Describes a duty that an official must perform in a set way, without using judgment or discretion, once the required conditions are met. For example, when a party’s default is shown by affidavit or otherwise, the clerk must enter it (Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a)). A ministerial act is contrasted with a discretionary act. Courts can sometimes order an official to perform a ministerial duty through mandamus (see 28 U.S.C. § 1361 for federal officers).
A public official with authority to preside over a court, decide questions of law and, in a bench trial, decide the facts. Federal judges under Article III are nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate and hold office during good behavior (U.S. Const. art. II, § 2; art. III, § 1). Federal magistrate judges and bankruptcy judges serve fixed terms (28 U.S.C. §§ 631, 152). State judges are elected or appointed as each state’s constitution and laws provide.
No longer presenting a live controversy, because events have made it impossible for the court to grant any effective relief. Federal courts cannot decide moot cases under the case-or-controversy requirement of Article III of the Constitution. Recognized exceptions include disputes that are capable of repetition yet evading review and some cases where a defendant voluntarily stops the challenged conduct.
Replaced by something later that takes its place. A statute, rule or regulation is superseded when a later enactment replaces it, and a court decision may be “superseded by statute.” In civil cases, an amended pleading generally supersedes the original, so the amended version becomes the operative pleading.
Has two meanings. First, the judge’s ruling rejecting an objection, so the question may be answered or the evidence admitted. Second, a precedent is overruled when a court with authority to do so decides that the earlier decision is no longer good law.
The judge’s ruling agreeing with an objection. When an objection to a question is sustained, the witness does not answer it; when an objection to evidence is sustained, the evidence is excluded or, if already heard, may be stricken.
A formal statement opposing a question, an item of evidence, a discovery request or a ruling, together with the reason. At trial, a party preserves a claim of error about admitted evidence by making a timely objection or motion to strike on the record and stating the specific ground, unless it is apparent from the context (Fed. R. Evid. 103(a)(1)). Discovery responses must state objections with specificity (Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(b)(4), 34(b)(2)(B)–(C)).
To agree to become the tenant of a new owner or landlord, or to acknowledge a new owner’s rights. For example, a commercial lease may require the tenant to attorn to a purchaser of the property after a foreclosure sale; these clauses often appear in subordination, non-disturbance and attornment agreements. The noun is attornment.
A person trained in the law and licensed by a state’s highest court or bar to practice law. In U.S. usage, “lawyer” and “attorney” mean the same thing. Lawyers’ conduct is governed by each state’s rules of professional conduct, most of which are based on the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
A self-propelled passenger vehicle designed for travel on roads. In law, an automobile is one kind of motor vehicle. Most statutes use the broader term “motor vehicle” and define it for their own purposes, so read the definition section of the law you are applying.
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