180620 Informed Consent 2 Assessing Validity Capacity and Necessity

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

180620 Informed Consent 2 Assessing Validity Capacity and Necessity Copyright EMAP Publishing 2018 This article is not for distribution Clinical Practice Keywords Decision making/Mental Capacity Act/Best interests Discussion This article has been Consent double-blind peer reviewed In this article... l Different ways in which consent can be given and what makes it valid l Importance of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in relation to obtaining patient consent l Circumstances when treatment can be given lawfully in the absence of consent Informed consent 2: assessing validity, capacity and necessity Key points Author Helen Taylor is visiting lecturer at the University of Birmingham and freelance Consent may be writer on health law. explicit or implied and patients may Abstract Nurses need to obtain their patient’s consent before giving any treatment. communicate their This is the general rule, but the issue of consent is much more complex than that. consent verbally, How is consent given? How can you prove that it has been given? How do you decide non-verbally or whether or not to administer treatment to someone who is unable to give consent? in writing The first article in this two-part series explored the legal principles behind informed consent and discussed why valid consent is not only required by law, but also The validity of fundamental to the provision of good-quality, person-centred care. This second consent depends on article goes on to explore what makes consent valid, how it can be obtained, and in the circumstances in what circumstances treatment may proceed lawfully without the patient’s consent – which it is given, not which has been clarified by the Mental Capacity Act 2005. on its form Citation Taylor H (2018) Informed consent 2: assessing validity, capacity and It is good practice necessity. Nursing Times [online]; 114: 7, 50-52. to record evidence that the patient has consented s explained in the first article in other intervention that is planned. Patients to treatment this two-part series, nurses may signal their consent in a variety of need to obtain their patient’s ways: verbally or non-verbally, orally or in The Mental Capacity Aconsent before giving any care writing, in an implied or an explicit way. Act 2005 provides a or administering any treatment. Valid and An example of implicit consent would be legal framework for informed patient consent is not only a pro- when a patient voluntarily offers their decision making fessional obligation but also an ethical and wrist to have their pulse checked. The when a patient legal one, and its principles and parame- validity of consent does not depend on the is unable to make ters have been redefined by recent case law form in which it is given, but on the cir- a decision (Taylor, 2018). cumstances in which it is given. Having established the need for patient The General Medical Council (GMC) It may be lawful to consent, it is now important to consider (2008) says that “in the case of minor or treat a patient how patients may give consent, how routine investigations or treatments, if without their nurses may provide evidence of consent, you are satisfied that the patient under- consent – for and how to manage situations in which a stands what you propose to do and why, it example, in an patient is not able to give consent. This is usually enough to have oral or implied emergency situation second article in the series discusses what consent”. When interventions are more or if the patient makes consent valid, how to assess a complex or carry with them a greater risk, lacks decision- patient’s ability to give consent, and in written consent will be necessary to pro- making capacity which situations treatment may be given vide clarity on what has been discussed lawfully in the absence of consent. and for what exactly consent has been granted. The GMC underlines that written Validity of consent consent from a patient is needed if: The way in which consent may be given l The investigation or treatment is will depend on the type of treatment or complex or involves significant risks; Nursing Times [online] July 2018 / Vol 114 Issue 7 50 www.nursingtimes.net Copyright EMAP Publishing 2018 This article is not for distribution Clinical Practice Discussion Inability to make decisions According to the 2005 MCA, “a person lacks capacity in relation to a matter if at the material time he is unable to make a decision for himself in relation to the matter because of an impairment of, or a disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain”. Box 2 sets out how it defines inability to make decisions. The assessment of mental capacity is decision specific. Simply because a person lacks capacity to make one decision (for example, whether to take antibiotic treat- ment for a chest infection), it should not be assumed that they lack capacity to make other decisions (for