Also known as: choices
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A selection between alternative performances, courses of action, or legal options that carries consequences under applicable rules of law.
After the November election Corinne Cho and her running mate receive the most electoral votes but fall short of a majority because two slates split the total. The House of Representatives convenes and selects Cho as President by state delegation vote. The constitutional vesting of executive power in a President chosen through this process confirms her four-year term begins on schedule.
Christian Coleman speeds through a residential area to rush an injured passenger to the hospital and collides with another vehicle. He later claims the conduct was necessary to avoid greater harm. Because Coleman was reckless in creating the emergency situation the justification is unavailable and he faces prosecution for reckless driving.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Central Dynamics enters a multi-year supply agreement with a California manufacturer that includes a California choice-of-law clause and contemplates ongoing performance and deliveries in the state. When the manufacturer sues in California for breach Central Dynamics moves to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. The court denies the motion because the deliberate contractual relationship and forum-related consequences make jurisdiction fair.
Carmen Choi promises to deliver either 500 widgets or a cash payment of equal value at her sole election. The recipient later claims the promise is enforceable as consideration for its own commitment. Because Choi reserved an unfettered choice between alternatives the promise supplies no consideration and the purported contract is unenforceable.
Camila Cervantes is driving when a child darts into the street. She swerves sharply and strikes a parked car. In the ensuing negligence suit the court instructs the jury that the sudden emergency requiring rapid decision is a factor in determining whether her choice of action was reasonable under the circumstances.
Continental Bank and a borrower litigate the validity of a security interest in equipment that moved between two states after the loan closed. The court applies the most-significant-relationship test and evaluates the policies of each interested state the justified expectations of the parties and the needs of interstate commerce before selecting the governing law.
A promise fails to supply consideration when the promisor reserves an unfettered choice between alternative performances unless each alternative would itself constitute consideration or a substantial possibility exists that events will eliminate the non-consideration alternatives before the choice is exercised.
The fact that an actor confronts a sudden emergency requiring rapid decision is considered in determining whether the chosen action was reasonable. The emergency does not automatically excuse prior negligence that created the situation.
The justification is unavailable when the actor was reckless or negligent in bringing about the situation that required a choice of harms or in appraising the necessity for the conduct.
Purposeful entry into a long-term interdependent contractual relationship with a forum resident together with contemplated future consequences in the forum and a choice-of-law clause favoring the forum ordinarily support jurisdiction unless the defendant shows grave inconvenience.
…whether or not to terminate her pregnancy. The detriment that the State would impose upon the pregnant woman by denying this choice altogether is apparent. Specific and direct harm medically diagnosable even in early pregnancy may be involved. Maternity, or additional offspring, may force upon the woman a distressful…