CIVICS

admit

Admit or admitting refers to a statement made by an individual to confirm the truthfulness of a claim. In criminal law, admitting to a fact also serves as a confession of guilt. Following Alexander v. State, an admission is an...

adopt

To adopt is to accept, to bring, to choose to take up, to follow, or to use a plan or technique. To adopt is to assume a report or position, attitude, or law, as to apply them.

Also related to adoption is to form a legal...

Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN)

An Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN) is a unique nine-digit number issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a temporary taxpayer identification number for a child in a domestic or foreign adoption process. Taxpayers must...

advance parole

Advance parole is a travel document granting permission to certain foreign nationals to re-enter the U.S. after traveling abroad. These foreign nationals typically have applications pending for immigration benefits or for changes in non-...

advisory opinion

An advisory opinion is a court's nonbinding interpretation of law. It states the opinion of a court upon a legal question submitted by a legislature, government official, or another court. Parties seeking advisory opinions tend to do so to...

advocacy of illegal action

The advocacy of illegal action is a category of speech not protected by the First Amendment. It is also sometimes referred to as the advocacy of illegal conduct.

First addressed in Whitney v. California (1927), the Supreme...

affiant

An affiant is a person who is the author of an affidavit, who swears to the truth and accuracy of the statements made in the affidavit.

The person making the signed statement (affiant) takes an oath that the contents are...

affidavit

An affidavit is a sworn statement a person makes before a notary or officer of the court outside of the court asserting that certain facts are true to the best of that person’s knowledge. Affidavits by both plaintiff/prosecution and defense...

affirm

There are several, related usages of the word “affirm” in a legal context; but, generally it means “to confirm or ratify.” Common occurrences of this word include:

An appellate court can affirm the ruling that was the subject of the appeal...

affirmative action

Affirmative action is defined as a set of procedures designed to; eliminate unlawful discrimination among applicants, remedy the results of such prior discrimination, and prevent such discrimination in the future. Applicants may be seeking...

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