Legal Term Dictionary

In English law. The rolls which sheriffs have with the coroners, containing particulars of their .proceedings, as well of appeals as of inquests,, etc. 8 Edw. L c 10.

In English law. The rolls which sheriffs have with the coroners, containing particulars of their .proceedings, as well of appeals as of inquests,, etc. 8 Edw. L c 10. Less...

The signature of a. secretary or other subordinate oflJcer to any writing signed by the principal or Buperior to vouch for the authenticity of it Fifth Ave. Bank v. Railroad Co., 187 N. Y. 231r 33 N. E. 378, 19 L. R. A. 331, 33 Am. St. Rep. 712; Gurnee More...

The signature of a. secretary or other subordinate oflJcer to any writing signed by the principal or Buperior to vouch for the authenticity of it Fifth Ave. Bank v. Railroad Co., 187 N. Y. 231r 33 N. E. 378, 19 L. R. A. 331, 33 Am. St. Rep. 712; Gurnee v. Chicago, 40 111. 167; People v. Brie, 43 Hun (N. Y.) 326. Less...

To counterbalance; to avail against with equal force or virtue; to compensate for, or serve as an equivalent of or substitute for. —Countervail livery. At common law, a release was a form of transfer of real estate where some right to it existed in one person but the actual possession More...

To counterbalance; to avail against with equal force or virtue; to compensate for, or serve as an equivalent of or substitute for. —Countervail livery. At common law, a release was a form of transfer of real estate where some right to it existed in one person but the actual possession was in another; and the possession in such case was said to "countervail livery," that is, it supplied the place of and rendered unnecessary the open and notorious delivery of possession required in other cases. Miller v. Emans, 19 N. Y. 387.—Countervailing: eqnity. See EQUITY. Less...

L. Fr. Count, or reckon. In old practice. A direction formerly given fcy the clerk of a court to the crier, after a jury was sworn, to number them; and which Blackstone says was given In his time, in good English, "count these." 4 Bl. Comm. 340, note (u.)

L. Fr. Count, or reckon. In old practice. A direction formerly given fcy the clerk of a court to the crier, after a jury was sworn, to number them; and which Blackstone says was given In his time, in good English, "count these." 4 Bl. Comm. 340, note (u.) Less...

Advocates, or Serjeants at law, whom a man retains to defend his cause. and speak for him in court, for their fees. 1 Inst 17.

Advocates, or Serjeants at law, whom a man retains to defend his cause. and speak for him in court, for their fees. 1 Inst 17. Less...

The portion of the earth's surface occupied by an independent nation* or people; or the inhabitants of such territory. In its primary meaning "country" signifies "place;" and, in a larger sense, the territory or dominions occupied by a community ; or even waste and unpeopled sections or regions of the More...

The portion of the earth's surface occupied by an independent nation* or people; or the inhabitants of such territory. In its primary meaning "country" signifies "place;" and, in a larger sense, the territory or dominions occupied by a community ; or even waste and unpeopled sections or regions of the earth. But Its metaphorical meaning is no less definite and well understood; and in common parlance, in historical and geographical writings, in diplomacy, legislation, treaties, and international codes, the word is employed to denote the populationj the* nation, the state, or the government having possession and dominion over a territory. Stairs v. Peasle*. 18 How. 521, 15 L. Ed. 474; U. S. v. Recorder, 1 Blatchf. 218, 225, 5 N. Y. Leg. Obs. 286, Fed. Cas. No. 16,129. In pleading and practice. The inhabitants of a district from which a jury is to he summoned; pais; a jury. 3 Bl. Comm. 349; Steph. PL 73, 78, 230. Less...

The name given to the prin¬cipal subdivisions of the kingdom of Eng¬land and of most of the states of the Amer¬ican Union, denoting a distinct portion of territory organized by itself for political and judicial purposes.. The etymology of the word shows it to have been the district an¬ciently governed More...

