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Category Archives: Word of the Day



Word of the Day: Restrictive Covenants


Now unenforceable as the result of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1 (1948), restrictive covenants were terms in private, contractual agreements among homeowners to prohibit purchasing, leasing, or occupying property by certain groups of people, … Continue reading


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CALI – Monday’s Word of the Day


CALI – Center for Computer Assisted Legal Instruction — is free to law students at the David A. Clarke School of Law. One great feature for preparing for finals is the set of lessons by casebook at http://www.cali.org/content/lessons-casebook.   The … Continue reading


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USCCAN — Tuesday’s Word of the Day


The United States Code Congressional and Administrative News  — USCCAN — is a readily available print source for legislative history research found in many smaller libraries. It provides the text for enacted laws of the United States. “For major acts … Continue reading


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Signals — Monday’s Word of the Day


In legal publications, “[s]ignals organize authorities and show how those authorities support or relate to a proposition given in the text (rule 1.2). . . . [For example,] E.g., [c]ited authority states the proposition; other authorities also state the proposition, … Continue reading


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Sua sponte – Tuesday’s Word of the Day


Sua sponte – for one’s own accord.  Upon his own responsibility. On his own motion.  This term is used to designate an act by the court whcih was of it’s own accord without prompting by either side.   Sua sponte … Continue reading


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Enabling Act — Monday’s Word of the Day


Because federal agencies have authorization by United States statutes to publish regulations as needed, regulations published in the United States Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) have the force of law. The authorizing statutes are called enabling statutes or enabling acts.  … Continue reading


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Aleatory Contract – Tuesday’s Word of the Day


Aleatory contract – A contract in which at least one party’s performance depends on some uncertain event that is beyond the control of the parties involved. Examples of this are fire insurance contracts, travel insurance contracts and rental insurance contracts. … Continue reading


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Mixed property – Tuesday’s Word of the Day


The term “mixed property” is sometimes applied to property which is not wholly realty or wholly personalty, but is a compound of both.   Examples of this type of property have included heirlooms, tombstones, monuments in a church and title … Continue reading


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Infra — Monday’s Word of the Day


Infra is used in footnotes to cross-reference to material that appears later in a legal publication, such as a law journal article or a book.   Example: See infra Table 3.   The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation R. … Continue reading


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Contra — Monday’s Word of the Day


Contra means in opposition to or against:   “That is because subsidies, by definition and contra the majority do not restrict any speech.”  Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett, ___ U.S. ___, 131 S. Ct. 2806 (2011). … Continue reading


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