Definitions from Case Law

ordinary civil proceedings and not to include what formerly would have belonged to the ecclesiastical Courts

Suits against the United States can be maintained only by permission, in the manner prescribed and subject to the restrictions imposed.

not merely suits, which the common law recognized among its old and settled proceedings, but [also] suits in which legal rights were to be ascertained and determined, in contradist

the phrase 'suits for recovery' ordinarily means civil suits and not criminal prosecutions. One 'recovers' in a civil action but prosecutes and punishes in a criminal proceeding.

in absence of a clear showing that a court of law lacks capacity to give the relief which the allegations show plaintiff entitled to have, a suit in equity cannot be maintained.

suits of a civil nature within the meaning of the section are those which do not involve criminal prosecution or punishment, and which are of a character traditionally cognizable b

Suits to recover preferences constitute no part of the proceedings in bankruptcy but concern controversies arising out of it.

In common acceptation a suit to enforce an order of the Commission is one which seeks to compel the carrier to whom the order is directed to yield obedience to its command.

distinct categories of illegal collections and 'tax' includes the entire tax liability as assessed by the Commissioner'); United States v. Clarke, 3 Cir., 69 F.2d 748, 94 A.L.R.

The sum payable is a sum certain within the meaning of this act, although it is to be paid: (1) With interest; or (2) By stated instalments; or (3) By stated instalments, with a pr

Rule 42(a) summary contempt was 'reserved for exceptional circumstances, such as acts threatening the judge or disrupting a hearing or obstructing court proceedings'; it applies on

Provision for a hearing before seizure and condemnation and destruction of food which is unwholesome and unfit for use is not necessary. The right to so seize is based upon the rig

Rule 56 authorizes summary judgment only where the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, where it is quite clear what the truth is, that no genuine issue remains

Summary procedures should be used sparingly in complex antitrust litigation where motive and intent play leading roles, the proof is largely in the hands of the alleged conspirator

Bankruptcy courts have summary jurisdiction to adjudicate controversies relating to property over which they have actual or constructive possession. And the test of this jurisdicti

If guilty of fraud against their clients, or of stirring up litigation by corrupt devices, or using the forms of law to further the ends of injustice; in fine, for the commission o

The pith of this rather extraordinary power to punish without the formalities required by the Bill of Rights for the prosecution of federal crimes generally, is that the necessitie

Summary procedure implies a single hearing at which the merits of the controversy are investigated and decided, without much regard to the formal pleadings.

less than all the defendants in a joint decree cannot appeal without a summons and severance in the court below. The regular mode of proceeding would have been to dismiss the appea

The landowner owns at least as much of the space above the ground as he can occupy or use in connection with the land. The superadjacent airspace at this low altitude is so close t

applying heat directly to steam which has been already generated by the action of heat on water.

In order to make the appeal operate as a supersedeas, it is necessary for the appellant to give good and sufficient security for the prosecution of the appeal, and for all costs an

The object and purpose of this section and the bond given in pursuance thereof is to indemnify the party prevailing in the original suit against loss in the respects stated in the

the supplemental decree of sale, in execution of the original decree, in this case, is but an execution of the original decree, and not a final decree from which an appeal lies to

a second indictment issued in the absence of a dismissal of the first.

super-seniority by its very terms operates to discriminate between strikers and non-strikers, both during and after a strike, and its destructive impact upon the strike and union a

come into being in the course of the work, as in the case of strikes, epidemics, etc., and not merely be discovered to have existed and still to exist.

any individual having authority, in the interest of the employer, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other employees, or

Judicial supervision of the administration of criminal justice in the federal courts implies the duty of establishing and maintaining civilized standards of procedure and evidence.

The first clause confers upon the Circuit Courts that supervisory jurisdiction which may be exercised in a summary manner, in term or vacation, in court or at chambers.

