string citation

string citation (plural string citations)

(law) A long list of multiple legal authorities (typically precedential cases) that are cited together to support a single legal proposition.


cestui que use

(law) A person for whose use land, etc., is granted to another.


felony murder

en-noun

felony murder (countable and uncountable, plural felony murders)

(law) The act of committing or abetting a crime that results in the killing of a person, regardless of intent, and even if the committer or abettor is not the one who killed the person.


follow-home

(law, criminology) Referring to a crime in which the perpetrator follows the victim to their place of residence.


builder's remedy

(law, construction) A legal mechanism in the United States where, if a municipality fails to comply with state laws regarding the development of new housing, a developer can bypass or ignore certain zoning laws and begin construction in an expedited manner, or can use other legal remedies.


NCRMD

Another myth about NCRMD is that the defence is most commonly used in cases of homicide or other serious violent offences. But comprehensive research across Canada has shown that less than 10 per cent of NCRMD cases involve serious violence, and in many of those assaults and homicides, the victim was a relative or close associate of the patient, with strangers being only very rarely the targets of such serious violence. And living with the knowledge of what one has done is, for many people found NCRMD, a strong motivation to continue to participate in treatment, thus reducing the risk of future harms.

2019 July 19, Patrick Baillie, “Not criminally responsible, and mental illness: The myths around both put everyone at risk”, in The Globe and Mail, Toronto, ON: The Woodbridge Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-08-10:

If a person is found NCRMD, they are referred to a provincial review board which oversees their psychiatric care in order to make a determination on if and when they can be released into the community.

2020 November 10, Jason Proctor, “Man convicted of stabbing B.C. teen to death claims 'demon' voices told him to 'kill, kill, kill'”, in CBC News, archived from the original on 2023-06-01:

(Canada, law) Initialism of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder.


hold-up squad

Amnesty International (AI) has found that allegations of torture and other forms of abuses by members of the hold-up squad of this city's police department are "substantial enough to justify an inquiry."

1982 April 24, David Morris, “Torture in the North”, in Gay Community News, page 2:

A subsection of a police department specializing in apprehending violent and dangerous suspects.


neutral citation

neutral citation (plural neutral citations)

(law, common law jurisdictions) a citation of a case that is independent of any case reporters.


bad facts make bad law

The tired adage "bad facts make bad law" is given new life in a recent decision by the North Carolina Supreme Court.

2004, Eugene Soar, “McKinney v. Richitelli: Abandoning Parents and Presumptive Penalties”, in North Carolina Central Law Review, volume 26, number 2, retrieved 2014-12-13:

Just as "bad facts make bad law," so too odd facts make odd law.

1992, Clarence Thomas, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

There is an adage among lawyers that "bad facts make bad law." By the 1950s, the "bad facts" that came from ignoring LaRue, Stabler, and Silbert—the disconnect between the paper allocations of the Law and the River and the wet water of the actual Colorado—were driving the basin towards bad law.

2019, Eric Kuhn and John Fleck, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

Unusual circumstances can lead lawmakers or judges to set precedent that applies poorly to most situations.


oath-helping

The rule against oath-helping prohibits a party from presenting evidence solely for the purpose of bolstering a witness' credibility before that witness' credibility is attacked. This type of evidence is of the sort that would tend to prove the truthfulness of the witness, rather than the truth of the witness' statements.

2018 June 1, Frank Iacobucci, J., “R. v. B. (F.F.), 1 SCR 697”, in CanLII, retrieved 1993-02-25:

(law) Testimony introduced for the purpose of bolstering the credibility of a witness and their testimony, rather than proving or disproving a fact in issue; it is often inadmissible.


et conjunx

From Latin et (and) and conjunx (husband).

Coordinate term: et uxor

(law) "And the husband" or "and her husband".


legal instrument

legal instrument (plural legal instruments)

(law) Any formal written document that records and expresses a legally enforceable act, process, or contractual duty, obligation, or right, and therefore evidences that act, process, or agreement.


secrecy jurisdiction

secrecy jurisdiction (countable and uncountable, plural secrecy jurisdictions)

(law, business, taxation) A facility or physical location which enables individuals or entities to escape or undermine the laws, rules, and regulations of jurisdictions elsewhere, using secrecy as a primary tool.


Marchman Act

en-verb

Marchman Act (third-person singular simple present Marchman Acts, present participle Marchman Acting, simple past and past participle Marchman Acted)

Marchman Acts (present singular third-person)
Marchman Acting (participle present)
Marchman Acted (participle past)
Marchman Acted (past)

The act (1993) was named after former pastor Hal Strickland Marchman, Jr., (1919–2009), who advocated for services for substance abusers.

(US, law, transitive, intransitive) To invoke the Marchman Act, i.e., a means of voluntary or involuntary assessment and stabilization and treatment of a person allegedly abusing alcohol or drugs.


original jurisdiction

(law) In common law legal systems, the power of a court to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction.


subpartnership

en-noun

subpartnership (countable and uncountable, plural subpartnerships)

As shown elsewhere herein, the subpartnership is no part of, and is not included within, the primary partnership.

1930, Scott Rowley, “Risk Evasion Through Subpartnership”, in Columbia Law Review, volume 30, number 5, Columbia Law Review Association, Inc., page 674:

(law) An arrangement whereby a partner of a partnership agrees to share profits and losses with a nonpartner without thereby forming a partnership.


book oath

(law, religion, dated) An oath sworn on the Bible.


book of rates

(business, taxation, dated) A publication listing the official valuations of commodities, especially for tax purposes.


community quarantine

community quarantine (plural community quarantines)

(Philippines) Any of the series of quarantines and cordon sanitaire measures imposed by the Philippine government to control the transmission of COVID-19.

COVID-19 community quarantines in the Philippines


subpartner

The court taxed the husband on all the income, as the wife was merely a "subpartner" receiving part of the partnership income derivatively from her husband.

1947, Charles E. Works, “Taxation of Family Partnerships and Family Corporations”, in The Rocky Mountain Law Review, volume 19, number 3, University of Colorado, page 209:


submortgage

submortgage (countable and uncountable, plural submortgages)

The amount secured by the submortgage can never exceed the amount secured by the original mortgage.

2016, David Osborne, Graeme Bowtle & Charles Buss, chapter 3, in The Law of Ship Mortgages, page 61:

(law) A secured loan whereby a mortgagee uses his interest in a mortgage as collateral on a loan with a third party, in effect transferring or assigning the mortgage thereto.


submortgagee

submortgagee (countable and uncountable, plural submortgagees)

Accordingly, the submortgagee can take no action against the ship or owner unless and until the underlying mortgage becomes enforceable.

2016, David Osborne, Graeme Bowtle & Charles Buss, chapter 3, in The Law of Ship Mortgages, page 62:

(law) One who provides a loan secured by a mortgagee's interest in a mortgage and in effect becomes the assignee of that mortgage.


rule of decision

rule of decision (plural rule of decisions)

We have made efforts to think through a fair number of the issues, and we have written about two of the most likely issues that the Court will address and which may resolve the case: (i) that Griffin's Case (1869) provides the rule of decision, that is, Section 3 necessitates federal enforcement legislation; and (ii) that the President is not an "Officer of the United States."

2024 January 11, Josh Blackman, Seth Barrett Tillman, “We're In The Section 3 Endgame Now”, in The Volokh Conspiracy:

(law) A legal authority (e.g., a statute or judicial precedent) that governs the resolution of a particular case.


photo pack

(law, criminology) A collection of photographs to be shown sequentially to a witness, conducted by a police officer or detective who does not know the identity of the suspect.


set over

en-verb

set over (third-person singular simple present sets over, present participle setting over, simple past and past participle set over)

sets over (present singular third-person)
setting over (participle present)
set over (participle past)
set over (past)

(transitive, law) To assign; transfer ownership of something


indemnity costs

A special award granted by a court requiring one party (normally the unsuccessful party in litigation) to indemnify another party against actual costs that the latter incurred in connection with the case.


a year and a day

(law) The period defined as the legal limit of time for an act or event, to ensure a full year by any method of reckoning.


pièce de conviction

Borrowed from French pièce de conviction; first use appeared c. 1840.

