Definitions from Case Law

It is well-established principle, that where an individual in the prosecution of a right does every thing which the law requires him to do, and he fails to attain his right by the

The purpose of this limited search is not to discover evidence of crime, but to allow the officer to pursue his investigation without fear of violence, and thus the frisk for weapo

While a 'protest' has no definite legal significance in connection with the receipt of money—being ordinarily used in connection with the involuntary payment of money under legal c

It is sufficient if the importer indicates distinctly and definitely the source of his complaint, and his design to make it the foundation for a claim against the government… A not

A protest is necessary by the custom of merchants in case of a foreign bill, in order to charge the drawer. It is defined to be in form 'a solemn declaration written by the notary

claims founded upon contract, which at the time of the bankruptcy are fixed in amount or susceptible of liquidation, may be proved under subdivision (a)(4) of that section, althoug

There can be no debt provable in bankruptcy arising out of a contract which becomes effective only at the claimant's option and after the inception of the proceedings, the fulfillm

The province of courts is to decide real controversies, not to discuss abstract propositions.

the good old rule, that on questions of fact, it is the province of the jury, on questions of law, it is the province of the court to decide. But it must be observed that by the sa

It is the province of the legislature to declare, in explicit terms, how far the citizen shall be restrained in the exercise of that power over property which ownership gives; and

It is as much within the province of the jury to decide questions of fact as of the court to decide questions of law. The jury should take the law as laid down by the court and giv

The right to select the judicial forum is the kind of 'provision' that cannot be waived under § 14 of the Securities Act.

The license of the Governor to the applicant to make a temporary occupation, until he could inform himself, so as to act considerately or intelligently, we think, cannot be treated

While these two remedies differ in nature and incidents, they are alike in being available at the commencement or during the pendency of an action, are not independent but auxiliar

It is the opinion of this Court that fat cattle are provisions, or munitions of war, within the true intent and meaning of the act, entitled 'an act to prohibit American vessels fr

it is the true office of a proviso to restrict the sense or make clear that which has gone before and which might be doubtful because of the generality of the language used.

By proximate cause is meant efficient cause. In other words, if the gas had not been there, would his death have followed? And was gas being there necessary to his death?

It requires no reasoning to demonstrate that the general rule is that, where negligence is charged, to justify a recovery it must be shown that the alleged negligence was the proxi

It is a well-established principle of that law, that in all cases of loss, we are to attribute it to the proximate cause, and not to any remote cause; causa proxima non remota spec

There is nothing in the First Amendment which prevents the Government from requiring a licensee to share his frequency with others and to conduct himself as a proxy or fiduciary wi

The few green havens that are public parks were not to be lost unless there were truly unusual factors present in a particular case or the cost or community disruption resulting fr

a person of ordinary prudence would be justified in the further expenditure of his labor and means, with a reasonable prospect of success, in developing a valuable mine

that he is circumspect in the conduct of his affairs, but reveals nothing about his credibility.' 412 F.2d 796 , at 797—798.

Where the material is designed for and primarily disseminated to a clearly defined deviant sexual group, rather than the public at large, the prurient-appeal requirement of the Rot

a shameful or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion, which goes substantially beyond customary limits of candor in description or representation of such matters.

transportation which, though carried on in the guise of private carriage, was in effect for-hire carriage, and thus might lawfully be carried on only by an authorized common or con

There must be proof of a 'habitual course of misconduct in sexual matters' on the part of the persons against whom a proceeding under the statute is directed, which has shown 'an u

those to whom the United States had contractual obligations.

