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eleemosynae (el-a-mos-a-nee), n. pI. Eccles. law. Possessions belonging to the church.

eleemosynaria (el-a-mos-a-nair-ee-a), 1. The place in a religious house or church where the common alms were deposited, to be distributed to the poor by the almoner. 2. The office of almoner.

eleemosynarius (el-a-mos-a-nair-ee-as), n. [Law Latin], 1. An almoner, or chief officer, who received the eleemosynary rents and gifts and distributed them to pious and charitable uses. 2. The name of an officer (Lord Almoner) of the English kings, in former times, who distributed the royal alms or bounty.

eleemosynary (el-a-mos-a-ner-ee), adj. Of, relating to, or assisted by charity; not-for-profit <an eleemosynary institution>.

eleemosynary corporation See charitable corporation.

eleemosynary corporationp- See charitable corporation under CORPORATIOK.

eleemosynary defense See charitable immunity under IMMUNITY (2).

eleemosynary defense- See charitable immunity under IMMUNITY (2).

eleganter (el-a-gan-tar), adv. Civil law. Accurately; with discrimination; neatly.

elegit (a-Iee-jit). [Latin "he has chosen"], A writ of execution (first given by 13 Edw., ch. 18) either upon a judgment for a debt or damages or upon the forfeiture of a recognizance taken in the king's court. Under it, the defendant's goods and chattels were appraised and, except for plow beasts, delivered to the plaintiff to satisfy the debt. If the goods were not sufficient to pay the debt, then the portion of the defendant's freehold lands held at the time of judgment was also delivered to the plaintiff, to hold until the debt was satisfied out of rents and profits or until the defendant's interest expired. During this period the plaintiff was called tenant by elegit, and the estate an estate by elegit. The writ was abolished in England in 1956, and it is no longer used anywhere in the United States.

element 1. A constituent part of a claim that must be proved for the claim to succeed <Burke failed to prove the element of proximate cause in prosecuting his negligence claim>. 2. Patents. A discretely claimed component of a patent claim. For a prior-art reference to anticipate a claim, it must teach each and every claim element. To recover for patent infringement, the plaintiff must prove that the accused product infringes every element of at least one claim, either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents. Also termed (in sense 2) limitation. See DOCTRINE OF EQUlVAI,ENTS.

elemental fact See ultimate fact under FACT.

elemental fact- See ultimate fact.

elements of crime The constituent parts of a crime usu. consisting of the actus reus, mens rea, and causation that the prosecution must prove to sustain a conviction. The term is more broadly defined by the Model Penal Code in § 1.13(9) to referto each component of the actus reus, causation, the mens rea, any grading factors, and the negative of any defense.

eleventh amendment The constitutional amendment, ratified in 1795, prohibiting a federal court from hearing an action against a state by a person who is not a citizen of that state. See sovereign immunity under IMMUNITY (1).

eligible adj. Fit and proper to be selected or to receive a benefit; legally qualified for an office, privilege, or status. - eligibility, n.

elimination The act of banishing or turning out of doors; rejection.

elinguation (ee-ling-gway-shan). The punishment of cutting out a person's tongue. - elinguate, vb.

elisor (i-li-zar). A person appointed by a court to assemble a jury, serve a writ, or perform other duties of the sheriff or coroner if either is disqualified. - Also spelled eslisor.

elkins act A 1903 federal law that strengthened the Interstate Commerce Act by prohibiting rebates and other forms of preferential treatment to large carriers. 49 USCA §§ 41-43 (superseded).

ell (el). A measure of length corresponding to the modern yard.

ellenborough's act (el-an-braz). An English law (the Malicious Shooting and Stabbing Act) of 1803 punishing offenses against the person. St. 43 Geo. 3, ch. 58.

elogium (i-Ioh-jee-dm), n. Civil law. 1. A will or testament. 2. A clause or provision in a will or testament.