(law, dated) An incriminating exhibit shown as evidence in a criminal case.


process-serving

en-noun

process-serving (countable and uncountable, plural process-servings)

(law enforcement) The act or assignment of delivering processes or summonses.


chief super

chief superintendent
w:chief superintendent

(UK, law enforcement, colloquial) Clipping of chief superintendent.


Ch Supt

The inquest into how 96 Liverpool supporters died at that 1989 match was told that in Ch Supt Brian Mole's F division, four officers had to resign and seven were disciplined after the prank, which occured^([sic]) in October 1988, came to light.

2014 July 7, David Conn, “Hillsborough inquest hears of police commander's transfer before match”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(UK, law enforcement) Abbreviation of chief superintendent.


by blood

(law) Sharing a relationship that connects two individuals through their biological parents.


administrative court

administrative court (plural administrative courts)

(law) In many civil law jurisdictions, a specialized court separate from the ordinary court system in charge of reviewing decisions made by public authorities under administrative law.

England and Wales High Court
King's Bench Division


outside job

From outside + job, by analogy with inside job.

The resource officer suspected the rape incident at our high school coffee shop was an outside job.

(idiomatic, criminology, humorous, sarcastic) A crime or other illicit action committed by an individual not connected or associated with the premises or organization in which it took place.


outside employment

(law, business) Any form of employment or business relationship involving the provision of paid or unpaid personal services.


Aquilian

(law, historical) Of or relating to the lex Aquilia, an ancient Roman law that provided compensation to the owners of property injured by someone's fault.


post prison

The regimental guardhouse was on the ground floor of the Regimental Headquarters Building at its southern end, facing the quadrangle. It was modern in every respect and about as secure as any prison. There were never more than about fifteen or twenty regimental prisoners confined in the guardhouse, men either awaiting trial or serving sentences of six months or less. Most of the sentences were for minor offenses, such as drunkenness, violation of orders, pilferage, and absence without leave—A.W.O.L. Men convicted of more serious offenses, such as desertion, larceny, insubordination, sex deviation, and other more serious crimes, were confined in the post prison.

1989, Lucian King Truscott, The Twilight of the U.S. Cavalry. Life in the Old Army, 1917-1942, University Press of Kansas, →ISBN, page 43:

(US military, historical) The prison of a regimental post.


odometer fraud

(law, criminology, automotive) The illegal practice of rolling back an odometer to make it appear that a vehicle has lower mileage than it actually does.


lighting-up time

lighting-up time (countable and uncountable, plural lighting-up times)

(UK, law, automotive) A time period during which all motor vehicles on unlit public roads must have their headlights switched on.


cumulative error

cumulative error (plural cumulative errors)

In addition to confessing error relating to the Napue violation, the State confessed to cumulative error in response to multiple issues raised in Glossip’s Post-Conviction Relief Application that, when taken together with the incorrect testimony of the State’s key witness, the State believes establishes that Glossip’s trial was unfair and unreliable.

2024, Glossip v. Oklahoma (U.S. Supreme Court No. 22-7466), Brief of respondent in support of petition for a writ of certiorari

(law) Legal errors that, when taken alone may be immaterial, but taken together substantially prejudice the result of a trial.


liege lord

(law, archaic, historical) Synonym of overlord: The epithet of individuals in the relationship between a feudal superior and vassal.


tameh

(Jewish law) Ritually impure or tainted.


BNSS

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
w:Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita

(India, criminal law) Initialism of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, the official criminal procedure code of India.


clean money

(informal, idiomatic, business, law, uncommon) Money that is legally or honestly gained or earned.

(informal, idiomatic, business, law, uncommon) Money or assets that have been converted from money laundering or other illicit means into a form that can be used legitimately without drawing the attention of the authorities.


time of death

(law) The exact moment of death, denoting the precise date and time of which is established in the location of the residence of a decedent, as a matter of record.


conformed copy

conformed copy (plural conformed copies)

(law) An exact copy of a document filed with a court.


certified copy

certified copy (plural certified copies)

(law, finance) A copy, often a photocopy, of a primary document containing an endorsement or certificate confirming it is a true copy of the primary document.


time, place or manner restriction

time, place or manner restriction (countable and uncountable, plural time, place or manner restrictions)

time, place or manner restrictions (plural)

(law, US) A content-neutral limitation imposed by the government or other institution on expressive activity.


flat time

flat time (countable and uncountable, plural flat times)

(law) A term of incarceration that is to be served by a prisoner without the benefit of any credits of time or earned deductions.


idle time

idle time (countable and uncountable, plural idle times)

(law, business, human resources) A period of time in which an employee or a machine is ready and available, but is not carrying out any productive work.


time element

(law, business) An indirect loss resulting from damage or a direct loss due to an insured peril.


tac squad

Jammed onto a narrow, steep sidewalk, police barricades all around, we march with placards, drums, and angry spirit: "The Moral Majority, cops and Klan. Work together hand in hand." — helmeted tac squad on horses, Hondas, facing us on Powell Street, itching to wield their billy clubs, waiting for any excuse to let fly.

1984 August 11, Merle Woo, “Revolutionary Optimism—The Order of the Day”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 5, page 5:


exigent circumstance

exigent circumstance (plural exigent circumstances)

(law) A circumstance, such as imminent danger or imminent escape of a suspect, that allows law enforcement to enter a structure without a search warrant, or if they have a knock-and-announce warrant, to enter without knocking and waiting for the owner's permission to enter.


knock-and-announce

knock-and-announce rule

knock-and-announce warrant

(law) A common law principle that requires law enforcement officers to announce their presence and provide residents with an opportunity to open the door prior to a search.


traffic stop

(law, automotive) A temporary detention of a driver of a vehicle and its occupants by police to investigate a possible crime or a minor violation of the law.


prison sentence

prison sentence (plural prison sentences)

(law) Confinement in prison as punishment for a crime.


NOPD

New Orleans Police Department
w:New Orleans Police Department

(law enforcement) Initialism of New Orleans Police Department.


quitclaim deed

(law) A document by which an individual, the grantor, disclaims any interest the grantor might have in a piece of real property, and passes that claim to another individual, the grantee.


ECCHR

(human rights, law) Initialism of European Center for Constitutional Human Rights.


paraphernals

From Middle French parapharnelz. Attested since the early 1500s, whereas the adjective paraphernal since the late 1700s.

[…] the said John Lindsay became obliged to restore all things he got with his wife or she brought with her to the said Allexander Cochrane, her father, and the other pursuers, her brethren, and to put everything in the same condition as it was before the marriage, and she haven taken with her the goods and gear following, viz., her Paraphernals and body cloathes, linens, and others, to the value of three hundredth merks Scots: […]

1724 June, “Outfit and Tocher of a Farmer’s Daughter, 1724”, in William Hector, compiler, Selections from the Judicial Records of Renfrewshire. Illustrative of the Administration of the Laws in the County, and Manners and Condition of the Inhabitants, in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. […], Paisley, Renfrewshire: J. & J. Cook, […], published 1878, page 185:

“[…] Get ready thy marriage gear, love, and lay aside thy maiden blushes, which can aid thee as little in capturing a husband as Bruce’s backwardness in the taking of Perth.” / “The Governor hath not claimed me, father,” replied Anne, hesitatingly. “He hath not called here since the money was paid to him.” / “More still of thy doubtful questionings, wench!” cried Peter, rising in his anger. “What is his remissness to thee, if I adhere to my condition, and demand my bond? He is bound by his honour; to-morrow he is to be here, and thou must show thy fairest qualities in his presence. Go and assign thee thy appurtenances and paraphernals.”

