Jus
spatiandi et manendi
Latin: referring to a legal right of way, and to enjoyment, granted to
the public but only for the purposes of recreation or education, such
as upon parks or public squares. Very similar to an easement of which
some courts have said a jus spatiandi is a special type.
Justice
Fairness. A state of affairs in which conduct or action is both fair and
right, given the circumstances. In law, it more specifically refers to
the paramount obligation to ensure that all persons are treated fairly.
Litigants "seek justice" by asking for compensation for wrongs
committed against them; to right the inequity such that, with the compensation,
a wrong has been righted and the balance of "good" or "virtue"
over "wrong" or "evil" has been corrected.
Laches
A legal doctrine whereby those who take too long to assert a legal right,
lose their entitlement to compensation. When you claim that a person's
legal suit against you is not valid because of this, you would call it
"estoppel by laches".
Landlord
A land or building owner who has leased the land, the building or a part
of the land or building, to another person.
Larceny
An old English criminal and common law offence covering the unlawful or
fraudulent removal of another's property without the owner's consent.
The offence of theft now covers most cases of larceny. But larceny is
wider than theft as it includes the taking of property of another person
by whatever means (by theft, overtly , by fraud, by trickery, etc.) if
an intent exists to convert that property to one's own use against the
wishes of the owner.
Leading
question
A question which suggests an answer; usually answerable by "yes"
or "no". For example: "Did you see David at 3 p.m.?"
These are forbidden to ensure that the witness is not coached by their
lawyer through his or her testimony. The proper form would be: "At
what time did you see David?" Leading questions are only acceptable
in cross-examination or where a witness is declared hostile.
