Law Dictionary

It is a part of every man's civil rights that he be left at liberty to refuse business relations with any person whomsoever, whether the refusal rests upon reason, or is the result

In Scotch law. The right which the cautioner (surety) has against the principal debtor when he has been forced to pay his debt. 1 Bell, Comm. (5th Ed.) 347.

The right, unrestrained and unpenalized by state action, on compliance with the forms required by the law of the United States, to ask the removal of a cause pending in a state to

By the acts 3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 15, and 5 & 6 Viet c. 45, the author of a play, opera, or musical composition, or his assignee, has the sole right of representing or causing it to be

A contractual right of sale of an article constitutes th^ taker of such right an agent for the sale of the article, but does not bind the giver to supply the article; 6 L. R. Ir. 3

See "Search, Right of;" 1 Kent, Comm. (9th Ed.) 153, note; 1 Phillim. Int. Law, 325.

probably there are few doctrines better established than that a surety who pays the debt of another is entitled to all the rights of the person he paid to enforce his right to be r

See Suffrage .

Same as Right of action.

The rights of children to be supported by their parents and parents by their children and of one spouse by the other. See Right to lateral support .

In Mexican law. The right enjoyed by an usufructuary of property, of buying the property at the same price at which the owner offers it to any other person or is willing to take fr

The aim of the amendment, as this Court has held, is to preserve the substance of the common-law right of trial by jury, as distinguished from mere matters of form or procedure, an

there is no principle of constitutional law which entitles one to be tried in the place of his residence. The right secured by article 3, § 2, and the 6th Amendment of the Constitu

The ordinary signification of the term 'right of way,' when used to describe land which a railroad corporation owns or is entitled to use for railroad purposes, is the entire strip

The term “right-of-way document” has the meaning given the term in section 169.2 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on May 4, 2026).

A personal right of way which is not assignable and is not appurtenant to other land. See 38 Cal. Ill, 99 Am. Dec. 354.

relevant constitutional restraints limit state power to terminate an entitlement whether the entitlement is denominated a 'right' or a 'privilege.

The name of an ancient writ, which, Fitzherbert says, "ought to be brought of lands and tenements, and not of an advowson, or of common, and lieth only of an estate of fee simple,

All rights tend to declare themselves absolute to their logical extreme. Yet all in fact are limited by the neighborhood of principles of policy which are other than those on which

Rights against a thing. See In rem .

The term “benefit”, “benefit of employment”, or “rights and benefits” means the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, including any advantage, profit, privilege, gain, st

a great deal more than the mere use and possession of the evidence of title.

A class of rights which one may have in another's land without their being exercised in connection with the occupancy of other lands, in which cases RIGOR JURIS (Law Lat.) Strictne

the term "rights of access" means visitation rights; / The term "rights of access" means the establishment of rights of contact between a child and a parent see

The term "rights of custody" means rights of care and custody of a child, including the right to determine the place of residence of a child, under the laws of the countr

The term "rights of interim contact" means the rights of contact between a child and a left-behind parent, which has been provided as a provisional measure while an abduc

Bights which concern and are annexed to the persons ot men. 1 Bl. Comin. 122.

Rights of succession to the property of a deceased, whether by will or by intestacy, are of statutory creation, and the dead hand rules succession only by sufferance. Nothing in th

Such as a man may acquire over external objects or things unconnected with his person. 1 BL Com 122.

The rights of war can only take place among enemies, and therefore a capture can give no right, unless the property captured be the property of an enemy.

The rights of way there in view are those that involve an investment of the moneys of the carrier, and result in the possession of the land itself, the roadbed on which the tracks

The term “rights owner” means— (A) the person that has the exclusive right to reproduce a sound recording under the laws of any State, as of the day before the date of enactment of

Section 241 applies only to interference with rights which arise from the relation of the victim and the Federal Government, and not to interference by State officers with rights w

The mere issue of rights to subscribe and their receipt by stockholders is not a dividend. No distribution of corporate assets or diminution of the net worth of the corporation res

The right to a hearing embraces not only the right to present evidence, but also a reasonable opportunity to know the claims of the opposing party and to meet them. The right to su

See Alluvion .

The right to a patent once vested is treated by the government, when dealing with the public lands, as equivalent to a patent issued. When, in fact, the patent does issue, it relat

The right to a reasonable rate is the right to the rate which the Commission files or fixes, and, except for review of the Commission's orders, the courts can assume no right to a

We hold here that the right to a speedy trial is as fundamental as any of the rights secured by the Sixth Amendment. That right has its roots at the very foundation of our English

In practice. The party who asserts the affirmative of an issue has the right to begin.and reply, as on him is the burden of proof. The substantial affirmative, not the verbal, give

The right to be heard must necessarily embody a right to file motions and pleadings essential to present claims and raise relevant issues.

Regardless of whether petitioner would have been entitled to the appointment of counsel, his right to be heard through his own counsel was unqualified.

in a capital case, where the defendant is unable to employ counsel, and is incapable adequately of making his own defense because of ignorance, feeble-mindedness, illiteracy, or th

appointment of counsel for an indigent is required at every stage of a criminal proceeding where substantial rights of a criminal accused may be affected

a person's Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment right to counsel attaches only at or after the time that adversary judicial proceedings have been initiated against him

where the investigation is no longer a general inquiry into an unsolved crime but has begun to focus on a particular suspect, the suspect has been taken into police custody, the po

where the assistance of counsel is a constitutional requisite, the right to be furnished counsel does not depend on a request.

To detain for examination is a right which a belligerant may exercise over every vessel, not a national vessel, that he meets with on the ocean.

The general rule is settled for the federal tribunals that a plaintiff possesses the unqualified right to dismiss his complaint at law or his bill in equity unless some plain legal

Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.

