A third-party beneficiary is a person who is not a contracting party of a contract but can still receive the benefits from the performance of the contract. The privity of the contract is between the contracting parties - the promisor and...
legal practice/ethics
Tinker v. Des Moines
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School Systems (1969) was a Supreme Court case famous as a foundational case on protecting first amendment rights of students at publicly funded schools. The case arose when school administrators...
trap and trace device
A device or process that records the sources of incoming signals to a specific phone or computer. Often used by law enforcement as the advanced counterpart of Caller ID. A trap and trace device identifies the phone numbers or Internet addresses of...
turn state's evidence
Turn state’s evidence (also known as “turn King’s evidence”) or to "flip” means the defendant chose to reveal valuable evidence to the prosecutor, in exchange for a reduction of the charge or the dismissal of some charges. When the defendant...
unbundled legal services
See limited scope representation.
[Last updated in November of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]
Uniform Anatomical Gift Act
Originally enacted in 1968, the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act is a federal framework that sets how anatomical gifts can be made. Every state has enacted the provisions of the act in some form. The act allows a decedent or surviving relatives to...
United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (USCAAF)
United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (USCAAF) is a federal appellate court which exercises exclusive and worldwide jurisdiction over active members of the armed forces subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The USCAAF...
United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims is a federal appellate court which has exclusive national jurisdiction to review decisions of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA).
The Court was created under Article I of...
United States Marshals Service (USMS)
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Department of Justice federal law enforcement agency charged with ensuring the effective operation of the federal judiciary. The President appoints a U.S. Marshal for each federal district....
unreasonable
The term “unreasonable” refers to any action or result that exceeds a reasonable expectation, or refers to anything beyond what would be considered “common sense.” In criminal cases, the prosecutor should explain the evidence so clearly that...