The race course in question, being held out as a place of public entertainment and amusement, is, by the act of the defendant, so far affected with a public interest that the state

It is too clear to be controverted, that where a public agent acts in the line of his duty and by legal authority, his contracts made on account of the government are public and no

a book (for example, novel, instructional manual), or a single issue of a magazine or newspaper, plus such other materials addressed to a specific inmate as advertising brochures,

Publication and posting in the sense of the act are essentially distinct. ... it is evident that the publication intended consists in promulgating and distributing the tariff in pr

The requirement that schedules should be 'posted in two public and conspicuous places in every depot,' etc., was not made a condition precedent to the establishment and putting in

Contracts for the purchase and sale of goods or lands at public auction are contracts founded upon mutual promises and a mutuality of obligation, and consequently they cannot be re

communication by means of television, radio, motion picture, newspaper, magazine, or book.

a flexible balancing process, in the course of which all the factors are weighed prior to final determination.

when particular individuals are singled out to bear the cost of advancing the public convenience, that imposition must bear some reasonable relation to the evils to be eradicated o

While this criterion is as concrete as the complicated factors for judgment in such a field of delegated authority permit, it serves as a supple instrument for the exercise of disc

Public conveyance naturally suggests a vessel or vehicle employed in the general conveyance of passengers.

A private corporation created by the legislature may loose its franchises by a misuser or a nonuser of them; and they may be resumed by the government under a judicial judgment upo

An unpatentable article, like an article on which the patent has expired, is in the public domain and may be made and sold by whoever chooses to do so.

It is an undisputed principle of the common law, that for a breach of a public duty, an officer is punishable by indictment; but where he acts ministerially, and is bound to render

The problem in any case is to arrive at a balance between the interests of the teacher, as a citizen, in commenting upon matters of public concern and the interest of the State, as

any State or local government, and any department, agency, [or] special purpose district.

any public institution, public facility, public equipment, or any physical asset owned, leased, or controlled by this state or any agency or political subdivisions thereof.

government may not grant the use of a forum to people whose views it finds acceptable, but deny use to those wishing to express less favored or more controversial views. And it may

All grants of this description are strictly construed against the grantees; nothing passes but what is conveyed in clear and explicit language; and as the rights here claimed are d

whenever privileges are granted to a corporation, and the grant comes under revision in the courts, such privileges are to be strictly construed against the corporation, and in fav

all nonnavigable waters then a part of the public domain became publici juris, subject to the plenary control of the designated states, including those since created out of the ter

Plank-roads are as much highways as railroads, and if authorized to be constructed by the legislature, they are public improvements. Money borrowed to aid in the construction of su

the term 'public interest' as thus used is not a concept without ascertainable criteria, but has direct relation to adequacy of transportation service, to its essential conditions

the differing "application "of that just-and-reasonable standard to contract rates.

the term public interest 'as used in the statute is not a mere general reference to public welfare, but, as shown by the context and purpose of the act, has direct relation to adeq

such land as is open to sale or other disposition under general laws.

The 'lands' directed to be sold to actual settlers were intended to have such incidents [as timber and minerals]. That is, if the 'lands' granted carried by necessary implication a

the term 'public-land laws' is ordinarily used to refer to statutes governing the alienation of public land, and generally is distinguished from both 'mining laws,' referring to st

land situated in Alaska which, after December 2, 1980, are Federal lands, except land selected by the State of Alaska or granted to the State under the Alaska Statehood Act or any

Even if the provisions upon this subject in the act of 1835 could be regarded as a contract with the railroad company, it would be difficult to maintain that the county was a party

that the communication "[c]an be received by 50,000 or more persons in a State where a primary election ...

Public money, within the meaning of section 3846, obviously is money belonging to the United States in such sense that it may be ordered by the Postmaster General to be transferred

one transporting for hire as a common carrier having a fixed termini or route.

as the Potomac river is a navigable stream, a part of the jus publicum, any obstruction to its navigation would, upon the most established principles, be what is declared by law to

That the contamination of the waters of the Gila river constituted a public nuisance which affected a large community of riparian owners and users of the waters for purposes of irr

conduct that is punishable by imprisonment or a fine according to the law of the State where the conduct occurred and that would be punishable under Arizona law had the conduct occ

The term 'public office' undoubtedly implies a definite assignment of public activity, fixed by appointment, tenure, and duties.

Now, it is an established rule of law, that an agent who contracts in the name of his principal is not liable to suit on such contract; much less a public officer, acting for his g

a public officer is not liable to an action if he falls into error in a case where the act to be done is not merely a ministerial one, but is one in relation to which it is his dut

It is not the injury done to an individual, or error of judgment, but malice alone that is the gist of prosecutions against a public officer at common law for malfeasance in office

no such rule can be applied to public offices of personal trust and confidence, the duties of which are not purely ministerial or clerical

an officer or employee or person acting for or on behalf of the United States, or any department, agency or branch of Government thereof.