1839, “The Siege of Perth”, in Wilson’s Historical, Traditionary, and Imaginative Tales of the Borders, and of Scotland: […], volume V, number 209, London: E. T. Brain & Co., […]; New York, N.Y.: R. T. Shannon, →OCLC, page 5, column 2:

ASSENT. / of husband to wife’s acts as agent or trustee, § 32. / of husband not necessary to wife’s contracts, when, §§ 45, 49. / to wife’s alienation of her paraphernals, § 94.

1901, Ocie Speer, “Index”, in A Treatise on the Law of Married Women in Texas, Including Marriage, Divorce, Homestead, and Administration, Rochester, N.Y.: The Lawyers’ Co-operative Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 499:

(law, rare) Synonym of paraphernalia (“married woman’s property besides her dowry”).


Revlon duty

(business, law) A legal principle stating that an action that promotes the value of an auction process is allowable, whereas one that thwarts its value is unallowable.


speaking objection

speaking objection (plural speaking objections)

(law) An objection that is argumentative in nature and volunteers more information than necessary for a judge to evaluate it.


gotaway

Under Biden in 2021, gotaways leaped to almost 390,000 (a 465 percent increase over Trump's last year).

2024, Troy E. Nehls, Borderless by Design:

(US, law enforcement) An illegal immigrant who has successfully entered the country without being apprehended.


juice badge

(US, historical, law enforcement) An unofficial police badge issued in the 1930s by the LAPD chief and given to his supporters.


demand letter

(law) A letter stating a legal claim, usually drafted by a lawyer, issuing a demand for restitution or performance of some obligation.

vaatimuskirjelmä

Letter usually by a lawyer to liquidate a claim


man on the Shau Kei Wan tram

This [the adjudication system established under the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance] is a system fraught with problems. It may lead to a panel that is dominated by those who feel strongly about obscenity and indecency; not those who represent the “standards of morality generally accepted by reasonable members of the community.” In other words, the man on the Shau Kei Wan tram is not represented.

2009 January 16, “HKJA’S SUBMISSION ON THE REVIEW OF THE CONTROL OF OBSCENE AND INDECENT ARTICLES ORDINANCE”, in Hong Kong Journalists Association:

(Hong Kong, law) Any hypothetical reasonable person used by the Courts when considering questions of reasonableness.


original package doctrine

the original package doctrine (canonical)

(law) A doctrine in United States law, stating that imported goods do not lose their character as imports until they have passed out of the importer's control or been broken up from their original packages.


pretium affectionis

The greater number of injuries are those which concern property. A pecuniary value can generally be set upon injuries of this sort; though it is not very easy to determine the pretium affectionis, a matter of considerable importance, which the English law, so much made up of clumsiness in one part, and false refinement in another, wholly overlooks.

Sentimental value
sentimental value#English


constructive malice

(UK, law, historical) The doctrine that malice aforethought could be attributed to the defendant if death was caused during the commission of another felony (such as robbery or burglary) — abolished in most cases by the Homicide Act 1957.


tender years doctrine

tender years doctrine (plural tender years doctrines)

(law) A principle in family law, stating that a child's youngest years (generally regarded as four years and under) should be spent in the custody of the mother.


afteracquired

afteracquired evidence


irreconcilable differences

irreconcilable differences pl (normally plural, singular irreconcilable difference)

According to the website TMZ.com, which first reported the story, the actor and director cited irreconcilable differences as the cause for the split. The couple have been together since 2005 and married in 2014.

2016 September 21, Benjamin Lee, “Angelina Jolie files for divorce from Brad Pitt citing irreconcilable differences”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(law, chiefly US) Grounds for a no-fault divorce comprising a difference between the two parties that cannot or will not be changed.


arms trafficking

The process of smuggling, distributing and selling illegal weapons.

usafirishaji wa silaha

smuggling, distribution and sale of weapons


nonsummons

(law) The mode in which a tenant or defendant in a real action pleaded, when the summons which followed the original was not served within the proper time.


white-collar criminal

white-collar criminal (plural white-collar criminals)

(business, law, criminology) An individual who partakes in, or has been convicted of, a white-collar crime.


drug cartel

(criminology) A criminal organization consisting of independent druglords who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the illegal drug trade.


creeping freehold

creeping freehold (plural creeping freeholds)

(law, UK) The freehold of property, such as a basement or cellar, that is located underneath a different freehold; the converse of flying freehold.


personal time

Coordinate term: company time

(business, law, human resources) The time allotted to an employee, such as a break or a lunch, during a regular scheduled workday.


wrongspeak

From wrong + -speak, evoking Orwellian coinages like crimethink and doublespeak.

Utterances that run contrary to the prevailing or mainstream orthodoxy, and may incur punishment such as ostracism.


crimespeak

“They say Mr Luckhart was the shooter,” the girl tells her, confident in the lingua franca of modern crimespeak, “so the cops had to take him out.”

(informal) The jargon associated with crime and criminals.

Coordinate term: crimethink


servient estate

servient estate (plural servient estates)

(property law) A parcel of land that is subject to an easement.


nonaggravated

In making this determination, we look to the evidence pertaining only to the element of aggravated robbery that distinguishes it from nonaggravated robbery.

1997, West's South Eastern Reporter, page 680:

Making nonaggravated sexual assault a strict liability crime means, in effect, that even if it would be completely impossible and unreasonable for the man to believe that the woman was engaging in the sexual act against her will (or, perhaps, that she thought the sex was insufficiently "communicative"), he would still be convicted.

2010, Leslie Francis, Date Rape: Feminism, Philosophy, and the Law, page 120:

However, repeated nonaggravated assault against a family member was considered a criminal offense and punishable by up to 360 hours of community service, a maximum of one year of forced labor, or a maximum of two years in prison.

2019, Kathleen Nadeau, Sangita Rayamajhi, Women and Violence: Global Lives in Focus, page 76:

(criminology) Not aggravated; not including factors such as violence, deadly weapons, drugs, including additional offenses, etc. that make the criminal offense more heinous or offensive.


Zapple doctrine

Named after U.S. Senate Commerce Committee counselor Nicholas Zapple.

(US, law, historical) An extension of the fairness doctrine to political candidates' spokespeople and supporters, mandating that, if one candidate's supporters were allowed to buy airtime, then supporters of opposing candidates should have the opportunity to buy a comparable amount of airtime for their candidates.


jury tampering

From jury + tampering. First use appears c. 1871 in the New York Herald.

(law, criminology) The crime of unduly attempting to influence the composition or decisions of a jury during the course of a trial.


Enabling Act

As a result, on March 23, he placed before parliament a "Law to Remedy the Distress of People and the Reich" - also called the "Enabling Act."

2013 March 23, Marc von Lüpke-Schwarz, “Parliament lost”, in Deutsche Welle:

2017 May 24, “Enabling Act becomes law in Germany - archive, 1933”, in the Guardian:

When the Reichstag met on 23 March 1933 Hitler was able to secure the passing of an important law, the Enabling Act by: […]

(Can we date this quote?), “The Reichstag Election”, in BBC Bitesize:

The Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Reich is also known as the Enabling Act.

