Establishments that exist for the aid and protection of individuals in need of assistance due to disability, such as insane persons, those who are physically handicapped, or persons who are unable to properly care for themselves, such as orphans. The term asylum has been used, in constitutional and legislative provisions, to encompass all institutions that are established and supported by the gene…
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 …
A phrase that describes the status of parties in a lawsuit when they make contradictory statements about a point specified in their pleadings. …
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…
Not limited to any place, person, or topic; for example, a representative at large is elected by the voters of the state as a whole rather than voters of a particular district. Free from control or restraint, such as a criminal at large. …
A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. was an attorney, a scholar, and a federal judge. His distinguished judicial career culminated in his attaining the rank of chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Higginbotham was born February 25, 1928, in Trenton, New Jersey. Although he attended segregated public schools, his mother was determined that he would receive the same opportunities avai…
Although much has been written about Dworkin, little of the coverage has dealt with her early life. However, Dworkin's admittedly autobiographical novel Mercy (1991) may provide insight into some of the events that helped to shape this controversial feminist crusader: the book chronicles the sexual victimization—including molestation and rape—faced by the protagonist, Andrea, …
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. …
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…
The case involved Daryl Renard Atkins, who was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for abducting, robbing, and killing 21-year-old airman, Eric Michael Nesbitt. The evidence introduced at trial showed that at approximately midnight on August 16, 1996, Atkins and William Jones, both armed with semiautomatic weapons, abducted Nesbitt, robbed him, drove him to an automated teller machi…
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. …
The legal process of seizing property to ensure satisfaction of a judgment. The document by which a court orders such a seizure may be called a writ of attachment or an order of attachment. Originally, the main purpose of attachment was to coerce a defendant into appearing in court and answering the plaintiff's claim. The court's order pressured the sheriff to take the defendant�…
The effect of attainder upon a felon was, in general terms, that all estate, real and personal, was forfeited. In common law, attainder resulted in three ways: by confession, by verdict, and by process or outlawry. The first case was where the prisoner pleaded guilty at the bar, or having fled, confessed guilt and abjured the realm to save his or her life. The second was where the prisoner pleaded…
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. …
An undertaking to do an act that entails more than mere preparation but does not result in the successful completion of the act. Generally, attempts are punishable by imprisonment, with sentence lengths that vary in time, depending upon the severity of the offense attempted. …
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…
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…
To reduce the force or severity; to lessen a relationship or connection between two objects. …
A provision added to an insurance policy to extend the scope of coverage to include further risks to dwellings. …
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. …
To solemnly declare verbally or in writing that a particular document or testimony about an event is a true and accurate representation of the facts; to bear witness to. To formally certify by a signature that the signer has been present at the execution of a particular writing so as to rebut any potential challenges to its authenticity. …
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 act of attending the execution of a document and bearing witness to its authenticity, by signing one's name to it to affirm that it is genuine. The certification by a custodian of records that a copy of an original document is a true copy that is demonstrated by his or her signature on a certificate. An attestation clause is frequently found in legal documents that must be witnessed if …
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…
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…
To turn over money, rent, or goods to another. To assign to a specific function or service. …
Roosevelt's childhood was lonely; she had an emotionally detached mother and a loving but alcoholic father. Both parents died by the time Eleanor was ten years old. A serious, timid child, Roosevelt was sent by her grandmother in 1899 to Allenswood, a private girls' school near London. There she overcame her shyness and became an active, well-liked student. When Roosevelt returned to…
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 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. …
A person admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction and authorized to perform criminal and civil legal functions on behalf of clients. These functions include providing legal counsel, drafting legal documents, and representing clients before courts, administrative agencies, and other tribunals. Unless a contrary meaning is plainly indicated this term is synonymous with "attorney …
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…
Dershowitz, born September 1, 1938, in Brooklyn, was raised in the orthodox Jewish area of Boro Park, New York. He attended Yeshiva University High School, where a principal advised the unexceptional but talkative student to seek a career "where you use your mouth, not your brains" (Keegan 1992). He apparently ignored that advice, graduating magna cum laude from Brooklyn College and …
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. …
In the law of evidence, a client's privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent any other person from disclosing, confidential communications between the client and his or her attorney. Such privilege protects communications between attorney and client that are made for the purpose of furnishing or obtaining professional legal advice or assistance. That privilege that permits an attorney…
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. …
Moore was a youth during the country's difficult transition from British colony to independent nation. Born on May 21, 1755, in New Hanover County, North Carolina, he was the son of Maurice Moore, a colonial judge. Moore studied in Boston before being educated in law by his father, and he was admitted to the North Carolina bar at the age of twenty in 1775. Soon after, he fought against the …
Sufficient; equal to what is required; suitable to the case or occasion. …
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…
In 1983, Hill decided to leave Washington, D.C., to became a law professor at Oral Roberts University. In 1986, she accepted a teaching position at the University of Oklahoma. Although full professorship and tenure are normally granted at Oklahoma after six years, Hill achieved both in just four years. During a live broadcast of the Senate hearings, Hill's personal motives, character, and p…
Sufficient compensation by way of monetary damages. …
Furthermore, early attorneys general were specifically restricted by the Judiciary Act from participating in lower-court actions. District attorneys (known in the early 2000s as U.S. attorneys) held the authority to represent the United States in district and circuit courts. Each district attorney could independently decide which cases to pursue and on what grounds—a situation tha…
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. …
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…
In 1948 Alger Hiss was accused of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union. He was convicted in 1950 and sentenced to five years in prison. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS small way; his career had earned him the highest confidence of his government in times of crisis. But soon Hiss was swept up in a round of damaging public accusations. By the late 1940s, the U.S. House of Representatives had spent severa…
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 …
When the common-law system was first developing in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066, the king's courts were little concerned with the personal disputes of private parties. When the royal courts began assuming more authority the procedure for asserting a legal claim became more technical. A dispute would not be heard unless the plaintiff could make out a claim in an established form…
