Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence

Is often used to denote a person who has no part in a transaction with which he yet may afterwards have some concern. Thus the effect of an act may be drawn in question as to eithe

In the sense of a beast wandering from its owner's close is better spelled estray, q. v. The term " stray beast in a suffering condition," used in a statute, means any beast found

Implies highway, or an easement for public travel. Cox v. Louisville, &c. R. R. Co., 48 Ind. 178; Kelsey v. King, 33 How. Pr. 39. Street is a portion of land set apart for passage

This phrase was formerly used to denote a settlement whereby land was limited to a parent for life, and after his death to his first and other sons or children in tail, with truste

As to striking a jury, see Struck Jury. Striking off the roll. Another term for disbarring. It denotes the removal of an attorney or solicitor from the roll of attorneys and solici

In a class of cases in which peculiar and difficult questions are involved, rendering it proper that persons of peculiar knowledge and qualifications should form the jury, instead

The professional robe worn by barristers of the outer bar; viz., those who have not been admitted to the rank of queen's counsel. Brown.

Under; upon. This Latin preposition is a component part of many phrases, among which are the following: Sub conditione. Upon condition. The proper words to express a condition in a

In feudal times, tenants manifested a disposition to carve smaller estates out of those which they held of their lords, to be held of themselves, as inferior lords; and this system

n. An individual member of a nation, considered as owing obedience to its laws. republic; or, as Bouvier expresses nearly the same idea, the term is used of an individual member of

n., or SUBJECT-MAT-

Applied to a controversy, means to place it before a tribunal for determination. Submission: the act or agreement of parties placing a controversy before a tribunal for its determi

Or, more fully, subornation of perjury, is the offence of procuring another person to commit perjury. Subornation of perjury is the offence of procuring another to take such a fals

A writ requiring the person served to attend before court at a time and place mentioned, under penalty; from which last two words it derives its name. Three kinds of subpcena are i

The substitution of one person in the place of another as a ci'editor, — the new creditor succeeding to the rights of the former; the mode by which' a third person who pays a credi

To write underneath. Subscription: a writing under, or underwriting; a writing of the name under or at the bottom of an instrument by way of adoption, attestation, or ratification.

A pecuniary aid granted by the legislature to the crown; or, in modern American usage, to any enterprise believed to be of public benefit, and to deserve government assistance. A s

This noun, and the corresponding adjective and adverb, substantial and substantially, are in frequent use. Thus, there are rules which affects a substantial right; that a certifica

Such damages given by the verdict of a jury as amount to a substantial sum, as opposed to merely nominal damages.

The offence of withholding (or withdrawing) from another man what by law he is entitled to. It is a term little used in this country, as will be apparent from Brown's account of th

It is difficult to give concise definitions of succeed, and of its derivatives, succession and successor, which shall embody the various meanings in which they are used, yet proper

To proceed judicially; to commence or to prosecute in court. Burrill says, that to prosecute an action ah'eady commenced seems to have been the original meaning. As now used, it ma

As used in an ordinance against suffering certain domestic animals to run at large in a town, means knowingly, and willingly or carelessly, to permit. Collinsville v. Scanland, 58

Omission to object; negative permission; passive consent. Sufferance should be distinguished from assent, consent, leave, and permission, which may import affirmative action, expre

Signifies an assistant; or, a relation of rendering aid to a superior. Thus a bishop is, in a general sense, a suffragan to his archbishop. But a bishop may also have an assistant

Aid; advice; assistance. Also, — and this has become by far the most important signification, — an advisory opinion; a vote. The right of suffrage is the right of the common people

A person whose business it is to advance the quality and value of sugar, upon which a tax or duty has been paid, by melting and recrystallization, or by liquoring, claying, or othe

Killing one's self; the intention of taking one's own life. Suicide is a crime, subject to substantially the same limitations as other forms of homicide. It is true that the succes

Of one's own right. See Suus.

Is a very comprehensive, indefinite term for a judicial proceeding. It is largely used, in moderu jmiisprudence, to comprehend almost the whole body of proceedings arising in the e

An act authorizing letters to be granted to a suitable person, means proper, competent person, — one suitable in a legal view. Peters u. Public Administrator, 1 Bradf. 200. A suita

adj. Immediate; peremptory; speedy; without delay. This word appears in the title of a number of legal proceedings, the general characteristic feature of which is, that they are de

An address, such as is usually incidental to a jury trial of a cause, reviewing the evidence and explaining the application of the law to the facts, is called the summing up of the

or summonitores. Were petty officers to cite and warn men to appear, properly the apparitors, who warned in delinquents at a certain time and place, to answer any charge or complai

The name bestowed by positive law upon various instruments having it for their object to notify a party of a suit commenced against him; to bring a defendant into court; to give a

Highest; greatest. The initial or most emphatic word of several Latin maxims. Summa ratio est quae pro religione facit. An argument which is favorable to religion is of great weigh

Are laws made to restrain excess in apparel, and are all repealed by Stat. 1 Jac. I. ch. 25. 3 Inst. 199; Jacob.

