courts and procedure

Definition

To cheat a person out of money or property through fraud or deceit.

Definition

An instruction given by a court to a deadlocked jury to encourage it to continue deliberating until it reaches a verdict. Also called Allen charge, dynamite charge, nitroglycerine charge, and third-degree instruction.

Definition

The willful theft of merchandise from a retail establishment without the knowledge or consent of the seller with the intention of converting those goods for one’s personal use and without having paid the purchase price. Shoplifting is considered to be a form of larceny and may be prosecuted as such.

Definition

A federal anti-monopoly and anti-trust statute, passed in 1890 as 15 U.S.C. §§ 1-7 and amended by the Clayton Act in 1914 (15 U.S.C.

Definition

The act of implicating oneself in a crime or exposing oneself to criminal prosecution. Self-incrimination may occur as a result of interrogation or may be made voluntarily. The Fifth Amendment of the Constitution protects a person from being compelled to incriminate oneself. Also termed self-crimination; self-inculpation.

A hint or a spark. In common law, if there is even a trace of evidence on an issue, then the issue must be decided on the merits, and a motion for summary judgment or a directed verdict cannot succeed.

Definition

A concerted action: (1) made in furtherance of an express common purpose; (2) through the use or threat of violence, disorder, or terror to the public; and (3) resulting in a disturbance of the peace. Under common law, the crime of riot requires the assemblage of three or more actors.

Definition

A fee that the client pays upfront to an attorney before the attorney has begun work for the client.

There are three types of retainers, each with a different purpose:

(1) A general retainer, which is a fee for a specific period of time rather than for a specific project. While no specific representation is contemplated, the client pays for the attorney’s availability during the time specified.

(2) Also termed a retaining fee, a deposit or lump sum fee which the client pays in advance.

Definition

[Latin: “things done” or “thing transacted”] The events or circumstances at issue, as well as other events that are contemporaneous with or related to them. Courts previously employed this term in order to admit otherwise inadmissible hearsay. The term has since been put to disuse by scholars and legislators.

Definition

An award of damages calculated by a jury dividing the sum of each juror's proposed award by the number of jurors. A quotient verdict is generally improper—in particular, if a jury agrees in advance to calculate its award using a quotient verdict—due to a lack of full deliberation of issues. 

Illustrative caselaw