Hitler was born in Braunauam Inn, Austria, on April 20, 1889, the son of a minor government official and a peasant woman. A poor student, Hitler never completed high school. In 1907 he moved to Vienna and tried to make a living as an artist. He was unsuccessful and had to work as a day laborer to support himself. During this period Hitler immersed himself in anti-Jewish and antidemocratic literatu…
Those persons, such as next-door and backyard neighbors, who own lands that share common boundaries and therefore have mutual rights, duties, and liabilities. …
Behavior by an attorney that conflicts with established rules of professional conduct and is punishable by disciplinary measures. Rule 8.4 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct contains the following statements on attorney misconduct: Besides issuing these general statements, the model rules set down many specific requirements for attorney conduct in different situations. Because of an attorn…
When a term is adjourned, it is actually prolonged due to a temporary putting off of the business being conducted. …
The right of a lawyer to hold a client's property or money until payment has been made for legal aid and advice given. In general, a lien is a security interest used by a creditor to ensure payment by a debtor for money owed. Since an attorney is entitled to payment for services performed, the attorney has a claim on a client's property until compensation is duly made. A charging lie…
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. …
Since 1971, the president had been surreptitiously recording conversations in the White House, and Cox believed that the tapes contained key evidence. Cox put pressure on Nixon to release the recordings. Nixon refused, claiming that he had a constitutional right to keep presidential documents confidential. Cox warned that the refusal would precipitate a constitutional crisis. The Senate Select Com…
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. …
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. …
A swearing; taking an oath to be truthful. To adjure is to command solemnly, warning that penalties may be invoked. …
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…
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 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…
Celia, a slave, was probably born in Missouri in 1836. No documentation of her birth date, birthplace, or parentage exists. Her recorded history begins in the summer of 1850 when she was purchased by Robert Newsom, of Fulton Township, Calloway County, Missouri; at the time of the transaction she was about fourteen years old. Celia's recorded history ends five and a half years later when she…
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. …
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…
A sale open to the general public and conducted by an auctioneer, a person empowered to conduct such a sale, at which property is sold to the highest bidder. A bid is an offer by a bidder, a prospective purchaser, to pay a designated amount for the property on sale. A Dutch auction is a method of sale that entails the public offer of the property at a price in excess of its value, accompanied by a…
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. …
A systematic examination of financial or accounting records by a specialized inspector, called an auditor, to verify their accuracy and truthfulness. A hearing during which financial data are investigated for purposes of authentication. …
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…
Other names for an amicable action are a case agreed on, a case stated, or a friendly suit. …
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. …
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.…
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. …
The confirmation rendered by an officer of a court that a certified copy of a judgment is what it purports to be, an accurate duplicate of the original judgment. In the law of evidence, the act of establishing a statute, record, or other document, or a certified copy of such an instrument as genuine and official so that it can be used in a lawsuit to prove an issue in dispute. …
Amasa Leland Stanford, known as Leland Stanford, along with partners Charles Crocker, Mark Hopkins, and Collis P. Huntington (the Big Four), founded the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific Rail Roads, and laid the tracks that would eventually link a nation. In the course of building the first transcontinental railroad, Stanford dominated California business, politics, and social life for almost f…
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…
Governmental entities that have been created and delegated with official responsibilities, such as a county highway authority. In legal research and citation, entities cited as sources of law, such as statutes, judicial decisions, and legal textbooks. Parties support their positions in a lawsuit by citing authorities in briefs, motions, and other documents submitted to the court. Primary authoriti…
To empower another with the legal right to perform an action. The Constitution authorizes Congress to regulate interstate commerce. …
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…
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…
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…
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 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 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. …
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. …
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…
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 dissection of a dead body by a medical examiner or physician authorized by law to do so in order to determine the cause and time of a death that appears to have resulted from other than natural causes. …
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. …
Aiding; ancillary; subordinate; subsidiary. Auxiliary or ancillary administration is the management and settlement of property belonging to a decedent that is not located where he or she was domiciled. It is subordinate to the principal or domiciliary administration of the decedent's property that occurs in the state where the individual was domiciled. Auxiliary administration ensures that …
Born in St. Louis, Missouri on July 8, 1943, Wattleton was the only child of George Wattle-ton, a factory employee, and Ozie Garret Wattle-ton, a seamstress and a Fundamentalist minister in the Church of God. Wattleton credits her parents for developing in her a strong social conscience and a will to succeed. She excelled in school and was only 16 years old when she enrolled in Ohio State Universi…
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…
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require that averments be simple, concise, and direct. …
Maris was born in Philadelphia on December 19, 1893. Descendants of Quaker colonists, Maris and his family were also members of the Society of Friends. Maris studied at the Friends Select School, and later the Westtown School, attended by his father and grandfather. Mindful of his responsibility to his widowed mother and younger siblings, Maris made no plans to attend college after graduating from…
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 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 …
The doctrine that places the responsibility of minimizing damages upon the person who has been injured. The efforts that the person who has been injured must take to avoid the consequences of the misconduct are required to be reasonable, based upon the circumstances of the particular case, and subject to the rules of common sense and fair dealing. That which is reasonably required is contingent up…
An escape from the consequences of a specific course of action through the use of legally acceptable means. Cancellation; the act of rendering something useless or legally ineffective. …
An open declaration by an attorney representing a party in a lawsuit, made after the jury has been removed from the courtroom, that requests the admission of particular testimony from a witness that would otherwise be inadmissible because it has been successfully objected to during the trial. An avowal serves two purposes. It enables an attorney to have the court learn what a witness would have re…
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…
The immediate and noticeable addition to land caused by its removal from the property of another, by a sudden change in a water bed or in the course of a stream. When a stream that is a boundary suddenly abandons its bed and seeks a new bed, the boundary line does not change. It remains in the center of the original bed even if water no longer flows through it. This is known as the rule of avulsio…
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&…
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. …
