Definitions from Case Law

there is another description of government, called also by publicists a government de facto, but which might, perhaps, be more aptly denominated a government of paramount force. It

Upon full consideration of this subject, we are of opinion that the United States have such a capacity to enter into contracts. It is in our opinion an incident to the general righ

In carrying out its treaty obligations with the Indian tribes the Government is something more than a mere contracting party. Under a humane and self imposed policy which has found

Primarily, governments exist for the maintenance of social order. Hence it is that the obligation of the government to protect life, liberty, and property against the conduct of th

It is a general rule, that no Court can make a direct judgment or decree against the United States, for costs and expenses, in a suit to which the United States is party, either on

The government has the same right 'which belongs to every creditor, to apply the unappropriated moneys of his debtor, in his hands, in extinguishment of the debts due to him.

the judge is not a mere moderator, but is the governor of the trial for the purpose of assuring its proper conduct and of determining questions of law

Hills must be cut down and hollows filled up, or, in other words, the road must be 'graded' or 'reduced to a certain degree of ascent or descent;' which is the proper definition of

The fact that Congress enacts a statute containing a 'grandfather clause,' which exempts from the general income tax certain corporations organized prior to a specified date, does

Grand juries investigate, and the usual end of their investigation is either a report, a 'no-bill' or an indictment. They do not try and they do not convict. They render no judgmen

That the requirement of an indictment by grand jury is not included within the guaranty of 'due process of law' is, of course, well settled.

It is not forbidden to inquire into new matters within the general scope of its inquiry but only into a truly new, in the sense of dissociated, subject-matter.

A grant passes some estate of greater or less degree, must be in writing, and is irrevocable, unless it contains words of revocation; whereas a license is a personal privilege, can

It is the grant which passes the legal title to the land, and if the controversy is founded upon the conflicting grants of different states, the judicial power of the courts of the

A grant of land bounded by a stream, whether navigable in fact or not, carries with it the bed of the stream to the center of the thread thereof.

Grants by quantity, as of one or more leagues of land situates in a larger tract, described by out-boundaries, where the donee was entitled only to the quantity specified

Grants by specific boundaries, where the donee was entitled to the entire tract

On general principles, it is incontestable, that a grantee can convey no more than he possesses. Hence, those who came in under the holder of a void grant, can acquire nothing.

The right was not attached as an incident to any estate; it passed by a grant in gross, and was necessarily limited in its duration by the existence of the structure with which it

The grants of swamp lands made by the Acts of 1849 and 1850 were in praesenti and gave the States an inchoate title to such lands that became perfect, as of the dates of the Acts,

It is an obvious principle that a grant must describe the land to be conveyed, and that the subject granted must be identified by the description given of it in the instrument itse

Grants of a certain place or rancho by some particular name, either with or without specific boundaries, where the donee was entitled to the tract, according to the boundaries, if

Grants of immunity from taxation, in derogation of a sovereign power of the state, are strictly construed.

by grants of land, we do not mean the mere grant itself, but the right, title, legal possession, and estate, property and ownership, legally resulting upon a grant of land to the o

grants of places by name, where the donee was entitled to the tract named according to the limits, as shown by its settlement and possession, or other competent evidence

The rule at law is, that by a grant of the reversion, the rent reserved will pass; but that by a grant of the rent, the reversion will not pass.

The grant by ordinance to an incorporated telephone company, its successors and assigns, of the right to occupy the streets and alleys of a city with its poles and wires for the ne

Wherever there is a grant by a state having plenary power to make it, of the rights and title of government and sovereignty over a specified territory, or where, in a grant of land

only such powers and rights can be exercised under them as are clearly comprehended within the words of the act or derived therefrom by necessary implication, regard being had to t

Grants of immunity from taxation, in derogation of a sovereign power of the state, are strictly construed.

