Legal Term Dictionary

A writ addressed to the steward and marshal of England, inhibiting them to take cognizance of an action in their court that concerns freehold. Reg. Orig. 185. Abolished.

A writ addressed to the steward and marshal of England, inhibiting them to take cognizance of an action in their court that concerns freehold. Reg. Orig. 185. Abolished. Less...

In old records. Widowhood. Cowell.

In old records. Widowhood. Cowell. Less...

That peculiar decay of the mental faculties which occurs in extreme old age, and in many cases much earlier, whereby the person is reduced to second childhood, and becomes sometimes wholly Incompetent to enter into any binding contract or even to execute a will. It Is the recurrence of second More...

That peculiar decay of the mental faculties which occurs in extreme old age, and in many cases much earlier, whereby the person is reduced to second childhood, and becomes sometimes wholly Incompetent to enter into any binding contract or even to execute a will. It Is the recurrence of second childhood by mere decay. 1 Redf. Wflls, 63. See INSANITY. Less...

Incapacity to contract arising from the impairment of the Intellectual faculties by old age.

Incapacity to contract arising from the impairment of the Intellectual faculties by old age. Less...

In old English law. Seniors; ancients; elders. A term applied to the great men of the realm. Spelman.

In old English law. Seniors; ancients; elders. A term applied to the great men of the realm. Spelman. Less...

Lord; a lord. Also the elder. An addition to the name of the elder of two persons having the same name. -Senior counsel. Of two or more counsel retained on the same side of a cause, 'he is the "senior" who is the elder, or more important in rank or More...

Lord; a lord. Also the elder. An addition to the name of the elder of two persons having the same name. -Senior counsel. Of two or more counsel retained on the same side of a cause, 'he is the "senior" who is the elder, or more important in rank or estimation, or who is charged with the more difficult or important parts of the management of the case.-Senior judge. Of several judges composing a court, the ^senior" judge is the one who holds the oldest commission, or who has served the longest time under his present commission. Less...

In Spanish law.- Dominion or property.

In Spanish law.- Dominion or property. Less...

Lat Sense, meaning, signification. Malo sensu, in an evil or derogatory sense. Mitiori sensu, in a milder, less severe, or less stringent sense. Sensu honesto, in an honest sense; to Interpret words sensu honesto is to take them so as not to impute Impropriety to the persons concerned. Sensns verborum More...

Lat Sense, meaning, signification. Malo sensu, in an evil or derogatory sense. Mitiori sensu, in a milder, less severe, or less stringent sense. Sensu honesto, in an honest sense; to Interpret words sensu honesto is to take them so as not to impute Impropriety to the persons concerned. Sensns verborum est anima legis. Coke, 2. The meaning of the words ia tbe spirit of the law. Sensns verborum est duplex,-mitis et asper; et verba semper acdpienda sunt in mitiori sensu. 4 Coke, 13. The mean-nig of words is two-fold,-mild and harsh; and words are always to be received In their milder sense. Sensns verborum ex eansa diocndi ao-eipiondus est; ot sermones semper acci-piendi sunt secundum subjeetam materi- am. The sense of words is to be taken from the occasion of speaking them; and discourses are always to be interpreted according to the subject-matter. 4 Coke, 13b. See 2 Kent, Comm. 555. Less...

The judgment formally pronounced by the court or judge upon the defendant after his conviction in a criminal prosecution, awarding tbe punishment to be inflicted. The word is properly confined to this meaning. In civil cases, the terms "judgment," "decision," "award," "finding," etc., are used. See Featherstone v. People, 194 More...