To concede; to give by judicial determination; to rule in favor of after an evaluation of the facts, evidence, or merits. The decision made by a panel of arbitrators or commissioners, a jury, or other authorized individuals in a controversy that has been presented for resolution. A document that memorializes the determination reached in a dispute. …
An abbreviation for anonymous, nameless, or name unknown. …
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…
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 …
Pinkerton was born on August 25, 1819, in Glasgow, Scotland. His father was a police sergeant, but as a young man Pinkerton did not seek a police job. Instead he apprenticed as a cooper and learned to make barrels. In 1842, after he completed his apprenticeship, Pinkerton emigrated to the United States. He settled in Chicago and set up a cooper's shop. In 1843 Pinkerton moved his business t…
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. …
[Latin, Before.] A reference to a previous portion of a report or textbook. Ante is synonymous with supra. …
The accord reached between an employer and a union to which his or her employees belong that establishes the terms and conditions governing the return of striking employees to work. Disputes involving back to work agreements are subject to applicable federal and state laws governing labor-management relations. …
A legally enforceable obligation, which has been in existence prior to the time in question, to reimburse another with money or property. …
Predating a document or instrument prior to the date it was actually drawn. The negotiability of an instrument is not affected by the fact that it is backdated. …
The fraudulent deception of another person; the intentional or malicious refusal to perform some duty or contractual obligation. …
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…
In 1965 Goldberg appeared to have a promising judicial career. Yet he became one of the Arthur J. Goldberg. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS few justices to give up his lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court for a reason other than retirement. In the summer of 1965, President Johnson asked Goldberg to resign from the Court and accept the U.S. ambassadorship to the United Nations, promising a larger r…
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 duty to mitigate damages—…
With the rise of Nazism in the 1930s, the ADL fought U.S. supporters of Hitler who endorsed his anti-Semitic policies. During this decade, the ADL began to collect information on extremist individuals and organizations and to monitor and investigate fascist groups in the United States. These fact-finding and monitoring activities have remained a central part of the ADL's work. The ADL is di…
Throughout early U.S. history, legal practitioners were the subject of ambivalence on the part of the general public. The attitude against lawyers reached its peak after the Revolutionary War and remained hostile until the beginning of the nineteenth century. During this period, the antilawyer movement gained momentum. Historians speculate that it evolved as a result of former prejudices and confl…
Goldwater was born January 1, 1909, in Phoenix, Arizona. His paternal ancestors were Orthodox Jewish innkeepers who emigrated from Poland in the mid-1800s to join the California gold rush. Goldwater's father, Baron Goldwater, managed the family's general store in Phoenix. This store was the humble beginning of what would become an enormously profitable chain, Goldwater's Depar…
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…
An expression in law and logic to indicate that two authorities, laws, or propositions are inconsistent with each other. …
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. …
The system that governs the status of individuals charged with committing crimes, from the time of their arrest to the time of their trial, and pending appeal, with the major purpose of ensuring their presence at trial. In general, an individual accused of a crime must be held in the custody of the court until his or her guilt or innocence is determined. However, the court has the option of releas…
A written promise signed by a defendant or a surety (one who promises to act in place of another) to pay an amount fixed by a court should the defendant named in the document fail to appear in court for the designated criminal proceeding at the date and time specified. A bail bond is one method used to obtain the release of a defendant awaiting trial upon criminal charges from the custody of law e…
An individual who is entrusted with some authority, care, guardianship, or jurisdiction over designated persons or property. One who acts in a managerial or ministerial capacity or takes care of land, goods, and chattels of another in order to make the best profit for the owner. A minor officer of a court serving primarily as a messenger or usher. A low-level court official or sheriff's dep…
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. …
Legislation enacted by the federal and various state governments to regulate trade and commerce by preventing unlawful restraints, price-fixing, and monopolies; to promote competition; and to encourage the production of quality goods and services at the lowest prices, with the primary goal of safeguarding public welfare by ensuring that consumer demands will be met by the manufacture and sale of g…
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. …
That which is clear, plain, and evident. In the law of agency, an agent has apparent authority to represent the person, or principal, for whom he or she acts, when the principal acts in such a manner toward the agent that a reasonable person would plainly assume that the agent was acting for the principal. …
The term bailment is derived from the French bailor, "to deliver." It is generally considered to be a contractual relationship since the bailor and bailee, either expressly or impliedly, bind themselves to act according to particular terms. The bailee receives only control or possession of the property while the bailor retains the ownership interests in it. During the specific period…
Gore was born in Washington, D.C., on March 31, 1948. His father, Albert Gore Sr., at the time served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee. The senior Gore was to serve in the House and the Senate for nearly three decades. His mother was Pauline LaFon Gore. She had the distinction of being one of the first women to graduate from the law school at Vanderbilt Un…
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. …
A deceptive sales technique that involves advertising a low-priced item to attract customers to a store, then persuading them to buy more expensive goods by failing to have a sufficient supply of the advertised item on hand or by disparaging its quality. …
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…
A comprehensive financial statement that is a summarized assessment of a company's accounts specifying its assets and liabilities. A report, usually prepared by independent auditors or accountants, which includes a full and complete statement of all receipts and disbursements of a particular business. A review that shows a general balance or summation of all accounts without showing the par…
Stevenson was born on February 5, 1900, in Los Angeles, California, and moved with his family to Bloomington, Illinois, in 1906. He graduated from Princeton University in 1922 and studied law at Northwestern University. He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1926 and established a successful law practice in Chicago. In 1948 Stevenson returned to Illinois and ran as the Democratic candidate for gov…
Timely resort by an unsuccessful party in a lawsuit or administrative proceeding to an appropriate superior court empowered to review a final decision on the ground that it was based upon an erroneous application of law. A person who initiates an appeal—the appellant, sometimes called the plaintiff in error, must file a notice of appeal, along with the necessary documents, to commence appel…
Addison Brown gained prominence as a jurist, botanist, and author. He was born February 21, 1830, in West Newbury, Massachusetts. In 1855, Brown was admitted to the New York bar. From 1881 to 1901, he performed the duties of district judge for the Southern District of New York. A respected name in the field of botany, Brown acted as one of the founders of the New York Botanical Garden in 1891. Fro…
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…
To come before a court as a party or a witness in a lawsuit. …
A process sometimes used by state and federal courts in deciding between the competing interests represented in a case. …
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. …