The suit is in the nature of a supplemental bill in aid of the former decree and is an appropriate method of securing the benefit of the first decree when subsequent events have ma

Such a bill may be brought in a federal court in aid of and to effectuate its prior decree to the end either that the decree may be carried fully into execution or that it may be g

Congress precludes the courts from weighing evidence in reviewing the Board's orders, and if the findings of the Board are supported by evidence the courts are not free to set them

when a defendant testifies in support of a motion to suppress evidence on Fourth Amendment grounds, his testimony may not thereafter be admitted against him at trial on the issue o

the fact that competitors may see proper, in the exercise of their own judgment, to follow the prices of another manufacturer, does not establish any suppression of competition or

What must be the conclusion from this general silence? It must be, that if produced, they would not support the asserted defence. At least, such is the judgment that both the commo

the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment, irrespecti

It is an ancient and well established principle, that whenever suppressio veri or suggestio falsi occur, and more especially both together, they afford a sufficient ground to set a

the peaceful resolution of disputes over the application or meaning of the collective-bargaining agreement.

the interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment enunciated by this Court in the Brown case is the supreme law of the land, and Art. VI of the Constitution makes it of binding effect

such sureties, by the act of signing the bond, become voluntary parties to the suit and subject themselves thereby to the decree of the court.

The undertaking of the surety is essentially a pledge to make good the misfeasance or non-feasance of his principal to an amount co-extensive with the penalty of his bond.

The rule that obtains in ordinary cases is that any change in the contract made between the principals without the consent of the surety discharges the obligation of the latter, ev

One who becomes a surety for the performance of the judgment of a court in a pending case is represented by his principal, and is bound by the judgment against his principal within

the order imposed no liability upon the auditor's bondsmen, because the moneys received from citizens for street improvements under the permit system were not public moneys in any

It is no doubt a sound and well-settled principle, that sureties are not to be made responsible beyond their contract; and any agreement with the creditor, which varies essentially

It is a familiar equity rule applied by the federal courts in liquidation proceedings under federal statutes that a solvent guarantor or surety of an insolvent's obligation will no

the liability of a surety is not to be extended, by implication, beyond the terms of his contract. To the extent, and in the manner, and under the circumstances, pointed out in his

The natural limit of the obligation of a surety is to be found in the obligation of the principal; and when that is extinguished, the surety is in general liberated.

The surplus account represents the net assets of a corporation in excess of all liabilities including its capital stock. As used in section 31(b) the term undoubtedly means that pa

A surrender of the patent to the Commissioner within the sense of the provision, means an act which, in judgment of law, extinguishes the patent. It is a legal cancellation of it,

The fixing of rates which may be charged by public service corporations, of the character here involved, is a legislative function of the state, and while the right to make contrac

The surrender, by contract, of a power of government, though in certain well-defined cases it may be made by legislative authority, is a very grave act, and the surrender itself, a

The power of taxation is never to be regarded as surrendered or bargained away if there is room for rational doubt as to the purpose.

Federal law is 'exclusive' in its regulation of this area, and that state law is adopted only as surrogate federal law.

The word 'survey,' as used in the law, is not satisfied by the mere circumstance that a chain has followed a compass round a particular piece of ground; but requires that it should

The officers of the Land Department construed the provision of 1876 as intended to charge the grantee with the cost of surveying the granted lands, and not with the cost of surveyi

He was not invested with power to determine the character of the land which he surveyed or left unsurveyed, or to classify it as within or without the operation of particular laws.

As to lands surveyed within the Indian boundary, this Court has never hesitated to consider all such surveys and grants as wholly void.

No action will lie against an executor for a personal wrong by the testator... If the person charged has secured no benefit to himself at the expense of the sufferer, the cause of

Although originating in the same wrongful act or neglect, the two claims are quite distinct, no part of either being embraced in the other. One is for the wrong to the injured pers

It will be admitted, that a right once vested does not require, for its preservation, the continued existence of the power by which it was acquired. If a treaty, or any other law,

a woman divorced from an individual who has died, but only if (A) she is the mother of his son or daughter, (B) she legally adopted his son or daughter while she was married to him

The law, which makes the surviving partner liable for the joint debts, by a necessary consequence, gives him the exclusive control over the partnership effects, and every action, f

It was a legal right of the defendants, as surviving partners, to close out the concern, collect and dispose of its choses in action, and its property, pay what it owed, and then p

If the remedy on an instrument is suspended, for a valuable consideration, the indorser or security is released, because his right to discharge the obligation and be subrogated to

The suspension of an act for a limited time, is not a repeal of it.

