Archives: Glossary

Permission from a government authority to do something that would otherwise be unlawful, such as driving on public roads, practicing law or operating certain businesses. The Supreme Court has upheld state laws requiring motor vehicles to be registered and drivers to be licensed (Hendrick v. Maryland, 235 U.S. 610 (1915)). In property law, a license is a personal, usually revocable permission to enter or use another’s land, and in intellectual property it is permission to use a patent, copyright or trademark.

A term each statute defines for its own purposes, generally covering self-propelled vehicles used on roads, including automobiles, trucks, buses and motorcycles. For example, California defines a motor vehicle as a vehicle that is self-propelled (Cal. Veh. Code § 415(a)), and Texas defines it as a self-propelled vehicle or one powered by overhead trolley wires (Tex. Transp. Code § 541.201(11)). A narrower federal definition in 18 U.S.C. § 31, which refers to vehicles “used for commercial purposes,” applies only to the federal criminal provisions in that chapter. It does not control state traffic, registration or licensing laws. We have not found a court decision holding that driver licensing laws do not reach a car used only for personal, non-commercial travel; courts that have addressed the argument, such as State v. Hershberger, 27 Kan. App. 2d 485, 5 P.3d 1004 (2000), ruled the other way.

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.

A person who is not licensed to practice law. A non-lawyer may represent himself or herself in court; in federal court, parties may plead and conduct their own cases personally (28 U.S.C. § 1654). A non-lawyer generally may not represent another person, and a corporation may appear in federal court only through licensed counsel (Rowland v. California Men’s Colony, 506 U.S. 194 (1993)). Some states license certain non-lawyer legal professionals to provide limited services, such as Utah’s licensed paralegal practitioners and Arizona’s legal paraprofessionals.

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 licensed to practice law, also called an attorney at law. In everyday U.S. usage, “attorney” and “lawyer” mean the same thing. An attorney-in-fact is different: a person authorized to act for another under a power of attorney, who does not need to be a lawyer.

In many state court systems, a judicial officer appointed by the court, rather than elected, who hears assigned types of matters such as small claims, traffic, family support or certain motions. A commissioner’s powers are set by state law and court rules; in some states a commissioner may act as a temporary judge only with the parties’ agreement (for example, Cal. Const. art. VI, § 21). The word also names elected or appointed officials of a county or agency, which is a different role.

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.

Latin for “thing.” The property or subject matter that is the object of a legal proceeding or arrangement. For example, a court has in rem jurisdiction over a res located within its territory, and in trust law the trust res is the property held in the trust (also called the corpus).

Latin for “the state in which.” The existing state of affairs. In injunction practice, the purpose of a preliminary injunction is usually described as preserving the relative positions of the parties until a trial on the merits can be held (University of Texas v. Camenisch, 451 U.S. 390, 395 (1981)).