Amalya Lyle Kearse is a judge with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Kearse began her legal career with the Wall Street firm of Hughes, Hubbard, and Reed. After seven years of distinguished and diligent work, she was named a partner, becoming the first black female partner in a major Wall Street firm. Her colleagues have praised her for her incisive analytical skills. When asked ab…
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. …
Scalia was born March 11, 1936, in Trenton, New Jersey. Before he began grade school, Scalia and his family moved to Elmhurst, New York, where he spent much of his boyhood. Scalia is the only child of Eugene Scalia, an Italian immigrant who taught romance languages at Brooklyn College for 30 years, and Catherine Scalia, a first-generation Italian-American who taught elementary school. In 1953, Ant…
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 final installment of a loan to be paid in an amount that is disproportionately larger than the regular installment. When a loan is made, repayment of the principal, which is the amount of the loan, plus the interest that is owed on it, is divided into installments due at regular intervals—for example, every month. The earlier installments are usually payment of interest and a minimal am…
A coming into court by a party to a suit, either in person or through an attorney, whether as plaintiff or defendant. The formal proceeding by which a defendant submits to the jurisdiction of the court. The voluntary submission to a court's jurisdiction. In some situations, a defendant may not need to appear in court in person and may even make an appearance by mail. For example, when indiv…
[French, Bench.] The location where a court customarily or permanently sits. When a court is sitting in banc (or en banc), it means that a meeting or session of all the judges of a court is taking place. The usual purpose of sitting in banc is to hear arguments on demurrers or motions for a new trial. …
Alan Cedric Page, former Minnesota Vikings football star, has served as an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court since 1993. Page gained athletic fame as one of the four "Purple People Eaters" for the Vikings' defense who were essential to the team's ten division titles and four Super Bowl appearances during the 1960s and 1970s. While still employed full-time…
An appellant, sometimes called the petitioner, must demonstrate sufficient grounds for appeal, which are usually specified by statute, in order to challenge the judgment or findings. Whether a party was a plaintiff or defendant in the lower court has no bearing on his or her status as an appellant. …
Relating to appeals; reviews by superior courts of decisions of inferior courts or administrative agencies and other proceedings. …
A form of punishment imposed on an individual, usually by a country or state, in which the individual is forced to remain outside of that country or state. Although it is decidedly archaic in contemporary criminal justice systems, banishment enjoys continued existence and periodic resurgence in application. Its use is hard for legal scholars to track, but banishment is still employed in at least a…
[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. …
The Bank for International Settlement was established under the law of Switzerland. It also has legal capacity pursuant to the municipal law of each of its member states, but it lacks international legal capacity. It was denied a specific international personality. The bank is, therefore, solely in the control of its members. …
Latin, From table and bed, but more commonly translated as "from bed and board." …
The American Revolutionary War resulted in the emergence of a new country faced with the task of establishing a fundamental basis for government embodying the principles of freedom for which the colonists had fought. The need for a sound financial system was most urgent, and this was remedied by the creation of the First Bank of the United States in 1791. The bank, located in Philadelphia, began w…
Kennedy was confirmed in February 1988, with many liberal members of Congress feeling that he was too conservative, and some conservatives believing he was moderate, a compromise candidate who could survive the confirmation process. Anthony M. Kennedy. AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS and lesbians "not to further a proper legislative end but to make them unequal to everyone else," and add…
[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. …
An enforceable right of a bank to hold in its possession any money or property belonging to a customer and to apply it to the repayment of any outstanding debt owed to the bank, provided that, to the bank's knowledge, such property is not part of a trust fund or is not already burdened with other debts. …
[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. …
A. Mitchell Palmer. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Palmer was born May 4, 1872, in Moose-hood, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Swarthmore College in 1891 and then studied law at Swarthmore, Lafayette College, and George Washington University. Though he did not earn a law degree, he passed the Pennsylvania bar exam and was admitted to the bar in 1893. He entered a small law firm in Stroudsberg, Pennsyl…
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…
Legal representation by an attorney before any state or federal court of intermediate or final appeal. Congress has progressively limited the Supreme Court's power to directly review trial The interior chambers of the U.S. Supreme Court, the last forum for appeals of lower court decisions. AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS court decisions without a hearing in the courts of appeals. Because Suprem…
A court having jurisdiction to review decisions of a trial-level or other lower court. On the state level, a decision of a state trial court—usually a district or other local court—can be appealed to a state appellate court for review. In most states, a case must first be appealed to an intermediate appellate court. If it receives an unfavorable ruling at the intermediate level, the …
A party who has won a judgment in a lawsuit or favorable findings in an administrative proceeding, which judgment or findings the losing party, the appellant, seeks to have a higher court reverse or set aside. The designation as appellee is not related to a person's status as plaintiff or defendant in the lower court. Another name for appellee is respondent. …
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…
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…
To designate, select, or assign authority to a position or an office. Although sometimes used interchangeably, elect and appoint do not have the same meaning. Election refers to the selection of a public officer by the qualified voters of the community, and appointment refers to the selection of a public officer by one authorized by law to do so. …
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…
A federally authorized procedure by which a debtor—an individual, corporation, or municipality— is relieved of total liability for its debts by making court-approved arrangements for their partial repayment. Once considered a shameful last resort, bankruptcy in the United States is emerging as an acceptable method of resolving serious financial troubles. A record one million individu…
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…
Also, the allocation of a charge or cost such as real estate taxes between two parties, often in the same ratio as the respective times that the parties are in possession or ownership of property during the fiscal period for which the charge is made or assessed. James Madison and his fellow founders of the United States of America sought many objectives as they framed the U.S. Constitution. Among …
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…
A valuation or an approximation of value by impartial, properly qualified persons; the process of determining the value of an asset or liability, which entails expert opinion rather than express commercial transactions. …
A person selected or appointed by a competent authority or an interested party to evaluate the financial worth of property. Appraisers are frequently appointed in probate and condemnation proceedings and are also used by banks and real estate concerns to determine the market value of real property. …
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…
The fair and reasonable estimation of the value of an item. The increase in the financial worth of an asset as compared to its value at a particular earlier date as a result of inflation or greater market demand. …
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…
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 seizure and arrest of a person who is suspected of having committed a crime. …
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. …
The relationship that a person has to the blood relatives of a spouse by virtue of the marriage. …
