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- Charter to which subscribed King John of England
on June 12, 1215 in which a basic set of limits
were set on the King's powers. King John had
ruled tyrannically. His barons rebelled and
committed themselves to war with King John unless
he agreed to the Charter. Held to be the
precursor of habeas
corpus as Article 39 of the Magna
Carta held that no man shall be
"imprisoned, exiled or destroyed ... except
by lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of
the land". Click here
to see the full text of the Magna Carta.
- Refers to the obligation of one person to
contribute, in part or in whole, to the cost of
living of another person. Maintenance is usually
expressed in a currency amount per month as in
"$450 a month maintenance." Some
countries prefer the words "support"
(spousal or child) or "alimony" but
they all mean the same thing.
- Doing something which is illegal. Compare with misfeasance and nonfeasance.
- A writ which commands an individual, organization
(eg. government), administrative
tribunal or court to perform a certain
action, usually to correct a prior illegal action
or a failure to act in the first place.
- Accidental homicide
or homicide which occurs without an intent to
kill, and which does not occur during the
commission of another crime or under extreme
provocation.
- A very specific body of law peculiar to
transportation by water, seamen and harbors.
- The state-recognized, voluntary and exclusive
contract for the lifelong union of two persons.
Most countries do not recognize marriage between
same-sex couples or polygamous
marriages.
- A unique way to organize a business where the
property is bought by, or transferred to, a
trustee (such as a trust company) and the trustee
issues trust "units", which the
investors, or their designates, hold as
beneficiaries. This is a common way to structure
a large real estate purchase.
- The legal state of being married.
Ecclesiastics talk of the "holy" state
of matrimony.
- The most popular form of alternative dispute
resolution (ADR), mediation involves the
appointment of a mediator who acts as a
facilitator assisting the parties in
communicating, essentially negotiating a
settlement. The mediator does not adjudicate the
issues in dispute or to force a compromise; only
the parties, of their own volition, can shift
their position in order to achieve a settlement.
The result of a successful mediation is called a
"settlement." Compare with arbitration.
- Abbreviation fo "Memorandum of
Understanding." A document which, if meeting
the other criteria, can be, in law, a contract.
Generally, in the world of commerce or
international negotiations, a MOU is considered
to be a preliminary document; not a comprehensive
agreement between two parties but rather an
interim or partial agreement on some elements, in
some cases a mere agreement in principle, on
which there has been accord. Most MOU's imply
that something more is eventually expected.
- Latin for "guilty mind." Many serious
crimes require the proof of "mens rea"
before a person can be convicted. In other words,
the prosecution must prove not only that the
accused committed the offence but that he (or
she) did it knowing that it was prohibited; that
their act (or omission) was done with an intent
to commit a crime.
- A person who is legally underage. It varies
between 21 and 18 years of age. Each state sets
an age threshold at which time a person is
invested with all legal rights as an adult. For
many new adults, this may mean access to places
serving alcohol and the right to purchase and
consume alcohol, smoke cigarettes and drive a
car. But there are many other legal rights which
a minor does not have such as, in some states,
the right to own land, to sign a contract or to
get married.
- The official record of a meeting. Some minutes
include a summary (not verbatim) of the
discussion along with any resolutions. Other
minutes just contain a record of the decisions.
Minutes start off with the name of the
organization, the place and date of the meeting
and the name of those person's present. Minutes
are prepared by the corporate
secretary and signed by either the president
or secretary.
- Also known as the "Miranda Rule, this is the
name given to the requirement that police
officers, in the U.S.A., must warn suspects upon
arrest that they have the right to remain silent,
that any statement that they make could be used
against them in a court of law, that they have
the right to contact a lawyer and that if they
cannot afford a lawyer, that one will be provided
before any questioning is so desired. Failure to
issue the Miranda warning results in the evidence
so obtained to not be admissible in the court.
The warning became a national police requirement
when ordered by the US Supreme Court in the 1966
case Miranda v. Arizona and that is how it
got the name.
- (USA) A crime of lesser seriousness than a felony where the
punishment might be a fine or prison for less
than one year.
- Improperly doing something which a person has the
legal right to do. Compare with malfeasance and nonfeasance.
- When a person has been named as a party to a law
suit when that person should not have been added.
When this is asserted, a court will usually
accommodate a request to amend the court
documents to strike, or substitute for, the name
of the mis-joined party. Compare with non-joinder.
- A false and material statement which induces a
party to enter into a contract. This is
a ground for rescission
of the contract.
- A partial or complete trial which is found to be
null and void and of no effect because of some
irregularity. The sudden end of trial before it
would ordinarily end because of some reason which
invalidates it. Once a mistrial is declared, the
situation is as if the trial had never occurred.
Some common reasons for a mistrial include a
deadlocked jury, the death of a juror or a
serious procedural and prejudicial mistake made
at the trial which cannot be corrected.
- These are facts that, while not negating an
offence or wrongful action, tend to show that the
defendant may have had some grounds for acting
the way he/she did. For example, assault, though
provoked, is still assault but provocation may
constitute mitigating circumstances and allow for
a lesser sentence.
- A person who sues another for damages has a
responsibility to minimize those damages, as far
as reasonable. For example, in a wrongful
dismissal suit, the person that was fired
should make some effort to find another job so as
to minimize the economic damage on themselves.
- Latin: method of operation. Used by law
enforcement officials to refer to a criminal's
preferred method of committing crime. For
example, car thief "George" may have a
break and enter technique that leaves a long
scratch mark on the door. Upon discovery of a
stolen vehicle with such a mark, the law
enforcement officials might include
"George" in the list of suspects
because the evidence at the crime scene is
consistent with his "modus operandi."
- Half of something. For example, it can be said
that joint tenants
hold a moiety in property. In old criminal law,
there were "moiety acts" which allowed
half of the fine money to be handed over to the
informer.
- A commercial advantage enjoyed by only one or a
select few companies in which only those
companies can trade in a certain area. Some
monolopoies are legal, such as those temporarily
created by patents. Others are secretly built by conspiracy
between two or more companies and are prohibited
by law.
- Also called a "moot point": a side
issue, problem or question which does not have to
be decided to resolve the main issues in a
dispute.
- Fictional or hypothetical trial, usually hosted
by law schools, as training for future barristers
or litigators.
- The temporary suspension of legal action against
a person.
- An interest given on a piece of land, in writing,
to guarantee the payment of a debt or the
execution of some action. It automatically
becomes void when the debt is paid or the action
is executed. In some jurisdictions, it entails a
conveyance of the land until the debt is paid in
full. The person lending the money and receiving
the mortgage is called the mortgagee; the person
who concedes a mortgage as security upon their
property is called a mortgagor.
- Intentional homicide
(the taking of another person's life), without
legal justification or provocation.
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