creation of the parent-child relationship between individuals who are not naturally so related. The adopted child is giv…
A person who by virtue of attaining a certain age, generally eighteen, is regarded in the eyes of the law as being able to manage his or her own affairs. The age specified by law, called the legal age of majority, indicates that a person acquires full legal capacity to be bound by various documents, such as contracts and deeds, that he or she makes with others and to commit other legal acts such a…
Mixing something impure with something genuine, or an inferior article with a superior one of the same kind. …
Voluntary sexual relations between an individual who is married and someone who is not the individual's spouse. Adultery is viewed by the law in many jurisdictions as an offense injurious to public morals and a mistreatment of the marriage relationship. …
To pay money or give something of value before the date designated to do so; to provide capital to help a planned enterprise, expecting a return from it; to give someone an item before payment has been made for it. …
Pamphlets containing recently decided opinions of federal courts or state courts of a particular region. Cases appearing in advance sheets are subsequently published in bound volumes containing several past pamphlets, usually with the same volume and page numbers as appeared in the advance sheets. Sometimes a court will publish an individual opinion soon after it has been rendered by the court. Th…
A gift of money or property made by a person while alive to his or her child or other legally recognized heir, the value of which the person intends to be deducted from the child's or heir's eventual share in the estate after the giver's death. …
Any action, hearing, investigation, inquest, or inquiry brought by one party against another in which the party seeking relief has given legal notice to and provided the other party with an opportunity to contest the claims that have been made against him or her. A court trial is a typical example of an adversary proceeding. …
U.S. courtrooms have often been compared to battlefields or playing fields. The adversary system by which legal disputes are settled in the United States promotes the idea that legal controversies are battles or contests to be fought and won using all available resources. In the Anglo-American adversary system, the parties to a dispute, or their advocates, square off against each other and assume …
The legal right or liability of a person called to testify as a witness in a lawsuit that might be lost or impaired if the party who called him or her to testify wins the case. This interest against the interest of the party calling a witness to the stand makes him or her an adverse or hostile witness. Although usually the party calling a witness to testify cannot impeach that person's cred…
Adverse possession is similar to prescription, another way to acquire title to real property by occupying it for a period of time. Prescription is not the same, however, because title acquired under it is presumed to have resulted from a lost grant, as opposed to the expiration of the statutory time limit in adverse possession. Ownership of personal property may be acquired by adverse possession i…
The authority given by the U.S. Constitution to the Senate to ratify treaties and confirm presidential cabinet, ambassadorial, and judicial appointments. …
To give an opinion or recommend a plan or course of action; to give notice; to encourage, inform, or acquaint. Advise does not mean the same as instruct or persuade. If a statute authorized a trial court to acquit, the court has no power to instruct the jury to acquit. The court can only counsel, and the jury is not bound by the advice. …
Deliberation; consultation. A court takes a case under advisement after it has heard the arguments made by the counsel of opposing sides in the lawsuit but before it renders its decision. …
A jury that makes recommendations to a judge but does not render final judgment. …
An opinion by a court as to the legality of proposed legislation or conduct, given in response to a request by the government, legislature, or some other interested party. Advisory opinions are issued in the absence of a case or controversy. Although they are not binding and carry no precedential value, they are sometimes offered as persuasive evidence in cases where no precedent exists. While cou…
The science and art of flight, encompassing the functioning and ownership of aircraft vehicles from balloons to those that travel into space. Aviation is travel by means of an aircraft that is heavier than air. Aerospace is a term used in reference to the atmosphere and the area beyond. The aerospace industry is involved with the planning and building of vehicles operating in both air and space. A…
A written statement of facts voluntarily made by an affiant under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. An affidavit is based upon either the personal knowledge of the affiant or his or her information and belief. Personal knowledge is the recognition of particular facts by either direct observation or experience. Information and belief is what the affiant fee…
A court hearing to determine whether a man against whom the action is brought is the father of an illegitimate child and thus legally bound to provide financial support for the child. …
The relationship that a person has to the blood relatives of a spouse by virtue of the marriage. …
A judgment, decree, or order that is not affirmed is either remanded (sent back to the lower court with instructions to correct the irregularities noted in the appellate opinion) or reversed (changed by the appellate court so that the decision of the lower court is overturned). …
