Also known as: rules · regulation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A regulation or principle that governs conduct, procedure, or legal practice. It may arise from statutes, court decisions, constitutional provisions, or administrative statements and binds parties subject to its terms.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Rebecca Ross and Roland Rhodes agreed to commit arson and carried out the plan by setting fire to a warehouse. After they were convicted of arson, the prosecution sought a separate conspiracy conviction based on the same agreement. The court applied the merger rule and refused the additional conviction because the substantive offense had been completed.
Ruby Rivera contracted to buy a home from Ronald Reed. Before closing, a storm destroyed the garage. Rivera demanded to rescind the contract and recover her deposit. The court held that risk had passed to Rivera at contract formation, so she remained obligated to complete the purchase.
Renata Russo sued Reliance Insurance in federal court for breach of an insurance contract seeking $75,000 in damages. Reliance moved to strike the jury demand. The court denied the motion because the suit was at common law and the amount in controversy exceeded twenty dollars.
Rina Rahman filed suit against Regal Apparel and sent a notice requesting waiver of service. Regal Apparel ignored the request and forced the marshal to serve the summons at additional cost. The court ordered Regal Apparel to pay the extra expenses of service.
Riverstone Manufacturing was charged with assault. It offered evidence that the alleged victim had a reputation for violence. The prosecutor then introduced evidence of the victim's peaceful character. The court admitted the prosecution evidence because the defendant had opened the door under the rule.
A sitting judge agreed to draft a will for a neighbor for a fee. The neighbor later challenged the will on the ground that the judge had violated professional rules. The court invalidated the will because the judge was barred from practicing law while on the bench.
A rule is an agency statement of general or particular applicability with future effect that implements or prescribes law or policy. An order is a final disposition in a matter other than rulemaking. The distinction determines the procedures an agency must follow.
Supporting sources
Under the traditional common law rule, when conspirators complete the substantive offense that was the object of their agreement, the conspiracy merges into the completed crime. Participants may be convicted of the substantive offense but not separately for conspiracy based on the same agreement.
…duties as every other ministerial officer of the United States and equally liable to be compelled, is also bound by the same rules of evidence. These duties are not confidential but public and his clerks have no exclusive privileges except as to facts concerning foreign correspondencies and confidential communications…
…but liberty is a term of many meanings. For classical liberals, it may include economic rights now limited by government regulation. For social democrats, it may include the right to a variety of government benefits. For today’s majority, it has a distinctively postmodern meaning. To prevent five unelected Justices…
…hearing was provided. 416 U. S., at 142-146. These decisions underscore the truism that " [d]ue process,' unlike some legal rules, is not a technical conception with a fixed content unrelated to time, place and circumstances." Cafeteria Workers v. McElroy , 367 U. S. 886, 895 (1961). "[D]ue process is flexible and…
…the process due to residents, and it has more often been held unnecessary as to nonresidents. We disturb none of the established rules
…including explicit power to contest claims of executive privilege in seeking evidence relevant to his duties. So long as that regulation
Under the majority rule, risk of loss passes to the buyer at contract formation. The buyer may not avoid the contract or reduce the price if improvements are destroyed, and the seller holds legal title as trustee for the buyer.
In suits at common law where the value in controversy exceeds twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury is preserved. No fact tried by a jury may be re-examined in any United States court except according to common law rules.
A defendant subject to service has a duty to avoid unnecessary expenses of serving the summons. The plaintiff may request waiver of service, and failure to waive without good cause may result in the defendant paying the costs of service.
Subject to Rule 412 limitations, a defendant may offer evidence of an alleged victim's pertinent trait. If admitted, the prosecutor may then offer evidence of the victim's pertinent trait in rebuttal.