Definitions from Case Law

Whether a suit arises under a law of the United States must appear from the plaintiff's pleading, not the defenses which may be interposed to, or be anticipated by it.

A suit to enforce a right which takes its origin in the laws of the United States is not necessarily, or for that reason alone, one arising under those laws, for a suit does not so

A case in law or equity consists of the right of the one party as well as the other, and may be truly said to arise under the Constitution or a law of the United States whenever it

Federal jurisdiction may be invoked to vindicate a right or privilege claimed under a federal statute. It may not be invoked where the right asserted is nonfederal, merely because

The essence of the test is whether or not under all the circumstances the transaction carries the earmarks of an arm's length bargain.

where property is exchanged to hold that the values 'of the two properties exchanged in an arms-length transaction are either equal in fact or are presumed to be equal

The power of the executive to establish rules and regulations for the government of the army, is undoubted... The power to establish implies, necessarily, the power to modify or re

The object of arraignment being to inform the accused of the charge against him and obtain an answer from him was fully subserved in this case, for the accused had taken objections

any plan of a debtor for the settlement, satisfaction, or extension of the time of payment of his unsecured debts, upon any terms

The mere fact that a man has been arrested has very little, if any, probative value in showing that he has engaged in any misconduct. An arrest shows nothing more than that someone

An arrest may not be used as a pretext to search for evidence.

Arrestment,' a word derived from the English statute, is a word of Scotch origin, and derived from the Scottish law, and thus defined by Bouvier: 'The order of a judge, by which he

It is not against every 'unlawful arrest' that the underwriter undertakes to indemnify, but against 'unlawful arrests, &c. of all kings, princes, and people,' which have always bee

The purpose of the complaint is to enable the appropriate magistrate to determine whether the 'probable cause' required to support a warrant exists. The Commissioner must judge for

the arrival of a vessel refers, undoubtedly, to her coming into a port from any cause, or for any purpose, and for any period. It is admitted that this may be the literal and gener

to reach a destination" or "to gain or achieve an end.

sets foot on U. S. soil," then this category of aliens is a subset of those who are "physically present in the United States." What ex- plains this redundancy? The most plausible e

any material, part, assembly, machinery, equipment, or other personal property.

when any substance, although named as a possible ingredient of oleomargarine, substantially serves only the function of coloring the mass, and so as to cause the product to 'look l

no more than productions which convey ideas by words, pictures, or drawings.

considering whether the conflicted trustee "is "acting "from an improper motive" so as to "further some interest of his own or of a person other than the beneficiary." "Id., "§ 187

the description last antecedent, that is, in the county where the lands lie.

as in similar cases from other courts.

in our judgment the normal or usual flow of the river from year to year.

the 'as nearly as practicable' standard requires that the State make a good-faith effort to achieve precise mathematical equality. The command of Art. I § 2, that States create con

§1610 as a whole and contend that Congress more likely was referencing a specific provision within §1610 or a section in the NDAA.

an assault is ordinarily held to be committed merely by putting another in apprehension of harm whether or not the actor actually intends to inflict or is capable of inflicting tha

an offense that has as its elements engaging in physical contact with another person or using or brandishing a weapon against another person with intent to commit aggravated sexual

the use of any test at all, whether patented or not patented, that determines whether a body fluid has an "elevated level of total homocysteine." And at trial, the inventors testif

the law has prescribed no particular form by which the assent of the executor shall be given, and it may be, therefore, either express or implied. It may be inferred from indirect

At most the Taurus obligated herself to hold her course and speed so far as practicable, to do nothing to thwart the overtaking vessel, and she knew of no circumstances not open to

little more than the calculation or recording of a tax liability.

A failure to comply with the annual assessment labor requirement does not ipso facto forfeit the claim, but only renders it subject to loss by relocation. And the law is clear that

The assessment was not a judicial, but a ministerial act, and as the assessors exceeded their powers in making it, the officer is not protected.

The order levying the assessment is made conclusive as to all matters relating to the amount and propriety thereof, and the necessity therefor; it is thus conclusive, although the

The bonds intended by the legislature were most clearly such as were to become void on the payment of a sum certain, and where no intervention or assessment of a jury was necessary

cars placed for use at a specified mine for a particular shipper

An assignee is one who holds, by a valid assignment in writing, the whole interest of a patent, or any undivided part of such whole interest, throughout the United States.

