Legal Term Dictionary

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  • DECESSTUS
    In the civil and old English law. Death; departure. Deeet tamen prineipem serrare leges quibus ipse serratus est. It behoves, indeed, the prince to keep the laws by which he himself Is preserved.
  • DECIDE
    To decide includes the power and right to deliberate, to weigh the reasons for and against, to see which preponderate, and to be governed by that preponderance. Darden v. Lines, 2 Fla. 571; Com. v. Anthes, 5 Gray (Mass.) 253; In re Milford & M. R. Co., 68 N. H. More...
  • DECIES TANTUM
    (Ten. times as much.) The name of an ancient writ that was used against a juror who had taken a bribe in money for his verdict. The injured party could thus recover ten times the amount of the bribe.
  • DECIMAE
    In ecclesiastical law. Tenths, or tithes. The tenth part of the annual profit of each living, payable formerly to the pope. There were several valuations made of these livings at different times. The decimal (tenths) were appropriated to the crown, and a new valuation established, by 26 Hen. VIII., c. More...
  • DECIMATION
    The punishing every tenth soldier by lot, for mutiny or other failure of duty, was termed "decimatio leaio-nis" by the Romans. Sometimes only the twentieth man was punished, (vicesimatio,) or the hundredth, (centesimatio.)
  • DECIME
    A French coin of the value of the tenth part of a franc, or nearly two cents. Deeipi quam fallere est tutius. It is safer to be deceived than to deceive. Lofft 896.
  • DECISION
    In practice. A judgment or decree pronounced by a court in settlement of a controversy submitted to it and by way of authoritative answer to the questions raised before it Adams v. Railroad Co., 77 Miss. 194, 24 South. 317, 60 L. R: A. 33; Board of Education v. State, More...
  • DECISIVE OATH
    In the civil law. Where one of the parties to a suit, not being able to prove his charge, offered to refer the decision of the cause to the oath of his adversary! which the adversary was bound to accept, or tender the same proposal back again, otherwise the whole More...
  • DECLARANT
    A person who makes a declaration.
  • DECLARATION
    In pleading. The first of the pleadings on the part of the plaintiff in an action at law, being a formal and methodical specification of the facts and circumstances constituting his cause of action. It commonly comprises several sections or divisions, called "counts," and its formal parts follow each other More...
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