(Can we date this quote?), “The Enabling Act”, in United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:

(historical) the Enabling Act of 1933 passed by Weimar Republic's Reichstag, which paved the way for the Nazi's seizure of power.


cooling time

cooling time (countable and uncountable, plural cooling times)

(law, criminology) The amount of time required for an individual to calm down and think clearly after being seriously provoked, allowing the individual to consider the consequences of their actions in order to make a rational decision.


time check

(law, business, human resources) A note provided by a contractor indicating the number of hours for which a worker is due to be paid.


law shopping

private international law
private international law

Exploiting differences of private international law between legal systems or otherwise procuring the application of a particular legal system’s rules in order to optimize the substantive law applied to one’s case.


engaged time

engaged time (countable and uncountable, plural engaged times)

(education, law, human resources) The total or actual amount of time a person, often a student or worker, is engaged in a purposeful or productive required task.


civilian time

civilian time (countable and uncountable, plural civilian times)

(law) The start or beginning of the day at midnight.


time of memory

time of memory (usually uncountable, plural times of memory)

(law) A reference to a point in time that is so distant that no living individual has knowledge or proof that would contradict a right or a custom purported to have existed since that time.


grandfather in

en-verb

grandfather in (third-person singular simple present grandfathers in, present participle grandfathering in, simple past and past participle grandfathered in)

grandfathers in (present singular third-person)
grandfathering in (participle present)
grandfathered in (participle past)
grandfathered in (past)

(transitive, chiefly US, law) Synonym of grandfather


maximum holding time

en-noun

maximum holding time (countable and uncountable, plural maximum holding times)

(law, criminology) The greatest amount of time in which a sample may be stored between sampling and the commencement of analysis and still be considered a valid sample for compliance testing.


constitutional right

constitutional right (plural constitutional rights)

(law) A prerogative or a duty, a power or a restraint of power, recognized and established by a sovereign state or union of states.


enumerated right

enumerated right (plural enumerated rights)

Coordinate term: unenumerated right

(law) A legal right which is explicitly stated, coded, or written in laws or constitutions.


sing like a canary

en-verb

sing like a canary (third-person singular simple present sings like a canary, present participle singing like a canary, simple past sang like a canary, past participle sung like a canary)

sings like a canary (present singular third-person)
singing like a canary (participle present)
sang like a canary (past)
sung like a canary (participle past)

(slang) To inform on a criminal in great detail.


physical person

en-noun

physical person (plural physical persons or physical people)

physical persons (plural)
physical people (plural)

физи́ческо лице́

natural person — see also natural person


D/S

(law enforcement) Initialism of deputy sheriff.


negiah

Borrowed from Hebrew נְגִיעָה (“touch”).

(Jewish law) Physical contact between the sexes outside of marriage or familial relations.

If I see a young man and woman out on a date in the US, would I not assume that even if they were makpid on kashrut, they might not be as makpid on negia? Or even on pre-marital sex? After all, that is exceedingly common in the US today, and it's even made inroads among ostensibly Orthodox Jews.

2006 June 9, Lisa, “LESBIAN & GAY SHABBAT DINNER - 5 JUNE -- RODEPH SHOLOM (NYC)”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet):

(Jewish law) The prohibition against this.


traditional right

traditional right (plural traditional rights)

(law) A subsistence privilege or right, which is owned legally or by custom by an indigenous community or village.

Having paved the way for viewing the state provision of welfare in terms of providing for people's basic needs, Raymond Plant still faced one difficult opponent: Maurice Cranston, who maintained that there is a crucial difference of nature between traditional rights and social ones.

2016, João Carlos Espada, The Anglo-American Tradition of Liberty: A view from Europe, page 43:

(law) A right that is established by custom or tradition, as opposed to one established by law or a sense of social justice.


time clause

(business, law) A clause expressing or indicating information regarding time.


laudemium

(law) Payment made to the lessor of an emphyteusis when the property is sold or gifted to a new lessee.


MMEA

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency
w:Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency

(Malaysia, law enforcement, nautical) Initialism of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (“Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritim Malaysia”).


CCDI

w:Central Commission for Discipline Inspection

Abbreviation of Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.


priorable

To be priorable, the reckless driving conviction must result from an arrest occurring after January 1, 1982, and within five years of the new offense.

1982, Los Angeles Lawyer, volume 5, page 34:

(law) Of a prior offense: eligible to affect sentencing for a subsequent offense.


time constraint

time constraint (plural time constraints)

(law) A limit or control placed on certain actions and filings in the interest of speedy justice, and additionally to prevent the evasion of the ends of justice by waiting until a matter is moot.


time agreement

(business, law) An agreement allowing one of the parties in a contract a certain amount of discretion to determine the exact scope or extent of their obligations under it, or for allowing an agreement for an indefinite period.


time of occurrence

time of occurrence (countable and uncountable, plural times of occurrence)

(law, criminology, forensic science) An event, such as the time of death or the time of incident, that is crucial to a death investigation.


disentailment

(law, historical) The act of disentailing.


buddy punching

(business, law, human resources) The act or practice of an employee requesting another employee to clock in on their behalf.


vacation time

vacation time (countable and uncountable, plural vacation times)

(dated, law) A time period when the normal operation of a court is suspended.

(dated, obsolete, property law) A time period when land or property is vacant or out of commission.


time-bound program

(law, labor law) An approach constituting one of the means put in place by the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour to assist countries in fulfilling their obligations under the convention.


triadic patent

China registered only 0.3 per cent of the world's ‘triadic’ patents (valid in Japan, the EU and US) last year.

2007 October 13, Will Hutton, “Will China's next leader be its Gorbachev?”, in The Observer, →ISSN:

A patent filed in Europe (EPO), the United States (USPTO), and Japan (JPO).


time rate

(business, law, human resources) A form of compensation in which an employee is paid for the amount of time spent at work, usually as a weekly wage or a monthly salary.


reasonable time

reasonable time (countable and uncountable, plural reasonable times)

(US, law) The amount of time which is fairly necessary, conveniently, to perform an action that is required to be completed, as soon as circumstances permit.


gain time

gain time (countable and uncountable, plural gain times)

(law, criminology) A reduction of a prisoner’s sentence due to exemplary behavior or participation in a rehabilitation program during incarceration.


shortening time

shortening time (countable and uncountable, plural shortening times)

(law) A court order in response to the motion of a party to a lawsuit, allowing a motion or other legal matter to be set at a time shorter than provided by law or court rules.


contract time

contract time (countable and uncountable, plural contract times)

(law, business) The total number of working days specified in a contract for completion of all work.


join issue

en-verb

join issue (third-person singular simple present joins issue, present participle joining issue, simple past and past participle joined issue)

joins issue (present singular third-person)
joining issue (participle present)
joined issue (participle past)
joined issue (past)

[W]ith Rejoinders and Replies, / Long Bills, and Anſvvers, ſtuft vvith Lies, / Demurr, Imparlance, and Eſſoign, / The Parties ne'er could Iſſue join: / For Sixteen Years the Cauſe vvas ſpun, / And then ſtood vvhere it firſt begun.

1726, [Jonathan Swift], Cadenus and Vanessa. A Poem, London: […] J. Roberts […], →OCLC, page 9:

In one sense, the Court’s decision to pass over this complication may be understandable. After all, none of the parties before us questioned the application of a discovery rule in proceedings below, but joined issue only over how it should work.

2021, Warner Chappell Music, Inc. v. Nealy (U.S. Supreme Court No. 19-292), Justice Gorsuch dissenting

(law) (of two parties to a legal proceeding) To agree to argue about a particular legal claim.


without cause

(law, business, human resources) Wihtout any reason or justification.


good cause

en-noun

good cause (countable and uncountable, plural good causes)

(law, uncountable) Adequate or substantial grounds or reason to take a certain action, or to fail to take an action prescribed by law.


just cause

just cause (countable and uncountable, plural just causes)

(law, business, human resources) A common standard in employment law, as a form of job security, indicating that a terminated employee has been dismissed from the job for misconduct, or another sufficient reason.


objects clause

(business, law) A provision in a company's constitution stating the purpose and range of activities for which the company is carried on.


bibcam

From an abbreviation of "boys in bedroom" + cam.

