Also known as: cedes · ceded · ceding · cedent · cedents · cession · cessions · reinsurance cede · cede rights
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
To transfer sovereignty, jurisdiction, or rights from one party to another, typically by treaty, statute, or agreement, thereby binding the transferring party to forgo future exercise of the surrendered power.
Charlotte Chung, a textile importer in New York, challenges a federal excise on imported fabric that applies only to shipments entering East Coast ports. Congress enacts the levy under its Article I power and refuses to extend the same rate to Gulf ports. The court upholds the statute because the taxing power does not require states to cede any portion of their own revenue authority to the federal government.
Connor Clark sues a rival for infringing his patented diagnostic device. At trial the parties dispute the meaning of the term "sample chamber." The district judge construes the claim rather than submitting the question to the jury, exercising the judicial authority that precedent assigns to the court instead of ceding it to lay fact-finders.
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Cody Callahan, an army sergeant stationed in Japan, is accused of murdering his wife on base. Under the status-of-forces agreement the United States obtains exclusive jurisdiction and the Japanese government formally cedes any right to prosecute in its civilian courts.
Cecilia Cabrera, a former state employee, sues Maine in its own courts for unpaid overtime under federal law. Maine refuses to recognize congressional power to abrogate its immunity, arguing that the Constitution never authorized states to cede their traditional immunity in their own tribunals.
Cynthia Cortez is convicted of assault. The judge finds that she used a firearm and imposes an enhanced sentence beyond the statutory maximum. The Supreme Court reverses because the legislature cannot cede to the judge the jury's historic role of determining facts that increase punishment.
Claire Campbell is convicted under the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act for carrying a handgun near a high school. The Court invalidates the statute, holding that Congress may not regulate purely local, noncommercial activity by claiming authority the Constitution never ceded to the national government.
Cession transfers authority over persons or territory from one government to another, usually by treaty or statute. The ceding party loses the power to exercise the surrendered authority. In military contexts the receiving sovereign must still afford due process.
No. Limited partners owe no duties merely by holding that status. Any obligations arise only from the partnership agreement or from the duty of good faith when they exercise specific statutory rights. The law treats limited partners as passive investors who have ceded management to the general partner.
No. The Constitution does not authorize Congress to strip states of immunity in their own judicial systems. Early congressional practice and founding-era concerns confirm that states never ceded this immunity to the federal government.
Uniformity in patent scope requires that legal construction remain with the court. Allowing juries to decide claim meaning would produce inconsistent results across cases involving the same patent.
…well aware that agriculture, manufacturing, and other matters substantially affected commerce, the founding generation did not cede authority over all these activities to Congress. Hamilton, for instance, acknowledged that the Federal Government could not regulate agriculture and like concerns: "The administration of…