POWER

power. 1. The ability to act or not act; esp., a person’s capacity for acting in such a manner as to control someone else’s responses. 2. Dominance, control, or influence over another; control over one’s subordinates. 3. The legal right or authorization to act or not act; a person’s or organization’s ability to alter, by an act of will, the rights, duties, liabilities, or other legal relations either of that person or of another.
“A power is the capacity to change a legal relationship. In this terminology the offeree has, before the contract is made, a power to create a contract by means of acceptance.” E. Allan Farnsworth, Contracts § 3.4, at 114 n.3 (3d ed. 1999).

agent’s power. The ability of an agent or apparent agent to act act on behalf of the principal in matters connected with the agency or apparent agency.
concurrent power.A political power independently exercisable by both federal and state governments in the same field of legislation.

congressional power. The authority vested in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to enact laws and take other constitutionally permitted actions. U.S. Const. art. I. [Cases: United States 22. C.J.S. United States §§ 30, 33.]
delegated power. Power normally exercised by an authority that has temporarily conferred the power on a lower authority.
derivative power. Power that arises only from a grant of authority. • Power may be derived, for example, by an agent from a principal, or by a head of state from a constitution.

discretionary power. A power that a person may choose to exercise or not, based on the person’s judgment.
enumerated power. A political power specifically delegated to a governmental branch by a constitution. — Also termed express power. [Cases: Constitutional Law 25. C.J.S. Constitutional
Law § 53.]

faterly power. See patria potestas under POTESTAS.

implied power. A political power that is not enumerated but that nonetheless exists because it is needed to carry out an express power. [Cases: Administrative Law and Procedure 325. C.J.S.
Public Administrative Law and Procedure § 51.]
incident power. A power that, although not expressly granted, must exist because it is necessary to the accomplishment of an express purpose. — Also termed incidental power.
inherent power. A power that necessarily derives from an office, position, or status.
institorial power (in-st<<schwa>>-tor-ee-<<schwa>>l).Civil law. The power given by a business owner to an agent to act in the owner’s behalf.

investigatory power (in-ves-t<<schwa>>-g<<schwa>>-tor-ee). (usu. pl.) The authority conferred on a governmental agency to inspect and compel disclosure of facts germane to an investigation. [Cases: Administrative Law and Procedure 346. C.J.S. Public Administrative Law and Procedure § 78.]

judicial power. See JUDICIAL POWER.

mediate powers.See MEDIATE POWERS.
naked power. The power to exercise rights over something (such as a trust) without having a corresponding interest in that thing. Cf. power coupled with an interest.

particular power. See special power.
plenary power (plee-n<<schwa>>-ree orplen-<<schwa>>-ree). Power that is broadly construed; esp., a court’s power to dispose of any matter properly before it. [Cases: Courts 1, 26,
30, 207.1. C.J.S. Courts §§ 2–3, 6, 9, 12–15, 64–65, 67, 71–73.]

police power. See POLICE POWER.
power coupled with an interest. A power to do some act, conveyed along with an interest in the subject matter of the power. • A power coupled with an interest is not held for the benefit of the principal, and it is irrevocable due to the agent’s interest in the subject property. For this reason, some authorities assert that it is not a true agency power. — Also termed power given as security; proprietary power. See irrevocable power of attorney under POWER OF ATTORNEY. Cf. naked power. [Cases: Powers 27. C.J.S. Powers § 6.]
“[S]uppose that the principal borrows money from the agent and by way of security authorizes the agent to sell Blackacre if the loan is not repaid and pay himself out of the proceeds.

In such case there is no more reason why the principal should be permitted to revoke than if he had formally conveyed or mortgaged Blackacre to the agent. Hence it would be highly unfair to the agent to allow his principal to revoke. The reason why such a case is not properly governed by the considerations usually making an agency revocable is that this is in reality not a case of agency at all. In a normal agency case the power is conferred upon the agent to enable him to do something for the principal while here it is given to him to enable him to do something for himself. Coupled with an interest means that the agent must have a present interest in the property upon which the power is to operate.” Harold Gill Reuschlein & William A. Gregory, The Law of Agency and Partnership § 47, at 99 (1990).
power given as security.See power coupled with an interest.
power of acceptance.An offeree’s power to bind an offeror to a contract by accepting the offer. [Cases: Contracts 16, 22(1). C.J.S. Contracts §§ 37–41, 44, 46–51, 53–56, 58; Trading Stamps and Coupons § 7–9.]
power of revocation (rev-<<schwa>>-kay-sh<<schwa>>n). A power that a person reserves in an instrument (such as a trust) to revoke the legal relationship that the person has created. [Cases: Contracts 217; Powers 19; Trusts 59. C.J.S. Contracts §§ 436–443, 446, 448–449, 500–501;
Powers § 15–16; Trover and Conversion §§ 103–116.]
power of sale.A power granted to sell the property that the power relates to. • The power’s exercise is often conditioned on the occurrence of a specific event, such as nonpayment of a debt.
[Cases: Powers 20. C.J.S. Powers §§ 17–18.]