Sergeant Matt Pilon was able to complete a direct download of a file with the ED2K value of, Scc6e5ac3a56f725dbab5fd43c222653, named, "Bibcam 13Yo Boy Timmy Showers For Webcam (2009. avi ".

2012 May 1, Karen B. Molzen, United States of America v. Antonio Gallegos:

Agent Matthews testified that "BIB" stands for "boys in bedroom" and "BIBCAM" typically indicates webcam videos of young boys.

2016 February 18, Shirley Padmore Mensah, United States of America v. Giboney:

The second video, entitled "[bibcam]in the right place.avi", is approximately eleven minutes and twenty-six seconds in duration.

2018 June 6, Lojs H. Goodman, United States of America v. Matthew Wolny:

a work of child pornography containing a webcam video of a boy


strip cell

It was in February 1980 and I'd been beaten by guards and called a "little fag" and thrown into a strip cell and left there for days, cold.

1983 December 10, Mike Riegle, quoting James Sipes, “Sexual Politics of "Crime": Inside and Out”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 21, page 5:

A barren prison cell in which a prisoner is kept without clothing, sheets, etc.


retourable

(Scots law, historical, of a brieve) Which must be returned to chancery, along with a schedule of action taken.


offer of proof

(law) An attorney's explanation to a judge during trial to show why a question which has been objected to as immaterial or irrelevant will lead to evidence of value to proving the case of the lawyer's client.


Robin Hood effect

Robin Hood effect (plural Robin Hood effects)

Named after legendary noble outlaw Robin Hood.

The redistribution of economic resources due to which the economically disadvantaged gain at the expense of the economically advantaged.


special defence

special defence (plural special defences)

(Scots law) Any of various defences (such as mental disorder or coercion) that may be raised in criminal proceedings upon notice by the accused ahead of the trial, and which if established will result in an acquittal.


advance fee fraud

(criminology) Any type of fraud involving an advance fee scam.


hit a stain

en-verb

hit a stain (third-person singular simple present hits a stain, present participle hitting a stain or hittin' a stain, simple past and past participle hit a stain)

hits a stain (present singular third-person)
hitting a stain (participle present)
hittin' a stain (participle present)
hit a stain (participle past)
hit a stain (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-hit a stain.wav

Baby girl what's your name? / Let me talk to you and let's go hit a stain

2017, Lil Tecca (lyrics and music), “Toyota”:

There's a time that I remember / When my brothers hit a stain

2022 May 1, ME3CH (lyrics and music), “MAROON .45”:

I just hit a stain and dropped the pack off

2022 October 19, Lil Mosey (lyrics and music), “Drop Top”, in UNI, track 2:

(African-American Vernacular) To commit armed robbery.


International Criminal Court

the International Criminal Court (canonical)

An intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands, with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.

محكمة الجنائية الدولية

court that prosecutes international crimes


whole life order

en-noun

whole life order (plural whole life orders)

(England, Wales, criminal law) A type of life imprisonment reserved for the most serious cases, in which the convict is not eligible for parole or conditional release.


mature minor

(Canada, US, law) An unemancipated patient who has not attained the age of majority but should be permitted to choose or reject a particular health care treatment, sometimes without the knowledge or agreement of parents.


rape alarm

From rape + alarm. First use appears c. 1977 in the Los Angeles Times.

(informal, criminology) A portable alarm which, when activated, emits a shrill sound, alerting others that the user is in danger of rape or assault.


tactical contact

tactical contact (countable and uncountable, plural tactical contacts)

(countable) An instance of such ramming.


hand up

en-verb

hand up (third-person singular simple present hands up, present participle handing up, simple past and past participle handed up)

hands up (present singular third-person)
handing up (participle present)
handed up (participle past)
handed up (past)

(transitive, of a jury, law) To deliver an indictment (e.g. to a judge).


deliver up

deliver up (third-person singular simple present delivers up, present participle delivering up, simple past and past participle delivered up)

delivers up (present singular third-person)
delivering up (participle present)
delivered up (participle past)
delivered up (past)

(law) To produce (something) by delivery as expected under a contract.


person deprived of liberty

en-noun

person deprived of liberty (plural persons deprived of liberty)

(international law, chiefly Philippines) convicted prisoner; incarceree


child sex crime

child sex crime (plural child sex crimes)

Coordinate term: child sexual abuse

Dozens of foreigners have been jailed for child sex crimes or deported to face trial in their home countries since Cambodia launched an anti-pedophilia push in 2003, to try to shake off its reputation as a haven for sex predators.

2010 March 20, “Police say Australian arrested for child sex in Cambodia”, in The Australian:

(criminal law) Sexual act involving juvenile victims.


identity broker

identity broker (plural identity brokers)

(law, criminology, uncommon) A service or other intermediary that provides a client with a means of forming or constructing a new identity, usually a false one.


act of sederunt

act of sederunt (plural acts of sederunt)

secondary legislation
secondary legislation

(Scots law) A set of rules of court governing civil procedure made as secondary legislation by the Court of Session.


Act of Sederunt

Act of Sederunt (plural Acts of Sederunt)

(Scots law, formal) Alternative letter-case form of act of sederunt


RFMA

Respect for Marriage Act
w:Respect for Marriage Act

(US politics) Initialism of Respect for Marriage Act.


sexually-oriented

(law) Of or pertaining to any material depicting sexually explicit content or conduct.


STAR

Special Task and Rescue
w:Special Task and Rescue

(Malaysia, law enforcement, nautical) Acronym of Special Task and Rescue.

w:Special Tactics and Rescue (Singapore)

(Singapore, law enforcement) Acronym of Special Tactics and Rescue (Singapore).


plead out

en-verb

plead out (third-person singular simple present pleads out, present participle pleading out, simple past and past participle pleaded out)

pleads out (present singular third-person)
pleading out (participle present)
pleaded out (participle past)
pleaded out (past)

(law) To plead guilty in a plea bargain, usually in exchange for a lighter sentence.


plead over

plead over (third-person singular simple present pleads over, present participle pleading over, simple past and past participle pleaded over or (informal, US) pled over)

pleads over (present singular third-person)
pleading over (participle present)
pleaded over (participle past)
pleaded over (past)
pled over (US informal participle past)
pled over (US informal past)

(law, intransitive) To abandon the right to pursue a legal issue by not spotting it in time or not objecting to it in court.


plead up

plead up (third-person singular simple present pleads up, present participle pleading up, simple past and past participle pleaded up or (informal, US) pled up)

pleads up (present singular third-person)
pleading up (participle present)
pleaded up (participle past)
pleaded up (past)
pled up (US informal participle past)
pled up (US informal past)

(law) To plead guilty, especially to elevated charges in a plea bargain, such as to avoid a trial or to avoid immigration proceedings.


plead down

plead down (third-person singular simple present pleads down, present participle pleading down, simple past and past participle pleaded down or (informal, US) pled down)

pleads down (present singular third-person)
pleading down (participle present)
pleaded down (participle past)
pleaded down (past)
pled down (US informal participle past)
pled down (US informal past)

(law) To plead guilty in a plea bargain, usually in exchange for lighter charges.

(law) To negotiate charges down in a plea bargain.


pyjama injunction

en-noun

pyjama injunction (plural pyjama injunctions)

From urban legends stating that judges wore pyjamas when dealing with such injunctions due to lateness.

They're called pyjama injunctions because, according to folklore, they're granted by High Court judges who, due to the lateness of the hour, are already in kipping gear.

2000 July 3, Marcel Berlins, “Beware judges in pyjamas”, in the Guardian:

When the claimants were informed that Hello! was about to publish the unauthorised photographs, they immediately sought a ‘pyjama injunction’ by telephone.