To carry on interstate commerce is not a franchise or a privilege granted by the state; it is a right which every citizen of the United States is entitled to exercise under the Con

The right to evidence to be obtained from an existing object does not depend upon having an interest in it, or, in a case like this, upon having an interest in the original cause,

We have no doubt that the correct doctrine of the English law is, that the right to inherit depends upon the existing state of allegiance at the time of the descent cast. And that

A statute, therefore, which imposes heavy penalties for violation of commands of an unascertained quality is, in its nature, somewhat akin to an ex post facto law, since it punishe

the right to jury trial guarantees to the criminally accused a fair trial by a panel of impartial, 'indifferent' jurors

the constitutional right to trial by jury cannot be made to depend upon the choice of words used in the pleadings.

The right of a land owner to have his soil, either in its natural state, or, in certain cases, with the additional weight of the buildings or other structures thereon, sustained by

restitution orders is supported by the fact that such an interpretation would produce a result " 'demonstrably at odds with the intention of its drafters.' " "Ron Pair," 489 U.S.,

The practice of law is not a matter of grace, but of right for one who is qualified by his learning and his moral character.

It is now well established that the Constitution protects the right to receive information and ideas. This right to receive information and ideas, regardless of their social worth,

See Right of redemption .

the Sherman Act 'does not restrict the long recognized right of trader or manufacturer engaged in an entirely private business, freely to exercise his own independent discretion as

The right of a speedy trial is necessarily relative. It is consistent with delays and depends upon circumstances. It secures rights to a defendant. It does not preclude the rights

this recognition of 'the right to strike' plainly contemplates a lawful strike,—the exercise of the unquestioned right to quit work.

the claim for relief Congress afforded consumers in § 1679g.

It is a rule of commercial law, too familiarly known to require the citation of authorities, or to admit of question, that the payee or indorsee of a bill upon its presentment and

The right to travel is a part of the 'liberty' of which the citizen cannot be deprived without the due process of law under the Fifth Amendment.

The right to trial by jury is 'a basic and fundamental feature of our system of federal jurisprudence' and it is 'part and parcel of the remedy afforded railroad workers under the

the owner of the machine, whether he built it or purchased it, if he has also acquired the right to use and operate it during the lifetime of the patent, may continue to use it unt

not a capital asset, but is simply an incident of the underlying physical property, the recompense for which is commonly regarded as rent

The next subject of inquiry is, the right to visit and to detain for search. This is a belligerant right, which cannot be drawn into question. As little can it be questioned that t

It requires no argument to show that the right to work for a living in the common occupations of the community is of the very essence of the personal freedom and opportunity that i

The strictness of the law.

Cadaveric rigidity. The peculiar rigidity which takes place in the muscles of the body within five or six hours after death and which remains till putrefaction ensues. The muscles

The term “rigorous peer-review process” means a process by which— (A) employees of a State educational agency who are familiar with the programs and activities assisted under this

In prac- 8 am not informed. A formal answer the defendant’s attorney in cost to y that he has not been advised of any to beinade tothe action. Thereupon nent by default passes.

This court was established by St. 20 & 21 Vict. c. 35, which transferred to it all jurisdiction then exercisable by any ecclesiustical court in England, in matters matrimonial, and

estates, is sometimes understood to mean all kinds of property; but its more limited signification, includes only such estate as has descended in the same family; and in a still mo

A combination for illegal or otherwise improper purposes. See 132 Cal. 224, 64 Pac. 290.

In criminal law. A phrase applied in England to a trick frequently practiced in committing larcenies. It is difficult to define it. It will be sufficiently exemplified by the follo

See Prize fight .

A usage prevailing on the Merchants' Exchange of St. Louis, by which merchants having contracts with the same brokers both for grain sold and grain bought, purchased and sold for t

In criminal law. A trick practiced by a criminal, by which, on receiving a good piece of money in payment of an article, he pretends it is not good, and, changing it, returns to th

A trick practised by a criminal, by which, on receiving a good piece of money in payment of an article, he pretends it is not good, and, changing it, returns to the buyer a spuriou

Is nothing more or less than the setting off of one trade against anotheiv- a thing which occurs in great cities in mercantile transactions. Payments being made through checks upon

The giving of golden rings by a newly-created sergeant-at-law to every person of rank at court, from the princes of the blood, through the lords in parliament and the Justices and

The term “Rio Grande Compact” shall mean that certain compact executed on March 18, 1938, by commissioners representing the States of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas and consented

As used in this chapter, the term “riot” means a public disturbance involving (1) an act or acts of violence by one or more persons part of an assemblage of three or more persons,

St. 1 Geo. I. st. 2, c. 5, providing that, if any twelve persons or more are committing a riot, any sheriff, mayor, or certain other officers shall by proclamation in the king's na

One who inflames people's minds and induces them by violent means to accomplish an illegal object. See 122 111. 1, 3 Am. St. Rep. 320, 12 N. E. 898, 17 N. E. 898.

Riotously.

In English criminal law. The unlawful assembling of twelve persons or more, to the disturbance of the

In criminal pleading. A technical word properly used in an indictment for a riot, and ex vi termini implying violence. 2 Chit. Crim. Law, 488, 490, note (f ); 2 Sess. Cas. 13, cite

The shore of a river.

A river.

abutting a river or stream and "littoral" means abutting an ocean, sea, or lake.

that New Jersey may control the riparian rights ordinarily and usually enjoyed by landowners on New Jersey's shore.

Those that possess opposite banks or different parts of banks of the same river.

if it extended to the river at that time it is clear that the owners thereof were riparian owners; and if so, it is equally clear that they were entitled, as such to all the accret

It was a principle of [the common] law 'that he who owns the bank, owns to the middle of the river, subject to the easement of navigation.' ... 'There is therefore no inconsistency