derelict
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 66 U.S. 121 - The Barque Island City · 1861Most cited · 53 citing opinions
To constitute a case of derelict, the abandonment must have been final, without hope of recovery, or intention to return. If the crew have left the ship temporarily, with intention to return after obtaining assistance, it is no abandonment, nor will the libellant be entitled to the salvage as of a derelict
How often courts cite the case defining “derelict”
Court decisions citing the opinion that defined “derelict” — 53 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining case as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.