Also known as: word for word · exact
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
In a word-for-word manner, using the exact language of the original spoken or written material.
Officer Ramirez advised Victor Vargas of his rights by stating that the department could not provide counsel immediately but would appoint one upon court appearance. Vargas confessed after the advisement. The court admitted the statement because the officer conveyed the required rights even without reciting the standard form word for word.
Vega Motors and Valor Capital signed an agreement listing a precise delivery date of March 15 for custom parts. When a dispute arose over timing, the court enforced the March 15 date over broader language elsewhere in the document. The specific date controlled because it appeared verbatim in the operative clause.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
During argument in a separation-of-powers challenge, counsel read Article I, Section 7 verbatim to the court. The recitation established that a bill must pass both houses before presentment. The exact wording confirmed the procedural requirements at issue.
In a takings suit, the owner introduced the cable company's installation manual that described the equipment placement verbatim. The court used the exact language to determine the extent of the permanent occupation on the rooftop. The manual's wording established the character of the intrusion.
Vortex Energy challenged a commission ban on promotional advertising. Counsel quoted the order's operative sentence verbatim during the hearing. The court examined that precise phrasing to assess whether the restriction directly advanced the asserted interest in energy conservation.
Bakers challenged a New York labor law limiting work hours. The statute's text was read verbatim to the court. The precise wording supplied the standard against which the claimed liberty of contract was measured.
Miranda warnings need not follow a rigid word-for-word script. Any advisement that conveys the substance of the required rights satisfies the rule even if the phrasing differs from the standard formulation.
A deposition transcript remains admissible even if it contains minor departures from verbatim form. Federal rules expressly provide that evidence obtained through a letter of request is not excluded merely because the testimony was not taken under oath or recorded verbatim.
Specific or exact terms receive greater weight than general language under standard rules of interpretation. A court therefore enforces a precise delivery date stated verbatim in the operative clause over broader descriptive phrases appearing elsewhere.
Testimony may be recorded verbatim by electronic device, court reporter, or in writing. Any of these methods fulfills the obligation to create an exact record of the proceeding.
…Compensation Act, Washington Revised Statutes, § 9998-103a through § 9998-123a, 1941 Supp., and (2) whether the state can exact those contributions consistently with the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The statutes in question set up a comprehensive scheme of unemployment compensation, the costs of…