Your Free Online Legal Dictionary • Featuring Black’s Law Dictionary, 2nd Ed.

Category: S

SPECIE

1. Coin of the precious metals, of a certain weight and fineness, and bearing the stamp of the government, denoting its value as currency. Trebilcock v. Wilson, 12 Wall. 005, 20 L.

SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS

These are inflammable liquids produced by distillation, and forming an article of commerce. See Rlankenship v. State, 93 Ga. 814, 21 S. E. 130; State v. Munger, 15 Vt. 293; Allred v.

SPRING

A fountain of water; an issue of water from the earth, or the basin of water at the place of its issue. Webster. A natural chasm in which water has collected, aud

STAKE

A deposit made to answer an event, as on a wager. See Harris v. White, SI N. Y. 539; Porter v. Day, 71 Wis. 296. 37 N. W. 259; Mohr v. Miesen,

STATISTICS

the state and others partaking in some degree of that character, from the ninth year of Hen. II. to the first of Geo. IV.

STATUS

The status of a person is his legal position or condition. Thus, when we say that the status of a woman after a decree nisi for the dissolution of her marriage with

STEP-FATHER

The man who marries a widow, she having a child by her former marriage, is step-father to such child.

STINT

In English law. Limit; a limited number. Used as descriptive of a species of common. See COMMON SANS NOMBRE.

STOPPAGE IN TRANSITU

The act by which the unpaid vendor of goods stops their progress and resumes possession of them, while they are in course of transit from him to the purchaser, and not yet

STRONG HAND

The words “with strong hand” imply a degree of criminal force, whereas the words vi et armis (“with force and arms”) are mere formal words in the action of trespass, and the

SUBAGENT

An under-agent; a substituted ageut; an agent appointed by one who is himself au ageut 2 Kent, Comm. 633.

SUBNOTATIONS

In the civil law. The answers of the prince to questions which had been put to him respecting some obscure or doubtful point of law.

SUBSTANCE

Essence; the material or essential part of a thing, as distinguished from “form.” See State v. Iiurgdoerfer, 107 Mo. 1, 17 S. W. 040, 14 L, It. A. 846: Hugo v. Miller,

SUDDEN HEAT OF PASSION

In the common-law definition of manslaughter, this phrase means an access of rage or anger, suddenly arising from a contemporary provocation. It means that the provocation must arise at the time of

SUI GENERIS

Lat. Of its own kind or class; i. e., the only one ot its own kind; peculiar.

SUMMER-HUS SILVER

A payment to the lords of the wood on the Wealds of Kent, who used to visit those places in summer, when their under-tenants were bound to prepare little summer-houses for their

SUPERARE RATIONES

In old Scotch law. To have a balance of account due to one; to have one’s expenses exceed the receipts.

SUPRA

cuit court of the United States in cities or towns of over 20,000 inhabitants, upon the written application of two citizens, or in any county or parish of any congressional district upon

SUR

Fr. On; upon; over. In the titles of real actions “sur” was used to point out what the writ was founded upon. Thus, a real action brought by the owner of a

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