Definitions from Case Law

The so-called order here complained of is one which does not command the carrier to do, or to refrain from doing, anything; which does not grant or withhold any authority, privileg

The investigating and supervising powers of the Commission extend to all of the activities of carriers and to all sums expended by them which could affect in any way their benefit

the contention is that the order entered by the Commission shows on its face that that body assumed that it had power not merely to prevent the charging of unjust and unreasonable

That the two subjects of reparation and rates may be dealt with in one order is undoubtedly true. But awarding reparation for the past and fixing rates for the future involve the d

a copyright gives no exclusive right to the art disclosed; protection is given only to the expression of the idea—not the idea itself

there is no attempt to make a monopoly of the ideas expressed. The law confines itself to a particular, cognate, and well-known form of reproduction.

In a published notice or summons, intended to reach absent or nonresident defendants, where the name is a principal means of identifying the person concerned, somewhat different co

An article purchased in general terms from many of the same description, if afterwards selected and set apart with the assent of the parties as the thing purchased, is as completel

? Just when is a design separate from the "utilitarian aspect of the [useful] article?" The most direct, helpful aspect of the Court's opinion answers this question by stating: "No

The identity of husband and wife is an ancient principle of our jurisprudence. It was neither accidental nor arbitrary, and worked in many instances for her protection. There has b

The identity of the offenses is determined, not by their grade, but by their nature. One crime may be a constituent part of the other. The criterion is, Does the result of the firs

Identity of parties is not a mere matter of form, but of substance. Parties nominally the same may be, in legal effect, different; and parties nominally different may be, in legal

in any case before the court that the act established.

innocence cannot be asserted of an action which violates existing law, and ignorance of the law will not excuse.

The Act, so viewed, does not signal an exception to the rule that ignorance of the law is no excuse and is wholly consistent with the legislative history.

It is a common maxim, familiar to all minds, that ignorance of the law will not excuse any person, either civilly or criminally; and it results from the extreme difficulty of ascer

In relation to positive law, that principle implies the necessity of its being made known, before it can impose any obligation. Positive law is a manifestation of the legislative w

The common law maxims are ex turpi causa, non oritur actio—ex dolo malo non oritur actio. It prohibits every thing which is unjust or contra bonos mores. The object of all law is t

if the promise be unconnected with the illegal act, and is founded on a new consideration, it is not tainted by the act, although it was known to the party to whom the promise was

a gambling business which— (i) is a violation of the law of a State or political subdivision in which it is conducted; (ii) involves five or more persons who conduct, finance, mana

It is certainly contrary to public policy to give the aid of the courts to a vendor who knew that his goods were purchased, or to a lender who knew that his money was borrowed, for

where no protest was made the duties are not illegally exacted in the legal sense of the term; if the party acquiesces, and does not by his protest appeal to the judicial tribunals

It is illegal in the sense that it is unauthorized by and contrary to the law.

The bill was dismissed without costs; the court being of opinion that the partnership charged was contrary to public policy and sound morals, and that a court of equity ought not t

For such agreements [to fix maximum resale prices], no less than those to fix minimum prices, cripple the freedom of traders and thereby restrain their ability to sell in accordanc

Sentences subject to correction under that rule are those that the judgment of conviction did not authorize.

whenever a party undertakes, by deed or mortgage, to grant property, real or personal, in presenti, which does not belong to him or has no existence, the deed or mortgage, as the c

far more than "a few" offenses outside of its ordinary meaning.

follows: Starting in the middle of Lake Michigan, at north latitude 42 degrees and 30 minutes, 'thence west to the middle of the Mississippi river, and thence down along the middle

In that section Congress did not give an esoteric meaning to 'imitation.' It left it to the understanding of ordinary English speech. And it directed that a product should be deeme

a candidate's spouse, and any child, parent, grandparent, brother, or sister of the candidate, and the spouses of such persons.

any alien departing from any place outside the United States destined for the United States, except an alien entitled to enter the United States solely to carry on trade under and

The board is an instrument of the executive power, not a court. ... Decisions of a similar type long have been recognized as decisions of the executive department, and cannot const

