abstract, n. 1. A concise statement of a text, esp. of a legal document; a summary. See ABSTRACT OF JUDG-MENT; ABSTRACT OF TITLE. 2. Patents. A one-paragraph summary of an invention’s design and function, including its nature, structure, purpose, and novelty. • The abstract is a required part of a patent application, and also appears […]
headnote. A case summary that appears before the printed judicial opinion in a law report, addresses a point of law, and usu. includes the relevant facts bearing on that point of law. — Also termed syllabus; synopsis; reporter’s syllabus. “The syllabus or headnote is a brief statement of the propositions of law decided in the
natural, adj. 1. In accord with the regular course of things in the universe and without accidental or purposeful interference (a natural death as opposed to murder). 2. Normal; proceeding from the regular character of a person or thing (it is natural for a duck to fly south in the winter). 3. Brought about by
criminal, adj. 1. Having the character of a crime; in the nature of a crime ( criminal mischief). 2. Connected with the administration of penal justice ( the criminal courts). criminal, n. 1. One who has committed a criminal offense. 2. One who has been convicted of a crime. dangerous criminal. A criminal who has
sealed instrument. At common law and under some statutes, an instrument to which the bound party has affixed a personal seal, usu. recognized as providing indisputable evidence of the validity of the underlying obligations. • The common-law distinction between sealed and unsealed instruments has been abolished by many states, and the UCC provides that the
An objection that questions the form of the pleading and states specifically the nature of the objection, such as that the pleading violates the rules of pleading or practice. [Cases: Pleading 206. C.J.S. Pleading § 233.]
litis contestatio (lI-tis kon-tes-tay-shee-oh). [Latin] 1. Roman law. The final agreement of the parties to a suit on the formula the praetor would issue to the judex. — Also termed contestatio litis. See FORMULA. “Both parties being present, or represented, before the praetor, the plaintiff stated the nature of his claim and asked for an
locus delicti (loh-k[schwa]s d[schwa]-lik-tI). [Latin “place of the wrong”] The place where an offense was committed; the place where the last event necessary to make the actor liable occurred. Cf. LEX LOCI DELICTI. [Cases: Torts 2. C.J.S. Aeronautics and Aerospace § 272; Conflict of Laws §§ 16–17, 99; Right of Privacy and Publicity§§ 3, 40;
clear-and-present-danger test. Constitutional law. The doctrine allowing the government to restrict the First Amendment freedoms of speech and press if necessary to prevent immediate and severe danger to interests that the government may lawfully protect. • This test was formulated by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47, 39 S.Ct.
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A state law that abolishes the rights of action for monetary damages as solace for the emotional trauma occasioned by a loss of love and relationship. • The abolished rights of action include alienation of affections, breach of promise to marry, criminal conversation, and seduction of a person over the legal age of consent. Many