2001, Jonathan Horton, “The developing right to privacy - at common law”, in Privacy Law and Policy Reporter, volume 7, number 10, page 206:

The measure — branded a "pyjama injunction" by critics as it can be issued outside normal court hours — was behind the grounding of the first flight to Rwanda in June 2022.

2024 January 25, Emma Soteriou, “Rishi Sunak faces fresh blow over Rwanda as European judge claims plan is unlawful”, in LBC:

(England, Wales, informal) An injunction that was granted (typically at night) with expediency outside a court's office hours.


attitude-adjuster

(US, slang, law enforcement) A nightstick or any type of club.


stolen goods

(law, criminology) Any goods or other property that have been obtained, carried off, or abstracted by means of a crime.


right to silence

right to silence (plural rights to silence)

(law, criminology) A legal principle guaranteeing any individual the right to refuse to answer questions from law enforcement officers or court officials.


traffic lead

(Philippines, law enforcement) unarmed traffic police


secondary sanction

secondary sanction (plural secondary sanctions)

(US) Extraterritorial sanctions imposed on third-country entities that trade with already sanctioned entities.


collection agency

collection agency (plural collection agencies)

(law, business) A company used by creditors or lenders to recover funds that are past due or from accounts that have defaulted.


originating summons

originating summons (plural originating summonses)

(UK, Hong Kong) A legal document that starts a civil action, typically used when there is significant legal dispute instead of factual dispute.


act of adjournal

act of adjournal (plural acts of adjournal)

(Scots law) A set of rules of court governing criminal procedure made as secondary legislation by the High Court of Justiciary.


Act of Adjournal

Act of Adjournal (plural Acts of Adjournal)

act of adjournal
act of adjournal#English

(Scots law, formal) Alternative letter-case form of act of adjournal


TOLATA

w:Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996

(UK, law) Acronym of Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996.


re-serve

en-verb

re-serve (third-person singular simple present re-serves, present participle re-serving, simple past and past participle re-served)

re-serves (present singular third-person)
re-serving (participle present)
re-served (participle past)
re-served (past)

Where the Department of Homeland Security seeks to re-serve a respondent to effect proper service of a notice to appear that was defective under the regulatory requirements for serving minors under the age of 14, a continuance should be granted for that purpose.

2016 December 16, Anne J. Greer, Matter of W-A-F-C-, Respondent, Board of Immigration Appeals, 26 I&N Dec. 880 (BIA 2016), archived from the original on 2021-06-24, page 880:

(transitive, law) To deliver a document again.


business law

intellectual property
intellectual property

(law) All the law that governs commercial infrastructure and interactions, including contracts, intellectual property, employment law, and corporate law.


elder abuse

Coordinate term: child abuse

(criminology) Physical, sexual or emotional mistreatment of an elderly person.


fiscal office

(Philippines, law) A public prosecutor’s office.


number coding

(Philippines, law enforcement) A policy in Metro Manila where vehicles with plate numbers ending in a particular number are barred from using the main streets on a particular pre-assigned day to reduce traffic.


descend into the arena

descend into the arena (third-person singular simple present descends into the arena, present participle descending into the arena, simple past and past participle descended into the arena)

descends into the arena (present singular third-person)
descending into the arena (participle present)
descended into the arena (participle past)
descended into the arena (past)

(law) In relation to a judge in an adversarial system, to excessively interfere with debates between the parties.


RBPF

Royal Brunei Police Force
w:Royal Brunei Police Force

(Brunei, law enforcement) Initialism of Royal Brunei Police Force (“Polis Diraja Brunei”)


framework law

(law) Law that establishes general principles but leaves to governing authorities the task of enacting the further legislation and specific measures to achieve the law's objectives.


human life

en-noun

human life (countable and uncountable, plural human lives)

Coordinate term: human death

devoid of human life

The disaster took a terrible toll in human life.

Many animals died, but, thankfully, human lives were spared.

These all go to constitute the atoms of the mighty tide of human life;

1882, Joseph A. Dacus, Illustrated Lives and Adventures of Frank and Jesse James and the Younger Brothers, the Noted Western Outlaws, page 362:


human death

human death (countable and uncountable, plural human deaths)

Coordinate term: human life

Into the world entered death, human''' death, which is quite distinct from the death that reigns in the animal world, despite all external similarities.

2023, Sergius Bulgakov, The Sophiology of Death = Essays on Eschatology: Personal, Political, Universal, page 43:

(law, philosophy) The irreversible loss of functioning of a human life as a whole.


antipledging

(law, business) The practice of prohibiting directors and executives from using company shares as collateral for personal loans.


Solgen

solicitor general
solicitor general#English

(Philippines, law) Abbreviation of solicitor general.


racial profile

(public policy, law enforcement) An estimation or generalization about the behavior of a group based on their appearance, skin color, hair texture, or clothing.


racially-profile

en-verb

racially-profile (third-person singular simple present racially-profiles, present participle racially-profiling, simple past and past participle racially-profiled)

racially-profiles (present singular third-person)
racially-profiling (participle present)
racially-profiled (participle past)
racially-profiled (past)

(transitive, law enforcement, public policy) To engage in racial profiling; to act as a racial profiler.


check washing

(law, criminology) The process of erasing details from a check to allow it to be rewritten, usually for criminal purposes such as fraudulent withdrawal from the victim's bank account.


wrongthinker

From wrongthink + -er or wrong + thinker.

Twitter/X is clever enough not to outright ban wrongthinkers as that would be noticeable. Far better to not notice wrongthinkers. This is done via what amounts to sending them to a “time out” room where no one else knows they are. The wrongthinker is left to talk to himself.

2024 January 16, Eric Peters, “No More Playing by The Left’s Rules”, in Eric Peters Autos:


keeplock

I was sentenced to 90 days 'keep-lock' in order 'to deter other inmates from disobeying an order to urinate.'

1989 December 17, Edward Inman, “Disobeying An Order To Piss Lands Transsexual In Isolation”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 23, page 5:

Total or near-total confinement to a prisoner to their cell.


patrol officer

(law enforcement) A member of a local or state law enforcement agency who patrols a particular area.


VHT

en-noun

VHT (countable and uncountable, plural VHTs)

*(motorsport): Genericization of a trademark. The trademark derives from an initialism of very+high+traction phrase.
*(taxation): Abbreviation; Initialism of vacation home tax, from vacation home+tax.

vacation home tax
vacation home tax#English

(taxation, abbreviation) Synonym of vacation home tax


hanging judge

/ˈhæŋ.ɪŋ d͡ʒʌd͡ʒ/

A judge with a reputation for harsh rulings.


collarable

The Ninth Circuit discussed the ramifications of the IFP statute, 28 U.S.C. section 1915(e)(2), and held that the district court abused its discretion by dismissing without leave to amend the complaint, in which collarable claims were made but the wrong defendants were named.

2000, American Federal Tax Reports, pages 2000-1755:

(law) Able to be rectified or brought into compliance with existing law.


kyohwaso

A prison in North Korea used as a reeducation camp.


kwalliso

A labour and concentration camp operated by North Korea, especially used for political prisoners.


