Contra Formam Statuti
Contra Formam Statuti (against The Form Of The Statute). In Pleading. The Formal Manner Of Alleging That The Offence Described In An In Dictment Is One Forbidden By Statute. 2. When One Statute Prohibits A Thing And Another Gives The Penalty, In An Action For The Penalty The Declaration Should ...
Contract
' Contract '(lat. Contractus, From Con, With, And Traho, To Draw. Contractus Ultro Utroque Obligatio Est Pain Grceci Avva"laayta Vocant. Fr. 'contra* An Agreement Between Two Or More Parties To De Or Not To Do A Particular Thing. Taney, C. J., 11 Pet. 420, 572. An Agreement In Which A ...
Contradictory Provisions
Contradictory Provisions. As A General Rule, Where There Are Portions Of A Will Wholly Incapable Of Standing With Other Portions (and Where They Cannot Both Be Allowed To Operate So As To Give The Persons To Be Bene Fited A Joint Estate In The Thing), The Latter Provision Must Control, ...
Contribution
Contribution. At Common Law. The Payment By Each Or Any One Of Several Parties Who Are Liable In Company With Others Of His Proportionate Part Of The Whole Liability Or Loss, To One Or More Of The Parties So Liable Upon Whom The Whole Loss Has Fallen Or Who Has ...
Conversion
Conversion (lat. Con, With, Together, Vertere, To Turn ; Conversio, A Turning To, With, Together). In Equity. The Exchange Of One Species Of Property For Another, Which Takes Place Under Some Circumstances In The Considera Tion Of The Law, Although No Such Change Has Actually Taken Place. Land Is Held ...
Conveyance Of Vessels
Conveyance Of Vessels. The Transfer Of The Title To Vessels. The Act Of Congress Approved The 29th July, 1850, Entitled An Act To Provide For Recording The Conveyances Of Vessels, And For Other Purposes, En Acts That No Bill Of Sale, Mortgage, Hypothecation, Or Conveyance Of Any Vessel, Or Part ...
Conviction
Conviction (lat. Convictio ; From Con, With, Vincere, To Bind), In Practice. That Legal Proceeding Of Record Which Ascertains The Guilt Of The Party And Upon Which The Sentence Or Judgment Is Founded. Finding A Person Guilty By Verdict Of A Jury. 1 Bishop, Crim. Law, 223. A Record Of ...
Copyright
Copyright. The Exclusive Privilege, Secured According To Certain Legal Forms, Of Printing, Publishing, And Vending Copies Of Writings Or Drawings. The Intellectual Productions To Which The Law Extends Protection Are Of Three Classes. First, Writings Or Drawings Capable Of Being Multiplied By The Arts Of Printing Or Engraving. Second, De ...
Corporation
Corporation (lat. Corpus, A Body). A Body, Consisting Of One Or More Natural Persons, Established By Law, Usually For Some Specific Purpose, And Continued By A Succes Sion Of Members. It Is This Last Characteristic Of A Corporation, Sometimes Called Its Immortality, Prolonging Its Ex Istence Beyond The Term Of ...
Corpus Delicti
Corpus Delicti. The Body Of The Offence; The Essence Of The Crime. 2. It Is A General Rule Not To Convict Unless The Corpus Delicti Can Be Established, That Is, Until The Fact That The Crime Has Been Actu Ally Perpetrated Has Been First Proved. Hence, On A Charge Of ...
Correction
Correction. Chastisement, By One Having Authority, Of A Person Who Has Com Mitted Some Offence, For The Purpose Of Bring Ing Him To Legal Subjection. 2. It Is Chiefly Exercised In A Parental Manner By Parents, Or Those Who Are Placed In Loco Parentis. A Parent May Therefore Justify The ...
Costs
Costs. In Practice. The Expenses Incurred By The Parties In The Prosecution Or Defence Of A Suit At Law. They Are Distinguished From Fees In Being An Allowance To A Party For Expenses Incurred In Conducting His Suit; Wbereas Fees Are A Compensa Tion To An Officer For Services Rendered ...
Count
Count (fr. Cantle From The Latin Comes). An Earl. It Gave Way Es A Distinct Title To The Saxon Earl, But Was Retained In Countess, Viscount, And As The Basis Of County. Termes De Fa, Ley; 1 Blackstone, Comm. 398. See Comes. In Pleading (fr. Conte, A Narrative). The Plaintiff's ...
