Latin for Lawyers

impeachment against President William Jefferson Clinton. In the law of evi dence, to impeach a witness is to call his veracity into question by showing prior inconsistent statements or contradictory facts or by challenging his character or reputation. To impeach a verdict is to challenge the integrity of a verdict for alleged improprieties by the jury. IMPEDIMENT [L. in + ped (see IMPEACH) ] A bar or hindrance; an obstacle. A disqualification or disability preventing entry into a legal relationship or the execution of a binding contract; e.g., infancy or insanity, or, in the case of marriage, the relationship between first cousins. IMPERFECT [L. in / not + perficio, perficere, perfectus / to complete, finish, achieve] Defective or incomplete in some element required by the law, e.g., an imper fect obligation , an imperfect title , an imperfect right . Unenforceable because lacking in some essential. IMPERITIA CULPAE ADNUMERATUR Ignorance or lack of skill may constitute negligence. IMPERSONATE [L. in / not + persona / a role or part; also, a mask worn by the actors in a Greek or Roman play] To represent oneself falsely as possessing a public office or a license required for the performance of a skill or profession, e.g., to impersonate a police officer or a doctor. Also, to pretend to be someone else; to play the role of another person. IMPLICATE [L. implicare / to involve, entangle] To involve in an act or event. To accuse someone of participation in an act, as in an accident or the commission of a crime. A suggestion or conclusion drawn from a set of circumstances. IMPLICIT [L. implico, implicare / to enfold, entangle, involve] Contained within something but not fully revealed, as “your anger is implicit

in that statement.” Potential. Existing but unexpressed. IMPLY, IMPLIED [L. implicare / to unfold, entangle]

To express indirectly, as through deeds, conduct and manner, rather than explicitely or directly. In law, to suggest the intentions of the parties to a transaction when the parties have themselves failed or neglected to define them expressly but have manifested them through their conduct. Examples: implied agency, implied consent, implied contract, implied easement, implied

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