A declaration by an appellate court that a judgment, order, or decree of a lower court that has been brought before it for review is valid and will be upheld. …
Employment programs required by federal statutes and regulations designed to remedy discriminatory practices in hiring minority group members; i.e., positive steps designed to eliminate existing and continuing discrimination, to remedy lingering effects of past discrimination, and to create systems and procedures to prevent future discrimination; commonly based on population percentages of minorit…
A new fact or set of facts that operates to defeat a claim even if the facts supporting that claim are true. …
A criminal offense generally defined as the fighting of two or more persons in a public place that disturbs others. …
Before, already said, referred to, or recited. This term is used frequently in deeds, leases, and contracts of sale of real property to refer to the property without describing it in detail each time it is mentioned; for example,"the aforesaid premises." …
Murder in the first degree, for example, requires malice aforethought; that is, the murder must have been planned for a period of time, regardless how short, before it was committed. …
A phrase in a mortgage (an interest in land that furnishes security for payment of a debt or performance An example of how an after-acquired property clause might be used of an obligation) that provides that any holdings obtained by the borrower subsequent to the date of the loan and mortgage will automatically constitute additional security for the loan. …
A legal doctrine under which, if a grantor conveys what is mistakenly believed to be good title to land that he or she did not own, and the grantor later acquires that title, it vests automatically in the grantee. …
A child born after a will has been executed by either parent or after the time in which a class gift made according to a trust arrangement expires. Under the law of trusts, a gift to a class is one in which the creator of the trust, the settlor, directs that the principal of the trust should be distributed to a specifically designated group of persons, such as to grandchildren, who are alive at a …
Prejudicial treatment or denial of rights based on age. As the baby boom generation, the largest demographic group in U.S. history, reached middle age and looked toward retirement, laws governing the treatment of older U.S. citizens took on greater importance than ever before. Between 1970 and 1991, the number of workers over the age of 40 in the U.S. workforce rose from 39,689,000 to 53,940,000. …
A person who has reached the age of majority is bound by any contracts, deeds, or legal relationships, such as marriage, which he or she undertakes. In most states the age of majority is eighteen, but it may vary depending upon the nature of the activity in which the person is engaged. In the same state the age of majority for driving may be sixteen while that for drinking alcoholic beverages is t…
The age at which a child is considered capable of acting responsibly. All states have enacted legislation creating juvenile courts to handle the adjudication of young persons, usually under eighteen, for criminal conduct rather than have them face criminal prosecution as an adult. However, a child of thirteen who commits a violent crime may be tried as an adult in many jurisdictions. …
With respect to the states, the minimum age required to serve as a house representative ranges from 18 to 25, with about half the states requiring a minimum age of 21. Only about a third of the states allow 18-year-olds to serve in the state senate, and 20 have set a minimum age of 25. In five states, the minimum age required to serve as a state senator is 30. For governor, most states require a m…
A consensual relationship created by contract or by law where one party, the principal, grants authority for another party, the agent, to act on behalf of and under the control of the principal to deal with a third party. An agency relationship is fiduciary in nature, and the actions and words of an agent exchanged with a third party bind the principal. An agreement creating an agency relationship…
One who agrees and is authorized to act on behalf of another, a principal, to legally bind an individual in particular business transactions with third parties pursuant to an agency relationship. …
A person is guilty of aggravated assault if he or she attempts to cause serious bodily injury to another or causes such injury purposely, knowingly, or recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life; or attempts to cause or purposely or knowingly causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon. In all jurisdictions statutes punish such aggravated as…
Any circumstances surrounding the commission of a crime that increase its seriousness or add to its injurious consequences. Such circumstances are not essential elements of the crime but go above and beyond them. The aggravation of a crime is usually a result of intentional actions of the perpetrator. Such crimes are punished more severely than the crime itself. One of the most common crimes that …
Unjustified planned, threatened, or carried out use of force by one nation against another. …
Various legal methods used by a creditor to force a debtor to repay an outstanding obligation. …
An individual who is entitled to commence a lawsuit against another because his or her legal rights have been violated. A person whose financial interest is directly affected by a decree, judgment, or statute is also considered an aggrieved party entitled to bring an action challenging the legality of the decree, judgment, or statute. …