The name given to the prin¬cipal subdivisions of the kingdom of Eng¬land and of most of the states of the Amer¬ican Union, denoting a distinct portion of territory organized by itself for political and judicial purposes.. The etymology of the word shows it to have been the district an¬ciently governed by a count or earl. In mod¬em use, the word may denote either the ter¬ritory marked off to form a county, or the citizens resident within such territory, tak¬en collectively and considered as invested with political rights, or the county regarded as a municipal corporation possessing subor-dinate governmental powers, or an organ¬ized .jural society invested with specific rights and duties. Patterson v. Temple, 27 Ark. 207; Eagle v. Beard, 33 Ark. 501; Wooster v. Plymouth, 62 N. H. 208. —County bridge. A bridge of the larger •class, erected by the county, and which the county is liable to keep in repair. Taylor v. Davis County, 40 Iowa, 295; Boone County ▼. Mutchler, 137 Ind. 140, 36 N. E. 534-County commissioners. Officers of a county charged with a variety of administrative and executive duties, but principally with the management of the financial affialrs of the county, its police regulations, and Its corporate business. Some¬times the local laws give them limited judicial powers. In some states they are called "super¬visors/' Com. v. Krlckbaum, 199 Pa. 851, 49 Atl. 68.—-County corporate. A city or town, with more or less territory annexed, having the privilege to be a county of itself, and not to be comprised in any other county: such as Lon¬don, York, Bristol, Norwich, and other cities in England. 1 Bl. Comm. 120.—County court. A court of high antiquity in England, incident to the jurisdiction of the sheriff. It is not a court of record, but may hold pleas of debt or damages, under the value of forty shillings. The freeholders of the county (anciently termed the "suitors" of the court) are the real judges in this court, and the sheriff is the ministerial officer. See 8 Bl. Comm. 35, 36 ; 3 Steph. Comm. 895. But in modern English law the name is appropriated to a system of tribunals established by the statute 9 & 10 Vict c. 95, having a limited jurisdiction, principally for the recovery of small debts. It is also the name of certain tribunals of limited jurisdiction in the county of Middlesex, established under the stat¬ute 22 Geo. II. c. 33. In American law. The name is used in many of the states to designate the ordinary courts of record having jurisdic¬tion for trials at nisi prius. Their powers gen¬erally comprise ordinary civil jurisdiction, also the charge and care of persons and estates com¬ing within legal guardianship, a limited crim¬inal jurisdiction, appellate jurisdicton over jus-tices of the peace, etc.—County jail. A place of incarceration for the punishment of minor of¬fenses and the custody of transient prisoners, where the ignominy of confinement is devoid of the infamous character which an imprisonment in the state jail or penitentiary carries with it U. S. v. Greenwald (D. C.) 64 Fed. 8.—County ofioors. Those whose general authority and jurisdiction are confined within the limits of the county in which they are appointed, who are appointed in and for a particular county, and whose duties apply only to that county, and through whom the county performs its usual political functions. State v. Burns. 38 Fla. 867, 21 South. 290; State v. Glenn, 7 Heisk. (Tenn.) 473; In re Carpenter, 7 Barb. (N. Y.) 34; Philadelphia v. Martin, 125 Pa. 583, 17 Atl. 507.—County palatine. A term bestowed npon certain counties in England, the lords of which in former times enjoyed especial privi¬leges. They might pardon treasons, murders,-and felonies. All writs and indictments ran in their names, as in other counties in the kind's; and all offenses were said to be done against their peace, and not, as in other places, contra pacem domini regie. But these privileges have In modern times nearly disappeared.—County rate. In English law. An imposition levied on the occupiers of lands, and applied to many miscellaneous purposes, among which the most important are those of defraying the expenses connected with prisons, reimbursing to private parties the costs they have.incurred in prosecut¬ing public offenders, and defraying the expenses of the county police. See 15 & 16 Vict. c. 81.— County road. One which lies wholly within one county, and which is thereby distinguished from a state road, which is a road lying in two or more counties. State v. Wood County, 17 Ohio, 186.—County-seat. A county-seat or county-town is the chief town of a county, where the county buildings and courts are lo¬cated and the county business transacted. Wil¬liams y. BeutzeL 60 Ark. 155, 29 S. W. 374; In re Allison, 13 Colo. 525, 22 Pac. 820, 10 L. R. A. 790, 16 Am. St Rep. 224; Whallon v. Grid-ley, 51 Mich. 508, 16 N. W. 876.—County ses¬sions. In England, the court of general quar¬ter sessions of the peace held in every county once in every quarter of a year. Mozley A Whitley.—County-town. The county-seat: the town in which the seat of government of the county is located. State v. Cates, 105 Tenn. 441, 58 S. W. 649.—County warrant. An order or warrant drawn by some duly authoriz¬ed officer of the county, directed to the county treasurer and directing him to nay out of the funds of the county a designated sum of money to a named individual, or to his order or to bearer. Savage v. Mathews, 98 Ala. 535, 13 South. 328; Crawford v. Noble County, 8 Okl. 450, 58 Pac 616; People v. Rio Grande Coun¬ty, 11 Colo. App. 124, 52 Pac. 748.—Foreign county. Any county having a judicial and mu¬nicipal organization separate from that of the county where matters arising in the former county are called in question, though both may lie within the same state or country. Less...

