Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act. A 1998 federal statute that makes it a felony, punishable by up to two years in prison, for failure to pay child support if the obligor has crossed state lines in an attempt to avoid paying the support. • The Act provides felony penalties if (1) a person travels across state […]
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commitment letter. 1. A lender’s written offer to grant a mortgage loan. • The letter generally outlines the loan amount, the interest rate, and other terms. — Also termed letter of commitment. [Cases: Mortgages 211. C.J.S. Mortgages §§ 274–276.] 2. LETTER OF INTENT.
In the federal sentencing guidelines, a sentence allowing a defendant to avoid incarceration through community or home confinement. — Also termed lateral sentencing. [Cases: Sentencing and Punishment 800–802. C.J.S. Criminal Law §§ 1479, 1483.]
corner, n. 1. The common end of two survey lines; an angle made by two boundary lines. [Cases: Boundaries 7. C.J.S. Boundaries §§ 10–13.] existent corner. A corner whose location can be verified by an original landmark, a surveyor’s field notes, or other reliable evidence. lost corner. A point in a land description, such as
Damages awarded in addition to actual damages when the defendant acted with recklessness, malice, or deceit; specif., damages assessed by way of penalizing the wrongdoer or making an example to others. • Punitive damages, which are intended to punish and thereby deter blameworthy conduct, are generally not recoverable for breach of contract. The Supreme Court
equitable distribution. Family law. The division of marital property by a court in a divorce proceeding, under statutory guidelines that provide for a fair, but not necessarily equal, allocation of the property between the spouses. • With equitable distribution, when a marriage ends in divorce, property acquired during the marriage is divided equitably between the
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question of law. 1. An issue to be decided by the judge, concerning the application or interpretation of the law (a jury cannot decide questions of law, which are reserved for the court). 2. A question that the law itself has authoritatively answered, so that the court may not answer it as a matter of
departure, n. 1. A deviation or divergence from a standard rule, regulation, measurement, or course of conduct (an impermissible departure from sentencing guidelines). downward departure. In the federal sentencing guidelines, a court’s imposition of a sentence more lenient than the standard guidelines propose, as when the court concludes that a criminal’s history is less serious
victim-related adjustment. An increase in punishment available under federal sentencing guidelines when the defendant knew or should have known that the victim bore a particular characteristic — e.g., the victim was unusually vulnerable (because of age or condition) — or was otherwise particularly susceptible to the criminal conduct. See USSG §§ 3A1.1, 1. 2.
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minimal participant. Criminal law. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, a defendant who is among the least culpable of a group of criminal actors, as when the defendant does not understand the scope or structure of the criminal enterprise or the actions of the other members of the group. • The offense level for a crime
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