A meeting of minds with the understanding and acceptance of reciprocal legal rights and duties as to particular actions or obligations, which the parties intend to exchange; a mutual assent to do or refrain from doing something; a contract. The writing or document that records the meeting of the minds of the parties. An oral compact between two parties who join together for a common purpose intend…
The body of law governing the cultivation of various crops and the raising and management of livestock to provide a food and fabric supply for human and animal consumption. The law as it relates to agriculture is concerned with farmers, ranchers, and the consuming public. Agricultural law is designed to ensure the continued, efficient production and distribution of foods and fibers. Through a vast…
The USDA has a long history. It was created by an act of May 15, 1862 (12 Stat. 387, now codified at 7 U.S.C.A. § 2201), and was administered by a commissioner of agriculture until 1889 (25 Stat. 659). In 1889, Congress enlarged the department's powers and duties (7 U.S.C.A. §§ 2202, 2208). It made the USDA the eighth executive department in the federal government, and …
Payments by the federal government to producers of agricultural products for the purpose of stabilizing food prices, ensuring plentiful food production, guaranteeing farmers' basic incomes, and generally strengthening the agricultural segment of the national economy. Proponents of agriculture subsidies point to several reasons why they are necessary. They claim that the country's foo…
To assist another in the commission of a crime by words or conduct. …
To render assistance or counsel. Any act that deliberately strengthens or tends to strengthen enemies of the United States, or that weakens or tends to weaken the power of the United States to resist and attack such enemies is characterized as aid and comfort. Widespread concern over terrorist sleeper cells fueled suspicion that some U.S. citizens were knowingly providing aid and comfort to terror…
The outbreak of war normally ends all forms of normal relations between belligerent states. In support of the war effort municipal laws may be implemented to prevent citizens and other persons within a belligerent state's jurisdiction from assisting an enemy state through trade or other forms of contact. In the United States, for example, the Trading with the Enemy Act (40 Stat. 411 as amen…
Early in the nineteenth century, a few U.S. cities recognized the shortcomings of common-law remedies and enacted local laws that attempted to address the problem of air pollution. Pittsburgh, in 1815, was one of the first to institute air quality laws. Others, like Chicago and Cincinnati, passed smoke control ordinances in 1881, and by 1912, twenty-three U.S. cities with populations of over two h…
Akerman agreed that the federal government should step in, and he wrote extensively on the subject. In his opinion, some Southerners would never acknowledge the rights of free blacks and government attempts to "conciliate by kindness" were a waste of time. He noted that Southern klansmen and other malcontents "take all kindness … as evidence of timidity, and hence are e…
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, a dispute erupted between the United States and Canada regarding the legal boundaries of Alaska, which the United States had purchased from Russia in 1867. The primary point of contention in the dispute related to a several thousand mile long strip to the west of British Columbia and to the southeast of the Alaska territory. Although the dispute was resolved …
Albright shifted her focus in 1981 to academia. She was awarded a fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian (1981-82), following an international competition in which she wrote about the role the press played in the political changes that occurred in Poland during the early 1980s. Her findings were published in Poland, the Role of the Press in Political …
The active principle of intoxicating drinks, produced by the fermentation of sugars. …
During the 1960s, Congress recognized the need to control destructive devices other than firearms. The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and the Gun Control Act of 1968, 18 U.S.C.A. § 921 et seq., superseded earlier firearms control laws and placed bombs and other explosives as well as firearms under the strict control of the government. The ATTD was given jurisdiction over…
A public officer of a town or city council or a local legislative body who is elected to the position by the persons he or she represents. …
A mutual agreement between two parties in which the performance of the contractual obligations of one or both parties depends upon a fortuitous event. The most common type of aleatory contract is an insurance policy in which an insured pays a premium in exchange for an insurance company's promise to pay damages up to the face amount of the policy in the event that one's house is dest…
In 1715, Alexander immigrated to America, and began a career of public service to New York and New Jersey. He performed the duties of surveyor general for the Province of New Jersey in 1715, and three years later served as recorder of Perth Amboy. Alexander participated in the Council of New York from 1721 to 1732 but continued to be active in New Jersey. He was admitted to the New Jersey Provinci…
