Color of office refers to a person acting as if they are in an official capacity as an employee of a governmental unit, but taking action that is not authorized. In other words, an office holder acts under the color of office when they take...
civil procedure
colorable claim
A colorable claim is a plausible legal claim. This means that the claim is “strong enough” to have a reasonable chance of being valid if the legal basis is generally correct and the facts can be proven in court. Note that the claim need not...
comity
Comity refers to courts of one state or jurisdiction respecting the laws and judicial decisions of other jurisdictions – whether state, federal or international – not as a matter of obligation but out of deference and mutual respect.
...comity of nations
The “comity of nations” doctrine permits recognition of foreign proceedings to the extent that such proceedings are determined to be orderly, fair, and not detrimental to another nation’s interests. Unlike enforcement of judgments between...
commencement of action
Commencement of action is the initiation of a legal proceeding; the time at which the judicial or administrative process begins. Typically, this process is initiated with the filing of a formal complaint.
[Last updated in June of 2021...
comment
Comment is a statement made by the judge or attorney to the jury about the evidence during a trial. The comment is based on an alleged but unproven fact to which the attorney for the other side may object, and the judge may remind the jury...
commerce power
Commerce power refers to Congress’s power to regulate the channels and instrumentalities of interstate commerce.
Channels refers to the highways, waterways, and air traffic of the country. Instrumentalities refers to cars, trucks,...commercial tort claim
A commercial tort claim is a type of tort claim where the claimant is an organization or an individual and the claim comes in the course of the business or profession of the claimant and does not include damages arising out of personal injury...
common law
Common law is law that is derived from judicial decisions instead of from statutes. American courts originally fashioned common law rules based on English common law until the American legal system was sufficiently mature to create common law rules...
common law lien
A common law lien is a lien that is created due to common law and does not depend on any statute or contract for its existence. Unless abolished by statute or judicial decision, common law liens generally have the force of law in each U.S....