Panama Papers

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Panama Papers.wav

(business, journalism, crime) A trove of leaked documents that were published in 2016.


summary jurisdiction

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-summary jurisdiction.wav

[…] I would (so far as regards children under fourteen years) take from magistrates their present power of summary jurisdiction, and substitute very extensive powers of a different nature ; […]

1849, John Adams, Summary Jurisdiction: A Charge to the Grand Jury of the Quarter Sessions of the County of Middlesex, page 17:

(law) The authority of a court of law to summarily issue a conviction, typically for a petty crime, without requiring a trial by jury.


forced sale

forced sale (countable and uncountable, plural forced sales)

(law, business) An involuntary transaction in which the sale is based upon legal and not economic factors, such as a decree or execution, other than the mere inability to maintain the property.


forcible entry

forcible entry (plural forcible entries)

(law, criminology) The unlawful seizure of the possession of real property by force or threats of force or an unlawful entry into or onto another's property, especially when accompanied by force.


tickle the wire

en-verb

tickle the wire (third-person singular simple present tickles the wire, present participle tickling the wire, simple past and past participle tickled the wire)

tickles the wire (present singular third-person)
tickling the wire (participle present)
tickled the wire (participle past)
tickled the wire (past)

(criminology, law enforcement, idiomatic) To create a situation that will encourage the target of a criminal probe to speak and divulge information on a wiretapped telephone.


frolic of his own

en-noun

frolic of his own (plural frolics of his own)

(law) An action performed by an employee which was done completely out of the scope of his instructions and as such for which his employer cannot be held liable.


paper tripping

The information of the European Common Market has created a paper-tripping paradise.

At one time, false documents were commonly referred to as simply fake IDs, and the act of passing oneself off as another character was known as paper tripping.

2012, Hank Prunckun, Henry W. Prunckun, Counterintelligence Theory and Practice, page 114:

Garnet explains in fine detail to Candice that, back in the day, it was possible to change your identification successfully but it was illegal. They called it paper tripping and it is still illegal today.

2013, Kirby Edwards, Carry Your Name - Drive Your Purpose, page 63:

Paper tripping, also known as ghosting, is a form of identity theft in a person stealing the identity of a specific deceased person.

2022, Antonio Brown, How To Disappear For Beginners, page 85:

(criminology, dated, uncommon) A form of identity theft in which a person illicitly obtains a new identity, usually by assuming the identity of a deceased person.


line drawing

line + drawing. First use appears c. 1891. The figurative sense is a deverbal form of the expression draw the line. The exact date of its first appearance is uncertain.

Line drawing in these matters of competitive behavior is preeminently a judicial function.

1958, United States, Congress, Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, Joseph W. Burns, A Study of the Antitrust Laws, Their Administration, Interpretation, and Effect, page 36:

Line-drawing is the ordinary business of moralists and lawmakers.

1965, University of Notre Dame, Law School, Natural Law Forum - Volume 10, page 124:

the line-drawing that necessarily takes place is informed by an inquiry into what posture best effectuates the dual purposes of the treble damage remedy

1979, United States Congress, House, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Monopolies and Commercial Law, Restoring Effective Enforcement of the Anti-trust Laws Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Monopolies and Commercial Law of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, First Session, on H.R. 2060 and H.R 2204 and Other Proposals ... February 27, March 7, and April 10, 1979, page 403:

In such line drawing, perhaps more clearly than anywhere else, the law has revealed its hidden image of a person: A person is a rational being, a being who acts for intelligible ends in light of rational beliefs.

1984, Michael S. Moore, Law and Psychiatry - Rethinking the Relationship, page 66:

This process is frequently described as a "line drawing" or a "balancing" process.

1990, Jeremy Cohen, Timothy Gleason, Social Research in Communication and Law, page 30:

Everywhere there developed a critique that sought to transform differences of kind into differences of degree and to see the world not as a series of mutually exclusive black-white bright-line boundaries requiring intellectual on-off switches but rather as a series of continua involving shades of gray requiring line drawing.

1994, Morton J. Horwitz, The Transformation of American Law, 1870-1960 - The Crisis of Legal Orthodoxy:

Some lawyers describe the application of law to facts by using the metaphor of line drawing: by adopting a rule, the lawyer draws a line between two categories of factual situations.

1996, Kenneth J. Vandevelde, Thinking Like a Lawyer - An Introduction to Legal Reasoning:

Experience in both France and England certainly provides good reason to avoid the sort of fruitless jurisdictional line-drawing that accompanies the existence of separate public law adjudicatory bodies and procedures.

2003, Nicholas Bamforth, Peter Leyland (editors), Public Law in a Multi-Layered Constitution:

Similar pressure for such clear line drawing exists in every case where an offender has violated the criminal law's rules of conduct but is blameless for doing so because he is entitled to an excuse defense.

2006, Paul H. Robinson, Michael T. Cahill, Law Without Justice - Why Criminal Law Doesn't Give People What They Deserve, page 109:

But what is crucial here is the very physicality to the act of line drawing, not as an abstract concept that frames imaginations of inside and outside, but rather as a material process that embeds normative ideals of law and justice.

2019, Alex Jeffrey, The Edge of Law - Legal Geographies of a War Crimes Court, pages 60-61:

By now enacting national legislation designed to encourage judicial decision-making, Congress would support the judiciary in performing its constitutionally assigned task of line drawing.

2024, Harold Hongju Koh, The National Security Constitution in the Twenty-First Century:

(US, law, figurative) A specific boundary or limit in regard to prescribing the best legal rule.


run someone's file

en-verb

run someone's file (third-person singular simple present runs someone's file, present participle running someone's file, simple past ran someone's file, past participle run someone's file)

runs someone's file (present singular third-person)
running someone's file (participle present)
ran someone's file (past)
run someone's file (participle past)

(informal, idiomatic, criminology) To search through someone's criminal record.


police impersonation

en-noun

police impersonation (plural police impersonations)

The act of falsely portraying oneself as a member of the police for the purpose of deception.

suplantación policial

Act of falsely portraying oneself as a member of the police


evidence-gathering

(computing, criminology) The collection of potential evidence, which may be present in computer or network logs, on deprecated websites, or the collection of data that is forensically extracted from a computer hard drive.


catch a body

en-verb

catch a body (third-person singular simple present catches a body, present participle catching a body, simple past and past participle caught a body)

catches a body (present singular third-person)
catching a body (participle present)
caught a body (participle past)
caught a body (past)

Niggas be runnin' through the block shootin'
Time to start the revolution, catch a body, head for Houston

1994, Nas (lyrics and music), “N.Y. State of Mind”, in Illmatic:

Mo' money, mo' murder, mo' homicide
You catch that body, nigga? Better have that alibi
You never know, it might just be your time, you take your ride
To them pearly white gates, watch that suicide

1995, AZ featuring Nas (lyrics and music), “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Murder (Homicide)”, in Doe or Die:

(slang, idiomatic, intransitive) to kill, to murder


examining justice

en-noun

examining justice (plural examining justices)

(British, Wales, law) A judge deciding whether there is enough evidence for a case to be brought before the Crown Court.


evidence tampering

evidence tampering (plural evidence tamperings)

(crime) The act of concealing, falsifying, or destroying evidence with the intent to interfere with an investigation.

inquinamento delle prove

act of manipulating evidence to interfere with an investigation


police escort

(law enforcement) A service offered by police and law enforcement to assist in transporting important individuals or resources.


examining magistrate

examining magistrate (plural examining magistrates)

inquisitorial system
inquisitorial system

(law) A judge in an inquisitorial system of law who carries out pre-trial investigations into allegations of crime and in some cases makes a recommendation for prosecution.

onderzoeksrechter

judge who carries out pre-trial investigations


party van

Attested 2006 in a comic posted on 4chan: FBI agents trick Anonymous into opening his door by claiming they are the “4chan party van”.

As ban puts it, "This is our razor-thin disclaimer which protects us in real-life" from what /b/tards refer to as "a ride in the FBI party van."

2008 January 18, Julian Dibbell, “Mutilated Furries, Flying Phalluses: Put the Blame on Griefers, the Sociopaths of the Virtual World”, in Wired:

Who needs the FBI party van when you can just order CALEA take out?