eloign (i-loyn), vb. 1. To remove (a person or property) from a court's or sheriffs jurisdiction. 2. To remove to a distance; conceaL Also spelled eloin. eloigner, n.

eloignment (i-Ioyn-mant), n. The getting of a thing or person out of the way, or removing it to a distance, so as to be out of reach.

elongata (ee-Iawng-gay-ta). [Latin], 1. adj. Eloigned; carried away to a distance. 2. ELONGATUS.

elongatus (ee-Iawng-gay-tas). [Latin "eloigned"], A return made by a sheriff to a writ de homine replegiando, stating that the party to be replevied has been eloigned, or conveyed out of the sheriff's jurisdiction. Also termed elongata.

elongavit (ee-lawng-gay-vit). [Latin "he has e1oigned"] In a proceeding by foreign attachment, the serjeant-atmace's return that the garnishee has eloigned the goods, so that they cannot be appraised. Upon such a return, judgment was given for the plaintiff that an inquiry be made into the eloigned goods. The inquiry was then set for trial and an assessment made by a jury.

elope 1. Archaic. To run away; escape. 2. Archaic. To abandon one's husband and run away with a lover. 3. To run away secretly for the purpose of getting married, often without parental consent. - elopement, n.

elsewhere adv. (bef. 12c) In another place. In shipping articles, this term, following the designation of the port of destination, must be construed either as void for uncertainty or as subordinate to the principal voyage stated in the preceding words.

eluviation (i-Ioo-vee-ay-shan). Movement of soil caused by excessive water in the soil.

em biers de gentz (em-blarz da jents). [Law French] A theft from the people. The phrase occurs in the old English rolls of Parliament - for example, "Whereas divers murders, emblers de gentz, and robberies are committed ...."

e-mail A communication exchanged between people by computer, through either a local area network or the Internet.

emanation 1. The act of coming or flowing forth from something. 2. That which flows or comes forth from something; an effluence.

emancipate 1. To set free from legal, social, or political restraint; esp., to free from slavery or bondage. 2. To release (a child) from the control, support, and responsibility of a parent or guardian. - emancipative, emancipatory, adj. - emancipator, n.

emancipated minor See MINOR.

emancipatio See EMANCIPATION (3).

emancipation 1. The act by which one who was under another's power and control is freed. 2. A surrender and renunciation of the correlative rights and duties concerning the care, custody, and earnings of a child; the act by which a parent (historically a father) frees a child and gives the child the right to his or her own earnings. This act also frees the parent from all legal obligations of support. Emancipation may take place by agreement between the parent and child, by operation of law (as when the parent abandons or fails to support the child), or when the child gets legally married or enters the armed forces. 3. Roman law. The enfranchisement of a son by his father, accomplished through the formality ofan imaginary sale. - Justinian substituted the simpler proceeding of a manumission before a magistrate. - Also termed (in sense 3) emancipatio. Cf. MANCIPATION.

emancipation act See MARRIED WOMEN'S PROPERTY ACTS.

emancipation proclamation An executive proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, declaring that all persons held in slavery in designated states and districts were freed.

embargo 1. A government's wartime or peacetime detention of an offending nation's private ships found in the ports of the aggrieved nation <the President called off the embargo of Iraq's ships after the war ended>. Also spelled imbargo. - Also termed hostile embargo. "A hostile embargo is a kind of reprisal by one nation upon vessels within its ports belonging to another nation with which a difference exists, for the purpose of forcing it to do justice. If this measure should be followed by war, the vessels are regarded as captured, if by peace, they are restored," Theodore D. Woolsey, Introduction to the Study of International Law § 118, at 187 (5th ed. 1878). 2. A nation's detention of all ships in its own ports, including its own, to promote safety and to preclude transportation to an offending nation <the embargo of all U.S. ships traveling to Iraq remained in effect until hostilities subsided>. - Also termed civil embargo. "A civil embargo may be laid for the purpose of national welfare or safety, as for the protection of commercial vessels against the rules of belligerent powers which would expose them to capture. Such was the measure adopted by the United States in December 1807, which detained in port all vessels except those which had a public commission, and those that were already laden or should sail in ballast. The right to adopt such a measure of temporary non-intercourse is undoubted." Theodore D. Woolsey, Introduction to the Study of International Law § 118, at 187 (5th ed. 1878).

