minister, n. 1. A person acting under another’s authority; an agent. 2. A prominent government officer appointed to manage an executive or administrative department. 3. A diplomatic representative, esp. one ranking below an ambassador. [Cases: Ambassadors and Consuls 1–5. C.J.S. Ambassadors and Consuls §§ 2–13, 15–30.] foreign minister. 1. A minister of foreign affairs, who […]
foreign object. An item that appears where it does not belong; esp., an item introduced into a living body, such as a sponge that is left in a patient’s body during surgery. • The discovery rule usu. tolls the statute of limitations for a medical-malpractice claim based on a foreign object. — Also termed foreign
Chancery orders 〈英〉衡平法院诉讼程序规则 指由御前大臣、掌玺大臣或钦差大臣〔Commissioners of the Great Seal〕签发的命令，规定衡平法院的诉讼程序。在理查二世时期，就有一些初步的规则，在培根担任御前大臣的时代及其后任直至1873-1875年《司法组织法》〔Judicature Acts〕实施的时期里，这些规则更趋完整。现由《最高法院规则》〔Rules of Supreme Court〕所取代。
loss-of-chance doctrine. A rule in some states providing a claim against a doctor who has engaged in medical malpractice that, although it does not result in a particular injury, decreases or eliminates the chance of surviving or recovering from the preexisting condition for which the doctor was consulted. — Also termed lost-chance doctrine; increased-risk-of-harm doctrine.
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disappeared person. A person who has been absent from home for a specified number of continuous years (often five or seven) and who, during that period, has not communicated with the person most likely to know his or her whereabouts. See SEVEN-YEARS’-ABSENCE RULE; MISSING PERSON. [Cases: Absentees 2. C.J.S. Absentees § 2.]
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bylaw [fr. Danish bye, Old Norse byr, “town”] 1. Parliamentary law. (usu. pl.) A rule or administrative provision adopted by an organization for its internal governance and its external dealings. • Although the bylaws may be an organization’s most authoritative governing document, they are subordinate to a charter or articles of incorporation or association or
malice aforethought. The requisite mental state for common-law murder, encompassing any one of the following: (1) the intent to kill, (2) the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, (3) extremely reckless indifference to the value of human life (the so-called abandoned and malignant heart), or (4) the intent to commit a dangerous felony (which leads
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Concordia discordantium canonum (kon-kor-dee-[schwa] dis-kor-dan-shee-[ schwa]m k[schwa]-nohn-[schwa]m). [Latin “the harmony of the discordant canons”] Hist. A collection of eccle-siastical authorities compiled by Gratian, an Italian monk, ca. 1140. • Gratian analyzed questions of law by drawing conclusions from side-by-side comparisons of a variety of texts. Later canonist scholarship usu. pro-ceeded from Gratian’s work. — Also
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Dei gratia (dee-Igray-shee-[schwa]). [Latin] By the grace of God. • This phrase was often used in rulers’ titles to show that their authority was by divine right. It was also formerly used in titles of magistrates and other officers.
gap report. In the making of federal court rules, a report that explains any changes made by an advisory com-mittee in the language of a proposed amendment to a procedural rule after its publication for comment. • Before advisory committees began issuing gap reports in the early 1980s, there were complaints that the public record