To relieve the employer from responsibility for injuries that may befall the employee while remaining at his work in reliance upon a promise of reparation, there must be something

In accordance with the familiar rule of ejusdem generis, the immoral purpose referred to by the words 'any other immoral purpose,' must be one of the same general class or kind as

A witness has, we think, a constitutional right to stand on the privilege against self-incrimination until it has been fairly demonstrated to him that an immunity, as broad in scop

in safeguarding him against future federal and state prosecution 'for or on account of any transaction, matter, or thing concerning which he is compelled' to testify, the statute g

Interest can be recovered against the United States only if express consent to such a recovery has been given by Congress. Congress has indicated in § 177(a) that its consent can t

It is undoubted that the constitutional guaranty of the 5th Amendment does not deprive the lawmaking authority of the power to compel the giving of testimony, even although the tes

The general rule that witnesses, suitors, and their attorneys, while in attendance in connection with the conduct of one suit, are immune from service of process in another, is fou

Immunity from suit is an incident of sovereignty, but the government of the United States, in a spirit of great liberality, waived that immunity in favor of those persons who had c

the immunity from taxation does not attach to the property after the corporation has parted with it, but is operative on it while owned by the corporation, and devoted to the uses

The state cannot, by any form of taxation, impose any burden upon any part of the national public debt. The Constitution has conferred upon the government power to borrow money on

no interest is allowed on any claim up to the time of the rendition of judgment by the Court of Claims. This accords with the traditional immunity of the Government from the burden

no (immunity) statute which leaves the party or witness subject to prosecution after he answers the criminating question put to him, can have the effect of supplanting the privileg

the displacement of some portion of a statute or its preclusion in certain contexts." Id., at 14.

The Legislature may modify, limit, or alter the remedy for enforcement of a contract without impairing its obligation, but in so doing, it may not deny all remedy or so circumscrib

Impairment of an obligation means refusal to pay an honest debt; it does not mean contriving ways and means for paying it.

The provision of the Constitution against the impairment of the obligation of contracts was intended 'to prohibit every mode or device having such purpose. The prohibition is unive

It is part of the duty of the Federal courts, under the impairment of the obligation of contract clause in the Constitution, to decide whether there be a valid contract and what it

A mere authority to test disputed rights by a suit does not impair the obligation of a contract upon which a defendant relies. When a claim is set up under a contract the Constitut

A State can no more impair an existing contract by a constitutional provision, than by a legislative act; both are within the prohibition of the National Constitution.

Any deviation from its terms by postponing or accelerating the period of performance which it prescribes, imposing conditions not expressed in the contract, or dispensing with thos

A change in the opinion of a court as to the proper construction or scope of statute law of a state is not within article 1, § 10, of the Constitution of the United States, which p

not a technical conception. It is a state of mind. For the ascertainment of this mental attitude of appropriate indifference, the Constitution lays down no particular tests and pro

It is not required that the jurors be totally ignorant of the facts and issues involved. It is sufficient if the juror can lay aside his impression or opinion and render a verdict

That right does not entitle one accused of crime to a jury tailored to the circumstances of the particular case, whether relating to the sex or other condition of the defendant, or

The rule is well settled in England, that a witness cannot be impeached by showing that he had made contradictory statements from those sworn to, unless on his examination he was a

Its decision, placing Thlocco's name on the tribal roll, could only be attacked upon the ground of fraud, error of law, or gross mistake of fact, or upon the ground that the Commis

The weight of authority is that a juror cannot impeach his own verdict. The rule is based upon controlling considerations of a public policy which in these cases chooses the lesser

The imperfect was is that which does not entirely destroy the public tranquillity, but interrupts it only in some particulars, as in the case of reprisals.

governmental powers of regulation and control

Congress cannot impose such a penalty in a manner that needlessly penalizes the assertion of a constitutional right.

