Latin for Lawyers

MISAPPLY

MISAPPLY [L. mis / badly, incorrectly + applico, applicare / to place against, join to, place near] To use funds or property improperly. To convert to one's own use money or property belonging to someone else. To abuse a trust fund by diverting money to one's own account without authority. MISAPPROPRIATE [L. mis / badly + ad / to, towards + proprius / own, one's own, peculiar to oneself] To use, transfer or control funds for a purpose other than that intended or authorized. Theft or embezzlement. Illegal use of money or property by a person who is not the owner but who is entrusted with its care. Under the rules controlling lawyers in all states, funds received by a lawyer for the account of his client must be deposited in a specially segregated account and may not be appropriated by the lawyer for his own account or purposes except as authorized by the client or by the court. MISCARRIAGE [L. carrus / a four-wheeled vehicle] The result of bad management, administration or decision-making. An improper or incorrect result. A miscarriage of justice is a decision reached by the court in contradiction of the facts or the rules of law; a decision which requires reversal on appeal. MISCEGENATION [L. misceo, miscere / to mix or mingle + genus / kind, ori gin, race] The mixing of the races. Marriage between two persons of different race. This was prohibited by statute in many states. But all miscegenation statutes have now been held to violate the equal protection clause of the U.S. Consti tution. MISCONDUCT [L. mis + con / with + duco, ducere / to lead, draw from place to place] Violation of a rule or mandate. An illegal action which results in harm or loss to another. An infraction or misstep. Wrongful behavior, as by a juror who talks about a case with someone other than his fellow jurors, or an employee who abuses the trust of his employer. Misconduct by an attorney may be defined as any violation of the rules of court or of the codes of professional conduct in the state of license. Misconduct in office is a wilful violation by a public official of the duties of his office. MISCREANT [L. mis / bad, wrong + credere / to believe] A non-believer or infidel. A person who rejects accepted religious or moral values. A criminal or wrongdoer.

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