[Latin, Otherwise called.] A term used to indicate that a person is known by more than one name. Alias is a short and more popular phrase for alias dictus. The abbreviation a.k.a., also known as, is frequently used in connection with the description of a person sought by law enforcement officers to disclose the names that the person has been known to use. A fictitious name assumed by a person is p…
A second writ, or court order, issued in the same case after an earlier writ of that kind has been issued but has not been effective. …
An alien enemy is an individual who, due to permanent or temporary allegiance to a hostile power, is regarded as an enemy in wartime. Under federal law, an alien enemy is a native, citizen, or subject of a foreign nation, state, or sovereign with which the United States is at war. Such a person is considered an alien enemy as long as the United States remains at war as determined through proclamat…
The character of property that makes it capable of sale or transfer. …
For example, a seller may alienate property by transferring to a buyer a parcel of the seller's land containing a house, in exchange for cash. The seller is said to have alienated her rights in that parcel, such as the right to modify or even demolish the house on the parcel of land, to the buyer. Those rights now belong to the buyer. …
A provision in a document permitting or forbidding a person from transferring property that is the subject of the document. In a fire insurance policy, an alienation clause prohibits the alienation of the insured premises while the policy is in effect. If the insured violates this provision, the policy is void. …
The removal of love, companionship, or aid of an individual's spouse. Historically, alienation of affection furnished grounds for an action against the individual who interloped in a marital relationship. The harm caused was viewed as a deprivation of an individual's rights of consortium. The elements of the action generally included wrongful conduct by the interfering party with the…
Foreign-born persons who have not been naturalized to become U.S. citizens under federal law and the Constitution. The federal immigration laws determine whether a person is an alien. Generally, a person born in a foreign country is an alien, but a child born in a foreign nation to parents who are U.S. citizens is a U.S. citizen. The term alien also refers to a native-born U.S. citizen who has rel…
Payment that a family court may order one person in a couple to make to the other person when that couple separates or divorces. For example, suppose two individuals who married in 1985 agree in 1995 to divorce. At the time of the divorce, the husband earns $63,000 a year, after seven years at a large company where the top pay for his specialty is $80,000. When the couple married, he was in gradua…
Identical; similar. All fours specifically refers to two cases or decisions that have similar fact patterns and raise identical legal issues. Since the circumstances leading to their individual determinations are virtually the same, the decision rendered by the court in each case will be similar. Such cases or decisions are said to be on all fours with each other. …
The assertion, claim, declaration, or statement of a party to an action, setting out what he or she expects to prove. …
In U.S. law, the obligation of fidelity and obedience that is owed by native born and naturalized American citizens to the United States that cannot be relinquished without the consent of the government expressed by a statutory enactment. Public school children in many states learn to recite the Pledge of Allegiance from a young age. Twenty-five states plus the territory of Guam require public sch…
The apportionment or designation of an item for a specific purpose or to a particular place. In the law of trusts, the allocation of cash dividends earned by a stock that makes up the principal of a trust for a beneficiary usually means that the dividends will be treated as income to be paid to the beneficiary. The allocation of stock dividends generally means that such dividends will be added to …
The formal inquiry by a judge of an accused person, convicted of a crime, as to whether the person has any legal cause to show why judgment should not be pronounced against him or her or as to whether the person has anything to say to the court before being sentenced. …
Free; not subject to the rights of any lord or superior; owned without obligation of vassalage or fealty; the opposite of feudal. A description given to the outright ownership of land that did not impose upon its owner the performance of feudal duties. …
A writing or signature made by one person for another. When a principal gives his or her agent the power to pay creditors, the checks written by the agent are allographs for the principal. An autograph is the opposite of an allo-graph. …
An allonge is necessary when there is insufficient space on the document itself for the endorsements. It is considered part of the commercial paper as long as the allonge remains affixed thereto. …
A portion, share, or division. The proportionate distribution of shares of stock in a corporation. The partition and distribution of land. …
Gloria Allred, born July 3, 1941, in Philadelphia, is a flamboyant, widely recognized lawyer, feminist, activist, and radio talk show host. Though her critics dismiss her as a publicity monger and a dilettante, Allred has received praise from others who believe that she is a master at using the power of the news media to draw attention to the day-to-day struggles of ordinary people. Allred has bee…
A doctrine used by the courts to ignore the corporate status of a group of stockholders, officers, and directors of a corporation in reference to their limited liability so that they may be held personally liable for their actions when they have acted fraudulently or unjustly or when to refuse to do so would deprive an innocent victim of redress for an injury caused by them. The alter ego doctrine…
