Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A state of being physically located at or within a specified place or proximity to a person or thing. In legal rules the concept determines whether an element such as taking property, counting votes, conducting deliberations, receiving communications, or entering land is satisfied.
Pedro Pacheco approaches Perry Pratt on a sidewalk and demands Pratt's wallet. Pratt refuses and clutches the wallet to his chest. Pacheco grabs the wallet and flees. The taking satisfies the presence element because the wallet remained within Pratt's immediate reach and control at the moment of the taking.
After the states appoint electors, the President of the Senate opens the certificates in a joint session. Members of both the Senate and the House sit in the chamber while the votes are tallied and announced. The constitutional requirement of presence is met by the physical attendance of the legislators during the counting.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Priscilla Parks moves for summary judgment in a contract action. Pinnacle Holdings responds with deposition excerpts and an affidavit that directly contradict Parks's account of the delivery date. The materials establish the presence of a genuine dispute, so the court denies the motion.
Premier Manufacturing's board considers a contract with a company owned by one director. The remaining qualified directors meet separately, deliberate, and vote without that director in the room or participating. The statutory condition of action outside the presence of the interested director is satisfied.
A party emails the judge directly about the merits of a pending motion without copying opposing counsel. The judge reads the message. Because the communication occurred outside the presence of the parties and their lawyers, the rule prohibiting ex parte contacts is violated.
Penelope Price walks across Pablo Perez's fenced backyard to reach a shortcut. She knows the land belongs to Perez and enters without permission. Her physical presence on the property satisfies the intentional-entry element of trespass even though no damage occurs.
Property counts as taken from the victim's immediate presence when it is reasonably close to the victim. Courts treat items located in other rooms of the same house where the victim is present as satisfying the element.
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Yes. The statute requires that qualified directors deliberate and vote outside the presence of and without participation by any other director. Complete exclusion from the room meets that requirement.
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Receipt violates the rule when the communication concerns a pending matter and occurs outside the presence of the parties or their lawyers. The prohibition applies even if the judge does not respond.
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Yes. Liability attaches to intentional entry even though the presence on the land causes no harm to the land, its possessor, or any protected interest.
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