Law Dictionary Definitions

Family and Medical Leave Act.A 1993 federal statute providing that employees may take unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family reasons, as when a family member is sick or when a child is born.29 USCA §§ 2601 et seq. • The statute applies to businesses with 50 or more employees. An employee may take up to…

family allowance.See ALLOWANCE(1).[Blacks Law 8th]

family,n.1. A group of persons connected by blood, by affinity, or by law, esp. within two or three generations. 2. A group consisting of parents and their children. 3. A group of persons who live together and have a shared commitment to a domestic relationship. See RELATIVE. — familial,adj. blended family.The combined families of persons…

familiares regis (f<<schwa>>-mil-ee-air-eez ree-jis). [Law Latin] Hist. 1.Persons of the king’s household. 2. The ancient title of the six clerks of chancery in England.[Blacks Law 8th]

familiae erciscundae (f<<schwa>>-mil-ee-ee <<schwa>>r-sis-k<<schwa>>n-dee). See actio familiae erciscundae under ACTIO.[Blacks Law 8th]

fama publica (fay-m<<schwa>> p<<schwa>>b-li-k<<schwa>>). [Latin “public repute”] Hist. A person’s reputation in the community. • A person’s fama publica could be used against him or her in a criminal proceeding. Cf. ILL FAME . “Now in the thirteenth century we find in the sheriff’s turn a procedure by way of double presentment, and we may…

familiae emptor (f<<schwa>>-mil-ee-ee emp-tor). [Latin “estate purchaser”] Roman law. A trustee who received an inheritance by a fictitious purchase and distributed it as the testator instructed. — Also termed emptor familiae. See mancipatory will under WILL. “At some date, probably long before the XII Tables, men on the point of death, unable to make a…

falsus in uno doctrine (fal-s<<schwa>>s [orfawl-s<<schwa>>s] in yoo-noh). [fr. Latin falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus “false in one thing, false in all”] The principle that if the jury believes that a witness’s testimony on a material issue is intentionally deceitful, the jury may disregard all of that witness’s testimony. [Cases: Trial 187, 210; Witnesses…

falsum (fal-s<<schwa>>m orfawl-s<<schwa>>m), n.[Latin] Roman law. 1. A false statement. See crimen falsi under CRIMEN. 2. A crime involving forgery or falsification. • Until the later Roman Empire, the term applied to both documents and counterfeited coins.[Blacks Law 8th]

falso retorno brevium (fal-soh [orfawl-soh] ri-tor-noh bree-vee-<<schwa>>m). [Law Latin] Hist. A writ against a sheriff for falsely returning a writ.[Blacks Law 8th]