example, whether to take a bath). Also, capacity may fluctuate, so the assessment of mental capacity is time limited. Even if a person lacks capacity to make a certain decision at a particular time, it does not follow that they will never again have capacity to make that decision in the future. In some circumstances, written consent must be obtained before treatment can commence Who should assess mental l There may be significant consequences “Nurses must be able capacity? for the patient’s employment, or social Who is responsible for assessing a patient’s or personal life; to justify their actions” mental capacity depends on the type of l Providing clinical care is not the decision being made (Taylor, 2014). The primary purpose of the investigation consent. The court will consider the issue general rule is that it will be whoever will or treatment; as a question of fact – was valid consent be making the decision on the patient’s l The treatment is part of a research given? An example is Connelly v Croyden behalf. For routine personal and nursing programme or is an innovative Health Services NHS Trust [2015] EWHC interventions, this would usually be the treatment designed specifically for 1339 (Q.B.) (Bit.ly/ConnellyCase). [the patient’s] benefit. Box 1. Mental Capacity Act: Furthermore, the Human Fertilisation and A game changer – the 2005 underpinning principles Embryology Act 1990 (Bit.ly/EmbryologyAct) Mental Capacity Act stipulates the legal requirement that Before the 2005 Mental Capacity Act (MCA) l A person must be assumed to have written consent is to be obtained for certain (Bit.ly/MCA2005) came into force in 2007, capacity unless it is established that treatments, such as fertility treatments. the law was not entirely clear on how to he lacks capacity lawfully administer treatment to a patient l A person is not to be treated as Evidence of consent who was not able to provide consent. There unable to make a decision unless all Written consent is not, on its own, suffi- was no scope for consent to be given on a practicable steps to help him to do so cient evidence that the consent was patient’s behalf. There were no criteria or have been taken without success informed and given freely. As highlighted procedures for taking a patient’s wishes l A person is not to be treated as by the Department of Health (DH) and preferences into account. In these cir- unable to make a decision merely (2009), “written consent merely serves as cumstances, care often proceeded on an because he makes an unwise evidence of consent: if the elements of uncertain legal basis. decision voluntariness, appropriate information The MCA has given us a statutory frame- l An act done, or decision made, under and capacity have not been satisfied, a work for decision making when a person’s this act for or on behalf of a person signature on a form will not make the mental capacity to make a decision – who lacks capacity must be done, or consent valid”. including consenting to treatment – is ques- made, in his best interests Should a situation arise in which, for tioned. Box 1 lists the five underpinning l Before the act is done, or the decision example, a patient alleges that treatment principles of the MCA. As well as a basis for is made, regard must be had to has been given without their consent, it patients to make valid advance decisions to whether the purpose for which it is would be the patient’s responsibility as the refuse treatment (ADRTs), the MCA pro- needed can be as effectively claimant (Abrath v The North Eastern vides a framework for making decisions on achieved in a way that is less Railway Company [1883] 11 Q.B.D 440) – or, behalf of a patient who has been deemed to restrictive of the person’s rights and in a criminal case, the prosecution’s lack decision-making capacity, including freedom of action responsibility (R v Donovan [1934] 2 KB lasting power of attorney and court- Source: Mental Capacity Act 2005 SPL 498) – to prove that they had not given appointed deputies. Nursing Times [online] July 2018 / Vol 114 Issue 7 51 www.nursingtimes.net Copyright EMAP Publishing 2018 This article is not for distribution Clinical Practice For more articles on mental health, go to Discussion nursingtimes.net/mentalhealth nurse planning to deliver that care (Ruck Box 2. Mental Capacity Act: EWHC 3147 (QB) (Bit.ly/GallardoCase) and Keene et al, 2014; Taylor, 2014; Department inability to make decisions Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board for Constitutional Affairs, 2007). However, [2015] UKSC 11 (Bit.ly/MontgomeryCase). when it comes to more complex decisions l A person is unable to make a The first article in this series estab- – notably in end-of-life care – it may be decision for himself if he is unable: lished that nurses must obtain valid con- necessary to apply to the Court of Protec- l To understand the information sent from the patient before proceeding tion, first to decide whether or not the relevant to the decision with treatment or any other intervention.