County Court
County Court. In English Law. Tribunals Of Limited Jurisdiction, Originally Established Under The Statute 9 & 10 Vict. C. 95. They Had At Their Institution Jurisdiction Of Ac Tions For The Recovery Of Debts, Damages, And De Mands, Legacies, And Balances Of Partnership Ac Counts, Where The Sum Sued For ...
Court
Court (fr. Cour, Dutch, Koert, A Yard). In Practice. A Body In The Government To Which The Public Administration Of Justice Is Delegated. The Presence Of A Sufficient Number Of The Members Of Such A Body Regularly Convened In An Authorized Place At Au Appointed Time, Engaged In The Full ...
Court Baron
Court Baron. A Domestic Court, In Cident To Every Manor, To Be Held By The Stew Ard Within The Manor, For Redressing Mis Demeanors And Nuisances Therein, And For Settling Disputes Among The Tenants Relating To Property. It Is Not A Court Of Record. Customary Court Baron Is One Appertain ...
Court Left
' Court Left. In English Law. A Eburt Of Record For A Particular Hundred, Lordship, Or Manor, Holden Therein Before The Steward Of The Leet, For The Punishment Of Petty Offences And The Preservation Of The Peace. Kitchin, Courts Leet. These Courts Were Established As Substitutes Fot The Sheriff's Tourn ...
Court Martial
Court-martial. A Military Or Naval Tribunal, Which Has Jurisdiction Of Of Fences Against The Law Of The Service, Military Or Naval, In Which The Offender Is Engaged. The Original Tribunal, For Which Courts-martial Are A Partial Substitute, Was The Court Of Chivalry, Which Title See. These Courts Exist And Have ...
Court Of
Court Of In English Law. A Court Which Was Formerly Held By Divers Lords, Spiritual And Temporal, Who Were Members Of The Privy Council, To Gether With Two Judges Of The Courts Of Com Mon Law. It Was Of Very Ancient Origin, Was New-modelled By The 3 Hen. Vii. C. ...
Court Of Arches L
Court Of Arches (l. Lat. Curia De Arcubus). In English Ecclesiastical Law. A Court Of Appeal, And Of Original Jurisdic Tion. The Most Ancient Consistory Court Belonging To The Archbishop Of Canterbury For The Trial Of Spirit Ual Causes, The Judge Of Which Is Called The Dean Of The Arches, ...
Court Of Claims 00
Court Of Claims 00 97 Except In The Case Of The Senate As A Court To Try Impeachments, And The Mode Prescribed For The Appointment Of The Judges, The Judicial System Of The United States Has Been Constructed Under The Authority Derived Primarily From The Following Pro Visions Of The ...
Court Of Common Pleas
Court Of Common Pleas. In American Law. A Court Of Original And General Jurisdiction For The Trial Of Issues Of Tact And Law According To The Principles Of The Common Law. Courts Of This Name Still Exist In Some Of The States Of The United States, And Frequently Have A ...
Court Of Exchequer
Court Of Exchequer. In Eng Lish Law. A Superior Court Of Record, Ad Ministering Justice In Questions Of Law And Revenue. It Is The Lowest In Rank Of The Three Superior Common-law Courts Of Record, And Had Jurisdiction Originally Only Of Cases Of Injury To The Revenue By Withholding Or ...
Court Of Kings Bench
Court Of King's Bench. In English Law. The Supreme Court Of Com Mon Law In The Kingdom. It Is One Of The Successors Of The Aula Regie, And Received Its Name, It Is Said, Because The King For Merly Sat In It In Person, The Style Of The Court Be ...
Court Of Marshalsea
Marshalsea, Court Of. A Court Originally Held Before The Steward And Marshal Of The Royal Household. It Was Instituted To Administer Justice Be Tween The Servants Of The King's Household, That They Might Not Be Drawn Into Other Courts And Their Services Lost. It Was Anciently Am Bulatory ; But ...
Court Of Record
Court Of Record. A Judicial Or Ganized Tribunal Having Attributes And Exer Cising Functions Independently Of The Person Of The Magistrate Designated Generally To Hold It, And Proceeding According To The Course Of The Common Law. A Court Where The Acts And Proceedings Are Enrolled In Parchment For A Perpetual ...
Courts
Courts Relating To Immovable Property Within Their Jurisdiction Are Held Bindit,i Where. And The Rule Is The Same With Re Bard To Movables Actually Within Their Juris Diction. Story, Confl. Laws, 0 592; 1 Green Leaf, Ev. 0 541. Thus, Admiralty Proceedings In Rem Are Held Conclusive Everywhere If The ...