A person who agrees to work for a specified time in order to learn a trade, craft, or profession in which the employer, traditionally called the master, assents to instruct him or her. Both minors and adults can be legally obligated under the terms of an apprenticeship contract, and any person who has the capacity to manage his or her own affairs may engage an apprentice. In some states, a minor m…
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. …
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). …
The designation by the government or an individual of the use to which a fund of money is to be applied. The selection and setting apart of privately owned land by the government for public use, such as a military reservation or public building. The diversion of water flowing on public domain from its natural course by means of a canal or ditch for a private beneficial use of the appropriator. An …
Alexander James Dallas achieved prominence as a jurist, statesman, and author. Dallas was born June 21, 1759, in Jamaica, British West Indies. He relocated to the United States, becoming a citizen in 1783. In 1785, Dallas was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar and began his judicial career as counselor of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Six years later he acted as secretary of the Commonwealth of Pe…
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. …
The present confirmation, ratification, or assent to some action or thing done by another, which is submitted to an individual, group, or governmental body for judgment. The acceptance by a judge of a bond, security, or other document that is required by law to meet with the judge's satisfaction before it becomes legally effective. …
Despite the Glass-Steagall reforms, periods of instability have continued to reappear in the banking industry. Between 1982 and 1987, about 600 banks failed in the United States. Over one-third of the closures occurred in Texas. Many of the failed banks closed permanently, with their customers' deposits compensated by the FDIC; others were taken over by the FDIC and reorganized and eventual…
Arthur T. Vanderbilt was chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and a nationally renowned champion of judicial reform in the 1950s. Though he never became a U.S. Supreme Court justice, Vanderbilt's philosophy and personal energy paved the way for the modernization of state judicial systems. He used the New Jersey courts as his laboratory for judicial change. Vanderbilt was born in Ne…
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…
[Latin, One who attends something to view it as a spectator or witness.] Any person who is given an absolute power to judge and rule on a matter in dispute. An arbiter may perform the same function as an umpire, a person who decides a controversy when arbitrators cannot agree. …
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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…
The simultaneous purchase in one market and sale in another of a security or commodity in hope of making a profit on price differences in the different markets. Arbitrage can be divided into the categories of riskless and risk. As an example of riskless arbitrage, imagine that the price of Microsoft Corporation common stock on the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange is less than the price of the same sto…
An organization of lawyers established to promote professional competence, enforce standards of ethical conduct, and encourage a spirit of public service among members of the legal profession. In a majority of states, membership in the state bar association is mandatory for those licensed to practice law. When lawyers are required to join the bar in order to practice law, the bar is said to be int…
A new fact or set of facts that operates to defeat a claim even if the facts supporting that claim are true. …
Irrational; capricious. The term arbitrary describes a course of action or a decision that is not based on reason or judgment but on personal will or discretion without regard to rules or standards. An arbitrary decision is one made without regard for the facts and circumstances presented, and it connotes a disregard of the evidence. In many instances, the term implies an element of bad faith, and…
A criminal offense generally defined as the fighting of two or more persons in a public place that disturbs others. …
A written test that an individual must pass before becoming licensed to practice law as an attorney. Bar examinations are regulated by states, and their specific requirements vary from state to state. Generally, they cover numerous legal topics and consist of multiple-choice questions or essay questions, or a combination. Most states administer a standardized multiple-choice test known as the Mult…
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 …
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." …
The submission of a dispute to an unbiased third person designated by the parties to the controversy, who agree in advance to comply with the award—a decision to be issued after a hearing at which both parties have an opportunity to be heard. Arbitration can be voluntary or required. The traditional model is voluntary, and closely linked to contract law: parties often stipulate in contracts…
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 union that possesses the sole authority to act on behalf of all the employees of a particular type in a company. …
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 …
A person who prepares the plan and design of a building or other structure and sometimes super-vises its construction. A landscape architect is responsible for the arrangement of scenery over a tract of land for natural or aesthetic purposes in order to enhance or preserve the property. The terms and conditions of an architect's employment are designated in a contract and are governed by ge…
In maritime law, barratry is the commission of an act by the master or mariners of a vessel for an unlawful or fraudulent purpose that is contrary to the duty owed to the owners, by which act the owners sustain injury. …
The functions of the architect have become increasingly administrative, and the architectural or engineering dimensions less important. Special projects carried out by the architect include building renovation and restoration, including installation of broadcasting and security equipment in the Capitol. Before 1989, the position of architect of the capitol was filled for an indefinite term by pres…
A barrister is a counselor who is learned in law and who has been admitted to plead at the bar. A barrister drafts the pleadings in all cases, with the exception of the simplest ones. Distinguished from an attorney, which is an English lawyer who conducts matters out of court, a barrister engages in the actual argument of cases or the conduct of the trial. …
Abe Fortas. AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS lobbyist and interpreter of government regulations in post-World War II Washington, D.C. Despite Fortas's ultimate return of the money, his initial acceptance of it troubled many senators. It was alleged that Fortas had done more than foundation work, giving Wolfson legal advice. The Life article noted that Wolfson had used Fortas's name i…
In the course of the argument. When the phrase in arguendo is used by a judge during the course of a trial, it indicates that his or her comment is made as a matter of argument or illustration only. The statement does not bear directly upon the remainder of the discussion. …
The exchange of goods or services without the use of money as currency. Barter is a contract wherein parties trade goods or commodities for other goods, as opposed to sale or exchange of goods for money. Barter is not applicable to contracts involving land, but solely to contracts relating to goods and services. For example, when a tenant exchanges the performance of various maintenance tasks arou…
Aaron Burr was a soldier, lawyer, and politician and the third vice president of the United States. Burr was born February 6, 1756, in Newark, New Jersey. His family traced its ancestry to the Pilgrims and through hundreds of years of English gentry with many members who were prominent in government and politics. Both his parents died when he was young and he and his sister were raised in comforta…
A form of expression consisting of a coherent set of reasons presenting or supporting a point of view; a series of reasons given for or against a matter under discussion that is intended to convince or persuade the listener. For example, an argument by counsel consists of a presentation of the facts or evidence and the inferences that may be drawn therefrom, which are aimed at persuading a judge o…
An interest in real property that has the potential to last forever, provided a specific contingency does not occur. For example, a grantee might be given an estate in blackacre, "provided the land is not used for illegal purposes." This type of fee is also known as a conditional, determinable, or qualified fee. …
