in custodia legis
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 2 U.S. 68 - Woglam v. Cowperthwaite · 1790Most cited · 8 citing opinions
We therefore think, there was no default in him, that the goods were in custodia legis, subject to his lien, and were, consequently, wrongfully taken by the defendant, under the writ of retorno habendo.
How often courts cite the cases defining “in custodia legis”
Court decisions citing the 2 opinions that defined “in custodia legis” — 14 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 2 definitions, chronological · 1790–1872
when the goods are in custodia legis, as where they are seized by a sheriff under an execution, or are placed in the hands of a syndic under a cessio bonorum, the lessor cannot exercise this power of seizure, and does not lose his privilege by not exercising it, but said privilege attaches to the proceeds of the property in the officer's hands