The judgment formally pronounced by the court or judge upon the defendant after his conviction in a criminal prosecution, awarding tbe punishment to be inflicted. The word is properly confined to this meaning. In civil cases, the terms "judgment," "decision," "award," "finding," etc., are used. See Featherstone v. People, 194 111. 325, 62 N. E. 684; State v. Barnes, 24 Fla. 153, 4 South. 560; Pennington v. State, 11 Tex. App. 281; Com. v. Bishoft*, 18 Pa. Oo. Ct. R. 503; People v. Adams, 95 Mich. 541, 55 N. W. 461; Bugbee v. Boyce, 68 Vt. 311, 35 Atl. 330. Ecclesiastical. In ecclesiastical procedure, "sentence" is analogous to "Judgment" {q. v.) in an ordinary action. A definite sentence is one which puts an end to the suit, and' regards the principal matter in question. An interlocutory sentence determines only some incidental matter in the proceedings. Phillim. Ecc. Law, 1260. -Cumulative sentences. Separate sentences (each additional to the others) imposed upon a defendant who has been convicted upon an indictment containing several counts, each of such counts charging a distinct offense, or who is under conviction at the same time for several distinct offenses; one of such sentences being made to begin at the expiration of another. Carter v. McClaughry, 183 U. S. 365, 22 Sup, Ct. 181, 46 L. Ed. 236; State v. Ham-by, 126 N. C. 1066, 35 S. E. G14.-Final sentence. One which puts an end to a case. Distinguished from interlocutory.-Indeterminate sentence. A form of sentence to imprisonment upon conviction of crime, now authorized by statute in several states, which, instead of fixing rigidly the duration of the imprisonment, declares that it shall be for a period "not less than" so many years "nor more than" so many years, or not less than the minimum period prescribed by statute as the punishment for the particular offense nor more .than the maximum period, the exact length of the term being afterwards fixed, within the limits assigned by the court or the statute, by an executive authority, (the governor, board of .pardons, .etc.,) on consideration of the previous .record of the convict, his behavior while in 'prison or while out on parole, the apparent 'prospect of reformation, and other such considerations.-Interlocutory sentence. In the civil law. A sentence on some indirect oquestion arising from the principal cause. Hal-'HfaX Civil Law, b. 3. ch. 0, no. 40.-Sentence o'o* death ^recorded. In English practice. The recording of a sentence of death, not actually pronounced, on the understanding that it .wiy not be executed. Such a record has the "same effect as if the judgment had been pro-onotmeed and the offender reprieved by the court. Mnsley & Whitley. The practice is now disused.-Suspension of sentence. This term !may mean either a withholding or postponing the sentencing of a prisoner after the conviction, or a postponing ot the execution of the sentence after it has been pronounced. In the latter case, it may, for reasons addressing themselves to the discretion of the court, be indefinite as to time, or during the good behavior of the prisoner. See People v. Webster, 14 Misc. Rep. 617, 36 N. Y. Supp. 745; In re Buchanan, 146 N. Y. 264, 40 N. E. 883. Less...

Lat In the civil law. (1) Sense; Import; as distinguished from mere words. (2) The deliberate expression of one's will or intention, (3) The sentence of a judge or court. Sententia a mon judioo lata nemini debot noooro. A sentence pronounced by one who is not a judge should not More...

Lat In the civil law. (1) Sense; Import; as distinguished from mere words. (2) The deliberate expression of one's will or intention, (3) The sentence of a judge or court. Sententia a mon judioo lata nemini debot noooro. A sentence pronounced by one who is not a judge should not harm any one. Fleta, 1. 6, c. 6, i 7. Sententia oontra matrimoninm nnnqnam transit in rem judloatam. 7 Coke, 43. A sentence against marriage never becomes a matter finally adjudged, i e., res , judicata. Sententia faoit jus, ot legis interpretatio legis vim obtinet. Elleam. Post N. 55. Judgment creates right, and the interpretation of the law has the force of law. Sententia faoit jns, et ros judicata pre veritate aocipitur. Ellesm. Post N. 55. Judgment creates right, and what is adjudicated is taken for truth. Sententia interlooutoria revocarl potest, definitive non potest. Bac. Max. 20. An interlocutory judgment may be recalled, but not a final. Sententia non fortur de rebus non lio2-uidls. Sentence is not given upon matters that are not clear. Jenk. Cent p. 7, case 9. Less...