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. …
Controversial; subject to argument.…
Survey line used in the government survey to establish township lines. Horizontal elevation line used as a centerline in a highway survey. …
The spontaneous or artificially induced expulsion of an embryo or fetus. As used in legal context, the term usually refers to induced abortion. …
Aristotle formulated numerous beliefs about the reasoning power of humans and the essence of being. He stressed the importance of nature and instructed his pupils to closely study natural phenomena. When teaching science, he believed that all ideas must be supported by explanations based upon facts. Concerning the realm of politics, Aristotle propounded that humans are inherently political and dem…
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…
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…
Angela Yvonne Davis, political activist, author, professor, and Communist party member, was an international symbol of the black liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Davis was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on January 26, 1944, the eldest of four children. Her family was relatively well-off among the blacks in the city. Her father and mother were teachers in the Birmingham school system, and …
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. …
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. …
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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 …
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 …
The Constitution authorizes Congress to raise, support, and regulate armed services for the national defense. The President of the United States is commander in chief of all the branches of the services and has ultimate control over most military matters. The United States has always been wary of maintaining a strong military force. This concern was shown by the Framers of the Constitution when th…
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.…
Unjustified planned, threatened, or carried out use of force by one nation against another. …
A suspending or cessation of hostilities between belligerent nations or forces for a considerable time. An armistice differs from a mere "suspension of arms" in that the latter is concluded for very brief periods and for local military purposes only, whereas an armistice not only covers a longer period, but is agreed upon for political purposes. It is said to be general if it relates…
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. …
Various legal methods used by a creditor to force a debtor to repay an outstanding obligation. …
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…
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. …
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 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…
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…
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…
One of the major efforts to preserve international peace and security in the twenty-first century has been to control or limit the number of weapons and the ways in which weapons can be used. Two different means to achieve this goal have been disarmament and arms control. Disarmament is the reduction of the number of weapons and troops maintained by a state. Arms control refers to treaties made be…
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…
A criminal proceeding at which the defendant is officially called before a court of competent jurisdiction, informed of the offense charged in the complaint, information, indictment, or other charging document, and asked to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or as otherwise permitted by law. Depending on the jurisdiction, arraignment may also be the proceeding at which the court determines whethe…
Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was a prominent African American congressman, serving his district in New York City's Harlem neighborhood from 1945 to 1970. A flamboyant and often controversial political figure, Powell played a key role in passing many federal education and social welfare programs in the 1960s. Near the end of his tenure, however, Powell was embroiled with the House of Representati…
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. …
Virtually all states have enacted statutes delineating requirements for jury service. In most states, convicted felons and insane persons cannot be jurors. Professional persons such as judicial and government officials, lawyers, ministers, and medical personnel may be exempted by statute from jury service. As a general rule, a group of local officials acting within the statutory framework select t…
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 …
A sum of money that has not been paid or has only been paid in part at the time it is due. A person who is "in arrears" is behind in payments due and thus has outstanding debts or liabilities. For example, a tenant who has not paid rent on the day it is due is in arrears. Arrears may also refer to the late distribution of the dividends of cumulative preferred stock. …
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…
An anti-war protester is arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and obstruction of government administration by a New York City police officer in October 2002. The procedures by which a person is arrested must comply with the protections guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment. AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS A seizure or forcible restraint; an exercise of the power to deprive a person of his or her lib…
The postponement or stay of an official decision of a court, or the refusal to render such a determination, after a verdict has been reached in an action at law or a criminal prosecution, because some defect appears on the face of the record that, if a decision is made, would make it erroneous or reversible. Although the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure make no such provision, state codes of civil…
A written order issued by authority of the state and commanding the seizure of the person named. …
Hamilton was born January 11, 1757, on Nevis Island, in the West Indies. His parents never married. His father, the son of a minor Scottish noble, drifted to the West Indies early in his life and worked odd jobs throughout the Caribbean. His mother died in the Indies when he was eleven. Hamilton spent his early years in poverty, traveling to different islands with his father. At the age of fourtee…
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…
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 …
President James Madison's appointment of Alexander Wolcott to the U.S. Supreme Court was a tribute to Wolcott's political loyalty, not his legal acumen. Nominated by Madison on February 4, 1811, Wolcott was a well-connected Republican whom Federalists and most historians regarded as unqualified for the High Court. Unable to win support even among fellow Republicans, Wolcott saw his c…
That period of time necessary to complete an actual course of study during a school year. …
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln and his supporters preserved the Union by defeating the South in the Civil War. In 1830 his family moved to Decatur, Illinois. He left his family in 1831 and moved to New Salem, Illinois, where he worked at various jobs and continued his self-education. He began to study la…
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 …
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…
Modern legislation has extended the definition of arson to include the burning or exploding of commercial and public buildings—such as restaurants and schools—and structures—such as bridges. In many states, the act of burning any insured dwelling, regardless of whether it belongs to another, constitutes arson if it is done with an intent to defraud the insurer. Final…
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. …
To assist another in the commission of a crime by words or conduct. …
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…
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…
Even after the National Commission of Fine Arts was established, the federal government continued to play a minor role in funding the arts, but several municipal programs attempted to fill the void. In New York City, the Civil Works Administration (CWA) sponsored paintings, murals, and art education. The primary goal of the CWA was to create employment for artists receiving government relief. With…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The document that set forth the terms under which the original thirteen states agreed to participate in a centralized form of government, in addition to their self-rule, and that was in effect from March 1, 1781, to March 4, 1789, prior to the adoption of the Constitution. …