The first day of the week is designated by this name; also, as the Lord's day, and as the sabbath. In computing the time of notices and rules in practice, where the last day falls

An agent on board ship, in charge of the cargo. He is employed by ownera of merchandise sent abroad, to have charge of the cargoes exported while on the voyage, to sell them abroad

In ecclesiastical law, is a duplicate institution This has sometimes taken place where two persons have claimed, by adverse titles, the right of making presentation to the benefice

One who holds a position of authority; one having command, or vested with control. The head of a monastery is called the superior; and the directress of a nunnery, the lady superio

To annul; to stay; to suspend. Thus, it is said that the proceedings of outlawi-y may be superseded by the entry of appearance before the return of the exigent, or that the court w

That you supersede; that you set aside. The name of a writ issued to a ministerial officer, commanding him to supersede or desist from proceeding under another writ, previously or

Made in aid of and to supply defects in a previous paper or proceeding. A supplemental differs from an amended pleading in this, that it is not complete or independent; the origina

He has besought. The name of an old English writ, which issued out of chancery for taking sureties of the peace, but now obsolete. A supp Ucavit is a writ, Issuing out of chancery,

The word " supplies," in parliamentary proceedings, signifies the sums of money which are annually voted by the house of commons for the maintenance of the crown, and the various b

Thatforbidding^nyoneto give liquor to a minor is synonymous with " furnish " or " supply," and includes selling, see Commonwealth i^. Davis, 12 Bush, 240.

The right of support is the right of a land-owner to rely upon the support naturally afforded to his land by the soil adjoining. The general rule is, that every landowner is entitl

The word "supports," stands or rests, and which supports it from beneath; such as the abutments on the banks or piers, or trestles standing between the abutments, and on which the

Suppression of truth; concealment of facts. The suppressio veri, as well as the direct suggestio falsi, with which it is often contrasted, is deemed fraud on the part of one bound

See Super. Supra protest. Over protest. An acceptance of a bill of exchange by a person not a party to it, after protest for non-acceptance by the drawee, is termed an acceptance s

Sovereign dominion, authority, and pre-eminence; the highest estate. King Henry VIII. was the first prince that shook off the yoke of Rome here in England, and settled the supremac

1. This name is used as the title of a court of superior jurisdiction, in most of the United States. Usually, to.designate the coui-t of last resort in the state, this or a similar

An overcharge; an exaction, impost, or incumbrance beyond what is just and right, or beyond one's authority or power. Surcharge may mean a second or further mortgage. Wharton. Surc

One who has become answerable for payment or performance of an obligation by another; one who has engaged that a debtor shall pay; a third person, who incurs an obligation to a cre

When a statute, making a lot-owner liable for damage from his excavating more than nine feet below the "surface of the adjoining lots," is to be applied to a place where there has

Commonly denotes to suspect, conjecture, or suggest. In former times, where a defendant in an action pleaded a local custom, it was necessary for him "to surmise" (that is, to sugg

Matter in any written instrument which is extraneous, superfluous, or unnecessary. //&,/3 /39. Surplusage df accounts. Signifies a greater disbursement than,the charge of tile acco

This word, as verb and noun, is used without material departure from its vernacular meaning, in treating of granting new trial or equitable relief on the ground of surprise. Proof

The plaintiff's answer to the defendant's rebutter. It is the plaintiff's fourth pleading in the complete series of pleadings used at common law. But the pleadings very seldom reac

The answer by 'the plaintifE to the defendant's rejoinder.

