Black's Law Dictionary

In American law. The name of the upper chamber or less numerous branch, of the congress of the United States. Also the style of a similar bsdy in the legislatures of several of the

In Roman law. A member of the senatus. In old English law. A member of the royal councll; a king's councillor. In American law. One who is a member of a senate, either of the Unite

Senators are part of the body of the king. Staundef. 72, E.; 4 Inst 53, in marg.

The judges of the court of session in Scotland are called "Senators of the College of Justice."

Lat. In Roman law. The senate; the great national council of the Roman pcople. The placo where the senate met. Calvin.

In Roman law. A decision or decree of the Roman senate, having the force of law, made without the concurrence of the pcople. These enactments began to take the place of laws enacte

A decree of the senate, in relation to the celebration of the Bacchanalian mysteries, enacted in the consulate of Q. Marcius and S. Postumus.

An enactment of the senate (Orficius being one of the consuls and Marcus Antoninus emperor) for admitting both sons and daughters to the sac-cession of a mother dying intestate. In

The Pegasian decree of the senate. A decree enacted in the consulship of Pegasus and Pusio, in the reign of Vespasian, by which an heir, who was requested to restore an inheritance

A decree of the senate (named from Trebellius, in whose consulate it was enacted) by which it was provided that, if an inheritance was restored under a trust, all actions which, by

A decree of the senate of the last necessity. The name given to the decree which usually preceded the nomination of a dictator. 1 Bl. Comm. 136.

Lat In the civll law. Decisions of the senate. Private acts concornlng particular persons merely.

In Spanish law. A path; the right of a path. The right of foot or horse path. White, New Recop. b. 2, tit. 6, { 1

Lat Old age. In the Roman law, the period of senectus, which re-lleved one from the charge of public offico, was officially reckoned as beginning with the completion of the seventi

In old English law. A seneschal; a steward; the steward of a manor. Fleta, 1. 2, c. 72.

In old European law. A title of office and dignity, derived from the middle ages, answering to that of steward or high steward in England. Seneschals were originally the lieutenant

A writ addressed to the steward and marshal of England, inhibiting them to take cognizance of an action in their conrt that concerns freehold. Reg. Orig. 185. Abolished.

In old records. Widowhood. Cowell.

That peculiar decay of the mental faculties which occurs in extreme old age, and in many cases much earlier, whereby the person is reduced to second childhood, and becomes sometime

Incapacity to contract arising from the impairment of the intellectual facuities by old age.

Lord; a lord. Also the elder. An addition to the name of the elder of two persons having the same name. —Senior counsel. Of two or more counsel retained on the same side of a cause

Of two or more counsel retained on the same side of a cause, 'he is the "senior" who is the elder, or more important in rank or estimation, or who is charged with the more difficul

In old English law. Seniors; ancients; elders. A term applied to the great men of the realm. Speiman.

Of several judges composing a court, the "senior" judge is the one who holds the oldest commission, or who has served the longest time under his present commission.

In Spanish law. Dominion or property.

Lat Sense, meaning, signification. Malo sensu, in an evll or derogatory sense. Mitiori sensu, in a milder, less severe or less stringent sense. Sensu honesto, in an honest sense; t

5 Coke, 2. The meaning of the words is the spirit of the law.

4 Coke, 13. The meaning of words is two-fold,—mild and harsh; and words are always to be received in their milder sense.

The sense of words is to be taken from the occasion of speaking them; and discourses are always to be interpreted according to the subject-matter. 4 Coke, 13b. See 2 Kent, Comm. 55

The judgment formally pronounced by the court or judge upon the defendant utter his conviction in a criminal prosecution, awarding the punishment to be inflicted. The word is prope

In English practice. The recording of a sentence of death, not actually pronounced, on the understanding that it will not be executed. Such a record has the same effect as if the j

Lat In the civll law. (1) Sense; import; as distinguished from mere words. (2) The deliberate expression of one's will or intention. (3) The sentence of a judge or court.

A sentence pronounced by one who is not a judge should not harm any one. Fleta, 1. 6, C. 6, § 7.

