scandalous matter. Civil procedure. A matter that is both grossly disgraceful (or defamatory) and irrelevant to the action or defense. • A federal court — upon a party’s motion or on its own — can order a scandalous matter struck from a pleading. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(f). Cf. IMPERTINENT MATTER. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure […]
conviction rate. Within a given area or for a given time, the number of convictions (including plea bargains) as a percentage of the total number of prosecutions undertaken.
inner bar. English law. The group of senior barristers, called the Queen’s Counsel or King’s Counsel, who are admitted to plead within the bar of the court. Cf. OUTER BAR.
appreciation test. Criminal law. A test for the insanity defense requiring proof by clear and convincing evidence that at the time of the crime, the defendant suffered from a severe mental disease or defect preventing him or her from appreciating the wrongfulness of the conduct. • This test, along with the accompanying plea of not
Common-law pleading. A replication asserting that the discharge pleaded by the defendant was obtained by fraud.
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A right enjoyed at the pleasure of another; a right that can be revoked at any time.
not possessed. Common-law pleading. In an action in trover, the defendant’s plea denying possession of the articles allegedly converted. See TROVER.
no actus reus (noh ak-t[schwa]s ree-[schwa]s). A plea in which a criminal defendant either denies involvement with a crime or asserts that the harm suffered is too remote from the criminal act to be imputable to the defendant.
A defendant’s assertion of facts and arguments that, if true, will defeat the plaintiff’s or prosecution’s claim, even if all the allegations in the complaint are true. • The defendant bears the burden of proving an affirmative defense. Examples of affirmative defenses are duress (in a civil case) and insanity and self-defense (in a criminal
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post diem (pohst dI-[schwa]m). [Latin] After the day. • A plea of payment post diem is made after the day when the money becomes due.