Legal Term Dictionary

In English law. The commission received for carrying over or putting off the time of. execution of a contract to deliver stocks or pay for them at a certain time. Wharton.

In English law. The commission received for carrying over or putting off the time of. execution of a contract to deliver stocks or pay for them at a certain time. Wharton. Less...

L. Fr. A contest, dispute, disturbance, opposition. Britt c. 42; Kelham. Conteckours; brawlers; disturbers of the peace. Britt c. 29.

L. Fr. A contest, dispute, disturbance, opposition. Britt c. 42; Kelham. Conteckours; brawlers; disturbers of the peace. Britt c. 29. Less...

One who has committed contempt of court Wyatt v. People, 17 Colo. 252, 28 Pac. 961.

One who has committed contempt of court Wyatt v. People, 17 Colo. 252, 28 Pac. 961. Less...

The act of the mind in considering with attention. Continued attention of the mind to a particular subject. Consideration of an act or series of acts with the intention of doing or adopting them. The consideration of an event or state of facts with the expectation that it will transpire. More...

The act of the mind in considering with attention. Continued attention of the mind to a particular subject. Consideration of an act or series of acts with the intention of doing or adopting them. The consideration of an event or state of facts with the expectation that it will transpire. —Contemplation of bankruptcy. Contemplation of the breaking up of one's business or an inability to continue it; knowledge of, and action with reference to, a condition of bankruptcy or ascertained insolvency, coupled with an intention to commit what the law declares to be an "act of bankruptcy," or to make provision against the consequences of insolvency, or to defeat the general distribution of assets which would take place under a proceeding in bankruptcy. Jones v. Howland, 8 Mete. (Mass.) 384, 41 Am. Dec. 525; Paulding v. Steel Co., 94 N. X. 339; In re Duff (D. C.) 4 Fed. 519; Morgan v. Brand re tt, 5 Barn. & Aid. 289; Win-sor v. Kendall, 30 Fed. Cas. 322; Buckingham v. McLean, 13 How. 167, 14 L. Ed. 90; In re Carmichael (D. C.) 96 Fed. 594.—Contemplation of death. The apprehension or expectation of approaching dissolution; not that general expectation which every mortal entertains, hut the apprehension which arises from some presently existing sickness or physical condition or from some impending danger. As applied to transfers of property, the phrase- "in contemplation of death is practically equivalent to "causa mortis." In re Cornell's Estate, 66 App. Div. 162, 73 N. Y. Supp. 32; In re Edgerton's Estate, 35 App. Div. 125, 54 N. Y. Supp. 700; In re Baker s Estate, 83 App. Div. 530, 82 N. Y. Supp. 390.—Contemplation of insolvency. Knowledge of, and action with reference to, an existing or contemplated state of insolvency, with a design to make provision against its results or to defeat the operation of the insolvency laws. Robinson v. Bank, 21 N. Y. 411; Paulding v. Steel Co., 94 N. Y. 338; Heroy v. Kerr. 21 How. Prac. 420; Anstedt v. Bentfey, 61 Wis. 629, 21 N. W. 807. Less...

Lat. Contemporaneous exposition, or construction; a construction drawn from the time when, and the circumstances under which, the subject-matter to be construed, as a statute or custom, originated. Contemporanea expositio est optima ot fortissima in logo. Contemporaneous exposition is the best and strongest in the law. 2 Inst 11. A More...

Lat. Contemporaneous exposition, or construction; a construction drawn from the time when, and the circumstances under which, the subject-matter to be construed, as a statute or custom, originated. Contemporanea expositio est optima ot fortissima in logo. Contemporaneous exposition is the best and strongest in the law. 2 Inst 11. A statute is best explained by following the construction put upon it by judges who lived at the time It was made, or soon after. 10 Coke, 70; Broom, Max. 682. Less...

Contumacy; a willful disregard of the authority of a court of'justice or legislative body or disobedience to its lawful orders. Contempt of court is committed by a person who does any act in willful contravention of its authority or dignity, or tending to impede or frustrate the administration of justice, More...