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…
Formal written allegations of the causes that warrant the criminal trial of a public official before a quasi-political court. The use of articles of impeachment against state officials is governed by state constitutions and statutes. Articles of impeachment are analogous to an indictment that initiates criminal prosecutions of private persons. …
Articles of incorporation, sometimes called a certificate of incorporation, must set forth certain information as mandated by statute. Although laws vary from state to state, the purposes of the corporation and the rights and liabilities of shareholders and directors are typical provisions required in the document. Official forms are prescribed in many states. Once the articles of incorporation ar…
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 written compact by which parties agree to pool their money, labor, and/or skill to carry on a business for profit. The parties sign the compact with the understanding that they will share proportionally the losses and profits according to the provisions and conditions that they have mutually assented would govern their business relationship. …
Arthur Linton Corbin was a leading legal scholar and professor who made significant and influential contributions to the development of U.S. contract law. Corbin was born October 17, 1874, in Cripple Creek, a small mining town near Colorado Springs. He was raised in Cripple Creek and then left Colorado to attend the University of Kansas, from which he graduated in 1894. He went on to the Yale Law …
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…
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…
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. …
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 …
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. …
The process by which a woman is medically impregnated using semen from her husband or from a third-party donor. Artificial insemination is employed in cases of infertility or impotence, or as a means by which an unmarried woman may become pregnant. The procedure, which has been used since the 1940s, involves injecting collected semen into the woman's uterus and is performed under a physicia…
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. …
A legal entity that is not a human being but for certain purposes is considered by virtue of statute to be a natural person. …
An accommodation endorsement is a loan of the endorser's credit up to the face amount of the paper. …
A term used to describe a sales transaction in which the seller offers goods in their present, existing condition to prospective buyers. The term as is gives notice to buyers that they are taking a risk on the quality of the goods. The buyer is free to inspect the goods before purchase; but if any hidden defects are discovered after purchase, the buyer has no recourse against the seller. Any impli…
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 phrase commonly recognized to mean "in accordance with the terms of" a particular document—such as a contract, deed, or affidavit—or "as authorized by the contract." …
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 …
Andrew Jackson achieved prominence as a frontiersman, jurist, and military hero, and as seventh president of the United States. His two administrations, famous for ideologies labeled Jacksonian Democracy, encouraged participation in government by the people, particularly the middle class. Jackson was born March 15, 1767, in Waxhaw, South Carolina. In 1781, Jackson entered the military, fought in t…
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…
The removal of items from one place to another, such as carrying things away illegally. …
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. …
Adolph Augustus Berle Jr. was a diplomat, teacher, and writer. He was born January 29, 1895, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was educated at Harvard, receiving a bachelor of arts degree in 1913, a master of arts degree in 1914, and a bachelor of laws degree in 1916, in which year he was also admitted to the bar. One of Berle's several publications was The Modern Corporation and Private Pr…
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. …
The active principle of intoxicating drinks, produced by the fermentation of sugars. …
Murder committed by a perpetrator without the personal provocation of the victim, who is usually a government official. First used in medieval times to describe the murders of prominent Christians by the Hashshashin, a secret Islamic sect, the word assassination is used in the twenty-first century to describe murders committed for political reasons, especially against government officials. Assassi…
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 …
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. …
Statutory definitions of assault in the various jurisdictions throughout the United States are not substantially different from the common-law definition. An aggravated assault, punishable in all states as a felony, is committed when a defendant intends to do more than merely frighten the victim. Common types of aggravated assaults are those accompanied by an intent to kill, rob, or rape. An assau…
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 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…
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 …
[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…
Bickel was born December 17, 1924, in Bucharest, Romania, and immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1939. He attended the City College of New York, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1947, and Harvard Law School, where he served as editor of the Harvard Law Review and graduated summa cum laude in 1949. After completing his clerkship with Justice Frankfurter, Bickel joined the faculty of Ya…
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. …
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. …
The main distinction between the two offenses is the existence or nonexistence of a touching or contact. While contact is an essential element of battery, there must be an absence of contact for assault. Sometimes assault is defined loosely to include battery. …
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…
The congregation of a number of persons at the same location. Popularly-elected Political assemblies are those mandated by the Constitution and laws, such as the general assembly. The lower, or more populous, arm of the legislature in several states is also known as the House of Assembly or the Assembly. …
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…
An intentional approval of known facts that are offered by another for acceptance; agreement; consent. Express assent is manifest confirmation of a position for approval. Implied assent is that which the law presumes to exist because the conduct of the parties demonstrates their intentions. Mutual assent, sometimes called the meeting of the minds of the parties, is the reciprocal agreement of each…
To determine financial worth. To ascertain the amount of damages. To fix and adjust the individual shares to be contributed by several persons toward a common beneficial objective in proportion to the benefit each person will receive. To tax by having qualified experts estimate the value of property by considering the nature of the property, its size, the value of other comparable property, and th…
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…
The financial worth assigned to property by taxing authorities that is used as a basis or factor against which the tax rate is applied. A prescribed amount of the value of each unit must be paid as taxes in the future. In most cases, the assessed value is not representative of the fair market value of the property. …
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…
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 character of property that makes it capable of sale or transfer. …
An accrued asset is one that arises from revenue earned but not yet due. For example, an accrued dividend is a share of the net earnings of a corporation that has been declared but has not yet been paid out to its shareholder(s). A current, liquid, or quick asset is an item that can be readily converted to cash, such as stocks and bonds. A fixed asset is one of a permanent or longterm nature used …
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…
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. …
To transfer to another, as to assign one's right to receive rental income from property to another. To designate for a particular function, as to assign an attorney to defend an indigent in a criminal prosecution. To specify or point out, as to assign errors in a lower court proceeding on a writ of error that is submitted to request a court to reverse the judgment of the lower court. …
