General (not jurisdiction-specific)

The institutions and officials through which a political community makes and enforces its laws. In the United States, the Constitution creates a federal government with legislative, executive and judicial branches and leaves other powers to the states or the people (Tenth Amendment). Each state, county and city also has its own government. In law, the word can mean the whole system or, in a case, the prosecuting authority, as in “the government must prove.”

Statements of intent to cause harm. A “true threat” of violence is not protected by the First Amendment. In Counterman v. Colorado, 600 U.S. 66 (2023), the Supreme Court held that the government must show at least that the speaker recklessly disregarded a substantial risk that the statement would be viewed as threatening violence. Federal law makes it a crime to send threats to injure a person across state lines (18 U.S.C. § 875(c)), and states have their own threat laws.

Using force, threats or other pressure to make someone act against their will. A contract or other agreement obtained by improper threats can be voidable for duress (Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 175). Many coercive acts are also crimes, such as extortion and coercing a person by threats of violence.

A signature or note added to a document. On a check or note, it is the payee’s signature that transfers or deposits it, which the UCC spells “indorsement” (see Indorsement). In insurance, an endorsement is a written change added to a policy. The word also means public support for a person or product, which the FTC regulates in advertising (16 C.F.R. Part 255).

A notary public, a public officer commissioned by a state to witness signatures, confirm the identity of signers, take acknowledgments and administer oaths. A notary does not confirm that a document is true or legally valid. Each state sets its own commissioning rules and notarial acts, and many now allow remote online notarization.

Accepting something by staying silent or failing to object when one could be expected to speak. As a general rule, silence is not acceptance of a contract offer. However, Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 69 lists exceptions, such as when the person takes the offered benefits knowing they are offered for pay, or when past dealings make silence a reasonable sign of acceptance. Acquiescence can also affect property boundaries and waiver of rights.

An agreement shown by the parties’ conduct rather than by words. In contract law, it is called an implied-in-fact contract: for example, a patient who asks a doctor for treatment impliedly agrees to pay for it. It is enforceable like an express contract if the conduct shows mutual assent.

A formal request. In contract law, an application such as an insurance application is usually an offer or a request for an offer, and its statements can become part of the contract. In credit, Regulation B under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act defines an application as an oral or written request for an extension of credit made under the creditor’s procedures (12 C.F.R. § 1002.2(f)), and it requires creditors to notify applicants of action taken within set times.

A receipt issued by a person engaged in the business of storing goods for hire, as defined in UCC § 1-201(b)(42). UCC Article 7 governs warehouse receipts. A negotiable warehouse receipt can be transferred to give the holder rights to the stored goods, and the warehouse must generally deliver the goods to the person entitled under the receipt.

The statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, announcing that the thirteen American colonies were independent of Great Britain and explaining why. The Office of the Law Revision Counsel lists it first among the organic laws of the United States at the front of the U.S. Code. It expresses founding principles, but courts generally have not treated it as an independent source of rights that can be enforced in a lawsuit.