embassador See AMBASSADOR.

embassy 1. The building in which a diplomatic body is located; esp., the residence of the ambassador. 2. A body of diplomatic representatives headed by an ambassador; a diplomatic mission on the ambassadorial level. 3. The mission, business, and function of an ambassador. Cf. LEGATION.

ember days eccles The days which the ancient church fathers called quatuor tempora jejunii - that are observed on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday follOWing (1) Quadragesima Sunday (the first Sunday in Lent), (2) Whitsuntide, or Holyrood Day, in September, and (3) St. Lucy's day, about the middle of December. Almanacs refer to the weeks in which these days fall as Ember Weeks; they are now chiefly noticed because, by tradition, the Sundays follOWing Ember Days are used to ordain priests and deacons, although the canon law allows bishops to ordain on any Sunday or holiday.

embezzlernent The fraudulent taking of personal property with which one has been entrusted, esp. as a fiduciary. The criminal intent for embezzlernent unlike larceny and false pretenses arises after taking possession (not before or during the taking). Also termed defalcation; peculation. See LARCENY; FALSE PRETENSES. embezzle, vb. embezzler, n. "Embezzlement is not a common-law crime. It is the result of legislative efforts to make provision for an unreasonable gap which appeared in the law of larceny as it developed. Under the early English statute embezzlement was made a misdemeanor, but under most modern American statutes it is either a felony or a misdemeanor depending upon the value of the property converted." Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 351 (3d ed. 1982). "Embezzlement can be defined as the fraudulent conver· sion of the property of another by one who has lawful possession of the property and whose fraudulent conversion has been made punishable by the statute." Arnold H. Loewy, Criminal Law in a Nutshell 94 (2d ed. 1987).

emblem 1. A flag, armorial bearing, or other symbol of a country, organization, or movement. 2. Loosely, something that is used to symbolize something else.

emblemata triboniani (em-blee-ma-to tro-boh-neeay-ni). [Latin], Roman law. Alterations, modifications, and additions to the writings of the older jurists that were combined to form the Digest or Pandects, and generally termed interpolations. Justinian appointed a comrnission over which Tribonian presided to harmonize contradictions, delete obsolete matter, and bring the law up to date. This term is considered old-fashioned by rnodern Romanists. See INTERPOLATIONS.

emblements (em-bla-mants). 1. The growing crop annually produced by labor, as opposed to a crop occurring naturally. Emblements are considered personal property that the executor or administrator of a deceased tenant may harvest and take regardless of who rnay have since occupied the land. Also termed fructus industriales. [Cases; Crops 2. The tenant's right to harvest and take away such crops after the tenancy has ended. "At common law those products of the earth which are annual, and are raised by yearly manurance and labor, and essentially owe their annual existence to the cultivation by man, [are] termed 'emblements' and sometimes 'fructus industriales.''' Sparrow v. Pond. 52 N.w. 36 (Minn. 1892). ''The law of emblements has its origin and matrix, in the privilege, recognized at least as early as the fifteenth century, of the tenant for an uncertain term, to harvest and remove, even after the tenancy had terminated, the annual crop, which he had planted and nurtured." Ray Andrews Brown, The Law of Personal Property § 159, at 806 (2d ed. 1955).

embodied technology Intellectual property. Know-how or knowledge that is manifest in products and equipment, including software. Cf. DISEMBODIED TECHNOLOGY.

