Also known as: appreciates · appreciated · appreciating · appreciation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
3 senses
The capacity to recognize the nature and wrongfulness of one's conduct. This capacity is a required element for criminal responsibility under standards that excuse liability when mental disease or defect substantially impairs the ability to form that recognition.
The capacity to recognize the nature and wrongfulness of one's conduct. This capacity is a required element for criminal responsibility under standards that excuse liability when mental disease or defect substantially impairs the ability to form that recognition.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
An increase in the value of property. Such an increase may be classified as marital or individual property depending on the source of the appreciation and applicable statutory rules governing division upon dissolution.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
An expression of thanks or recognition through a nominal gift. Such gifts are permitted when they are not intended or reasonably expected to serve as compensation for client referrals.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
An increase in the value of property. Such an increase may be classified as marital or individual property depending on the source of the appreciation and applicable statutory rules governing division upon dissolution.
An expression of thanks or recognition through a nominal gift. Such gifts are permitted when they are not intended or reasonably expected to serve as compensation for client referrals.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Alexis Archer, suffering from untreated schizophrenia, set fire to an abandoned warehouse believing the flames would summon protective spirits. At trial she introduced psychiatric evidence that her delusions prevented her from recognizing the act as criminal. The court instructed the jury to determine whether she lacked substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of her conduct under the governing standard.
Alice Atkins was convicted of embezzlement. At the penalty phase she offered expert testimony that bipolar disorder had impaired her ability to appreciate the criminality of her actions. The court admitted the evidence for consideration in deciding between imprisonment and a lesser sentence.
Apollo Energy shareholders sued after a merger announcement caused stock price movement. The defense argued that investors could appreciate the inherent uncertainty of mergers even without disclosure of preliminary talks. The court considered whether the market understood that such transactions remain risky until closing.
The Code excuses responsibility when mental disease or defect substantially impairs the defendant's capacity to appreciate the criminality or wrongfulness of conduct. The impairment must be substantial rather than total and must exist at the time of the offense.
Supporting sources
Evidence that mental disease or defect impaired the defendant's capacity to appreciate the criminality of conduct is admissible at sentencing when the jury or court may choose between death and imprisonment.
Supporting sources
Ava Adebayo inherited a parcel of land before marriage. During the marriage the land's value rose sharply because of rezoning. Upon divorce the court examined whether the appreciation resulted from the spouse's efforts or from passive market forces to decide whether any portion qualified as marital property.
Alfred Ashford and his spouse accumulated investment accounts over twenty years of marriage. At dissolution the court weighed each party's contributions to the preservation and appreciation of those assets, along with their respective needs and earning capacities, before ordering an equitable division.
Appreciation of a spouse's individual property remains individual unless it is classified as marital under statutory rules such as those governing substantial contributions by the other spouse or commingling that changes the character of the asset.
Supporting sources
A prediction that an asset will appreciate is ordinarily treated as an expression of opinion rather than a statement of fact and therefore does not support a misrepresentation claim unless accompanied by a false assertion of existing fact.
Supporting sources
Arthur Abrams, a solo practitioner, sent a $25 gift card to a local real-estate agent who had referred a client. The agent had no expectation of payment and the card was accompanied by a note thanking the agent for the introduction. Abrams documented that the gift was not intended as compensation and complied with the nominal-value limit.
A lawyer may give a nominal gift as an expression of appreciation provided the gift is neither intended nor reasonably expected to compensate the recipient for recommending the lawyer's services.
Supporting sources
…and then to examine the state purposes and interests behind the criminal abortion laws. II It perhaps is not generally appreciated that the restrictive criminal abortion laws in effect in a majority of States today are of relatively recent vintage. Those laws, generally proscribing abortion or its attempt at any time…