Ellesm. Post. N. 55. Judgment creates right, and what is adjudicated is taken for truth.

Ellesm. Post. N. 55. Judgment creates right, and the interpretation of the law has the force of law.

Bac. Max. 20. An interlocutory judgment may be recalled, but not a final.

Sentence is not given upon matters that are not clear. Jenk. Cent. p. 7, case 9.

7 Coke, 43. A sentence against marriage never becomes a matter finally adjudged, i, e„ res judicata.

A writ which lay for the owner of a mill against the inhabitants of a place where such mill is situated, for not doing suit to the plaintiff's mill; that is, for not having their c

In the acts of congress relating to the removal of causes from state ceurts to federal courts, this phrase means a separate and distinct cause of action existing in the suit, on wh

Lat Separately. Used in indictments to indicate that two or more defendants were charged separately, and not jointly, with the commission of the offense in question. State v. Edwar

Individual; distinct; particular ; disconnected. Generally used in law as opposed to "joint," though the more usual antithesis of the latter term is "several." Either of these word

An acknowledgment of a deed or other instrument, made by a married woman, on her examination by the officer separate and apart from her husband.

As opposed to a joint action, this term signifies an action brought for himself alone by each of several complainants who are all concerned in the same transaction, but cannot lega

A demise in a declaration in ejectment used to be termed a "separate demise" when made by the lessor separately or individually, as distinguished from a demise made jointly by two

The individual property of one of two persons who stand in a social or business relation, as distinguished from that which they own jointly or are jointly interested in. Thus, "sep

The interrogation of a married woman, who appears before an officer for the purpose of acknowledging a deed or other instrument, conducted by such officer in private or out of the

An allowance made to a woman by her husband on their agreement to live separately. This must not be confused with "alimony," which is judicially awarded upon granting a divorce. Se

The separate property of a married woman is that which she owns in her own right, which is liable only for her own debts, and which she can incumber and dispose of at her own will

The separate and individual trial of each of several persons jointly aceused of a crime. As to separate "Acknowledgment," "Covenant," and "Examination," sce those titles.

In matrimonial law. A cessation of cohabitation of husband and wife by mutual agreement, or, in the case of "judicial separation," under the decree of a court. See Butler v. Washin

A partial dissolution of the marriage relation.

In Louisiana probate law. The creditors of the succession may demand, in every case and against every creditor of the heir, a separation of the property of the succession from that

In England, where a husband is convicted of an aggravated assault upon his wife, the court or magistrate may order that the wife shall be no longer bound to cohabit with him. Such

Seceders from the Church of England. They, like Quakers, solemnly affirm, Instead of taking the usual oath, before they give evidence.

Lat. In old conveyancing. Severally. A word which made a several covenant 5 Coke, 23a.

Lat. In old English law. A hedge or inclosure. The inclosure of a trench or canal. Dig. 43, 21, 4.

In English law. The statute 1 Geo. I. St. 2, c. 38. The act by which a parliament has continuance for seven years, and no longer, unless sooner dissolved; as it always has, in fact

In ecclesiastical law. The third Sunday bsfore Quadragesima Sunday, being about the seventieth day before Easter.

Lat In Roman law. An inclosure; an inclosed place where the pcople voted; otherwise called "ovile." In old English law. An inclosure or close. Cowell.

Lat. In Roman law. A division of the as, containing seven unciæ or duodecimal parts; the proportion of seven-twelfths. Tayl. Civll Law, 492.

A grave or tomb. The place of interment of a dead human body. The violation of sepulchres is a misdemeanor at common law.

Lat. An offering to the priest for the burial of a dead body.

Jenk. Cent. Let us follow the footsteps of our fathers.