Modification; changing a thing without obliterating it. An alteration is a variation made in the language or terms of a legal document that affects the rights and obligations of the parties to it. When this occurs, the alteration is material and the party who did not consent to the change can be released from his or her duties under the document by a court. When an essential part of a writing has …
If such a change is made by a third party without the consent of either party to the instrument, it is called a spoliation or mutilation. The face of an instrument is changed by its alteration. A difference in handwriting, a change in words or figures, an erasure, and the striking out of particular words are some methods used to alter an instrument. Since there must be a change in the meaning or l…
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, many people became increasingly concerned that the traditional method of resolving legal disputes in the United States, through conventional litigation, had become too expensive, too slow, and too cumbersome for many civil lawsuits (cases between private parties). This concern led to the growing use of ways other than litigation to resolve disputes. These other m…
An order, issued originally by the king in England but more recently by a court, commanding a person to do a specific thing or to appear and explain why he or she should not be compelled to do it. …
An ambassador is the foreign diplomatic representative of a nation who is authorized to handle political negotiations between his or her country and the country where the ambassador has been assigned. A consul is the commercial agent of a nation, who is empowered only to engage in business transactions, and not political matters in the country where he or she is stationed. …
Uncertainty or doubtfulness of the meaning of language. When language is capable of being understood in more than one way by a reasonable person, ambiguity exists. It is not the use of peculiar words or of common words used in a peculiar sense. Words are ambiguous when their significance is unclear to persons with competent knowledge and skill to understand them. A patent ambiguity is one that app…
A boundary line that indicates ownership of a parcel of land as opposed to other parcels; an exterior or enclosing line. The limits of a power or jurisdiction. The delineation of the scope of a particular subject matter. …
Movable; revocable; subject to change; capable of alteration. An ambulatory court was the former name of the Court of King's Bench in England. It would convene wherever the king who presided over it could be found, moving its location as the king moved. An ambulatory disposition is a judgment, decree, or sentence that is subject to change, amendment, or revocation. A will is considered ambu…
The modification of materials by the addition of supplemental information; the deletion of unnecessary, undesirable, or outdated information; or the correction of errors existing in the text. A constitution or a statute may be changed by an amendment. A will, trust, corporate charter, and other legal documents are also subject to amendment. …
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to helping older Americans achieve lives of independence, dignity, and purpose. The AARP, which was founded in 1958 by Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, is the oldest and largest organization of older Americans, with a membership of more than 33 million. The National Retired Teachers Association (NTRA), whi…
Though the ABA is a nonprofit organization, it operates the for-profit Corporation for American Banking (CAB). CAB was created to facilitate group buying of services, allowing participating banks to receive CAB-arranged discounts on long-distance telephone service, overnight package delivery, office products, and copying products. …
The American Bar Association (ABA) is a nationwide organization to which qualified attorneys voluntarily belong. With over 400,000 members the ABA is the largest voluntary professional organization in the world. The ABA continues to put great emphasis on promoting diversity within its membership and has initiated several programs designed to bring more women and racial and ethnic minorities into t…
From the beginning, strict political neutrality was the ACLU's rule. The group did not oppose political candidates and declared itself neither liberal nor conservative. This position had an important consequence: the ACLU would defend the civil liberties of all people—including those who were weak, unpopular, and despised—without respect to their views. This principle made for…
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to promoting, protecting, and representing the interests of U.S. farmers. More than five million members in 50 states and Puerto Rico belong to the AFBF, making it the largest U.S. farm organization. The AFBF is a federation of 2,800 county farm organizations, which elect representatives to state farm bur…
The AFL was formed in 1886 as a loose confederation of 25 autonomous national trade unions with more than 316,000 members. The AFL, renouncing identification with any political party or movement, concentrated on pursuing achievable goals such as higher wages and shorter work hours. Members were encouraged to support politicians who were friendly to labor, no matter their party affiliation. During …