Recommended publications
  • The Climate Necessity Defense: Proof and Judicial Error in Climate Protest Cases
    The Climate Necessity Defense: Proof and Judicial Error in Climate Protest Cases Lance N. Long Ted Hamilton* I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 58 II. ATTEMPTS TO ASSERT THE CLIMATE NECESSITY DEFENSE ............. 61 III. THE COMMON AND STATUTORY LAW OF NECESSITY ...................... 69 A. Development of the Necessity Defense .................................. 69 B. Recent Uses of the Necessity Defense .................................... 74 IV. THE CASE FOR CLIMATE NECESSITY—AND WHERE THE COURTS ARE GETTING IT WRONG ........................................................................ 78 A. Choice of Evils ...................................................................... 81 B. Causation .............................................................................. 84 C. Imminence ............................................................................ 89 D. Reasonable Legal Alternatives ............................................... 96 E. Direct vs. Indirect Civil Disobedience .................................. 104 F. The Right to a Jury .............................................................. 108 1. The Right to Have Facts Heard by a Jury ....................... 108 2. The Right to Present a Complete Defense ...................... 110 V. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................... 115 * Lance N. Long is a Professor of Law at Stetson University College of Law. Ted Hamilton is a co-founder and staff attorney
    [Show full text]
  • Right to Self-Defence in National and International Law: the Role of the Imminence Requirement
    "I KNOW NOT WITH WHAT WEAPONS WORLD WAR Im WILL BE FOUGHT, BUT WORLD WAR IV WILL BE FOUGHT WITH SUCKS AND STONES." EINSTEIN1 THE RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENCE IN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LAW: THE ROLE OF THE IMMINENCE REQUIREMENT Onder Bakircioglu* This article explores the doctrine of self-defence within the context of the challenges directed at the imminence requirement, from the perspective of both national and international law. The article will attempt to illustrate that the requirement of imminence underlines the political character of the self-defence doctrine wherein private force may only be resorted to in the absence of institutional protection. This study will argue that the imminence rule can not merely be regarded as a "proxy" for establishing necessity; rather, the elements of imminence, necessity, and proportionality are inextricably connected to ensure that defensive force is only resorted to when national or international authorities are not in a position to prevent an illegal aggression, and that the defensive lethal force is not abused. INTRODUCTION The September 11 attacks aroused controversy as to whether anticipatory or pre-emptive self-defence 2 is allowed under customary international law, and if so, under what circumstances. Following the devastating attacks on New York and Washington, the 2002 National Security Strategy (NSS) made it clear that the United States would act unilaterally to protect its security against "emerging threats before they are fully formed."3 This approach signified a radical departure from the collective security system by the sole existing super power. Indeed, while the right to national self-defence has been recognized as an inherent right of states since the very emergence of international law, * Onder Bakircioglu, Lecturer in Law, Queen's University Belfast.
    [Show full text]
  • Legislating the Necessity Defense in Criminal Law
    Denver Law Review Volume 52 Issue 4 Article 4 March 2021 Legislating the Necessity Defense in Criminal Law Lawrence P. Tiffany Carl A. Anderson Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/dlr Recommended Citation Lawrence P. Tiffany & Carl A. Anderson, Legislating the Necessity Defense in Criminal Law, 52 Denv. L.J. 839 (1975). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Denver Law Review at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Denver Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. LEGISLATING THE NECESSITY DEFENSE IN CRIMINAL LAW By LAWRENCE P. TIFFANY,* CARL A. ANDERSON** INTRODUCTION The necessity, or choice of evils, defense has not been raised very frequently. This is, no doubt, partly due to the relative rarity of such situations and to the fact that police and prosecutors screen out most of those cases that do come to their attention. The importance of this body of law, however, may increase as recodification of criminal law spreads. About 24 new criminal codes have been adopted in the past dozen years, and almost as many are in the legislative process. Many of these new codes have a section dealing with the necessity defense. This analysis is based largely on these new statutes and proposals, whether or not they have been enacted, as they are likely to be interpreted in light of the existing, but rather meager, case law of this defense.' *Professor of Law, University of Denver College of Law; A.B., 1961, LL.B., 1963, Washington University; S.J.D., 1967, University of Wisconsin.
    [Show full text]
  • Self-Defense Without Imminence
    ARTICLES SELF-DEFENSE WITHOUT IMMINENCE Fritz Allhoff* ABSTRACT The doctrine of self-defense allows that otherwise criminal force can be justi®ed so long as the actor reasonably believes its use necessary to protect against imminent and unlawful attack. Supposing that the force is necessary to dispel the attack, why the further requirement that the attack is imminent? The restriction precludes the use of force which, ex hypothesi, is the only way that the actor could defend himself. This Article surveys and critiques the rationale for the imminence requirement, arguing that it should be jettisoned in favor of a more expansive conception of self-defense. While the focus is on domestic law, the paper concludes by gesturing towards implications for international law as well, particularly with regards to preventive war (i.e., war against non-imminent threats). I. IMMINENCE AND NECESSITY Self-defense has long been taken to justify an otherwise illicit use of force. William Blackstone, characterizing the eighteenth-century common law of England, provided: [I]f the party himself, or any of these his relations, be forcibly attacked in his person or property, it is lawful for him to repel force by force; and the breach of the peace, which happens, is chargeable upon him only who began the affray. For the law, in this case, respects the passions of the human mind; and ... makes it lawful in him to do himself that immediate justice, to which he is prompted by nature, and which no prudential motives are strong enough to restrain. It considers that the future process of law is by no means an adequate remedy for injuries accompanied with force; since it is impossible to say, to * Fritz Allhoff, J.D., Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Western Michigan University.