During a war all civil actions between enemies are suspended; debts are suspended also, but restored by the peace.

manifestly not a matter of right under any circumstances, but rather is in all cases a matter of grace. Like probation or suspension of criminal sentence, it 'comes as an act of gr

where execution of sentence is suspended, the defendant leaves the court with knowledge that a fixed sentence for a definite term of imprisonment hangs over him

he is made aware that no definite sentence has been imposed and that if his probation is revoked the court will at that time fix the term of his imprisonment

Article 57(b) represents Congress' decision that even though a man is temporarily set at liberty, he should be given sentence credit unless he is sure that his freedom will not be

The general requirement that losses be deducted in the year in which they are sustained calls for a practical, not a legal, test.

To sustain the privilege, it need only be evident from the implications of the question, in the setting in which it is asked, that a responsive answer to the question or an explana

The exploiting of workers at wages so low as to be insufficient to meet the bare cost of living, thus making their very helplessness the occasion of a most injurious competition.

A moving locomotive with cars attached is without the provision of the act only when it is not a train; as where the operation is that of switching, classifying and assembling cars

While floating in the water, they were only in the constructive possession of the owner; and, under such circumstances, a symbolical delivery is all that can, in general, be expect

This mode of transfer and delivery has been sanctioned in analogous cases by the courts of justice in England and this country, and is absolutely necessary for the purposes of comm

those, from time to time on the line, which are being kept available for use at any mine for any shipper

These maritime liens, in the coasting business, and in the business upon the lakes and rivers, are greatly increasing; and, as they are tacit and secret, are not to be encouraged,

The landlord shall have a tacit lien upon such of the tenant's personal chattels upon the premises as are subject to execution for debt, to commence with the tenancy and continue f

The security is called a tacit mortgage, which is nothing more than a regulation by law, to assure the property of the minor in the custody of the parent against loss.

under the 15th section of the act of 1841, the possession need not be continued by the same person, and that, consequently, the instruction of the district court, in this particula

We find the captured property in the hands of the offender, and hold it to be immaterial through what circuity of changes it has come back to him. It is not for him to claim a righ

to harass, "harm, "pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct." § 1532(19) (emphasis added).

The deprivation of the former owner rather than the accretion of a right or interest to the sovereign constitutes the taking. Governmental action short of acquisition of title or o

If a ship has contracted guilt by a breach of blockade, the offence is not discharged until the end of the voyage. The penalty never travels on with the vessel further than to the

the offer to acquire or the acquisition of any equity security of a target company, pursuant to a tender offer or request or invitation for tenders, if after the acquisition thereo

where real estate is actually invaded by superinduced additions of water, earth, sand, or other material, or by having any artificial structure placed on it, so as to effectually d

taking an appeal is a matter of right, and is something which the party as distinguished from court may do. When the court has rendered its judgment 'either party may appeal.' That

Flights over private land are not a taking, unless they are so low and so frequent as to be a direct and immediate interference with the enjoyment and use of the land. It is the ch

Navy order N-4128 did not purport to be an offer to purchase; it commanded delivery of specified merchandise. Plaintiff's consent was not sought; it was not consulted as to quantit

the destruction of privately owned land by flooding is 'a taking' to the extent of the destruction caused

one person's property may not be taken for the benefit of another private person without a justifying public purpose, even though compensation be paid

it did not make the taking any less a taking for public use by its logically subsequent direction that the power should be delivered to private companies for work deemed more usefu

to require abolition of an established grade crossing and the outlay of money necessary to construct an overhead would take the railway's property in a very real sense

The application thus given to the statute deprives plaintiff of property for the private use and benefit of defendant, and is a taking of property without due process of law, forbi

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution says 'nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.' This is a tacit recognition of a preexisting power to

a petit juror.

the same thing in § 1519as it means in everyday language-any object capable of being touched.