Is a deed or instrument testifying that the particular tenant for life or years of lands and tenements doth yield up his estate to him that hath the immediate estate in remainder o

The style or title of a judicial officer charged with probate of wills and superintendence of the settlement of estates, and cognate matters, such as guardianship. The surrogate an

V. To examine with reference to condition, situation, and va We; also, to determine dimensions, form, &c., of lands, by measurements. Survey, n.: an examination or view, particular

To live beyond; particularly to live beyond another person. Survivor: one who lives after death of another towards whom he stands related. Survivorship: the living of one/ of two r

A temporal stop, or hanging up, as it were, of a man's right, for unity of possession of the rent, &c., and the land out of which it issues, is not in esse for a certain time, hut

A cesser for a time; a temporary stopping of some authority, power, proceeding, right, &c. Thus there may be a suspension of power of alienation; a suspension of the liaheas corpus

His own; one's own. Sul juris. Of one's own right. Not under the power of another. 1. In the Roman law. All persons were termed sui juris who were not under the authority of anothe

Swamp and overflowed lands, within the act of congress of Sept. 28, 1850, granting such lands to the states, are such as are, by periodical overflow at seasons of sowing and harves

Is defined to be cheating and defrauding grossly, with deliberate artifice. Wyatt v. Ayres, 2 Port. 157. Swindling is a vague and indefinite term; it does not import a crime. Hall

A delivery of any small thing, in token of a transfer of something else. Thus, with our Saxon ancestors, the delivery of a turf was a necessary solemnity to establish the conveyanc

The assignee of an insolvent's or bankrupt's estate in France. Also, sometimes, the manager of the concerns of a corporation or company.

A university _committee; also, a combination of persons or firms united for the purpose of enterprises too large for individuals to undertake; and sometimes a group of financiers w

An advocate or patron; a burgess or recorder of a town. Tom-

The name given by the canonists to deeds of which both parts (that is to say, the copies corresponding to each party) were written on the same piece of parchment, vfith some word o

A meeting or assembly of ecclesiastical persons concerning religion; it is the name derived from the Greek corresponding to convocation in Latin. There are four kinds: A general or

Synodsmen; thence corrupted into sidesmen. They were the urban and rural deans, whose office at first was to inform and attest the disorders of the clergy and people in tlieir resp

A Latin word translated table or tablet; the name of a thin sheet of wood, which, when covered with wax, was used for writing. An instrument written on such a tablet was also calle

Implied; silent. Tacit relocation. Is the Scotch term for the implied reletting which arises when, on the expiration of a lease, neither lessor nor lessee expresses any intention t

II. Is a Scotch name for a lease; as in the following passage from Erskine: " Where neither the setter nor tacksman shall properly discover their intention to have the tack dissolv

V. To annex some junior lien to a first lien, thereby acquiring priority over an intermediate one. Tacking: a doctrine of equity jurisprudence, allowing the owner of a first and th

See Entail; Fee-tail. Estate tail signifies an estate of inheritance, descendible to some particular heirs only of the person to whom it is granted, in general — >.c. without disti

Another form of the word tallage, q. v.

The term of Scotch law corresponding to entail.

The name of a writ, derived from the plural of the Latin talis, such, (jr. V. It denotes a summoning of additional persons to serve as jurors upon a panel which has become exhauste

Punishment of the same nature as the offence; retaliation by authority of law. See Lex Talionis.

When pleading the judgment of an inferior court, the proceedings preliminary to such judgment, and on which the same was founded, must, to some extent, appear in the pleading; but

This word is said to be tax; being derived from the French tail Ur, which signifies a piece cut out of the whole. It extends to subsidies, taxes, customs, and, indeed, any charges

That which may be touched; actual; corporal; material. Tangible property is property which may be touched, and is the object of sensation. The term includes lands and corporeal cha

An ancient system of tenure, which prevailed in Ireland, and allotted the inheritance of lands, castles, &c., to the oldest and most worthy and capable person of the deceased's nam

Late; too late. The emphatic word in several forms of return by a sheriff upon writs coming to his hands so late that he could not execute them. Such returns are termed tarde, or t

The first word in the phrase signifies an allowance in merpacked; and the last is a consideration in the weight, for waste in emptying and reselling the gpods, by dust, dirt, break

Originally, an enumeration, list, schedule, or table, setting forth numerous subjects in some systematic order, and so as to show charges, prices, or rates affixed to each item. He

This word is sometimes employed, in a wide sense, as equivalent to sui juris. A person sui juris is called paterfamilias, even when under the age of puberty. In the narrower and mo

Originally, a wine-shop; a house where liquor is sold in small quantities, to be drank there. It gi'adually became, when lodgings and meals came to be furnished at such places, nea

V. 1. In public law, to assess or impose upon citizens or subjects a pecuniary contribution towards support of government. 2. In practice of courts, to assess, determine, or fix, a

1. Applied to persons or property, signifies subject to taxation; liable to some common exaction levied by government to provide a revenue. A power contained in a city charter, to

or

As used in a statute prescribing the mode of passing when any wagon, carriage, &c., shall meet or overtake a team on the highway, means a vehicle, with the animals drawing it, used

Terms of the law. Also, the name of a notable lexicon of the law-French words and other technicalities of legal language in old times.