    [Show full text]
  • Section Viii of Liberty and Necessity
    SECTION VIII OF LIBERTY AND NECESSITY PART I IT might reasonably be expected in questions which have been canvassed and disputed with great eagerness, since the first origin of science, and philosophy, that the meaning of all the terms, at least, should have been agreed upon among the disputants; and our enquiries, in the course of two thousand years, been able to pass from words to the true and real subject of the controversy. For how easy may it seem to give exact definitions of the terms employed in reasoning, and make these definitions, not the mere sound of words, the object of future scrutiny and examination? But if we consider the matter more narrowly, we shall be apt to draw a quite opposite conclusion. From this circumstance alone, that a controversy has been long kept on foot, and remains still undecided, we may presume that there is some ambiguity in the expression, and that the disputants affix different ideas to the terms employed in the controversy. For as the faculties of the mind are supposed to be naturally alike in every individual; otherwise nothing could be more fruitless than to reason or dispute together; it were impossible, if men affix the same ideas to their terms, that they could so long form different opinions of the same subject; especially when they communicate their views, and each party turn themselves on all sides, in search of arguments which may give them the victory over their antagonists. It is true, if men attempt the discussion of questions which lie entirely beyond the reach of human capacity, such as those concerning the origin of worlds, or the economy of the intellectual system or region of spirits, they may long beat the air in their fruitless contests, and never arrive at any determinate conclusion.
    [Show full text]
  • Defences, Mitigation and Criminal Responsibility
    Chapter 12 Defences, mitigation and criminal responsibility Page Index 1-12-1 Introduction 1-12-2 Part 1 - Defences 1-12-3 General defences 1-12-4 Intoxication/drunkenness due to drugs/alcohol 1-12-4 Self defence 1-12-4 Use of force in prevention of crime 1-12-5 Mistake 1-12-5 Duress 1-12-6 Necessity 1-12-6 Insanity 1-12-6 Automatism 1-12-6 Other defences 1-12-7 Provocation 1-12-7 Alibi 1-12-7 Diminished responsibility 1-12-7 Consent 1-12-7 Superior orders 1-12-7 Part 2 - Mitigation 1-12-9 Part 3 - Criminal responsibility 1-12-10 Intention 1-12-10 Recklessness 1-12-10 Negligence 1-12-10 Lawful excuse or reasonable excuse – the burden of proof 1-12-11 Evidential burden 1-12-11 Lawful excuse 1-12-11 Reasonable excuse 1-12-11 JSP 830 MSL Version 2.0 1-12-1 AL42 35 Chapter 12 Defences, mitigation and criminal responsibility Introduction 1. This chapter is divided into three parts: a. Part 1 - Defences (paragraphs 4 - 28); b. Part 2 - Mitigation (paragraphs 29 - 31); and c. Part 3 - Criminal responsibility (paragraphs 32 - 44). 2. This chapter provides guidance on these matters to those involved in the administration of Service discipline at unit level. Related chapters are Chapter 9 (Summary hearing and activation of suspended sentences of Service detention), Chapter 6 (Investigation, charging and mode of trial), and Chapter 11 (Summary hearing - dealing with evidence). 3. This is not a detailed analysis of the law on the most common defences likely to be put forward by an accused, but when read in conjunction with the chapters mentioned above, should provide enough information for straightforward cases to be dealt with and ensure that staffs can identify when a case should be referred for Court Martial (CM) trial.
