Latin for Lawyers

SCILICET

SCILICET [L. from scire / to know + licere / one can or may: that one may know] Namely, that is to say, to wit. See S. above SCINTILLA [SCINTILLA OF EVIDENCE] [L. scintilla / a spark (from scintillare / to sparkle)] A trace or insubstantial amount. Evidence which is speculative and conjec tural or less than substantial. The scintilla rule, now generally rejected and ignored, held that a verdict could not be directed for one party if there was so much as a shred or scintilla of evidence in favor of the other party. SCIRE DEBES CUM QUO CONTRAHIS Know the person you contract with. SCIRE FACIAS (SCI. FA.) [L. scire / to know + facio , facere / to do or make] An ancient statutory writ providing either for the entry of judgment or for execution upon a judgment. A writ requiring the defendant to show cause why some obligation by him contained in a public record, e.g., a filed judg ment, should not be enforced. A proceeding to enforce a garnishment or a bail bond. The proceeding instituted under a writ of scire facias . SCIRE FECI [L. scire + feci / pp of facere / to make or do; I have caused to be known] I have given notice. I have notified. The return filed with the court by the sheriff in response to a writ of scire facias . SCRIBERE EST AGERE [L. scribo , scribere / to engrave, write + esse / to be + ago , agere / to set in motion, to drive, to act] To write is to act. One who reduces his thoughts or acts to writing is bound by them. SCRIP [L. scriptum / pp of scribere / to write; something written] A short, condensed writing. A document entitling the holder to receive a frac tional share of a stock dividend. A certificate of indebtedness used as a sub stitute for money at the time of the Great Depression, or in another fiscal emergency. A scrip dividend is a document issued by a corporation, specifing the holder’s fractional interest in a stock dividend or entitling the holder to distribution of accumulated earnings at a later date. SCRIVENER [L. scriba / a scribe, a secretary (from scribo , scribere / to engrave or write)] A professional writer or transcriber of public or legal documents, e.g., deeds, contracts, wills, etc. Also, one who drafts documents.

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