If the rights under the copyright are infringed only by a performance where money is taken at the door, they are very imperfectly protected. ... The defendants' performances are no

the public way and any other location open to the public, whether publicly or privately owned.

The truth is that the theory of public policy embodies a doctrine of vague and variable quality, and, unless deducible in the given circumstances from constitutional or statutory p

Rights acquired by contract outside a state are enforced within a state, certainly where its own citizens are concerned, but that principle excepts claimed rights so contrary to th

Only where the allowance of a deduction would frustrate sharply defined national or state policies proscribing particular types of conduct have we upheld its disallowance. The poli

the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Board of Tax Appeals, and the federal courts have from time to time narrowed the generally accepted meaning of the language used in Section 23(a

The legislation does not segregate private schools, or their pupils, as its beneficiaries or attempt to interfere with any matters of exclusively private concern. Its interest is e

It was a right defeasible at the will of the owner of the subjacent land. It was a natural right, not derived from any grant, real or presumed, originating with the owner of the so

There are matters, involving public rights, which may be presented in such form that the judicial power is capable of acting on them, and which are susceptible of judicial determin

The character of the service, that is, whether it is public or private, and not the character of the ownership, determines ordinarily the scope of the power of regulation.

That the grant, resulting from an acceptance of the state's offer, constituted a contract, and vested in the accepting individual or corporation a property right, protected by the

when, for the purpose of advancing the trade of its people or providing revenue for its treasury, a government acquires, mans, and operates ships in the carrying trade, they are pu

a public statute, as distinguished from a private statute. It is one of which the courts take judicial notice, without proof

all such as have been placed under the control of the collectors, and put under the customs locks, and used for that purpose in conformity to law and the regulations of the Treasur

If the authorities of a city or town have treated a place as a public street, taking charge of it and regulating it as they do other streets, and an individual is injured in conseq

In view of this nation's historic distrust of secret proceedings, their inherent dangers to freedom, and the universal requirement of our federal and state governments that crimina

But this soil is held by the State, not only subject to, but in some sense in trust for, the enjoyment of certain public rights, among which is the common liberty of taking fish, a

It is immaterial whether the patentee had notice of the prior invention or not. If it was in actual use in any part of the world, however unlikely or impossible that the fact could

No patent shall be held to be invalid on account of such sale and public use, except on proof that the invention was on sale and in public use more than two years before the applic

If an inventor should be permitted to hold back from the knowledge of the public the secrets of his invention; if he should for a long period of years retain the monopoly, and make

Congress by the term 'public utilities' exempted those whose charges already were regulated as public utilities and hence were not probable sources of inflationary dangers.

The primary duty of a public utility is to serve on reasonable terms all those who desire the service it renders. This duty does not permit it to pick and choose and to serve only

property used predominantly in the trade or business of the furnishing or sale of— (i) electrical energy, water, or sewage disposal services, (ii) gas or steam through a local dist

a vessel of a friendly government in its possession and service is a public vessel, even though engaged in the carriage of merchandise for hire, and as such is immune from suit in

The foreign state is the true and real owner of its public vessels of war. The reigning Emperor, or National Assembly, or other actual person or party in power, is but the agent an

The public laws of a state may without question be read in this court; and the exercise of any authority which they contain, may be deduced historically from them: but private laws

We deem the true rule, under the 5th Amendment, as under state constitutions containing a similar prohibition, to be that while the legislature may legalize what otherwise would be

If there is a distinction in the present case, it must lie in the fact that the crossing is an artificial waterway instead of a road. But it is none the less a public highway, esta

The public welfare is a broad and inclusive concept. The moral, social, economic, and physical well-being of the community is one part of it; the political well-being, another.

offenses...not in the nature of positive aggressions or invasions, with which the common law so often dealt, but are in the nature of neglect where the law requires care, or inacti