    [Show full text]
  • Ayer-Freedom-Necessity.Pdf
    10 A. J Ayer III to this 'feeling' offreedom that some philosophers appeal when they wish, in the supposed interes,ts of morality, to prove that not all human action is A. J. Ayer, causally determined. But if these philosophers are right in their assump- tion that a man cannot be acting freely ifhis action is causally determined, "Freedom and Necessity" then the fact that someone feels free to do, o( not to do, a certain action does not prove that he really is so. It may prove that the .agent does not himself know what it is that makes him act in one way rather than another: A. J Ayer(1910-1989)was a professor at Oxford University and advo- but from the fact that a man is unaware of the causes of his action, it does cated a positivist scientific world view from the 1930s until his death. In not follow that no such causes exist. "Freedom and Necessity" he advocatesa compatibilisttheoryof thesort of So much may be allowed to the determinist; but his belief that all freedom requiredfor moral responsibility. Ayer maintains that when agents human actions are subservient to causal laws still remains to be justified. are under constraint they do not have this sort of freedom. .But since agents !; If, indeed, it is necessary that every event should have a cause, then the "" do act without beingconstrained,they are morally responsiblefor someof "" rule must apply to human behaviour as much as to anything else. But why u: their actions, despite the truth of causal determinism.
    [Show full text]
  • Trust and Fiduciary Duty in the Early Common Law
    TRUST AND FIDUCIARY DUTY IN THE EARLY COMMON LAW DAVID J. SEIPP∗ INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1011 I. RIGOR OF THE COMMON LAW ........................................................... 1012 II. THE MEDIEVAL USE .......................................................................... 1014 III. ENFORCEMENT OF USES OUTSIDE THE COMMON LAW ..................... 1016 IV. ATTENTION TO USES IN THE COMMON LAW ..................................... 1018 V. COMMON LAW JUDGES AND LAWYERS IN CHANCERY ...................... 1022 VI. FINDING TRUST IN THE EARLY COMMON LAW ................................. 1024 VII. THE ATTACK ON USES ....................................................................... 1028 VIII. FINDING FIDUCIARY DUTIES IN THE EARLY COMMON LAW ............. 1034 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 1036 INTRODUCTION Trust is an expectation that others will act in one’s own interest. Trust also has a specialized meaning in Anglo-American law, denoting an arrangement by which land or other property is managed by one party, a trustee, on behalf of another party, a beneficiary.1 Fiduciary duties are duties enforced by law and imposed on persons in certain relationships requiring them to act entirely in the interest of another, a beneficiary, and not in their own interest.2 This Essay is about the role that trust and fiduciary duty played in our legal system five centuries ago and more.
    [Show full text]
  • International Law and to the Interpretation of Treaties
    NOTES AND COMMENTS PRINCIPLES RELEVANT TO THE SCOPE OF A STATE’S RIGHT OF SELF-DEFENSE AGAINST AN IMMINENT OR ACTUAL ARMED ATTACK BY NONSTATE ACTORS By Daniel Bethlehem* There has been an ongoing debate over recent years about the scope of a state’s right of self- defense against an imminent or actual armed attack by nonstate actors. The debate predates the Al Qaeda attacks against the World Trade Center and elsewhere in the United States on September 11, 2001, but those events sharpened its focus and gave it greater operational urgency. While an important strand of the debate has taken place in academic journals and public forums, there has been another strand, largely away from the public gaze, within gov- ernments and between them, about what the appropriate principles are, and ought to be, in respect of such conduct. Insofar as these discussions have informed the practice of states and their appreciations of legality, they carry particular weight, being material both to the crys- tallization and development of customary international law and to the interpretation of treaties. Aspects of these otherwise largely intra- and intergovernmental discussions have periodically become visible publicly through official statements and speeches, evidence to governmental committees, reports of such committees, and similar documents. Other aspects have to be deduced from the practice of states—which, given the sensitivities, is sometimes opaque. In recent years, in a U.S. context, elements of this debate have been illuminated by the public remarks of senior Obama administration legal and counterterrorism officials,1 including Har- old Koh, the Department of State legal adviser,2 John Brennan, the assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism,3 Jeh Johnson, the Department of Defense general * Sir Daniel Bethlehem QC was the principal Legal Adviser of the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office from May 2006 to May 2011.
