Latin for Lawyers

L ATIN FOR L AWYERS

attributed to it; under federal law, state action is subject to judicial scrutiny for violations of due process and equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. A participant in a crime who agrees to testify for the state in a criminal prosecution in exchange for a reduced sentence is said to turn state’s evidence . The doctrine of states’ rights is a doctrine grafted onto the Consti tutional concept that those powers not specifically granted to the federal gov ernment are reserved to the individual states; the doctrine is used by states which choose to challenge federal intervention in certain areas of govern ment, as by the Southern states in their now unlawful effort to preserve sepa rate-but-equal systems of public education. STATEMENT [L. status / standing, condition, position] Anything stated; a declaration or remark. An allegation of a matter of fact. A written or oral assertion. Also, a financial record. The summary at a particu lar moment of the invoices owed and credits extended to a purchaser of goods or services. A closing statement is a summary prepared by an attorney fol lowing a real estate transaction, showing the financial elements governing the transaction. A financial statement is a statement showing the financial condi tion and course of activities of a business enterprise as of a given date. A statement of affairs is a statement and schedule required of a debtor in bank ruptcy, showing his past financial transactions and his current financial condi tion. An opening statement is the statement made by an attorney to the jury before receipt of testimony in which he outlines the scope and content of his proof. STATIM ( STAT) [L. stare / to stand, hold firm] Instantly, immediately. STAT PRO RATIONE VOLUNTAS POPULI The public will has priority even over reason. STATU QUO [L. status / a standing position, a posture + quo / in which] See IN STATU QUO STATUS [L. status / position, posture] Relative rank in a hierarchy of things or persons. The position or condition of a person as determined by the law. Present condition or position. STATUS CRIME A crime defined not by the nature of the specific act committed by the accused, but by his personal condition or character. The crime of vagrancy is an example of a status crime . A vagrant commits no act except, perhaps, the act of standing on a corner or sleeping on a street. A status offender is a juve-

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