Founded in 1968, the American Indian Movement (AIM) is an organization dedicated to the Native American civil rights movement. Its main objectives are the sovereignty of Native American lands and peoples; preservation of their culture and traditions; and enforcement of all treaties with the United States. …
AIPAC has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Members of its staff maintain an active presence in the halls of Congress, attending committee sessions and reviewing legislation that may affect the relationship between the United States and Israel. AIPAC estimates that it monitors 2,000 hours of congressional hearings annually. Its research staff members analyze periodicals and documents in five di…
The American Legion is a wartime veterans' organization that was chartered by Congress in 1919. The American Legion has almost three million members in nearly 15,000 American Legion posts worldwide. These posts are organized into 55 departments, one each for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico, and the Philippines. The American Legion's national headq…
The American Medical Association (AMA) is a federation of state and territorial medical associations. The AMA seeks to promote the art and science of medicine, the medical profession, and the betterment of public health. Its purposes include obtaining, synthesizing, integrating, and disseminating information about health and medical practice; setting standards for medical ethics, practice, and edu…
James Barr Ames was born June 22, 1846, in Boston. He achieved prominence as an educator and concentrated his career efforts at Harvard. A graduate of Harvard College in 1868, Ames earned a master of arts degree in 1871 and attended Harvard Law School in 1872. He received several doctor of laws degrees from various universities, including the University of Pennsylvania in 1899, Northwestern Univer…
Samuel Ames was born September 6, 1806. He graduated from Brown University in 1823 and was admitted to the Rhode Island bar in 1826. Samuel Ames. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Beginning in 1856 Ames served as chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. In 1861, he was the representative from Rhode Island during a series of unsuccessful negotiations to effect a peace between the North and So…
Other names for an amicable action are a case agreed on, a case stated, or a friendly suit. …
Literally, friend of the court. A person with strong interest in or views on the subject matter of an action, but not a party to the action, may petition the court for permission to file a brief, ostensibly on behalf of a party but actually to suggest a rationale consistent with its own views. Such amicus curiae briefs are commonly filed in appeals concerning matters of a broad public interest; e.…
With a portrait of Abraham Lincoln as a background, President Gerald Ford announces his order of conditional amnesty for thousands of Vietnam era draft evaders and military deserters. BETTMANN/CORBIS Though the Supreme Court has given the opinion that Congress can grant an independent amnesty, it has never expressly ruled on the issue. However, the president's power to grant amnesty …
With a membership of more than one million people and supporters and donors in more than 140 countries and territories, Amnesty International is the world's largest grassroots human rights organization. The organization was started by a British lawyer, Peter Benenson, who in an article he wrote in 1961 in The Observer posited that the pressure of public opinion could be brought to bear on t…
The reduction of a debt incurred, for example, in the purchase of stocks or bonds, by regular payments consisting of interest and part of the principal made over a specified time period upon the expiration of which the entire debt is repaid. A mortgage is amortized when it is repaid with periodic payments over a particular term. After a certain portion of each payment is applied to the interest on…
Putting out; removal; taking away; dispossession of lands. Amotion essentially means the deprivation of possession. The term has been used to describe a wrongful seizure of personal chattels. …
The value of the relief demanded or the amount of monetary damages claimed in a lawsuit. Some courts have jurisdiction, or the power to hear cases, only if the amount in controversy is more or less than an amount specified by law. For example, federal district courts can hear lawsuits concerning questions of federal law and controversies between citizens of different states, but they can do this o…
The inference that two or more things that are similar to each other in some respects are also similar in other respects. An analogy denotes that similarity exists in some characteristics of things that are otherwise not alike. In a legal argument, an analogy may be used when there is no precedent (prior case law close in facts and legal principles) in point. Reasoning by analogy involves referrin…
The theory espousing a societal state in which there is no structured government or law or in which there is resistance to all current forms of government. Anarchism thus means different things to different believers. Anarchists do not hold common views on subjects such as desirable levels of community cooperation and the role of large industry in society. Another matter of continuing debate is wh…
The doctrine of ancient lights has not been adopted in the United States since it would greatly hinder commercial and residential growth and the expansion of towns and cities. …
An original document affecting the transfer of real property, which can be admitted as evidence in a lawsuit because its aged condition and its location upon discovery sufficiently establish its authenticity. An ancient writing is admissible in a trial as an exception to the rule that prohibits hearsay from being used as evidence in a trial. In a case where no other evidence exists, the legitimacy…
