Latin for Lawyers

VEXATA QUAESTIO

tive agency. A pocket veto is the neglect or failure of the President to sign a statute into law within the period specified for approval or rejection (10 days) at a time when Congress is about to adjourn and will not be able to override the veto. The statute will be uneffective. VEXATA QUAESTIO [L. vexo , vexare / to annoy, trouble + quaestio / inquiry, investigation; a judicial inquiry] Troublesome questions or issues. Issues which a court has trouble deciding. VEXATIOUS [L. vexo , vexare / to annoy, trouble, harass] Troubling, difficult, annoying. An action underaken solely to annoy or harass. A vexatious claim or lawsuit is a claim or action brought to harass and intim idate the opponent and not with intent to litigate or adjudicate legitimate rights. An attorney who brings or supports vexatious litigation is subject to discipline. VIA ANTIQUA VIA EST TUTA The old ways are the wiser ways. VIA PUBLICA [L. via / a way or road + publicus / belonging to the people] A public roadway. VIA TRITA EST TUTISSIMA The beaten or well-trodden path is the more reliable path. VICARIOUS [L. vicarius / substituting one thing or person for another (from vicis / change, interchange)] Experienced through the thoughts and senses of another. Performed by one person for the benefit and enjoyment of another. Serving as a substitute for. A duty or responsibility imposed on one person for the acts of another. Vicari ous liability is liability imposed on one person for the conduct of another. The law imposes vicarious liability upon an employer for the negligence of an employee while acting in the furtherance and scope of his employment. Vicarious liability may be imposed also as between employer and indepen dent contractor, parent and child, participants in a joint enterprise, etc. VICARIUS NON HABET VICARIUM Literally, a vicar cannot appoint a deputy. The sense of the phrase is that an agent or representative of another cannot in turn delegate his assigned duties to a third person but must perform them himself.

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