Government officials are impersonated by any persons who 'assume to act in the pretended character.

the step-by-step instructions that make those methods run.2 It is like the detailed definition in a statute.

right of citizens to be free of private interference in federal elections.

this Court has consistently refused to rule that jeopardy for an offense continues after an acquittal, whether that acquittal is express or implied by a conviction on a lesser incl

Where written evidence of their appointment is not required, it may be implied from circumstances. These circumstances are the acts of the agent and their recognition, or acquiesce

where a party to a negotiable instrument intrusts it to the custody of another with blanks not filled up, whether it be for the purpose to accommodate the person to whom it was int

Where a party to a negotiable bill of exchange or promissory note containing blanks, intrusts it to the custody of another...such bill or note, especially if it be indorsed in blan

a bias attributable in law to the prospective juror regardless of actual partiality

Every contract, whether between the state and an individual, or between individuals only, is subject to this general law. There enters into every engagement the unwritten condition

defendants accused of minor offenses did not explicitly admit their guilt but threw themselves on the King's mercy and expressed their willingness to submit to a small fine; the co

The state may declare that the use of the highway by the nonresident is the equivalent of the appointment of the registrar as agent on whom process may be served in proceedings gro

the only possible basis for implying a constitutional immunity from state income tax of the salary of an employee of the national government or of a governmental agency is that the

other acts of the testator, which have always been considered as revocations, because contrary to, or inconsistent with, the Will, and evidencing an alteration of intention; as a d

after services have been rendered by a public officer under a law specifying his compensation, there arises an implied contract under which he is entitled to have the amount so fix

In that large class of transactions designated in the law as implied contracts, the assent or convention which is an essential ingredient of an actual contract is often wanting.

where the act to be done by one of the contracting parties can only be done upon something of a corresponding character being done by the opposite party, the law in such a case, if

Whatever, in the circumstances, would be reasonably expected of operators of ordinary prudence, having regard to the interests of both lessor and lessee, is what is required.

The implied exemption is a shield for federal agencies; not the source of congressional power to control state action in respect of other matters.

The purpose to exclude state action for the discharge of insolvent debtors may be manifested without specific declaration to that end; that which is clearly implied is of equal for

There is no mention of his age in the patent, and yet it must be taken as impliedly containing a finding that he was then an adult. This is so, because every patent for public or I

It is a principle implied from the necessity of maintaining our dual system of government. Springing from that necessity it does not extend beyond it. Protecting the functions of g

The appellate powers of this court are not given by the judicial act. They are given by the constitution. But they are limited and regulated by the judicial and by such other acts

At common law the owner was required to confine his live stock, or else was held liable for any damage done by them upon the land of third persons. That law was not adapted to the

that in the case charged the evidence shows that the party charged committed the act, and that it was intentional and unlawful, that is, without justifiable excuse, and the evidenc

where the obligation of plaintiffs requires an expenditure of a large sum in preparation to enable them to perform it, and a continuous readiness to perform, the law implies a duty

a strike to settle a dispute which a collective bargaining agreement provides shall be settled exclusively and finally by compulsory arbitration constitutes a violation of the agre

All persons...who may build a dam for mill purposes, on a stream annually frequented by fish, do it under an implied obligation to keep open sufficient sluices and fishways for the

It is true, that such a power, if it exists, must be derived from implication, and the genius and spirit of our institutions are hostile to the exercise of implied powers. Had the

Certain implied powers must necessarily result to our Courts of justice from the nature of their institution. But jurisdiction of crimes against the state is not among those powers

Such a municipal corporation 'can exercise no power which is not, in express terms, or by fair implication, conferred upon it.

When the prohibition of state action is not specific but inferable from the scope and purpose of the federal legislation, it must be clear that the federal provisions are inconsist

Such repeals are not favored, and usually occur only where there is such an irreconcilable conflict between an earlier and a later statute that effect reasonably cannot be given to

If Congress, in enacting the 8th section of the act of 1895, had intended to totally supersede the act of 1892 as to the Indian territory, that purpose would naturally have been ex

The mere act of making a second testament, is a revocation of a preceding testament, in relation to personal estate; the law throwing the personal estate on the executor as a trust

A disregard of the command of the statute is a wrongful act, and where it results in damage to one of the class for whose especial benefit the statute was enacted, the right to rec

What is implied in a statute, pleading, contract, or will, is as much a part of it as what is expressed

A statute may either expressly prohibit or enjoin an act, or it may impliedly prohibit or enjoin it, by affixing a penalty to the performance or omission thereof. It makes no diffe