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- Vagrant
- A tramp or homeless person.
- Vendor
- The seller; the person selling.
- Venue
- This has the same meaning as in everyday English except that in a legal
context it usually refers specifically to the location of a judicial hearing.
For example, if a criminal case has a very high media profile in a particular
city, the "venue" may change to another city to ensure objective witnesses
(i.e. that would not have been spoiled by media speculation on the crime).
- Vehicle
- Any thing that is designed to transport persons or objects. A bicycle has
been held to be a vehicle.
- Verba fortius accipiuntur contra proferentem
- Latin: a principle of
construction whereby if words of a
contract
are ambiguous, of two equally possible meanings, they should be interpreted
against the author of the words and not against the other party.
- Verdict
- The decision of a jury. In criminal cases, this is usually expressed as
"guilty" or "not guilty".In a civil case, the verdict would be a finding for
the plaintiff or for the defendant.
- Videlicet
- Latin for "to wit" or "that is to say." "Viz.",
which is the abbreviation of videlicet, is much more commonly used. It
is often found in legal documents to advise that what follows provides more
detail about a preceding general statement. For example: "The defendant
committed
adultery; viz., on April 15th, at approximately 10:30 pm, he had
sexual intercourse with Ms Jane Doe."
- Vis
- An abbreviation of the Latin word videlicet.
Short for "namely" or "that is to say."
- Vicarious liability
- When a person is held responsible for the
tort of
another even though the person being held responsible may not have done
anything wrong. This is often the case with employers who are held vicariously
liable for the damages caused by their employees.
- Vir
- Latin: man or husband. Vir et uxor censentur in lege una persona is
an old (and long abandoned in most countries) legal principle meaning that man
and wife are considered to be one person in law.
- Void or void ab initio
- Not legally binding. A document that is void is useless and worthless; as
if it did not exist.For example, in many countries, contracts for immoral
purposes are said to be "void":unenforceable and not recognized by the courts.
A good example is a contract to commit a serious crime such as murder.
- Voidable
- The law distinguishes between contracts which are void and those which are
voidable. Some contracts have such a latent defect that they are said to be
void (see definition of "void" above). Other have more
minor defects to them and are voidable at the option of the party victimized
by the defect. For example, contracts signed by a person when they are totally
drunk are voidable by that person upon recovering sobriety.
- Voir dire
- A mini-hearing held during a trial on the admissibility of contested
evidence.
For example, a defendant may object to a plaintiff's witness. The court would
suspend the trial, immediately preside over a hearing on the standing of the
proposed witness, and then resume the trial with or without the witness, or
with any restrictions placed on the testimony by the judge as a result of the
voir dire ruling. In a jury trial, the jury would be excused during the
voir dire.
- Volenti non fit injuria
- Voluntary assumption of risk. A defence in
tort that
means where a person engages in an event accepting and aware of the risks
inherent in that event, then they can not later complain of, or seek
compensation for an injury suffered during the event. This is used most often
to defend against tort actions as a result of a sports injury.
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