- E -
Elements of a crime
-Specific factors that define a crime which the prosecution must
prove beyond a reasonable doubt in order to obtain a conviction:
(1) that a crime has actually occurred, (2) that the accused
intended the crime to happen, and (3) a timely relationship
between the first two factors.
Eminent Domain- The power
of the government to take private property for public use through
condemnation.
En Banc- All the judges of
a court sitting together. Appellate courts can consist of a dozen
or more judges, but often they hear cases in panels of three
judges. If a case is heard or reheard by the full court, it is
heard en banc.
Encyclopedia- A book or
series of books arranged alphabetically by topics containing
information on areas of law, including citations to support the
information.
Enjoining -An order by the
court telling a person to stop performing a specific act.
Entity- A person or
legally recognized organization.
Entrapment- The act of
inducing a person to commit a crime so that a criminal charge will
be brought against him.
Entry- A statement of
conclusion reached by the court and placed in the court record.
Environment- The
conditions, influences, or forces which affect the desirability
and value of property, as well as the effect on people's lives.
Environmental Protection (EPA)
-A federal agency created to permit coordinated and
environment effective governmental action to preserve the quality
of the . Agency
Equal Protection of the Law
-The guarantee in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution that all persons be treated equally by the law.
Equity- Justice
administered according to fairness; the spirit or habit of
fairness in dealing with other persons.
Escheat- The process by
which a deceased person's property goes to the state if no heir
can be found.
Escrow- Money or a written
instrument such as a deed that, by agreement between two parties,
is held by a neutral third party (held in escrow) until all
conditions of the agreement are met.
Esquire- In the United
States the title commonly appended after the name of an attorney.
In English law a title of dignity next above gentleman and below
knight. Title also given to barristers at law and others.
Abbreviated: Esq.
Estate- A person's
property.
Estate tax- Generally, a
tax on the privilege of transferring property to others after a
person's death. In addition to federal estate taxes, many states
have their own estate taxes.
Estoppel -An impediment
that prevents a person from asserting or doing something contrary
to his own previous assertion or act.
Ethics- Of or relating to
moral action and conduct; professionally right; conforming to
professional standards.
Evidence- Information
presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade
the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or
the other.
Exceptions- Declarations
by either side in a civil or criminal case reserving the right to
appeal a judge's ruling upon a motion. Also, in regulatory cases,
objections by either side to points made by the other side or to
rulings by the agency or one of its hearing officers.
Exclusionary Rule- The
rule preventing illegally obtained evidence to be used in any
trial.
Execute- To complete; to
sign; to carry out according to its terms.
Executor -A personal
representative, named in a will, who administers an estate.
Exempt property -All the
property of a debtor which is not attachable under the Bankruptcy
Code or the state statute.
Exhibit -A document or
other item introduced as evidence during a trial or hearing.
Exonerate- Removal of a
charge, responsibility, or duty.
Ex parte -On behalf of
only one party, without notice to any other party. For example, a
request for a search warrant is an ex parte proceeding, since the
person subject to the search is not notified of the proceeding and
is not present at the hearing.
Ex parte proceeding-
Action Circumstances which render a crime less aggravated,
heinous, or reprehensible than it would otherwise be.
Expungement -The process
by which the record of criminal conviction is destroyed or sealed.
Extradition -The surrender
of an accused criminal by one state to the jurisdiction of
another.