    [Show full text]
  • The Origins of the Action of Trespass*
    YALE LAW JOURNAL Vol. XXXIV FEBRUARY, 1925 No. 4 THE ORIGINS OF THE ACTION OF TRESPASS* GEORGE E. WooDBINE Once established in the assise of novel disseisin, the idea of the recov- ery of damages soon spread to other fields. This was partly due to the application of the idea to old actions already in existence, but it was more largely the result of the development of new actions in which the recovery of damages played an essential part.' As was to be expected, the old actions, stereotyped as to form before the recovery of damages had become a possibility, quite generally resisted the innovation, which in their case made at best no rapid headway and altogether failed to affect some of them.2 On the other hand there appeared in ever * Continued from the June number, (1924) 33 YALE LAw JotmRAL, 799-816. 'Undoubtedly changes in the economic condition of England should be taken into consideration here. At only a comparatively short time earlier money damages would have been a practical impossibility because of the general lack of money. It was not until the reign of Henry I that the sheriff paid his farm in money instead of in kind. In 1159 Henry II made it possible for the vassal to discharge by money payment part of the military service due tie king. In the next reign many of the towns were able to buy with money charters of liberties from Richard I. In John's reign an increase in the amount of money in England led to a cheapening of money and a rise in prices.
    [Show full text]
  • 2012 Annual National Seminar Materials: Table of Federal Misdemeanors
    Table of Federal Misdemeanors * Title 18: Crimes and Criminal Procedure * Aircraft and Motor Vehicles/Animals, Birds, Fish, and Plants 18:§35(a) Importing or conveying false information 18:§41 Hunting, fishing, trapping; disturbance or injury on wildlife refuges 18:§42(5)(b) Importation or shipment of injurious mammals, birds, fish, amphibia, and reptiles 18:§43(a) Force, violence, and threats involving animal enterprises 18:§46 Transportation of water hyacinths 18:§47 Use of aircraft/motor vehicles to hunt certain wild horses/burros; pollution of watering holes Assault 18:§ 111 Assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees (simple) 18:§11 2(b) Protection of foreign officials, official guests, and internationally protected persons 18:§113(a)(4-5) Assaults within maritime and territorial jurisdiction 18:§115 Influencing, impeding, retaliating against federal official by threats to family member (simple) Bankruptcy 18:§154 Adverse interest and conduct of officers 18:§155 Fee agreements in cases under Title 11 and receiverships 18:§156 Knowing disregard of bankruptcy law or rule Bribery, Graft, and Conflicts ofInterest 18:§201(c) Bribery of public officials and witnesses 18:§203-209 These apply where the defendant "engages" rather than ''willfully engages" in prohibited conduct 18:§210 Offer to procure appointive public office 18;§211 Acceptance or solicitation to obtain appointive public office 18:§212 Offer of loan or gratuity to financial institution examiner 18:§213 Acceptance of loan or gratuity by financial institution
    [Show full text]
  • Black's Law Dictionary®
    BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY® Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern By HENRY CAMPBELL BLACK, M. A. SIXTH EDITION BY THE PUBLISHER'S EDITORIAL STAFF Coauthors JOSEPH R. NOLAN Associate Justice, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and JACQUELINE M. NOLAN-HALEY Associate Clinical Professor, Fordham University School of Law Contributing Authors M. J. CONNOllY Associate Professor (Linguistics), College of Arts & Sciences, Boston College STEPHEN C. HICKS Professor of Law, Suffolk University Law School, Boston, MA MARTINA N. All BRANDI Certified Public Accountant, Bolton, MA ST. PAUL, MINN. WEST PUBLISHING CO. 1990 "BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY" is a registered trademark of West Publishing Co. Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. COPYRIGHT @ 1891, 1910, 1933, 1951, 1957, 1968, 1979 WEST PUBLISHING CO. COPYRIGHT @ 1990 By WEST PUBLISHING CO. 50 West Kellogg Boulevard P.O. Box 64526 St. Paul, Mn 55164-0526 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Black, Henry Campbell, 1850-1927. [Law dictionary] Black's law dictionary / by Henry Campbell Black. - 6th ed. / by the publisher's editorial staff; contributing authors, Joseph R. Nolan ... let al.] p. cm. ISBN 0-314-76271-X 1. Law-United States-Dictionaries. 2. Law-Dictionaries. I. Nolan, Joseph R. II. Title. KF156.B53 1990 340' .03-dc20 90-36225 CIP ISBN 0-314-76271-X ISBN 0-314-77165-4 deluxe Black's Law Dictionary 6th Ed. 2nd Reprint-1990 PREFACE This new Sixth Edition starts a second century for Black's Law Dictionary-the standard authority for legal definitions since 1891.
    [Show full text]