magistratus (maj-[schwa]-stray-t[schwa]s), n. [fr. Latin magister “a master”] Roman law. 1. A magistrate. 2. A magistrate’s office. “Magistratus. Denotes both the public office and the official himself. Magistracy was a Republican institution; under the Principate some magistratus continued to exist but with gradually diminishing importance; in the post-Diocletian Empire some former magistracies still exist but […]
banking day. 1. Banking hours on a day when a bank is open to the public for carrying on substantially all its banking functions. • Typically, if the bookkeeping and loan departments are closed by a certain hour, the remainder of that day is not part of that bank’s banking day. 2. A day on
Northwest Ordinance of 1787 〈美〉《1787年西北地区法令》 这是邦联国会〔Confederation Congress〕于美国宪法批准前为治理西北地区〔Northwest Territory〕而制定的一项法令。该法令确立的一项基本先例就是美国大陆地区最终可以州〔states〕被承认加入联盟〔Union〕，它也包括一项计划，即如果这些地区到达一定人口且通过了采纳政府共和体制〔Republic form of Government〕的宪法，就可申请成为州。同时，该法令也是包含具体权利以限制政府权力的第一项国家法律，它包括有《权利法案》〔Bill of Rights〕中诸多相似规定，如由陪审团审判，禁止酷刑和非常刑〔unusual punishment〕等；它也有包括合同条款〔Contract Clause〕的前身以及禁止该地区及其由此形成的州蓄奴〔slavery〕和非自愿奴役存在的规定。
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viator (vI-ay-t[schwa]r). 1. APPARITOR(1). 2. A terminally or chronically ill life-insurance policyholder who sells the policy to a third party in return for a lump-sum payment equal to a percentage of the policy’s face value. [Cases: Insurance 1994.]
recede, vb. (Of a house in a bicameral legislature) to withdraw from an amendment in which the other house has not concurred. See CONCUR(3). “A vote to recede from amendments constitutes a final passage of the bill without the amendments from which the house has receded, since both houses have then agreed to the bill
sham exception. An exception to the Noerr–Pennington doctrine whereby a company that petitions the government will not receive First Amendment protection or an exemption from the antitrust laws if its intent in petitioning the government is really an effort to harm its competitors rather than to obtain favorable governmental action. See NOERR–PENNINGTON DOCTRINE; sham action
Work that can be carried out only by the exercise of special skill and care and that involves a grave risk of serious harm if done unskillfully or carelessly.
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holograph (hol-[schwa]-graf), n. A document (such as a will or deed) that is handwritten by its author. • The majority rule is that a holographic will need not be entirely handwritten — only the “material provisions” — to take into account the popular use of fill-in-the-blank will forms. This is also the position of the
black codes. (usu. cap.) Hist. 1. Antebellum state laws enacted to regulate slavery. 2. Laws enacted shortly after the Civil War in the ex-Confederate states to restrict the liberties of the newly freed slaves to ensure a supply of inexpensive agricultural labor and to maintain white supremacy. “Clearly, leaders of the old South who survived
lucid interval. 1. A brief period during which an insane person regains sanity sufficient to have the legal capacity to contract and act on his or her own behalf. [Cases: Mental Health 3.1, 371; Wills 37. C.J.S. Insane Persons § 211; Wills § 9.] 2. A period during which a person has enough mental capacity