embodiment 1. The tangible manifestation of an invention. 2. The method for using this tangible form. 3. The part of a patent application or patent that describes a concrete manifestation of the invention. Embodiments are less common in software or process patents than in manufacturingrelated patents.

embossed seal See NOTARY SEAL.

embracee (em-bray-see). The bribe-taker in the offense of embracery.

embracery (im-brays-a-ree), The attempt to corrupt or wrongfully influence a judge or juror, esp. by threats or bribery. Also spelled imbracery. Also termed jury-tampering; laboring a jury. Cf. JURY-FIXING; JURY-PACKING. "The word 'embracery' ... has tended to disappear. It is included in some of the codes but the tendency has been to divide this common-law offense into two parts, placing that which is appropriate thereto in sections on bribery and the remainder in provisions dealing with obstruction of justice." Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 552 (3d ed. 1982).

embryo (em-bree-oh). A developing but unborn or unhatched animal; esp., an unborn human from conception until the development oforgans (i.e., until about the eighth week of pregnancy). Cf. FETUS; ZYGOTE.

embryo adoption The receipt of a frozen embryo that is implanted into a recipient's womb . Donors must waive all parental rights before the recipients of the embryo assume legal ownership or custody. The process is not considered to be a legal adoption because American law does not treat embryos as children.

embryo adoption- See ADOPTION.

embryo formatus (for-may-tas). Eccles. law. A human embryo organized into human shape and endowed with a soul. Though rejected in the early doctrine of the Christian church, the distinction between the embryo formatus and informatus was accepted by Gratian (regarded as the founder of canon law) in his Decretum (ca. 1140), in which he said that abortion is not murder if the fetus has not yet been infused with a soul. Though he did not specify the time of formation or animation, by the 16th century canonists accepted that the time of formation and animation was the 40th day after conception tor the male fetus and the 80th day for the female. - Also termed embryo animatus.

embryo informatus (in-for-may-tas). Eccles. law. A human embryo before it has been endowed with a soul. - Also termed embryo inanimatus.

emend (i-mend), vb. To correct or revise; esp., to edit or change (a text).

emenda (ee-men-da), n. pI. [Latin "amends"], Things given in reparation for a trespass.

emendatio (ee-men-day-shee-oh), n. [Latin], The power of amending and correcting abuses, according to certain rules and measures.

emendatio panis et cerevisiae (ee-men-day-shee-oh pan-is et ser-a-vizh-ee-ee). [Latin "the correction of bread and ale"], The power of supervising and correcting (assizing) the weights and measures of bread and ale.

emendation (ee-men-day-shan). 1. Correction or revision, esp. of a text. 2. The correction of an error or wrongdoing; atonement tor a criminal offense, esp. by the payment of money. As criminal law developed over time, emendation by payment of wer or wife gradually faded away and was replaced by harsher punishments.

emergency circumstances See exigent circumstances under CIRCUMSTANCE.

emergency court of appeals A temporary court, established during World War II, whose purpose was to review wage- and price-control matters. The court was created in 1942 and abolished in 1962. Cf. TEMPORARY EMERGENCY COURT OF APPEALS.

emergency doctrine 1. A legal principle exempting a person from the ordinary standard of reasonable care if that person acted instinctively to meet a sudden and urgent need for aid. Also termed imminent-peril doctrine; sudden-emergency doctrine; sudden-peril doctrine; sudden-peril rule.2. A legal principle by which consent to medical treatment in a dire situation is inferred when neither the patient nor a responsible party can consent but a reasonable person would do so. Also termed (in sense 2) emergency-treatment doctrine. Cf. GOOD SAMARITAN DOCTRINE; RESCUE DOCTRINE. 3. The principle that a police officer may conduct a search without a warrant if the officer has probable cause and reasonably believes that immediate action is needed to protect life or property. Also termed emergency exception. See exigent circumstances under CIRCUMSTANCE.

emergency exception See EMERGENCY DOCTRINE (3).