The assignee is the representative of the creditors as well as the bankrupt.

The Court decided, that a suit could be maintained in equity by the holder of an indorsed note against a remote indorser; and upon grounds perfectly familiar to courts exercising e

No district or circuit court shall have cognisance of any suit to cover the contents of any promissory note, or other chose in action, in favour of an assignee, unless a suit might

notice cannot be established by the mere fact that, while the appellees held an interest in the policies only, they were assignees of choses in action, and took them subject to the

The assignee is not bound to run a race against time, or to use extraordinary means; that he is not required to prosecute a drawer or obligor farther than a man of ordinary prudenc

The assignee cannot maintain an action on the mere non-payment of the note and notice thereof, or of a protest to the assignor, until the holder of the note has made use of all due

The act of Congress to prevent frauds upon the treasury of the United States applies only to cases of voluntary assignment of demands against the government. It does not embrace ca

an assignment for the benefit of preferred creditors is valid, although their assent is not given at the time of its execution; if they subsequently accept in terms, or by actually

This assignment having passed, not a legal, but an equitable right to a chose in action, was subject to the same equity in the hands of the Holland company, as it was in the hands

The assignment of the beneficial interest is not the assignment of a chose in action but of the 'right, title, and estate in and to property.

Bonds, and Promissory Notes in writing, stood on the same footing at common law; and... the assignment of those instruments, as well as the form, operation, and effect of such assi

Courts of law, following in this respect the rules of equity, now take notice of assignments of choses in action, and exert themselves to afford them every support and protection n

Notwithstanding the strictness, particularly in the earlier cases in the courts of common law, with respect to assignments of equitable interests and choses in action, the books ab

All transfers and assignments made of any claim upon the United States, or of any part or share thereof, or interest therein, whether absolute or conditional, and whatever may be t

When a person assigns future wages, he, in effect, pledges his future earning power. The power of the individual to earn a living for himself and those dependent upon him is in the

no distinction can be taken according to the motives leading to the arrangement by which the fruits are attributed to a different tree from that on which they grew

The utmost extent of its acquisition was an interest in the surplus, if any, which might remain after all debts of the firm should be paid, and after the liabilities of Graham to h

This is a question essentially depending upon the intention of the parties to be gathered from the terms of the assignment; for whatever may be the inaccuracy of expression, or the

When an assignment is made of a plat and certificate of survey, the purchaser takes it subject to the risk of its containing a less quantity than is expressed on its face, and shou

In the absence of all evidence to the contrary, in case of an absolute assignment of property by a debtor to his creditor for the purpose of securing a pre-existing debt, an assent

That section was not enacted to give increased pay for the discharge of the ordinary duties of the service, but to give compensation for the greater risk and responsibility of acti

an assignor of a patent right is estopped to attack the utility, novelty or validity of a patented invention which he has assigned or granted as against any one claiming the right

one in the company's situation, if only the arrangement between it and Stoiber was not forbidden by law.

The denial of opportunity for appointed counsel to confer, to consult with the accused and to prepare his defense, could convert the appointment of counsel into a sham and nothing

the employer may be held to have assisted the formation of a union even though the acts of the so-called agents were not expressly authorized or might not be attributable to him on

the Board has always distinguished the remedy appropriate in the case of a union dominated by an employer from the remedy appropriate in the case of a union assisted but undominate

Association' implies associates. It implies the entering into a joint enterprise, and, as the applicable regulation imports, an enterprise for the transaction of business. This is

The First Amendment's ban against Congress 'abridging' freedom of speech, the right peaceably to assemble and to petition, and the 'associational freedom' that goes with those righ

Since Rawls was a joint user of the bag, he clearly had authority to consent to its search. Petitioner, in allowing Rawls to use the bag and in leaving it in his house, must be tak

Assumpsit for money had and received is an equitable action to recover back money which the defendant in justice ought not to retain, and it may be said that it lies in most, if no

One who understands and appreciates the permanent conditions of machinery, premises, and the like, and the danger which arises therefrom, or, by the reasonable use of his senses, h

Contributory negligence involves the notion of some fault or breach of duty on the part of the employee; and since it is ordinarily his duty to take some precaution for his own saf

The assured, by operation of law, became, after the abandonment, the agent of the underwriters, and was bound to use his utmost endeavours to rescue from destruction as much of the

the "intentional violation of a known legal duty." " United States v. Bishop " , 412 U.S. 346 , 360, 93 S.Ct. 2008 , 36 L.Ed.2d 941 (1973).

the earlier statement that the test is "probability" which is quoted in full above, particularly in the absence of any other citation or reference.