power over oneself. See CAPACITY(2).
power over other persons. See AUTHORITY(1).
primary powers. See PRIMARY POWERS.
private power. A power vested in a person to be exercised for personal ends and not as an agent for the state.
proprietary power. See power coupled with an interest.
public power. A power vested in a person as an agent or instrument of the functions of the state. • Public powers comprise the various forms of legislative, judicial, and executive authority. [Cases: Officers and Public Employees 103. C.J.S. Officers and Public Employees §§ 224–227,
232–233.]
quasi-judicial power. An administrative agency’s power to adjudicate the rights of those who appear before it. [Cases: Administrative Law and Procedure 108. C.J.S. Public Administrative Law and Procedure §§ 10–11.]

quasi-legislative power. An administrative agency’s power to engage in rulemaking. 5 USCA § 553. [Cases: Administrative Law and Procedure 106, 385. C.J.S. Public Administrative Law and Procedure §§ 10, 88, 91.]

reserved power. A political power that is not enumerated or prohibited by a constitution, but instead is reserved by the constitution for a specified political authority, such as a state government. See TENTH AMENDMENT.
restraining power. A power to restrict the acts of others.
resulting power. A political power derived from the aggregate powers expressly or impliedly granted by a constitution.

special power. 1. An agent’s limited authority to perform only specific acts or to perform under specific restrictions. [Cases: Powers 19. C.J.S. Powers §§ 15–16.] 2. See limited power of appointment under POWER OF APPOINTMENT. — Also termed particular power.

spending power. The power granted to a governmental body to spend public funds; esp., the congressional power to spend money for the payment of debt and provision of the common defense and general welfare of the United States. U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 1. [Cases: United
States 82. C.J.S. United States § 155.]

taxing power. The power granted to a governmental body to levy a tax; esp., the congressional power to levy and collect taxes as a means of effectuating Congress’s delegated powers. U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 1. See SIXTEENTH AMENDMENT. [Cases: Internal Revenue 3001–3008; Taxation 2–36. C.J.S. Indians §§ 131–133; Internal Revenue§§ 2, 4; Taxation§§ 4, 7–11, 13–18,
20–25, 170, 198, 200–205, 227–228, 242–243, 250, 252–255, 260, 299, 1094.]

trust power. See beneficial power.
visitatorial power.The power to inspect or make decisions about an entity’s operations. — Also termed visitorial power.
4. A document granting legal authorization. See AUTHORITY. 5. An authority to affect an estate in land by (1) creating some estate independently of any estate that the holder of the authority possesses, (2) imposing a charge on the estate, or (3) revoking an existing estate. See POWER OF APPOINTMENT. [Cases: Powers 1. C.J.S. Powers § 2.]

“The word ‘power’ is
normally used in the sense of an authority given to a person to dispose of property which is not his.
The person giving the power is called the donor and the person to whom it is given the donee.” Robert E. Megarry & P.V. Baker, A Manual of the Law of Real Property 253 (4th ed. 1969).

appendant power (<<schwa>>-pen-d<<schwa>>nt).1. A power that gives the donee a right to appoint estates that attach to the donee’s own interest. 2. A power held by a donee who owns the property interest in the assets subject to the power, and whose interest can be divested by the exercise of the power. • The appendant power is generally viewed as adding nothing to the ownership and thus is not now generally recognized as a true power. — Also termed power appendant; power appurtenant. [Cases: Powers 23. C.J.S. Powers § 5.]

avoiding power. Bankruptcy. The power of a bankruptcy trustee or debtor in possession to void certain transfers made or obligations incurred by a debtor, including fraudulent conveyances, preferences transferred to creditors, unperfected security interests in personal property, and unrecorded mortgages. 11 USCA §§ 544–553.

beneficial power. A power that is executed for the benefit of the power’s donee, as distinguished from a trust power, which is executed for the benefit of someone other than the power’s donee (i.e., a trust beneficiary). [Cases: Powers 25. C.J.S. Powers § 19.]

collateral power. A power created when the donee has no estate in the land, but simply the authority to appoint. [Cases: Powers 25. C.J.S. Powers § 19.]

general power.See POWER OF APPOINTMENT.

limited power.See POWER OF APPOINTMENT.

mandatory power. A power that the donee must exercise and must do so only as instructed, without discretion.
power appendant.See appendant power.

power appurtenant.See appendant power.
power collateral. See power in gross.

power in gross. A power held by a donee who has an interest in the assets subject to the power but whose interest cannot be affected by the exercise of the power. • An example is a life tenant with a power over the remainder. — Also termed power collateral. [Cases: Powers 23. C.J.S.
Powers § 5.]

power of appointment.See POWER OF APPOINTMENT.
relative power.A power that relates directly to land, as distinguished from a collateral power.
testamentary power.See POWER OF APPOINTMENT.
6. Physical strength.

7. Moral or intellectual force.

8. A person of influence <a power in the community>.

9. One of the great nations of the world <one of the world’s two great powers>. See PROTECTING POWER.

10.The military or unit of it, such as a troop of soldiers.

[Blacks Law 8th]