Latin for Lawyers

SPURIOUS

SPURIOUS [L. spurius / an illegitimate child] Anyone born illegitimately. False; appearing real or true but actually ficti tious and false. Forged; deceitful. Counterfeit. A copy not painted by the original artist is spurious , as is a counterfeit bill. STAKE, STAKEHOLDER [L. tignum / wooden beam or stagarus / long dry stalk] A boundary marker used to define property lines in land surveys. Also, money deposited for the account of one of two or more persons to await the outcome of some event or contingency which will establish who is entitled to the money. Also, the subject matter of a claim or interpleader. Also, the inter est of a participant in some commercial undertaking. A stakeholder is the person who is assigned or entrusted to hold property claimed by two or more persons until the person entitled to the property is determined. STANDI See LOCUS STANDI STARE DECISIS [L. sto , stare / to stand + decido , decidere / to cut short; to settle or arrange] To stand by that which was decided. One of the fundamental principles of British and American jurisprudence, stare decisis stands for the rule that once an issue is decided or settled by a court of appellate jurisdiction which has considered all the elements of that issue, that decision should be followed by all courts of equal or lower jurisdiction in subsequent cases, whether or not they involve the same parties. The doctrine provides for stability and consis tency in the administration of justice. It is a rule which encourages adherence to judicial precedent. The rule applies only within the limits of one state and does not bind the courts of another state. See PRECEDENT STATE [L. stare / to stand ( status / position, posture)] A condition, attribute or attitude of a person or thing. The existing condition of a person or thing. One of several phases through which a person passes, as the state of infancy. A body of persons with a special social rank. Also, the political organization of a group of people into a cohesive and identifiable whole occuping a defined territory, as in New York State. A government hav ing a particular quality or character, as a police state. One of several compo nent political entities of equal rank which join together to form a federation of states, as in the fifty states forming the United States. A state agency is any official department or board of a state created for the purpose of carrying out the executive functions of the state. State action is action which is taken directly by any state or by its authorized representatives or which is legally

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