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Most Popular Legal Definitions

implied trust

A trust that is imposed by law onto certain situations by presuming the intention of the participants to create a trust, simply because of the facts at hand.

interlocutory injunction

 A temporary injunction; which lasts only until the end of the trial during which it was sought.

void

referring to a statue, contract, ruling or anything which is null and of no effect. A law or judgment found by an appeals court to be unconstitutional is void, a rescinded (mutually canceled) contract is void, and a marriage which has been annulled by court judgment is void.

maritime law

A very specialized body of law particular to transportation by water.

constructive dismissal

Under the employment law of some states, judges will consider a situation where there has been a fundamental violation of the rights of an employee, by the employer, so severe that the employee would have the right to consider himself as dismissed, even though, in fact, there has been no act of dismissal on the part of the employer.

self-defense defense

a type of defense in a criminal proceeding that attempts to justify someone's use of force as necessary to protect themselves or another

summation

the final argument of an attorney at the close of a trial in which he or she attempts to convince the judge of the virtues of the client's case.

affidavit

1) any written document in which the signer swears under oath before a notary public or someone authorized to take oaths that the statements in the document are true 2) In many states, a declaration under penalty of perjury, which does not require the oath-taking before a notary, is the equivalent of an affidavit

abeyance

Temporary inactivity, cessation, or suspension. In law, it is a state or condition of real property in which the title is not as of yet vested in a known title holder.

trustee

a person a entity who holds the assets of a trustee for the benefit of the beneficiaries and manages the trust and its assets under the terms of the trust stated in the declaration of trust which created it.