Pensions, compensation allowances, and privileges are gratuities. They involve no agreement of parties; and the grant of them creates no vested right. The benefits conferred by gra

A claim having no foundation in law, but depending entirely on the generosity of the government, constitutes no basis for the action of any legal principle. It cannot be assigned.

that, in the judge's mind, the matter is so evenly balanced that he feels himself in virtual equipoise as to the harmlessness of the error.) We conclude that the uncertain judge sh

a condition in which a person, as a result of a mental disorder: (a) [i]s in danger of serious physical harm resulting from a failure to provide for his essential human needs of he

the prevention of copying and piracy when describing the benefits of the doctrine of equivalents.

a good that is "imported outside the distribution channels that have been contractually negotiated by the intellectual property owner." Forsyth & Rothnie, Parallel Imports, in The

Griffin does not represent a balance between the needs of the accused and the interests of society; its principle is a flat prohibition against pricing indigent defendants out of a

the actual value of the capital and surplus of the company, but not its franchise.

the amount paid for the telephone call, ¶ 2002, §§ 2(a) and (b), less charges for certain types of special equipment not at issue here.

a 'realistic appraisal of the circumstances of this case compels the conclusion that this petitioner's (confession was) the product of gross coercion. Under the Due Process Clause

the gross amount of income received during the taxable year from interest, dividends, and rents.

the statutory percentage depletion allowance on the gross income of an integrated mining operator should be cut off at the point where the mineral first became suitable for industr

The words 'gross income from the property,' as used in the statute governing the allowance for depletion, mean gross income received from the operation of the oil and gas wells by

For the purpose of computation 'gross income from the property' meant gross income from production less the amounts which the taxpayer was obliged to pay as royalties. The apportio

The nature of the gain derived by a debtor from his purchase of his own obligations at a discount is the same whether the debtor is a corporation or a natural person. That such a g

Wherever there is a gross misrepresentation of facts, relating to the subject of a contract, the contract is fraudulent and void.

Gross negligence is substantially and appreciably higher in magnitude and more culpable than ordinary negligence. Gross negligence is equivalent to the failure to exercise even a s

the value proceeding or accruing from the sale of tangible personal property and/or for services rendered without any deduction on account of the cost of property sold, the cost of

the excess, if any, of— "(I) the aggregate amount of 50 percent of gross receipts of a candidate's authorized committee during any election cycle (not including contributions from

A tax upon the gross receipts of a railroad or canal company is very manifestly a tax upon the railroad company, measured in amount by the extent of its business, or the degree to

A tax upon a merchant's, manufacturer's, or miner's gross sales is not the same thing as one on his stock treated as property. The former is upon his business. Neither state courts

simply a sufficient legal basis for granting the relief sought by the applicant.

the "rejection of a number of legal votes sufficient to place in doubt the result of the election." Fla.

Group boycotts, or concerted refusals by traders to deal with other traders, have long been held to be in the forbidden category. They have not been saved by allegations that they

but is not limited to, benefits payable by a hospital plan corporation or a professional health service corporation subject to 40 Pa.C.S.

ruffed grouse, partridge, and every member of the grouse family.

A guarantee is a mercantile instrument, and to be construed according to what is fairly to be presumed to have been the understanding of the parties, without any strict technical n

its practical result is to prevent a trial from taking place at all, rather than to prescribe procedural rules that govern the conduct of a trial

one whose endorsement of a note was subsequent to the making of the note, and who put his name there at the request of the maker, pursuant to a contract with the payee for further

The rule is well settled that the guarantee of a promissory note, whose name does not appear on the note, is bound without notice, where the maker of the note was insolvent at its

The court refers to a class of cases both in England and in this country, drawing the distinction between the liability assumed by a guarantor, and that of the drawers or indorser

the term 'guaranty' is usually applied to a collateral undertaking to pay the debt of another

Presentation of a government check to it for payment with an express guaranty of prior endorsements amounts to a warranty that the signature of the payee was not forged, but genuin

the person who, under court order, is the guardian of the person of the child or the public or private agency with whom the child has been placed by a court." § 51.02(3).

the guidelines promulgated by the commission pursuant to 994(a)." 28 U.S.C.

The statute quite literally establishes guilt by association alone, without any need to establish that an individual's association poses the threat feared by the Government in pros

the same thing when applied to general arrangements in § 366, to real property arrangements in § 472, and to compositions and extensions in § 656.

