An author is a person who creates, comes up or gives existence to something. Most people think of an author as an individual who wrote a paper, book, poem, letter or any kind of literary work. If the work was made for hire, the employer or...
wex definitions
authority
Authority is the official permission or right to act, often on behalf of another. Authority may also be a person or institution that has power over another person.
Authority as agency is the power to act on behalf of another...
authorize
To authorize means to grant authority; to empower. It may also mean to formally or officially approve.
[Last updated in June of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]
autocracy
An autocracy is a political regime where a single individual - an autocrat - holds the power, qualified as personal and absolute power. The autocrat’s power covers all political, economic, social, and military power. In this political regime...
automatic stay
Automatic stay is defined in two parts:
The “automatic” is in reference to the injunction that would prohibit most creditor collection activities, after the debtor has filed for bankruptcy. The “stay” begins at the moment the...automobile exception
The "automobile exception" is an exception to the general requirement of a warrant for searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment. Under the exception, a vehicle may be searched without a warrant when evidence or contraband may...
autopsy
Autopsy, borrowed from the Greek autopsia, meaning “the act of seeing with one’s own eyes” means the detailed medical examination, and/or dissection of a dead body to determine the cause of death, or for any scientific and medical purpose....
autopsy rights
Autopsy rights are those given to the deceased and the next of kin to determine whether and to what extent autopsies should be performed. Typically, the individual (prior to death) and next of kin get to decide whether an autopsy is performed...
avails
Avails are profits or proceeds, especially from the sale of property or the proceeds of an insurance policy. The latter are any amounts available to the policyholder apart from the actual proceeds of the policy, including cash, interest,...
avowal
Avowal is a declaration made by an attorney during the trial process. This is an open declaration by an attorney representing a party in a lawsuit, made after the jury has been removed from the courtroom, that requests the admission of...