Subordinate; aiding. A legal proceeding that is not the primary dispute but which aids the judgment rendered in or the outcome of the main action. A descriptive term that denotes a legal claim, the existence of which is dependent upon or reasonably linked to a main claim. …
The settlement and distribution of a decedent's property in the state where it is located and which is other than the state in which the decedent was domiciled. Ancillary administration occurs in a state to enable an executor or administrator to collect assets or to commence litigation on behalf of the estate in that jurisdiction. …
Protection of animals from cruelty through requirements of humane treatment. Laws protecting animal rights proscribe certain forms of brutal and merciless treatment of animals in medical and scientific research and in the handling of and slaughter of animals for human consumption. By the end of the 1980s, membership in animal advocacy organizations had reached 10 million people in the United State…
[Latin, Mind, soul, or intention.] A tendency or an inclination toward a definite, sometimes unavoidable, goal; an aim, objective, or purpose. When animus is used in conjunction with other words of Latin origin, its most common meaning is "the intention of." For example, animus revocandi is the intention of revoking; animus possidendi is the intention of possessing. Animo, meaning &#…
The act of attaching, uniting, or joining together in a physical sense; consolidating. The term is generally used to signify the connection of a smaller or subordinate unit to a larger or principal unit. For example, a smaller piece of land may be annexed to a larger one. Similarly, a smaller document may be annexed to a larger one, such as a codicil to a will. Although physical joining is implied…
A note, summary, or commentary on some section of a book or a statute that is intended to explain or illustrate its meaning. An annotation serves as a brief summary of the law and the facts of a case and demonstrates how a particular law enacted by Congress or a state legislature is interpreted and applied. Annotations usually follow the text of the statute they interpret in annotated statutes. …
The actual cost of borrowing money, expressed in the form of a yearly measure to allow consumers to compare the cost of borrowing money among several lenders. The Federal Truth-in-Lending Act (15 U.S.C.A. § 1601 et seq. [1968]) mandates the complete disclosure of this rate in addition to other credit terms. …
A document published by public corporations on a yearly basis to provide stockholders, the public, and the government with financial data, a summary of ownership, and the accounting practices used to prepare the report. Traditionally a rather dry and factual document, the annual report has acquired a larger audience in recent years as corporations increasingly treat it as not merely a legal obliga…
A right to receive periodic payments, usually fixed in size, for life or a term of years that is created by a contract or other legal document. The most common form of an annuity is akin to a savings account. The annuitant, the person who creates an annuity for his or her own benefit, deposits a sum of money, the principal, with an individual, business, or insurance company to be invested so that …
A judgment by a court that retroactively invalidates a marriage to the date of its formation. Various religions have different methods for obtaining a church divorce, or annulment, but these procedures have no legal force or effect upon a marriage that complied with the requirements of law. Such a marriage must be legally annulled. …
An abbreviation for anonymous, nameless, or name unknown. …
The answer gives the plaintiff notice of the issues the defendant will raise as the case progresses and enables the plaintiff to adequately prepare a case. In most jurisdictions, the answer must be filed within twenty days after receipt of the summons and complaint, although local rules and customs may dictate different filing times. The answer begins with a caption, which identifies the location …
[Latin, Before.] A reference to a previous portion of a report or textbook. Ante is synonymous with supra. …
A legally enforceable obligation, which has been in existence prior to the time in question, to reimburse another with money or property. …
Anthony was born in 1820, during an era when most women got married, produced children, and deferred completely to their husbands. Daniel Anthony, her father, belonged to the Society of Friends (better known as Quakers), a religious group that recognized the equality of men and women. Daniel encouraged his daughter to think independently and to speak her mind. He supported her educational pursuits…
The principles of the treaty explicitly reflected the policy of mutual assured destruction (MAD)—the belief that the best way to control nuclear arms is to allow both sides enough power to ensure the destruction of both nations in the event of war. As stated in Article I of the treaty, each side agreed "not to deploy ABM systems for a defense of the territory of its country and not t…
The unjustifiable denial by a party to a contract of any intention to perform contractual duties, which occurs prior to the time performance is due. The remedies available to the nonrepudiating party upon an anticipatory repudiation entail certain obligations. If the nonrepudiating party chooses to ignore the repudiation and proceeds with his or her performance, the