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The People’s Law Dictionary Taking The Mystery Out of Legal Language • A to Z listing of all the legal terms you will ever need • Includes the Constitution of the United States of America • Explains all of the major Supreme Court decisions Gerald N. Hill Kathleen Thompson Hill } “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice every- where.” —Martin Luther King, Jr., from page 149. Law is one of humanity’s most magnificent cre- ations. The idea that human beings can agree upon a set of rules which govern their conduct and apply to all equally is the bedrock of modern democratic civilization. As Samuel Johnson said, the law is “the last result of human wisdom acting upon human experience for the benefit of the public.” Unfortunately, legal language is rarely understood by anyone but lawyers. There’s nothing new about this. In 1748, Montesquieu wrote that “the lan- guage of the laws should be simple.” More than two thousand years ago, the Greek playwright Aeschylus warned that “wrong must not win on technicalities.” Today, legal language is even more complex, while the need to understand it is greater than ever. Even a house closing involves agreements, acknowledgements, and warranties in legal jargon worthy of a merger between two major corpora- tions. The law touches everyone. We all will deal with some form of legal document and legal pro- ceeding: a purchase agreement, an employment contract, an auto loan, or perhaps most impor- tantly, a will. The law has also become increasingly popular as a form of mass entertainment. Legal thrillers are best sellers; legal TV shows fill the airwaves; live coverage of major trials spotlights attorneys and judges sparring under rules and in language we long to understand. This dictionary demystifies legal language. Every definition is written simply and clearly and put in a real-life context. Easy-to-access definitions are followed by further explanations, examples, pro- nunciation guides and references to related terms. The People’s Law Dictionary includes terms you may be familiar with, terms you thought you knew but really didn’t, and terms you’ve never heard of but need to know. Browsing through it, you’ll learn a wealth of fascinating facts and continued on back flap The People’s Law Dictionary Taking The Mystery Out of Legal Language Gerald N. Hill Kathleen Thompson Hill MJF BOOKS NEW YORK I The information in this book is complete and true to the best of our knowledge. The authors and publisher disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book. Published by MJF Books Fine Communications 322 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10001 The People 's Law Dictionary LC Control Number 2002106264 ISBN 1-56731-553-4 Copyright © 1995, 1997, 2002 by Gerald N. Hill & Kathleen Thompson Hill Previously published as Real Life Dictionary ofthe Law This edition published by arrangement with Gerald N. Hill & Kathleen Thompson Hill All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Manufactured in the United States of America on acid-free paper oo MJF Books and the MJF colophon are trademarks of Fine Creative Media, Inc. BG 10 98765432 1 The language of the law must not be foreign to the ears of those who are to obey it. —Judge Learned Hand The language of laws should be simple; directness is always better than elaborate wording. —Charles Louis de Montesquieu INTRODUCTION. 9 DEFINITIONS APPENDICES I. The Constitution of the United States of America 439 II. The American Court System 457 III. Major Supreme Court Decisions 461 IV. North American and State Bar Associations 465 V. Legal Trivia 469 VI. Top Legal Films 473 The language of law often appears to be much like the hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt devised by the priests to keep knowledge of the rites of the temple from the people. To an extent, that suspicion is true, since no one will pay for common knowledge. However, the fact that legal definitions are spe- cial, obscure and confusing is also due to historic accident, the multiplicity of their sources, and the increasing complexity of modern life. The people s need to comprehend legal meanings is far more than mere curiosity. In today s world it is a public necessity. This dictionary intends to demystify and clarify the language of the law for all people. The definitions are put into real life context, so that they do not just stand alone on the printed page, unconnected to reality. Where necessary there are explanations beyond the mere definitions, with illustrations, exam- ples, phonic pronunciation and internal definitions so that the reader need not search from one definition to another for meaning. To remove the veil of mystery is not easy, but necessary