Henderson County, NC - Court - Legal Terms

Contributor's Note: Legal terms are something that most of us do not 
understand. I had to look up all of the term definitions so that I could 
understand the procedings in the Edney Court cases.

                     A Dictionary of Legal Terms

Source: "Ballentine's Law Dictionary", Third Edition, by James A. Ballentine.
The Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company, Rochester, NY, Bancroft-Whitney
Co, San Francisco, CA, 1969.

1. AUTREFOIS ACQUIT. (French) Literally translated, this means othertimes
acquitted; a plea of one accused of crime setting up his previous acquittal of
the same offense as a bar to further prosecution. Now known as prior jeopardy
or double jeopardy, derived from a common law that a man shall not be brought
into danger of his life and limb more than once for one and the same offense.
The test is not whether the defendant has already been tried for the same act,
but whether he has been put in jeopardy for the same offense. A provision of
the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

2. CA SA, an abbreviation for CAPIAS AD SATISFACIENDUM. (Latin) You take to
satisfy; a writ for the arrest and imprisonment of a judgment debtor until the
debt claim against him is satisfied or otherwise discharged according to law.

3. CAVEAT EMPTOR. (Latin) Let the buyer beware. Expresses the rule of law that
the purchaser buys at his own risk. This harsh principle has been modified
substantially by statutes and court decisions that have given consumers
certain rights respecting the purchase of goods. This maxim is still
applicable to Sheriff's sales and forced sales. Implied warranties in the sale
of personal property are also exceptions. It is applicable to sales of real
estate in respect to conditions of the premises open to observation. The
doctrine of the maxim applies in its utmost vigor and strictness in judicial
sales. The word caveat, literally, means to beware.

4. CESTUI QUE TRUST. (French) The one who trusts; the beneficiary of a trust.
The person for whose benefit property is held in trust by a trustee.

5. DESCRIPTIO PERSONAE. (Latin) Description of a person; a word or phrase used
for the purpose of identifying or pointing out a person. Words descriptive of
the person.

6. FACIAS. You do it; you cause.

7. FI FA, an abbreviation for FIDES FACTA. (Latin) Formal acts symbolizing the
contracting of an obligation; e.g., a bond.

8. IN INVITUM. (Latin) Against the will; without consent.

9. NUL TIEL RECORD. By the record. A trial in which a party pleads that a
record exists supporting his or her claim, and the adversary denies the
records existence. If the record can be produced, it is considered by the
court in reaching a verdict. If it is not produced, judgment is given to the
adversary.

10. PENDENTE LITE. Suspended by the lawsuit; pending the lawsuit. Matters that
are pendente lite are contingent upon the determination of a pending lawsuit.
Thus funds may be deposited with the clerk of the court Pendente Lite, so that
those funds can be used to make payment to the opposing party in the event
that the depositing party loses the lawsuit. Temporary; e.g., Pendente Lite
Allowance is an allowance to a wife of temporary alimony, maintenance, etc,
pending litigation.

11. PER CURIAM. (Latin) By the Court. An opinion by the court which expresses
its decision in the case but whose author is not identified; by the court as a
whole. A Per Curiam Opinion is an opinion of the court in which the judges or
justices are all of one mind and the question is so clear that the opinion is
not elaborated by an extended discussion of the supporting reasons.

12. RES INTER ALIOS ACTA (Latin) The acts and declarations either of
strangers, or of one of the parties to the action in his dealings with
strangers. The recitals of an instrument are not ordinarily admissable against
third persons as proof of the facts recited. Continuing along these lines,
"Res Inter Alios Acta Nocere Non Debet", the general rule is that a pereson's
books of account cannot be used as evidence upon issues between third persons,
and cannot be used against persons not parties to them.

13. SCIRE FACIAS.  A writ of statutory origin used both to obtain a judgment
where none has before existed and as a writ of execution or continuation of a
judgment previously entered. A writ requiring the defendant to appear and show
cause why the plaintiff should not be permitted to take some step wherein he
has the advantage of a public record. A remedy for the enforcement of a bail
bond or recognizance on forfeiture.

14. VENIRE DE NOVO or VENIRE FACIAS DE NOVO. An award, the effect of which is
a new trial, granted by the appellate court for error occurring during the
course of the trial. A proceeding of ancient origin, resulting in a new trial,
granted for some cause apparent on the record. In modern terminology, a new
trial.

______________________________________________________________________

Copyright. All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm

This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by
Marshall Styles - marshallstyles@yahoo.com
______________________________________________________________________