Contumacy; a willful disregard of the authority of a court of'justice or legislative body or disobedience to its lawful orders. Contempt of court is committed by a person who does any act in willful contravention of its authority or dignity, or tending to impede or frustrate the administration of justice, or by one who, being under the court's authority as a party to a proceeding therein, willfully disobeys its lawful orders or fails to comply with an undertaking which he has given. Welch v. Barber, 52 Conn. 147, 52 Am. Rep. 567; Lyon v. Lyon, 21 Conn. 198; Kissel v. Lewis, 27 Ind. App. 302, 01 N. E. 209; Yates v. Lansing, 9 Johns. (N. Y.) 395, 6 Am. Dec. 290; Stuart v. People, 4 III. 395; Gandy v. State, 13 Neb. 445, 14 N. W. 143. Classification. Contempts are of two kinds, direct and constructive. Direct contempts are those committed in the immediate view and presence of the court (such as insulting language or acts of violence) or so near the presence of the court as to obstruct or interrupt the due and orderly course of proceedings. These are punishable summarily. They are also called "criminal" contempts, but that term is better used in contrast with "civil" contempts. See infra. Ex parte Wright 65 Ind. 508; State v. McClaugherty, 33 W. Va. 250, 10 S. E. 407; State v. Shepherd. 177 Mo. 205, 76 S. W. 79, 99 Am. St Rep. 624; Indianapolis Water Co. v. American Strawboard Co. (C. C.) 75 Fed. 975; In re Dill, 32 Kan. 668, 5 Pac. 39, 49 Am. Rep. 505; State v. Hansford. 43 W. Va. 773, 28 S. EL 791; Androscoggin & K. R. Co. v. Androscoggin R. Co., 49 Me. 392. Constructive (or indirect) contempts are those which' arise from matters not occurring in or near the presence of the court, but which tend to obstruct or defeat the administration of justice, and the term is chiefly used with reference to the failure or refusal of a party to obey a lawful order, injunction, or decree of the court laying upon him a duty of action or forbearance. Androscoggin & K. R. Co. v. Androscoggin R. Co., 49 Me. 392; Cooper v. People, 13 Colo. 337, 22 Pac. 790, 6 U R. A. 430; Stuart v. People, 4 111. 395; McMakin v. McMakin, 68 Mo. App. 57. Constructive contempts were formerly called "consequential," and this term is still in occasional use. Contempts are also classed as civil or criminal. The former are those quasi contempts which consist in the failure to do something which the party is ordered by the court to do for the benefit or advantage of another party to the proceeding before the court, while criminal contempts are acts done in disrespect of the court or its process or which obstruct the administration of justice or tend to bring the court into disrespect. A civil contempt is not an offense against the dignity of the court, but against the party in whose behalf the mandate of the court was issued, and a fine is imposed for his indemnity. But criminal contempts are offenses or injuries offered to the court, and a fine or imprisonment is imposed upon the con-temnor for the purpose of punishment. Wyatt v. People, 17 Colo. 252, 28 Pac 961; People v. McKane, 78 Hun, 154, 28 N. Y. Supp. 981; Schreiber v. Mfg. Co., 18 App. Div. 158, 45 N. Y. Supp. 442: Eaton Rapids v. Homer, 126 Mich. 85 N. W. 264; In re Nevitt, 117 Fed. 448, 54 C. C. A. 622; State v. Shepherd. 177 Mo. 205, 76 & W. 79, 99 Am. St Rep. 624. Less...

Whatever obstructs or tends to obstruct the due course of proceeding of either house, or grossly reflects on the character of a member of either house, or Imputes to him what it would be a libel to impute to an ordinary person, is a contempt of the house, and thereby More...

Whatever obstructs or tends to obstruct the due course of proceeding of either house, or grossly reflects on the character of a member of either house, or Imputes to him what it would be a libel to impute to an ordinary person, is a contempt of the house, and thereby a breach of privilege. Sweet Less...

Lat. Contemptuously. In old English law. Contempt contempts. Fleta, lib. 2, c. 60, § 35.

Lat. Contemptuously. In old English law. Contempt contempts. Fleta, lib. 2, c. 60, § 35. Less...

Contested; adversary; litigated between adverse or contending parties; a judicial proceeding not merely ex parte in its character, but comprising attack and defense as between opposing parties, is so called. The litigious proceedings in ecclesiastical courts are sometimes said to belong to its "contentious" jurisdiction, in contradistinction to what is More...

Contested; adversary; litigated between adverse or contending parties; a judicial proceeding not merely ex parte in its character, but comprising attack and defense as between opposing parties, is so called. The litigious proceedings in ecclesiastical courts are sometimes said to belong to its "contentious" jurisdiction, in contradistinction to what is called its "voluntary" jurisdiction, which is exercised in the granting of licenses, probates of wills, dispensations, faculties, etc —Contentious jurisdiction. In English ecclesiastical law. That branch of the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts which is exercised upon adversary or contentious proceedings. —Contentious possession. In stating the rule that the possession of land necessary to give rise to a title by prescription must be a "contentious" onet it is meant that it must be based on opposition to the title of the rival claimant (not in recognition thereof or subordination thereto) and that the opposition must be based on good grounds, or such as might be made the subject of litigation. Railroad Co. v. McFarlan, 43 N. J. Law, 621. Less...

A man's countenance or credit which he has together with, and by reason of, his freehold; or that which is necessary for the support and maintenance of men, agreeably to their several qualities or states of life. Wharton; Cowell.

A man's countenance or credit which he has together with, and by reason of, his freehold; or that which is necessary for the support and maintenance of men, agreeably to their several qualities or states of life. Wharton; Cowell. Less...