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…
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. …
A type of secured transaction whereby an account receivable is pledged to a bank, factor, or other lender to secure the repayment of a loan. It is common commercial practice for a manufacturer or wholesaler to sell inventory on open account, a debt owed to the seller of inventory that is to be repaid by its buyer as the merchandise is sold. This arrangement creates an account receivable that the s…
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…
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…
A danger or hazard of loss or injury that an insurer will not normally accept for coverage under a policy issued by the insurer, but that the insurance company is required by state law to offer protection against by participating in a pool of insurers who are also compelled to provide coverage. …
An insurance plan created and imposed by state statute under which persons who normally would be denied insurance coverage as bad risks are permitted to purchase insurance from a pool of insurers who must offer coverage to such individuals. …
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…
An assignment of wages is the transfer of the right to collect wages from the wage earner to his or her creditor. Statutes regulate the extent to which an assignment may be made. …
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. …
Volstead, a reluctant national symbol of Prohibition, was the product of modest, rural beginnings. His parents had been Norwegian farmers who earned their living by selling surplus produce in Oslo street markets until they immigrated to the United States in 1854, where they eventually settled on a farm near the town of Kenyon, in Goodhue County, Minnesota. Volstead was born October 31, 1860, near …
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 …
The voluntary transfer of all or most of a debtor's property to another person in trust so that he or she will collect any money that is owed to the debtor, sell the debtor's property, and apply the money received to the payment of the debts, returning any surplus to the debtor. The debtor is the assignor, the transferor; and the person who takes legal title to the property is the as…
Capone was born January 17, 1899, in Naples, Italy. His family emigrated from Naples, Italy, to New York and Capone was raised in the Brooklyn slums. During his early years in New York he made strong gangland contacts and in 1920, he became a member of the John Torrio gang. Torrio, originally from New York, relocated his operation to Chicago, with Capone at his side. An appeal was pursued and Capo…
Johnson was born December 29, 1808, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Little is known of his early life. His ancestry is usually traced only to the family of his father, Jacob Johnson, who raised his family in Raleigh and served as the city's constable and sexton, was a porter to the state bank, and was a respected captain in the militia of North Carolina. He was viewed as a hero after saving two…
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. …
The term assigns is often found in deeds; for example, "heirs, administrators, and assigns to denote the assignable nature of the interest or right created." …
The designation given to a judge who is not the chief or presiding justice of the court on which he or she sits. An associate judge is usually a member of an appellate court. …
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…
ATLA is comprised of a network of U.S. and Canadian affiliates involved in diverse areas of trial advocacy. It provides lawyers with the information and professional assistance needed to serve clients successfully and protect the civil justice system. The ATLA is governed by its membership through a board of governors and national officers, who are elected at the organization's annual conve…
[Latin, He undertook or he promised.] A promise by which someone assumes or undertakes an obligation to another person. The promise may be oral or in writing, but it is not under seal. It is express when the person making the promise puts it into distinct and specific language, but it may also be implied because the law sometimes imposes obligations based on the conduct of the parties or the circu…
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…
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…
The undertaking of the repayment of a debt or the performance of an obligation owed by another. When a purchaser of real property assumes the mortgage of the seller, he or she agrees to adopt the mortgage debt, becoming personally liable for its full repayment in case of default. If a foreclosure sale of the mortgaged property does not satisfy the debt, the purchaser remains financially responsibl…
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. …
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. …
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 assertion, claim, declaration, or statement of a party to an action, setting out what he or she expects to prove. …
Paul was born on January 11, 1885, in Moorestown, New Jersey. She graduated from Swarthmore College in 1905 and then went to England to do graduate work. While in England, Paul became involved with the British suffragettes and received three jail sentences for participating in militant actions. She returned to the United States in 1910 and continued her graduate work at the University of Pennsylva…
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…
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…
Garland was born June 11, 1832, in Tipton County, Tennessee. His parents, Rufus K. Garland and Barbara Hill Garland, settled in Hempstead County, Arkansas, when he was an infant. Garland was educated at local schools in Hempstead County, and at St. Joseph's College, in Bardstown, Kentucky. He graduated from St. Joseph's in 1851 and was admitted to the bar in 1853. Garland's fi…
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. …
A. Philip Randolph. FISK UNIVERSITY LIBRARY His life's work grew out of a request by Pullman car porters to help them organize a union. In the 1920s railroads dominated U.S. transportation. The dining cars, club cars, and sleeping cars of passenger trains were staffed by African American porters, who earned their money primarily from the tips of passengers. Ignored by the American Fe…
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. …
Situations that encompass assumption of the risk have been classified in three broad categories. In its principal sense, assumption of the risk signifies that the plaintiff, in advance, has consented to relieve the defendant of an obligation of conduct toward him or her and to take a chance of injury from a known risk ensuing from what the defendant is to do or leave undone. The consequence is tha…
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. …
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. …
A person protected by insurance coverage against loss or damage stipulated by the provisions of a policy purchased from an insurance company or an underwriter. Assured is synonymous with insured. …
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…
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. …
Taft was born November 5, 1810, in Townsend, Vermont, to pioneers Peter Rawson Taft and Sylvia Howard Taft. He was well aware of his family's long history and tradition of public service in the American colonies. His father was a descendant of Edward Rawson, a 1636 settler who had served as secretary of the Massachusetts Province. Other Taft family members held positions of responsibility a…
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…
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…
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…
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 …
Asylum is not to be confused with refuge, although the terms are sometimes used inter-changeably. An alien who wishes to emigrate to another country is granted refugee status before leaving his or her native country. An asylum seeker (or asylee) seeks that status after arriving in the new country. …
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. …
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…
[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. …
Barbara C. Jordan. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Barbara Charline Jordan, attorney, legislator, and educator, was the first African-American woman from a Southern state to win election to the U.S. Congress. Jordan was born on February 21, 1936, in Houston, Texas, the third and youngest daughter of the Reverend Benjamin Jordan and Arlyne Jordan. In 1952, she graduated at the top of her class from Phyl…