Interest and dividend certificates; also those parts of a commercial instrument which are to be cut, and which are evidence of something connected with the contract mentioned in the instrument. They are generally attached to certificates of loan, where the interest is payable at particular periods, and, when the interest More...

Interest and dividend certificates; also those parts of a commercial instrument which are to be cut, and which are evidence of something connected with the contract mentioned in the instrument. They are generally attached to certificates of loan, where the interest is payable at particular periods, and, when the interest is paid, they are cut off and delivered to the payer. Wharton. Coupons are written contracts for the payment of a definite sum of money on a given day, and being drawn and executed in a form and mode for the purpose, that they may be separated from the bonds and other instruments to which they are usually attached, it is held that they are negotiable and that a suit may be maintained on them without the necessity of producing the bonds. Each matured coupon upon a negotiable bond is a separable promise, distinct from the promises to pay the bonds or the other coupons, and gives rise to a separate cause of action. Aurora v. West, 7 Wall. 88, 19 L. Ed. 42. —Coupon bonds. Bonds to which are attached coupons for the several successive installments of interest to maturity. Benwell v. Newark, 55 N. J. Eq. 260, 36 Atl. 668; Tennessee Bond Cases, 114 U. S. 663, 5 Sup. Ct. 974, 29 L. Ed. 281.—Coupon notes. Promissory notes with coupons attached, the coupons being notes for interest written at the bottom of the principal note, and designed to he cut off severally and presented for payment as they mature. Williams v. Moody, 95 Ga. 8, 22 S. El 30. Less...

The supreme judicial tribunal of France, having appellate jurisdiction only. For an account of its composition and powers, see Jones, French Bar, 22; Guyot, Repert. Univ.

The supreme judicial tribunal of France, having appellate jurisdiction only. For an account of its composition and powers, see Jones, French Bar, 22; Guyot, Repert. Univ. Less...

A term used In surveying, meaning the direction of a line with reference to a meridian. —Course of business. Commercial paper is said to be transferred, or sales alleged to have been fraudulent may be shown to have been made, "in the course of business," or "in the usual and More...

A term used In surveying, meaning the direction of a line with reference to a meridian. —Course of business. Commercial paper is said to be transferred, or sales alleged to have been fraudulent may be shown to have been made, "in the course of business," or "in the usual and ordinary course of business," when the circumstances of the transaction are such as usually and ordinarily attend dealings of the same kind and do not exhibit any signs of haste, secrecy, or fraudulent intention. Walbrun v. Babbitt, 16 Wall. 581, 21 L. Ed. 489; Clough v. Patrick, 37 Vt. 429; Brooklyn, etc., R. Co. v. National Bank, 102 U. S. 14, 26 L. Ed. 61. —Course of river. The course of a river is a line parallel with its banks; the term is not synonymous with the "current" of the river. Attorney General v. Railroad Co., 9 N. J. Eg,. 550.—Course of the voyage. By this term is understood the regular and customary track, if such there be, which a shin takes in going from one port to another, and the shortest way. Marsh. Ins. 185.—Course of trade. What is customarily or ordinarily done in the management of trade or business. Less...