escrow (es-kroh), n. 1. A legal document or property delivered by a promisor to a third party to be held by the third party for a given amount of time or until the occurrence of a condition, at which time the third party is to hand over the document or property to the promisee (the […]
Defense of Marriage Act. A federal statute that (1) provides that no state can be required to recognize or give effect to same-sex marriages, (2) defines the term “marriage” for purposes of federal law as the union of a man and a woman as husband and wife, and (3) defines “spouse” for purposes of federal
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impracticability (im-prak-ti-k[schwa]-bil-[schwa]-tee).Contracts. 1. A fact or circumstance that excuses a party from performing an act, esp. a contractual duty, because (though possible) it would cause extreme and unreasonable difficulty. • For performance to be truly impracticable, the duty must become much more difficult or much more expensive to perform, and this difficulty or expense must
use in commerce. Trademarks. Actual use of a trademark in the sale of goods or services. • Use of a trademark in commerce is a prerequisite to trademark registration. This type of use fixes the trademark in a way that associates it with marketed goods or services, as contrasted with a token use intended to
The power to inspect or make decisions about an entity’s operations. — Also termed visitorial power.
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A spontaneous confession made promptly after arrest and without interrogation by the police. • The issue whether the defendant’s statement is a threshold confession usu. arises when the defendant challenges the admissibility of the confession on grounds that he or she suffered an impermissibly long delay before being brought before a magistrate. Courts generally admit
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legal fiction. An assumption that something is true even though it may be untrue, made esp. in judicial reasoning to alter how a legal rule operates; specif., a device by which a legal rule or institution is diverted from its original purpose to accomplish indirectly some other object. • The constructive trust is an example
A written verdict put into a sealed envelope when the jurors have agreed on their decision but court is not in session or the jury is continuing to deliberate other counts. • Upon delivering a sealed verdict, the jurors may separate. When court convenes again, this verdict is officially returned with the same effect as
locare aliquid utendum (l[schwa]-kair-ee al-i-kwid yoo-ten-d[schwa]m). [Latin] Roman law. To let something on hire for the use of the lessee; to accept consideration for the use of an object. Cf. CONDUCERE ALIQUID UTENDUM.
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