Vitiate is the act of impairing or voiding the effect of something else. Thus, a statute that vitiates a contract has the effect of voiding at least one of the contract's provisions.
[Last reviewed in April of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team]
Void means having no legal effect from the start. Thus, a void contract is invalid from the start of its purported closing. Note: having no legal effect, it does not change the legal relationship between the parties involved.
See: Voidable (compare), and void for vagueness
In criminal law, void for vagueness is a declaration that a law is invalid because it is not sufficiently clear. Laws are usually found void for vagueness if, after setting some requirement or punishment, the law does not specify what is required or what conduct is punishable.
The war on drugs refers to the effort by the United States federal and state governments to stop the use of illegal drugs by creating new drug laws and increasing enforcement. The movement first gained prominence in the early 1970s, largely spearheaded by President Richard Nixon.
A (writ of) mandamus, or mandate, is an order from a court to a lower court or government official to orderly perform a duty or correct an abuse of discretion. See e.g. Cheney v. United States Dist. Court For D.C. (2004). According to the U.S.