Courts Of Assize And
Courts Of Assize And Nisi Frius. In English Law. Courts Com Posed Of Two Or More Commissioners, Called Judges Of Assize (or Of Assize And Nisi Prius), Who Are Twice In Year Sent By Queen's Special Commission On Circuits All Round The Kingdom, To Try, By A Jury Of The ...
Covenant
Covenant (lat. Convenire, To Come Together; Conventio, A Coming Together. It Is Equivalent To The Factum Convent= Of The Civil Law). In Contracts. An Agreement Between Two Or More Persons, Entered Into By Deed, Whereby One Of The Parties Promises The Per Formance Or Non-performance Of Certain Acts, Or That ...
Covenant Of Seisin
Covenant Of Seisin. An Assu Rance To The Grantee That The Grantor Has The Very Estate, Both In Quantity And Quality, Which He Professes To Convey. Platt, Coy. 306. It Has Given Place In English Convey Ancing To The Covenant Of Right To Convey, But Is In Use In Several ...
Covenant Of Warranty
Covenant Of Warranty. An Assurance By The Grantor Of An Estate That The Grantee Shall Enjoy The Same Without In Terruption By Virtue Of Paramount Title. 2 Jones, No. C. 203 ; 3 Duer, N. Y. 464. It Is Not In Use In English Conveyances, But Is In General Use ...
Crime
Crime. An Act Committed Or Omitted In Violation Of A Public Law Forbidding Or Commanding It. A Wrong Which The Government Notices As Injurious To The Public, And Punishes In What Is Called A Criminal Proceeding In Its Own Name. 1 Bishop, Crim. Law, 43. See 4 Den. N. Y. ...
Criminal Law
Criminal Law. That Branch Of Jurisprudence Which Treats Of Crimes And Offences. 2. From The Very Nature Of The Social Com Pact On Which All Municipal Law Is Founded, And In Consequence Of Which Every Man, When He Enters Into Society, Gives Up A Part Of His Natural Liberty, Result ...
Cross Bill
Cross - Bill. In Equity Practice. One Which Is Brought By A Defendant In A Suit Against A Plaintiff In Or Against Other Defend Ants In The Same Suit, Or Against Both, Touching The Matters In Question In The Original Bill, Story, Eq. Plead. 389 ; Mitford, Chanc. Plead. Jerem. ...
Cruelty
Cruelty. As Between Husband And Wife. Those Acts Which Affect The Life, The Health, Or Even The Comfort, Of The Party Ag Grieved, And Give A Reasonable Apprehension Of Bodily Hurt, Are Called Cruelty. What Merely Wounds The Feelings Is Seldom Ad Mitted To Be Cruelty, Unless The Act Be ...
Custom
Custom. Such A Usage As By Common Consent And Uniform Practice Has Become The Law Of The Place, Or Of The Subject-matter, To Which It Relates. It Differs From Prescription, Which Is Personal And Is Annexed To The Person Of The Owner Of A Particular Estate; While The Other Is ...
Custom Opinion Pedigree Prescription
Custom; Opinion; Pedigree; Prescription. Consult Greenleaf, Evidence ; Starkie, Evi Dence; Phillipps, Evidence; Best On Presump Tion. Prof. Parker's Mss. Lectures On Med. Jur. In Dartmouth College. 11. The Effect Of Evidence. As A General Rule, A Judgment Rendered By A Court Of Competent Jurisdiction Directly Upon A Point In ...
Cy Pres L
Cy Pres (l. Fr. As Near As). The Rule Of Construction Applied To A Will (but Not To A Deed) By Which, Where The Testator Evinces A Particular And A General Intention And The Particular Intention Cannot Take Effect, The Words Shall Be So Construed As To Give Effect To ...
Dakota
Dakota. One Of The Territories Of The United States.. Congress, By An Act Approved March 2, 1861, Erected So Much Of The Territory Of The United States As Is Included Within The Following Bounda Ries— Viz.: Commencing At A, Point In The Main Channel Of Red River Of The North ...
Dam
Dam. A Construction Of Wood, Stone, Or Other Materials, Made Across A Stream Of Water For The Purpose Of Confining It; A Mole. 2. The Owner Of A Stream Not Navigable May Erect A Dam Across It, Provided He Do Not Thereby Materially Impair The Rights Of The Proprietors Above ...
