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Most Popular Legal Definitions

conflict of interests

 situation where someone has personal interests in a matter that requires total objectivity or separation, or two competing interests

ex patriate

A person who has abandoned his or her country of origin and citizenship and has become a subject or citizen of another country

magna carta

Charter to which subscribed King John of England on June 12, 1215 in which a basic set of limits were set on he King's powers.

nonfeasance

Not doing something that a person should be doing.

arguendo

Latin meaning "for the sake of argument"

a priori

From Latin, an assumption based on theory not experiment. For example, an a priori assumption would be that the sun will come up tomorrow. (as opposed to a posteriori)

living will

A document that sets out guidelines for

alternative pleading

legal fiction in which a party to a lawsuit or a defendant charged with a crime can plead two ways which are inconsistent with each other; examples: a) someone hurt in an accident can plead that the other party was negligent or ran into him intentionally b) "not guilty" and "not guilty by reason of insanity" (in which there is the implied admission that the defendant committed the act)

title

1) Ownership of real property or personal property, which stands against the right of anyone else to claim the property. 2) the name for one's position in a business or organization. 3) the name for a legal case.

tenth amendment

a part of the Bill of Rights, provides that any power not reserved for the federal government and not prohibited to be acted upon by the States is left to the governing body of each state or the people