legal practice/ethics

The Aguilar-Spinelli test is a legal standard used in the United States to evaluate the validity of a search warrant based on information provided by an informant. It stems from two U.S. Supreme Court cases: Aguilar v.

707(b) action is defined in Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy code as a motion by the court, the United States trustee, the trustee, the administrator, or any party in interest to

A.K.A. is the abbreviation of “also known as.” It is often used to specify a party’s aliases or nicknames in a case.

[Last reviewed in November of 2024 by the Wex Definitions Team]

ABA is an abbreviation for American Bar Association (ABA).

[Last reviewed in June of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]

Abandoned property is personal property that was left by an owner who intentionally relinquishes all rights to its control.  Real property may not be abandoned (see also adverse possession).

• property law
• personal property

Abandonment of a trademark occurs when the owner of the trademark deliberately ceases to use the trademark for three or more years, with no intention of using the trademark again in the future.

Abatement ab initio is a rule in criminal law which negates a conviction if the defendant died before they could exhaust all appeals. In People v.

An abatement clause is defined as a provision in a lease agreement that releases the tenant from paying rent if an act of God makes occupancy impossible or otherwise precludes the property from being used.

See also: Abatement

• property

Absolute disparity is a calculation used to analyze a claim that a jury pool did not represent a fair cross-section of the community. For instance, a jury pool that is composed of only white jurors in a community that is predominantly Black. It is calculated by subtracting the percentage of a group in the jury pool from the percentage of that group in the general population.

• constitutional law

An accomplice is defined as a person who knowingly, voluntarily, or intentionally gives assistance to another in (or in some cases fails to prevent another from) the commission of a crime. An accomplice is criminally liable to the same extent as the principal. An accomplice, unlike an accessory, is typically present when the crime is committed.