Damages
Damages. Vindictive Damages. See Exemplary Dam Ages. In Modern Law, The Term Is Not Used In A Legal Sense To Include The Costs Of The Suit; Though It Was Formerly So Used. Coke, Litt. 267 A; Dougl. 751. The Various Classes Of Damages Here Given Are Those Commonly Found In ...
Date
Date. The Designation Ar Indication In An Instrument Of Writing Of The Time And Place When And Where It Was Made. When The Place Is Mentioned In The Date Of A Deed, The Law Intends, Unless The Contrary Appears, That It Was Executed At The Place Of The Date. Plowd. ...
Daughter
Daughter. An Immediate Female De Scendant. The Wife Of One's Son. Day. The Space Of Time Which Elapses While The Earth Makes A Complete Revolution On Its Axis. A Portion Of Such Space Of Time Which, By Usage Or Law, Has Come To Be Considered As The Whole For Some ...
Days Of Grace
Days Of Grace. Certain Days Al Lowed To The Acceptor Of A Bill Or The Maker Of A Note In Which To Make Payment, In Ad Dition To The Time Contracted For By The Bill Or Note Itself. 2. They Are So Called Because Formerly They Were Allowed As A ...
De Bene Esse
De Bene Esse. General.—a Simple And Absolute Submis Sion To The Jurisdiction Of The Court. Gratis.—one Made Before The Party Has Been Legally Notified To Appear. Optional.—one Made Where The Party Is Not Under Any Obligation To Appear, But Does So To Save His Rights. It Occurs In Chancery Practice, ...
De Injuria
De Injuria (lat. The Full Form Is, De Znjuria Sou Propria Absque Tali Causes, Of His Own Wrong Without Such Cause ; Or, Where Part Of The Plea Is Admitted, Absque Residuo Causce, Without The Rest Of The Cause). In Pleading. The Replication By Which In An Action Of Tort ...
Dead Body
Dead Body. A Corpse. 2. Take Up A Dead Body Without Lawful Authority, Even For The Purpose Of Dissection, Is A Misdemeanor, For Which The Offender May Be Indicted At Common Law. 1 Russell, Crimes, 414 ; 1 Dowl. & R. 13 ; Russ. & R. 366, N. B; 2 ...
Dead Freight 3
Dead Freight. 3. The General Rule Is That The Delivery Of The Goods At The Place Of Destination, In Fulfilment Of The Agreement Of The Charter Party Or Bill Of Hiding, Is Required, To Entitle The Master Or Owner Of The Vessel To Freight. 2 Johns. N. Y. 327; 3 ...
Dead Letters
Dead Letters. Letters Transmitted Through The Mails According To Direction, And Remaining For A Specified Time Uncalled For By The Persons Addressed, Are Called Dead Letters. By The Act To Amend The Laws Relating To The Post Office Department, March 3, 1863, Chap. 74, The Post Master-general Is Authorized To ...
Deaf And Dumb
Deaf And Dumb. No Definition Is Requisite, As The Words Are Sufficiently Known. A Person Deaf And Dumb Is Doll Capax; Hut With Such Persons Who Have Not Been Edu Cated, And Who Cannot Communicate Their I Ideas In Writing, A Difficulty Sometimes Arises On The Trial. 2. A Case ...
Death
Death. The Cessation Of Life. The Ceasing To Exist. Civil Death Is The State Of A Person Who,, Though Possessing Natural Life, Has Lost All His Civil Rights And As To Them, Is Considered As Dead. A Person Oonvieted And Attainted Of Felony And Sentenced To The State Prison For ...
Deceit
Deceit. A Fraudulent Misrepresenta Tion Or Contrivance, By Which One Man Do Ceives Another, Who Has No Means Of Detect Ing The Fraud, To The Injury And Damage Of The Latter. 2. Fraud, Or The Intention To Deceive, Is The Very Essence Of This Injury; For If The Party Misrepresenting ...
Declaration
Declaration. In Pleading. A Specification, In A Methodical And Logical Form, Of The Circumstances Which Constitute The Plaintiff's Cause Of Action. 1 Chitty, Plead. 248; Coke, Litt. 17 A, 303 A; Bacon, Abr. Pleas (b); Comyns, Dig. Pleader, C 7; Lawes, Plead. 35; Stephen, Plead. 36; 6 Serg. & R. ...