In old English practice. A writ which Issued where a sheriff had returned nihil, upon a summoneas ad uxtrrantizandum, and after an alias and pluries had been issued. So called bsca

In Lat. In old English law. Suit; process or prosecution. Sequela causes, the process of a cause. Cowell. —Sequela curiae. Suit of court. Cowell.~-Sequela vill anorum. The family r

Suit of court. Cowell.~-Sequela vill anorum. The family retinue and appurtenances to the goods and chattels of villeins, which were at the absolute disposal of the lord. Par. Antiq

Small allowances of meal or manufactured victual, made to the servants at a mill where corn was ground, by tenure, in Scotland. Wharton.

n. Lat In the civil law. A person with whom two or more contending parties deposited the subject-matter of the controversy. v. In the civil law. To renounce or disclaim, etc. As wh

In English ecclesiastical practice. A process in the nature of a levari facias, commanding the bishop to enter into the rectory and parish church, and to take and sequester the sam

Lat. In the civll law. The separating or setting aside of a thing in controversy, from the possession of both parties that contend for it. It is two-fold,— voluntary, done by conse

In equity practice. A writ authorising the taking into the custody of the law of the real and personal estate (or renin, issues, and profits) of a defendant who is in contempt, and

One to whom a sequestration is made. One appointed or chosen to perform a sequestration or execute a writ of sequestration.

In English ecclesiastical law. A judicial writ for the discharging a sequestration of the profits of a church benefice, granted by the bishop at the sovereign's command, thereby to

2 Inst. 454. Power should follow justice, not precode it

In the feudal polity, the serfs were a class of persons whose social condition was servile, and who were bound to labar and onerous duties at the wlll of their lords. They differed

In military law. A noncommissioned officer, of whom there are several in each company of infantry, troop of cavalry, etc. The term is also used in the organization of a municipal p

See Serjeant.

See Serjeant.

Lat Severally; separately; individually; one by one,

Important; weighty; momentana, and not trifling; as in the phrases "serious bodily harm," "serious personal injury," etc. Lawlor v. People, 74 III. 231; Union Mut. In Ins. Co., v.

The same word etymologically with "sergeant," but the latter spelling is more commonly employed in the designation of military and police officers, (see Sergeant,) whlle the former

An executive officer appointed by, and attending on, a legislative body, whose principal duties are to execute its warrants, preserve order, and arrest offenders.

A barrister of the common-law couris of high standing, and of much the same rank as a doctor of law is in the ecolesiastical courts. These serjeants seem to have derived their titl

Co.. Litt. 105. Serjeanty is the same as service.

In English law. An officer who attends the lord mayor of London, and the chief magistrates of other corporate towns. Holthouse.

The inn to which the serjeants at law belonged, near Chancery lane; formerly called "Faryndon Inn."

A spectes of tenure by knight service, which was due to the king only, and was distinguished into grand and petit serjeanty. The tenant holding by grand serjeanty was bound, instea

In old English law. Oath; an oath.

5 Coke, 118. Speech is an index of the mind.

4 Coke, 14. Language is always to be understood according to its subject-matter, and the condition of the persons.

Language which is referred to a person ought to be understood of the condition of the person. 4 Coke, 16.

A test for insanity by means of the breaking up of the red corpuscles of the blood of the suspected person on the injection of the venom of cobras or other serpents; recontly emplo

Notched on the edge; cut in notches like the teeth of a saw. This was anciently the method of trimming the top or edge of a deed of indenture. See Indent, v.

In feudal law, was where a tenant, besides payment of a certain rent, found one or more workmen for his lord's service. Tomlins.

The custom of the place where the action is brought is to be observed. De-couche v. Savetier, 3 Johns. Ch. (N. Y.) 190, 219, 8 Am. Dee, 478.

A servant ls one who is employed to render personui services to his employer, otherwise than in the pursuit of an independent calling, and who in such servico remains entirely unde

In Scotch practice. To render a verdict or decision in favor of a person claiming to be an heir; to declare the fact of his heirship judicially. A jury are said to serve a claimant

Lat. In old European law. Slaves; personsover whom their masters had absolute dominion. In old English law. Bondmen; servlle tenants. Cowell.

In contracts. The being employed to serve another; duty or labor to be rendered by one person to another. The term is used also for employment in one of the offices, departments, o