emergency jurisdiction A courts ability to take jurisdiction of a child who is physically present in the state when that child has been abandoned or when necessary to protect the child from abuse. Section 3(a)(3) of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act allows for emergency jurisdiction. It is usu. temporary, lasting only as long as is necessary to protect the child.

emergency jurisdiction See JURISDICTION.

emergency preparedness and response directorate The former division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security responsible for coordinating relief and recovery efforts and for developing and coordinating plans to prevent terrorism and to minimize risks of danger from natural disasters. The Directorate included the Federal Emergency Management Agency and also coordinated efforts with the Strategic National Stockpile and the National Disaster Medical System from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Nuclear Incident Response Team from the Department of Energy, the Domestic Emergency Support Teams from the Department of Justice, the National Domestic Preparedness Office ofthe Federal Bureau ofInvestigation, and state and local emergency responders. It was abolished in July 2005.- Abbr. EPR.

emergency protective order See PROTECTIVE ORDER.

emergency protective order A temporary protective order granted on an expedited basis, usu. after an ex parte hearing (without notice to the other side), most commonly to provide injunctive relief from an abuser in a domestic-violence case; esp., a shortterm restraining order that is issued at the request of a law-enforcement officer in response to a domesticviolence complaint from a victim who is in immediate danger. A victim of domestic violence can obtain an EPa only through a law-enforcement officer. There is no notice requirement, but the abuser must be served with the order. The duration of an EPa varies from three to seven days, depending on state law. - Abbr. EPa. Cf. TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER.

emergency search A warrantless search conducted by a police officer who has probable cause and reasonably believes that, because of a need to protect life or property, there is not enough time to obtain a warrant. See EMERGENCY DOCTRINE (3).

emergency search See SEARCH.

emergency-employment doctrine The principle that an employee may enlist another's help in dealing with an emergency that falls within the scope of the employee's duties and that could not be overcome without the assistance of the other person.

emergency-treatment doctrine See EMERGENCY DOCTRINE (2).

emerita See EMERITUS.

emeritus An honorary title conferred on a former officer or professor who has honorably retired, usu. after serving for an extended period well beyond the norm. The term is loosely used as an adjective meaning "honored," but it is not a synonym for " "retired," or "immediate past" (as in "immediate past president"). Sec HONORARY. PI. emeriti. Fem. emerita. Fern. pI. emeritae.

emigrant (em-a-grant), n. One who leaves his or her country for any reason with the intent to establish a permanent residence elsewhere. Cf. IMMIGRANT.

emigrant agent One engaged in the business ofhiring laborers for work outside the country or state.

emigrant agent- See AGENT (2).

emigration (em-a-gray-shan), The act of leaving a country with the intent not to return and to reside elsewhere. Cf. IMMIGRATION. emigrate, vb. "Emigration is usually defined as the voluntary removal of an individual from his home State with the intention of residing abroad. However, not all emigration is voluntary; there sometimes exists forced emigration, even mass emi· gration. Emigration may also be due to flight for political reasons or expulsion. One then speaks of refugees or exiles." Paul Weis, "Emigration," in 2 Encyclopedia of Public International Law 76 (1995).

emigre (em-a-gray or em-a-gray), n. [French], One who is forced to leave his or her country for political reasons. Also spelled emigre.

eminence (em-a-nants). (usu. cap.), Eccles. law. An honorary title given to cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. Until the pontificate of Urban VIII, cardinals were called illustrissimi and reverendissimi.

