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your tools --> <div class="addthis_horizontal_follow_toolbox"></div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <!-- /liinavbarstuff --> </nav> </div> </div> <!-- /include header --> <!-- /.container--> </header> <div id="page" class="main-container container-fluid"> <!-- header excised - see Zen theme for original code --> <div id="main"> <div id="content" class="col-sm-8" role="main"> <ol class="breadcrumb" itemprop="breadcrumb"><li><a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu">LII</a></li><li><a href="/wex">Wex</a></li></ol> <div id="main-content"> <h1 class="title" id="page-title">courts</h1> <!-- here if we decide to print the summary in the page display --> <div id="content1"> <div class="view view-taxonomy-term-revised view-id-taxonomy_term_revised view-display-id-page_1 view-dom-id-cc47611b48dcf3e5d7d5f82465158183"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first"> <span class="views-field views-field-title"> <h2 class="field-content"><a href="/wex/aguilar-spinelli_test"> Aguilar-Spinelli test</a></h2> </span> <div class="views-field views-field-body"> <span class="field-content"><p dir="ltr">The Aguilar-Spinelli test is a legal standard used in the United States to evaluate the validity of a search warrant based on information provided by an informant. It stems from two U.S. Supreme Court cases: Aguilar v. Texas and Spinelli v....</span> </div> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even"> <span class="views-field views-field-title"> <h2 class="field-content"><a href="/wex/a.k.a.">a.k.a.</a></h2> </span> <div class="views-field views-field-body"> <span class="field-content"><p dir="ltr">A.K.A. is the abbreviation of “also known as.” It is often used to specify a party’s aliases or nicknames in a case.</p> <p>[Last updated in June of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]</p></span> </div> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd"> <span class="views-field views-field-title"> <h2 class="field-content"><a href="/wex/abate">abate</a></h2> </span> <div class="views-field views-field-body"> <span class="field-content"><p dir="ltr">Abate is to eliminate or nullify. </p> <p dir="ltr">The term is often used in relation to the elimination of a nuisance. For example, California Civil Code § 3491 provides that one of the “remedies against a public nuisance [is] abatement.”...</span> </div> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even"> <span class="views-field views-field-title"> <h2 class="field-content"><a href="/wex/abatement">abatement</a></h2> </span> <div class="views-field views-field-body"> <span class="field-content"><p dir="ltr">Abatement is the act of reducing or nullifying something. Multiple subjects throughout law are subject to abatement and the term appears in many locations.</p> <p dir="ltr">In property law, abatement refers to a reduction in property taxes a...</span> </div> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-5 views-row-odd"> <span class="views-field views-field-title"> <h2 class="field-content"><a href="/wex/abscond">abscond</a></h2> </span> <div class="views-field views-field-body"> <span class="field-content"><p dir="ltr">Abscond means leaving a jurisdiction secretly or suddenly, e.g. to avoid service of process, arrest, or prosecution; or leaving with another person's money or property. Absconding is generally a criminal offense which may lead to imprisonment...</span> </div> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-6 views-row-even"> <span class="views-field views-field-title"> <h2 class="field-content"><a href="/wex/absolute_disparity">absolute disparity</a></h2> </span> <div class="views-field views-field-body"> <span class="field-content"><p dir="ltr">Absolute disparity is a calculation used to analyze a claim that a jury pool did not represent a fair cross-section of the community. For instance, a jury pool that is composed of only white jurors in a community that is predominantly Black....</span> </div> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-7 views-row-odd"> <span class="views-field views-field-title"> <h2 class="field-content"><a href="/wex/absolute_privilege">absolute privilege</a></h2> </span> <div class="views-field views-field-body"> <span class="field-content"><p dir="ltr">Absolute privilege, in defamation cases, refers to the fact that in certain circumstances, an individual is immune from liability for defamatory statements.</p> <p dir="ltr">Absolute privilege applies to statements made in certain contexts...</span> </div> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-8 views-row-even"> <span class="views-field views-field-title"> <h2 class="field-content"><a href="/wex/abstention">abstention</a></h2> </span> <div class="views-field views-field-body"> <span class="field-content"><p dir="ltr">The abstention doctrine is an authority that precludes federal courts from hearing cases within its jurisdictions, instead, giving state courts authority over the case. The policy behind this doctrine is rooted in federalism, and the interest...</span> </div> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-9 views-row-odd"> <span class="views-field views-field-title"> <h2 class="field-content"><a href="/wex/abstract">abstract</a></h2> </span> <div class="views-field views-field-body"> <span class="field-content"><p dir="ltr">Abstract refers to an abbreviated history of an official record. Some common usages of the term “abstract” in a legal sense include: </p> “Abstract of title” merely recites what the land records disclose without giving opinion or advice...</span> </div> </div> <div class="views-row views-row-10 views-row-even views-row-last"> <span class="views-field views-field-title"> <h2 class="field-content"><a href="/wex/abstract_of_record">abstract of record </a></h2> </span> <div class="views-field views-field-body"> <span class="field-content"><p dir="ltr">An abstract of record is a summary of a trial that offers the key details for the appellate court to consider, such as the facts, all proceedings in the case to date, the trial court's decision, and the legal issues to be determined. 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