It appears then to be the settled doctrine of the Courts of England, that an insurance 'at and from an island' such as those in the West Indies generally, insures the vessel while

by which a defendant can commit the crime ("e.g.," burgling a "building" or a "boat") and (2) the "charging documents" make clear that the state alleged (and the jury or trial judg

attachment is wholly the creature of, and controlled by, the law of the state; property and persons within the state can be subjected to the operation of that local law; power over

From and after which declaration, the goods, money or effects, so attached, shall remain in the officer's power, and be by him secured, in order to answer and abide the judgment of

an attachment will lie for a contempt in not performing an award of Referees... appears clearly to have been agreeable to the common law prior to the statute of 9 and 10. W. 3. whi

Attachment laws are legal modes of acquiring title to property by operation of law. They exist in every State for the furtherance of justice, with more or less of liberality to cre

Not having been released, it remained in the custody of the officer, subject to the judgment of the court. An interest was vested in him, for the purposes of that judgment. The jud

There is no doubt that under the statutes of Connecticut, as usual elsewhere, a garnishment reaches only effects of the defendant in the hands of the garnishee at the time of servi

an attempt to fit out and arm is made an offence. This is certainly doing something short of a complete fitting out and arming. To attempt to do an act does not, either in law or i

the employment of methods, means and practices which would, if successful, accomplish monopolization, and which, though falling short, nevertheless approach so close as to create a

before the purchase" or "immediately after the purchase." 9 The difference in construction is determinative of a beneficial owner's liability in cases such as Provident's where suc

The attorney is the agent of his client to conduct his suit to judgment, and to superintend the execution of final process. It is true that he cannot discharge the defendant from e

confidential communications between client and attorney, are not to be revealed at any time. The privilege, indeed, is not that of the attorney, but of the client; and it is indisp

There are few of the business relations of life involving a higher trust and confidence than that of attorney and client, or, generally speaking, one more honorably and faithfully

the Attorney General, an authorized assistant of the Attorney General, a United States Attorney, [and] an authorized assistant of a United States Attorney.

it is not denied that an attorney at law, in virtue of his general authority as such, is entitled to take out execution upon a judgment recovered by him for his client, and to proc

It is believed to be the practice throughout the union for suits to be referred by consent of counsel without special authority, and this universal practice must be founded on a ge

We think it is not correct to consider this statute as imposing a penalty. The allowance is confined to a reasonable attorney's fee, not exceeding $20, where an attorney is actuall

one who succeeds in obtaining an injunction under that Title should ordinarily recover an attorney's fee unless special circumstances would render such an award unjust

those enumerated in Rule 54(c); it also includes such other government personnel as are necessary to assist the attorneys for the government in the performance of their duties." 42

The attorney, however, even if he has a lien on the judgment, according to the course of proceedings in the court where it was recovered, stands in a different situation. He is not

Although an attorney at law, merely as such, has, strictly speaking, no right to make a compromise; yet a Court would be disinclined to disturb one which was not so unreasonable in

That there may be a tenure or term of employment determinable at will is a recognized principle of law. For the purpose of the Act, it is immaterial that employment is at will and

Auctioneers are special agents, and have only authority to sell, and not to warrant, unless specially instructed so to do.

an agency simply to bid a particular sum for a purchaser, amounting to no more than receiving from the purchaser, before the auction, a bid which is to be treated as if made there

this writ does not lie, where the party complaining has had a legal opportunity of defence and has neglected it... audita querela is a regular suit in which the parties may plead a

a distinct commodity, a fine grade of wool grown in Australia.