eminent domain The inherent power of a governmental entity to take privately owned property, esp. land, and convert it to public use, subject to reasonable compensation for the taking. Also (rarely) termed compulsory purchase; (in Scots law) compulsory surrender. See CONDEMNATION (2); EXPROPRIATION; TAKING (2). "The term 'eminent domain' is said to have originated with Grotius, the seventeenth century legal scholar. Grotius believed that the state possessed the power to take or destroy property for the benefit of the social unit, but he believed that when the state so acted, it was obligated to compensate the injured property owner for his losses. Blackstone, too, believed that society had no general power to take the private property of landowners, except on the payment of a reasonable price. The just compensation clause of the fifth amendment to the Constitution was built upon this concept of a moral obligation to pay for governmental interference with private property.... No provision for the power of eminent domain appears in the federal Constitution. The Supreme Court, however, has said that the power of eminent domain is an incident of federal sovereignty and an 'offspring of political necessity.' The Court has also noted that the fifth amendment's limitation on taking private property is a tacit recognition that the power to take private property exists." John E. Nowak & Ronald D. Rotunda, Constitutional Law § 11.11, at 424-25 (4th ed. 1991) (quoting Bauman v. Ross, 167 U.S. 548, 574, 17 S.Ct. 966, 976 (1897".

eminent domain clause The Fifth Amendment provision providing that private property cannot be taken for public use without just compensation. See TAKINGS CLAUSE.

emissary One sent on a special mission as another's agent or representative, esp. to promote a cause or to gain information.

emit 1. To give off or discharge into the air <emit light>. 2. To issue with authority <emit a new series of currency>. - emission, n.

emolument (i-mol-ya-mant), n. (usu. pl.) Any advantage, profit, or gain received as a result of one's employment or one's holding of office.

emoluments clause 1. The clause of the United States Constitution preventing members of Congress from continuing to serve in Congress after accepting an appointment to another federal office, and also prohibiting such an appointment if the office was created or its emoluments increased while the Senator or Representative served in Congress. U.S. Const. art. I, § 6, d. 2. Also written Emolument Clause. 2. FOREIGN EMOLUMENTS CLAUSE.

e-money See MONEY.

emotional abuse Physical or verbal abuse that causes or could cause serious emotional injury. Also termed mental abuse; psychological abuse.

emotional abuse- See ABUSE.

emotional distress A highly unpleasant mental reaction (such as anguish, grief, fright, humiliation, or fury) that results from another person's conduct; emotional pain and suffering. Emotional distress, when severe enough, can form a basis for the recovery of tort damages. Also termed emotional harm; mental angUish; mental distress; mental suffering. See INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS; NEGLIGENT INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS. Cf. mental cruelty under CRUELTY. "Emotional distress passes under various names, such as mental suffering, mental anguish, mental or nervous shock, or the like. It includes all highly unpleasant mental reactions, such as fright, horror, grief, shame, humiliation, embarrassment, anger, chagrin, disappointment, worry, and nausea. It is only where it is extreme that the liability arises. Complete emotional tranquility is seldom attain· able in this world, and some degree of transient and trivial emotional distress is a part of the price of living among people. The law intervenes only where the distress inflicted is so severe that no reasonable man could be expected to endure it. The intensity and the duration of the distress are factors to be considered in determining its severity. Severe distress must be proved; but in many cases the extreme and outrageous character of the defendant's conduct is in itself important evidence that the distress has existed:' Restatement (Second) of Torts § 46 cmt. j (1965).

emotional harm See EMOTIONAL DISTRESS.

emotional incapacity 1. The inability to control one's emotions or express appropriate emotions because of a mental disorder. 2. Hist. Evidence. (Of a witness) hostility or partiality rooted in bias, corruption, or interest. At common law, an interested witness was not competent to testify on grounds of emotional incapacity. See State v. Craft, 41 So. 550,551 (La. 1906).

emotional insanity See INSANITY.

emotional insanity Insanity produced by a violent excitement of the emotions or passions, although reasoning faculties may remain unimpaired; a passion that for a period creates complete derangement of intellect. Emotional insanity is sometimes described as an irresistible impulse to do an act. See IRRESISTIBLE-IMPULSE TEST.

empanel To swear in (a jury) to try an issue or case. - Also spelled impanel.

empaneled jury See JURY