Also known as:proscribes · proscribed · proscribing · proscription · proscriptions · prohibit · outlaw
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
To forbid or prohibit specified conduct by statutory, regulatory, or other legal command. Violation may trigger criminal penalties, civil sanctions, or procedural bars.
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How its tested
Common Examples
6
Racial Peremptory Strike Challenge
During jury selection in Phoebe Park's criminal trial, the prosecutor struck all Black venire members. Phoebe's counsel made a prima facie showing of racial motivation. The trial court required the prosecutor to supply a race-neutral reason for each strike before allowing the panel to be seated.
Religious Housing Preference
Platinum Partners, a nonprofit controlled by a religious organization, limited rentals in its apartment building to members of its faith. A nonmember applicant sued under the Fair Housing Act. The court held the statute did not reach the organization's conduct because the exemption permitted the limitation.
Penelope Price signed a consent form before giving birth and later sought to revoke it. The adoption court refused to enforce the pre-birth consent because state statutes prohibit irrevocable consent before the prescribed time. The court required fresh written consent after birth.
Statutory Violation in Nuisance Claim
Prime Logistics operated a loading dock that violated a local noise ordinance. Patricia Patel sued for public nuisance. The court considered the ordinance violation as one factor showing the interference with public rights was unreasonable.
Attempted Revocation of Appointment
Pamela Phillips exercised a power of appointment by will to name her niece as beneficiary. Two years later she executed a codicil attempting to revoke the appointment. The probate court held the revocation ineffective because the donee had not reserved a power to amend when exercising the appointment.
Bias Impeachment Cross-Examination
Peter Park testified for the prosecution. Defense counsel sought to question him about membership in an organization whose rules required members to lie under oath for fellow members. The trial court permitted the questions because evidence of bias is always admissible to impeach a witness.
3 common questions
Students Frequently Ask...
How does a statute's use of 'proscribe' affect a consent defense in tort?
When a statute or regulation proscribes conduct to protect a particular class of persons, members of that class cannot waive the protection through consent. Their agreement is legally ineffective as a defense.
Does a statute that proscribes certain juror strikes shift the burden of proof?
Yes. Once a defendant makes a prima facie showing that peremptory challenges were exercised on racial grounds, the burden shifts to the striking party to articulate a race-neutral explanation.
When may a religious organization limit occupancy despite a statute that otherwise proscribes discrimination?
A religious organization may limit sale, rental, or occupancy of its dwellings to persons of the same religion when the dwellings are owned or operated for noncommercial purposes and membership is not restricted on account of race, color, or national origin.
410 U.S. 113 (1973)
…of the date the complaint was filed. Nothing in the Court's opinion indicates that Texas might not constitutionally apply its proscription of abortion as written to a woman in that stage of pregnancy. Nonetheless, the Court uses her complaint against the Texas statute as a fulcrum for deciding that States may impose virtually…