2014 September 5, Sean Gallagher, “When NSA and FBI call for surveillance takeout, these companies deliver”, in Ars Technica:

(Internet slang, humorous) An FBI or other law enforcement van, especially if carrying agents coming to arrest someone for cybercrime.


inquest of office

inquest of office (plural inquests of office)

(UK, law, historical) An inquest undertaken on occasions when the Crown claimed the right of possession to land or property.


no fixed abode

(law) Not having a fixed geographical location as a residence.


sleeping power

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(politics, law, chiefly in the plural) A power which is unused, or which has not been exercised for a long time; especially one which is extensive, but little-known.


ECCC

w:Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

crimes against humanity
crimes against humanity

(international law) Abbreviation of Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, a Cambodian war tribunal that tries Khmer Rouge leaders for various crimes against humanity


CEDAW

w:Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

(international law) Abbreviation of Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.


benchbook

A manual on legal procedure prepared for judges for use in court.


parents' rights

(international law) Civil rights movement interested in human rights affecting parents related to family law.


compelled speech

Coordinate term: free speech

(law) A transmission of expression required by law.


sex trafficking

(law, crime, sociology) Human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.


culpa lata

From Latin culpa (“blame”) + lata, feminine form of latus (“extensive”).


culpa levis

From Latin culpa (“blame”) + levis (“light”).


life-sentenced

(law) Of a person, having received a life sentence.


police report

(law, law enforcement) A formal documentation of an incident that occurs and is recorded by a police officer.


Sewel Convention

Named after British politician John Sewel, Baron Sewel.

named-after

(Scotland, law) The British policy that the Parliament of the United Kingdom will generally not legislate for Scotland in respect of devolved matters without the consent of Scottish Parliament.


friend of the court

en-noun

friend of the court (plural friends of the court)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-friend of the court.wav

He did not know whether Mr. Henry appeared as the friend of the Court, or in behalf of the State.

1867 December 15, “Contempt. Proceedings of the Criminal Court Yesterday”, in The Daily Memphis Avalanche, page 2:

Finally, the two Third Circuit cases cited by the friends of the Court have, as they themselves say, been legislatively overruled.

1948, United States Court of Appeals For the Ninth Circuit, No. 12027 Estate of Frank K. Sullivan […] v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, page 12:

the Union and its affiliates across the nation intervened — through test suits and friend of the court briefs, through educational programs, and through public statements of policy and protest.

1958 January 2, American Civil Liberties Union, News Release, New York:

Thus far, these pronuclear public interest law firms have usually contributed friend-of-the-court briefs to existing litigation, rather than filing suits themselves.

1980, Constance Ewing Cook, Nuclear Power and Legal Advocacy, page 23:

(law, US, Canada) Amicus curiae, a person or organization allowed to argue in court who is not a party to the legal action.


kill kit

(crime, criminology) A collection of items, often including duct tape, rope, handcuffs, knives, and guns, usually kept out of sight, and used by criminals to commit a murder, or other violent act.


written record

(law) A written document containing a piece of information or a description of an event that is recorded on paper.


police record

(law, criminology) A file held by the police, containing a record of the past crimes of which someone has been suspected of or convicted.


attorney record

attorney record (plural attorney records)

A new attorney file is created by adding the corresponding case record to every attorney record. The attorney records for which there is no case record are dropped.

1970, Mitre Corporation, Automobile Accident Litigation - A Report of the Federal Judicial Center to the Department of Transportation, page 335:

(law) The documentation or information that an attorney maintains about a case or client, such as case files, correspondence, evidence, notes, etc.


case file

All the correspondence regarding the case can also be filed directly in the case file, thus making it possible to have a complete history of the case at hand whenever the case is being looked up.

1896, New York. State School, Rome, Annual Report of the Board of Managers of the Rome State Custodial Asylum At Rome, N.Y., Issues 1-12, page 62:

he had gone into the case, seen the case file, and knew that the coroner and police investigations had identified the drowned child of so many years age as her son.

1957, Gwendoline Butler, Coffin on the Water, page 62:

A typical case file contains the following types of documents: agreement to arbitrate, correspondences regarding the selection of arbitrators, digest of case, transcript of proceedings of the arbitration board, exhibits, award, and related correspondence.

1974, Mary-Jane M. Dowd (editor and compiler), Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the National Mediation Board Record Group 13, page 33:

(law, medicine) A file detailing a legal or medical case.


hard cases make bad law

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(law) An extreme case is a poor basis for a general law that would cover a wider range of less extreme cases.

(law) A general law is better drafted for the average circumstance.


make a case

en-verb

make a case (third-person singular simple present makes a case, present participle making a case, simple past and past participle made a case)

makes a case (present singular third-person)
making a case (participle present)
made a case (participle past)
made a case (past)

(law, idiomatic) To argue for a set of facts or arguments in support of one side in a legal case.


shot-drill

(historical) A form of nonproductive penal labor in which prisoners are forced to carry cannonballs back and forth while stooped over.


found-in

Twenty-five-year-old Garnet Plum was convicted of being a found-in in a common bawdyhouse.

1981 December 27, “Accused Of Becoming An Activist”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 23, page 2:

He was charged with being a "found-in, without lawful excuse" because of his presence at a party where the person giving the party was convicted of serving liquor to a person who was already intoxicated.

1999 10, David Vanek, Fulfilment: Memoirs of a Criminal Court Judge, Dundurn, →ISBN, page 260:

Arrested as found-ins and charged as “public vagabonds and Bawds” were his son Joseph, his daughter Mary, his son-in-law Anthony Billow (alias Beleau, Bellew, Bellow, Bellows, etc.), and Jane Graham, wife of Henry Garret, a black woman arrested several times as a prostitute.

2010, Frank Mackey, Done with Slavery: The Black Fact in Montreal, 1760-1840, page 243:

(law, historical) One who is known to have been present in a brothel or other illegal establishment, regardless of whether they were actively engaging in illegal activities.


police lieutenant

en-noun

police lieutenant (plural police lieutenants)

(law enforcement) A police rank in the police departments of certain nations.


police sergeant

police sergeant (plural police sergeants)

(law enforcement) A rank of law enforcement who supervises officers and handles daily precinct operations.


police jury

(US, law enforcement) The most common type of governing body for a parish in the state of Louisiana.


police van

(law enforcement) A type of vehicle operated by a police force, usually employed for the transport of prisoners inside a specially adapted cell.


police captain

(law enforcement) A high-level officer in a police department who is usually responsible for an entire district or precinct.


security police

security police (plural security police)

(law enforcement) A law enforcement agency focusing primarily on providing security and law enforcement services to a particular area or a specific property.


chief of police

chief of police (plural chiefs of police)

(law enforcement) The title given to an appointed official or an elected one of the highest rank in a police department.


police constable

police constable (plural police constables)

(law enforcement) A law enforcement officer of the lowest rank.


police squad

(law enforcement) A small squad of law enforcement officers who are trained to deal with a particular kind of crime.


police precinct

police precinct (plural police precincts)

(law enforcement) A geographical area patrolled by a police force.


police headquarters

police headquarters (plural police headquarters)

(law enforcement) A station serving as a headquarters for police in a particular district.


vis compulsiva

(law) A force that is used to make a person carry out an action against their will.


in contempt

(law) The willful disobedience to or open disrespect of a court, judge, or legislative body.


most wanted

most wanted (countable and uncountable, plural most wanteds)

(crime, law enforcement) A list of criminals and alleged criminals who are believed to be at large and are identified as a law enforcement agency's highest priority for capture.


general counsel

general counsel (plural general counsels)

(law) The chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department.


private attorney general

private attorney general (plural private attorney generals)

(law) An attorney who brings a lawsuit advocating it to be in the public interest on behalf of a citizen or group of citizens.


process of green wax

(law, historical, obsolete) The act or issue of a server of green wax.