Dedication
Dedication. An Appropriation Of Land To Some Public Use, Made By The Owner, And Accepted Tor 'such Use By Or On Behalf Of The Public. Express Dedication Is That Made By Deed, Vote, Or Declaration. Implied'dedication Is That Presumed From An Acquiescence In The Public Use. 2. To Be Valid, ...
Defence
Defence. Torts. A Forcible Resist Ance Of An Attack By Force. 2. A Man Is Justified In Defending His Person, That Of His Wife, Children, And Ser Vants, And For This Purpose He May Use As Much Force As May He Necessary, Even To Kill Ing The Assailant, Remembering That ...
Delaware
Delaware. The Name Of One Of The Original States Of The United States Of America. In 1623, Cornelius May, With Some Dutch Emi Grants, Established A Trading-house, But The Settlers Soon Removed To North River. Ten Years After Wards Devries Arrived At Cape Henlopen, But The Natives Shortly Destroyed The ...
Delegation
Delegation. In Civil Law. A Kind Of Novation By Which The Original Debtor, In Order To Be Liberated From His Creditor, Gives Him A Third Person, Who Becomes Obliged In His Stead To The Creditor Or To The Person Appointed By Him. See Novation. Perfect Delegation Exists When The Debtor ...
Delirium Febrile
Delirium Febrile. In Medical Jurisprudence. A Form Of Mental Aberra Tion Incident To Febrile Diseases, And Some Times To The Last Stages Of Chronic Diseases. 2. The Aberration Is Mostly Of A Subjective Cha Racter, Maintained By The Inward Activity Of The Mind Rather Than By Outward Impressions. "re Gardless ...
Delirium Tremens
Delirium Tremens (called, Also, In Medical Jurisprudence. A Form Of Mental Disorder Incident To Habits Of Intem Perate Drinking, Which Generally Appears As A Sequel To A Few Days' Abstinence From Stimu Lating Drink. 2. The Nature Of The Connection Between This Disease And Abstinence Is Not Yet Clearly Under ...
Delivery
Delivery. In Conveyancing. The Transfer Of A Deed From The Grantor To The Grantee, Or Some Person Acting In His Behalf, In Such A Manner As To Deprive The Grantor Of The Right To Recall It At His Option. An Absolute Delivery Is One Which Is Com Plete Upon The ...
Demand
Demand. A Claim ; A Legal Obligation. Demand Is A Word Of Art Of An Extent Greater In Its Signification Than Any Other Word Except Claim. Coke, Litt. 291; 2 Hill, N. Y. 220 ; 9 Serg. & R. Penn. 124 ; 6 Watts & S. Penn. 226. A Release ...
Dementia
Dementia. In Medical Jurispru Dence. That Form Of Insanity Which Is Characterized By Mental Weakness And De Crepitude, And By Total Inability To Reason Correctly Or Incorrectly. The Mind Dwells Only In The Past, And The Thoughts Succeed One Another Without Any Obvious Bond Of Association. Delusions, If They Exist, ...
Demonstration
Demonstration (lat. Demonstrare, To Point Out). Whatever Is Said Or Written To Designate A Thing Or Person. Several Descriptions May Be Employed To Denote The Same Person Or Object ; And The Rule Of Law In Such Cases Is That If One Of The Descriptions Be Erroneous It May Be ...
Department
Department. A Portion Of A Coun Try. In France, The Country Is Divided Into Depait Meats, Which Are Somewhat Similar To The Counties In This Country. The United States Have Been Di. Vided Into Military Departments, Including Certain Portions Of The Country. 1 Pet. 293. These De Partments Are, For ...
Deposit
Deposit. A Naked Bailment Of Goods To Be Kept For The Depositor Without Reward, And To Be Returned When He Shall Require It. Jones, Bailm. 36, 117 ; 9 Mass. 470. A Bailment Of Goods To Be Kept By The Bailee Without Reward, And• Delivered Accord Ing To The Abject ...
Deposition
Deposition. The Testimony Of A Wit Ness Reduced To Writing, In Due Form Of Law, By Virtue Of A Commission Or Other Authority Of A Competent Tribunal, Or According To The Provisions Of Some Statute Law, To Be Used On The Trial Of Some Question Of Fact In A Court ...
Descent
Descent. Hereditary Succession. Title By Descent Is The Title By Which One Person, Upon The Death Of Another, Acquires The Real Estate Of The Latter As His Heir At Law. 2 Blackstone, Comm. 201; Comyns, Dig. Discent (a). It Was One Of The Principles Of The Feudal System That On ...