wex definitions

Abercrombie classification

Abercrombie classification, taking its name from the case Abercrombie & Fitch Co. v. Hunting World Inc., refers to a system designating how generic a given trademark is for the purposes of intellectual property law. This system...

abet

Abet refers to criminally assisting another person in the commission of a crime including planning a crime, escaping from a crime, or in the actual commission of the crime.

A party that abets commission of a crime can be...

abeyance

An abeyance is a temporary suspension of activity while awaiting the resolution of some other proceeding without which the activity in abeyance cannot continue.

In the case of a plea in abeyance, the defendant enters a...

able to work

The definition of “able to work” is defined as capable of employment. A person who is able to work is ineligible to receive unemployment benefits on the basis of illness or injury.

See, e.g., International Union, et al. v...

abrogate

To abrogate is to formally annul or repeal a law through an act of legislation, constitutional authority, or custom. For example, the Supreme Court of Michigan explained in Ferency v. Secretary of State that “an existing constitutional...

abscond

Abscond means leaving a jurisdiction secretly or suddenly, e.g. to avoid service of process, arrest, or prosecution; or leaving with another person's money or property. Absconding is generally a criminal offense which may lead to imprisonment...

absentee ballot

An absentee ballot is a paper ballot submitted, before an election day and often by mail, by a voter who is unable to attend the official polling station on election day. It is also referred to as an absentee vote. Generally, such a vote is...

absolute

Absolute is used commonly in property law and in divorce law meaning final or without limitations.

Property: Absolute is used in property law to describe an estate that is free from any limitations. Only a fee simple may be...

absolute disparity

Absolute disparity is a calculation used to analyze a claim that a jury pool did not represent a fair cross-section of the community. For instance, a jury pool that is composed of only white jurors in a community that is predominantly Black....

absolute privilege

Absolute privilege, in defamation cases, refers to the fact that in certain circumstances, an individual is immune from liability for defamatory statements.

Absolute privilege applies to statements made in certain contexts...

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