in a democracy in which the law is constantly demanding attention, from an apartment lease to a permit for a street dance, a speeding ticket to a class action for victims of a faulty product. Since the invention of the photocopier (now followed by the FAX and down-loaded E-mails) this has become a paper-driven society, in which the public is flooded with documentation. The closing of a sale of a house involves agreements, acknowledgments and warranties in legal jargon worthy of a merger of two major corporations a generation ago. Trials, particularly involving crime, are often high drama attracting great attention (hence the list of leading legal films in the Appendix). Fictional law firms as well as actual high-profile cases are brought directly from court- room to living room via television, with the lawyers and judges sparring under rules and in language which the public wants to understand. The reliance on Latin, and occasionally French, lingers from the past as the special province of lawyers. While phrases like ab initio and res ipsa loquitur are handy shorthand for attorneys, they serve to isolate the public from understanding the meanings of the law. And in their wake comes the lingo of the tax expert which confounds all but the specially trained. Readily understood definitions in English can assist in breaking down these language barriers. The present craving for simplicity, common sense and common knowledge of the meanings of legal language is not new. Thus the Greek playwright Aeschylus calls out from the fifth century before Christ that wrong must not I win on technicalities, and Montesquieu wrote in 1748 that the language of laws should be simple. The People s Law Dictionary fulfills the general public s right to understand legal language. It also provides the thousands of law students a ready reference to assist them in their formidable task of absorbing the lore of law. The same is true of the legion of paralegals and legal secretaries who make law offices effective. And every lawyer can benefit from this single-vol- ume source of simply worded, self-contained legal definitions which do not require further research. In sum, our contribution to legal understanding is based on Samuel Johnson s definition of the law as the last result of human wisdom acting upon human experience for the benefit of the public. Gerald N. Hill Kathleen Thompson Hill THE INTERPRETER: O R BOOKE, CONTAINING the Signification of Words. Wherein is fit forth the true meaning ofall, or the moft part of fitch words and Tcrmes, as are mentioned in the Law Writers, or Statutes of chit victorious and renowned Kingdom, requiring any Expafitie* or Interpretation. A Worke not onely profitable, but ncccfiary for fuch as defire throughly to be inftrudtcd in die knowledge of our Lawes, Sucutcs, or other Antiquities. Colle&ed by John Cowell, Doctor, fometnrie the Kings Majefties Profcflbur the CivillLair in the Univerfitic In begum okfcurihUe ceptio. LONDON, Printed for William Shearei. \6yj. i The title page to one of the earliest legal dictionaries, Cowell’s Interpreter, which had a very rocky beginning. John Cowell, professor of law at Cambridge University, originally published this pioneer work in 1607. However, Parliament found the book politically incorrect since some of the definitions upheld the King’s absolute power. So, in 1610, Parliament ordered The Interpreter “suppressed” and all copies burned. Dr. Cowell lost his professorship and the next year he died. His dictionary was not reprinted until 1637. To the memory of our fathers RAYMOND TEAL HILL and GEORGE EDWARD THOMPSON DEFINITIONS A-Z abandon: v. to intentionally and abandonment: n. the act of intention- permanently give up, surrender, ally and permanently giving up, sur- leave, desert or relinquish all in- rendering, deserting or relinquishing terest or ownership in property, a property, premises, a right of way, a home or other premises, a right of ship, contract rights, a spouse and/or way, and even a spouse, family, or children. Abandonment of a spouse children. The word is often used in means intent at permanent separa- situations to determine whether a tion, and with children a lengthy peri- tenant has left his/her apartment od of neither contact nor any support. and the property inside and does In maritime law abandonment has a not intend to come back. Thus, a special meaning: when an owner sur- landlord can take over an appar- renders a ship and its contents to a ently abandoned residence, but trustee for the benefit of claimants, must store anything a tenant particularly after a wreck. If one in- leaves behind and give notice to vents something and does not get a the tenant before selling the pos- patent but allows others to use the in- sessions which are left.