A defendant who enters such a plea simultaneously waives several constitutional rights, including his privilege against compulsory self-incrimination, his right to trial by jury, a

while most pleas of guilty consist of both a waiver of trial and an express admission of guilt, the latter element is not a constitutional requisite to the imposition of criminal p

Possession of the fruits of crime, recently after its commission, justifies the inference that the possession is guilty possession, and, though only prima facie evidence of guilt,

if it is clear that under no circumstances could the Government ultimately prevail, the central purpose of the Act is inapplicable and, under the Nut Margarine case, the attempted

It is the settled doctrine that in such cases the court exercises a discretion in the interest of the child to determine what care and custody are best for it ... It was in the exe

The remedy is an extraordinary one, out of the usual course, and involves a collateral attack on the process or judgment constituting the basis of the detention. The instances in w

A writ which issues out of any of the courts of Westminster hall, when a person is sued in some inferior jurisdiction, and is desirous to remove the action into the superior court.

necessary to remove a prisoner in order to prosecute him in the proper jurisdiction wherein the offense was committed

A writ issued when it is necessary to remove a prisoner, in order to prosecute or bear testimony in any court, or to be tried in the proper jurisdiction wherein the fact was commit

A writ used when a man hath a cause of action against one who is confined by the process of some inferior court; in order to remove the prisoner and charge him with this new action

A writ used when a prisoner hath had judgment against him in an action, and the plaintiff is desirous to bring him up to some superior court to charge him with process of execution

The great writ of habeas corpus, which is of general use to examine the legality of commitments in criminal cases.

while the reason which we have given is logically the first to be considered by this court, we do not mean to give any countenance to the notion that, if the law was disobeyed, it

The writ of habeas corpus cannot be made to perform the office of a writ of error. ... Upon habeas corpus the court examines only the power and authority of the court to act, not t

When the state court shall have finally acted upon the case, the circuit court has still a discretion whether, under all the circumstances then existing, the accused, if convicted,

the principle of the cases is the simple one that if a court has jurisdiction of the case, the writ of habeas corpus cannot be employed to re-try the issues, whether of law, consti

Our power to interfere in cases of this nature is limited entirely to the question of jurisdiction. If the state court had jurisdiction to try the case, and had jurisdiction over t

in such cases the court exercises a discretion in the interest of the child to determine what care and custody are best for it in view of its age and requirements. Such cases are n

A writ of habeas corpus cannot be used as a writ of error. If Judge Blair had jurisdiction of the person of the accused and of the subject-matter, and had before him competent lega

It brings within the habeas corpus jurisdiction of every court and of every judge every possible case of privation of liberty contrary to the National Constitution, treaties, or la

It is, of course, true that habeas corpus proceedings are characterized as 'civil.' But the label is gross and inexact. Essentially, the proceeding is unique. Habeas corpus practic

by habeas corpus the civil courts exercise no supervisory or correcting power over the proceedings of a court-martial. The single inquiry, the test, is jurisdiction.

No court may properly release a prisoner under conviction and sentence of another court, unless for want of jurisdiction of the cause or person, or for some other matter rendering

Habit and repute ... arise from parties cohabiting together openly and constantly, as if they were husband and wife, and so conducting themselves towards each other for such a leng

The unmistakable purpose of the six-year provision was to prevent the creation of a class of habitual bankrupts—debtors who might repeatedly escape their obligations as frequently

Even though an habitual criminal charge does not state a separate offense, the determination of whether one is an habitual criminal is 'essentially independent' of the determinatio

The sentence as a fourth offender or habitual criminal is not to be viewed as either a new jeopardy or additional penalty for the earlier crimes. It is a stiffened penalty for the

The basis of the jurisdiction is the habitual employment of the property within the state.

The fundamental mistake of the plaintiff in error is his assumption that the judgment below imposes an additional punishment on crimes for which he had already been convicted and p

the repetition of criminal conduct aggravates their guilt and justifies heavier penalties when they are again convicted.

half pilotage is compensation for services which the pilot has put himself in readiness to perform by labor, risk, and cost, and which he has actually offered to perform.

A statement in a business transaction which, while stating the truth so far as it goes, the maker knows or believes to be materially misleading because of his failure to state qual

the District Court to order dismissal of the prosecutions.