finem facere (fI-n[schwa]m fay-s[schwa]-ree). [Latin] Hist. 1. To make a composition or compromise; to relinquish a claim in exchange for consideration. “In the thirteenth century the king’s justices wield a wide and a ‘common law’ power of ordering that an offender be kept in custody. They have an equally wide power of discharging him upon […]
futhwite (footh-wIt). Hist. A fine for fighting or breaking the peace. — Also termed fithwite.
hamesucken (haym-s[schwa]k-[schwa]n), n. Scots law. 1. Assault on a householder within the house after breaking in to commit the assault or to commit theft. 2. The crime of housebreaking or burglary accompanied by violence. • This term derives from Anglo-Saxon law (h msocn), and literally meant “breaching the peace of another’s home.” — Also spelled
violation, n. 1. An infraction or breach of the law; a transgression. See INFRACTION. 2. The act of breaking or dishonoring the law; the contravention of a right or duty. 3. Rape; ravishment. 4. Under the Model Penal Code, a public-welfare offense. • In this sense, a violation is not a crime. See Model Penal
effractor (i-frak-t[schwa]r). [Latin] Hist. One who breaks through; a burglar. Pl. effractors, effractores (ef-rak-tor-eez). See HOUSEBREAKING.
hayward. Hist. 1. An officer of a town or manor responsible for maintaining fences and hedges, esp. to prevent cattle from breaking through to an enclosed pasture. 2. A cattle herdsman.
prison breach. A prisoner’s forcible breaking and departure from a place of lawful confinement; the offense of escaping from confinement in a prison or jail. • Prison breach has traditionally been distinguished from escape by the presence of force, but some jurisdictions have abandoned this distinction. — Also termed prison breaking; breach of prison. Cf.
breach of close. The unlawful or unauthorized entry on another person’s land; a common-law trespass. — Also termed breaking a close. See CLOSE(1). [Cases: Trespass 10. C.J.S. Trespass §§ 13–15.]
escape, n. 1. The act or an instance of breaking free from confinement, restraint, or an obligation. 2. An unlawful departure from legal custody without the use of force. — Also termed actual escape. Cf. PRISON BREACH. [Cases: Escape 1. C.J.S. Escape §§ 2–3, 5–10, 12, 27, 44.] “In the technical sense an ‘escape’ is
A deliberate but nonviolent act of lawbreaking to call attention to a particular law or set of laws believed by the actor to be of questionable legitimacy or morality.
civil disobedience Read More »