MD Bar key terms

A court's power over a defendant, measured by minimum contacts with the forum, fair play, and substantial justice, plus a basis such as domicile, presence, consent, or purposeful availment.

A court's authority to hear a category of case. State courts generally hear all claims; federal courts are limited, mainly by diversity of citizenship and by a federal question appearing on the face of the complaint.

Federal jurisdiction over civil actions between citizens of different states or between a citizen and a foreign national, where the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 and complete diversity exists.

Federal power to hear a state-law claim that is part of the same case or controversy as a claim with original jurisdiction, unavailable when the added claim rests solely on diversity and the plaintiff is the party adding it.

Procedure by which a defendant transfers a case from state to federal court within 30 days of service, permitted only when the federal court would have had original jurisdiction over the action.

The proper geographic district for a lawsuit, generally where any defendant resides if all reside in the same state, where events occurred, or where the defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction.

In diversity cases, federal courts apply state substantive law but may use federal procedural rules, unless applying the federal rule would alter a primary outcome-determinative right or encourage forum shopping.

Res judicata barring a second suit on the same claim between the same parties, requiring a final judgment on the merits, identity of parties or privies, and the same claim or transaction.

Collateral estoppel preventing relitigation of an issue actually litigated, determined, and necessary to a prior final judgment, asserted against a party who had a full and fair opportunity to contest it.

No interest is valid unless it must vest or fail within 21 years after a life in being at creation. Applies to contingent remainders, executory interests, and vested remainders subject to open.

The largest estate in land, of potentially infinite duration, freely alienable, devisable, and inheritable, with no future interest following it.

An estate measured by the life of a person, entitling the holder to possession and reasonable use while prohibiting acts that unreasonably impair the property's value for the remainderman.

A future interest created in a transferee that becomes possessory at the natural expiration of a prior estate, either vested or contingent on an unmet condition or unascertained person.

Acquiring title by actual, exclusive, open and notorious, continuous, and hostile possession of another's land for the statutory period, measured under either objective or good-faith standards depending on jurisdiction.

An easement arising from open, notorious, adverse, continuous, and actual use of another's land for the statutory period, with exclusivity not required.

Statute determining priority between successive purchasers of the same land; race statutes protect the first to record, notice statutes the later purchaser without notice, and race-notice statutes the later purchaser without notice who records first.

A purchaser who pays value and takes without notice of a prior interest, actual, inquiry, or record, and who prevails over unrecorded prior interests under notice or race-notice statutes.

Creation of an enforceable agreement through offer, acceptance, and consideration, with mutual assent measured objectively and a writing required only where the Statute of Frauds demands one.

Writing requirement for certain contracts, including those involving land, suretyship, marriage consideration, performance exceeding one year, and sale of goods of $500 or more, satisfied by a signed note with essential terms.

Bars prior or contemporaneous oral statements to vary a fully integrated written agreement, while permitting evidence of fraud, mistake, conditions precedent, and consistent additional terms in partially integrated writings.

Enforcement of a promise without consideration where the promisor reasonably expected reliance, reliance occurred, and injustice can be avoided only by enforcement, typically limiting recovery to reliance damages.

An offer by a merchant to buy or sell goods in a signed writing that assures it will be held open is irrevocable for the stated time or a reasonable period, not exceeding three months.

In a sale of goods, the buyer may reject any tender failing in any respect to conform to the contract, subject to cure rights, installment contract limits, and the seller's right to cure after reasonable notice.

A party's clear, unequivocal statement or act indicating it will not perform before the due date, permitting the other party to treat the breach as total and sue immediately or await performance.

Compensation placing the injured party in the position performance would have produced, measured by lost profits plus incidental and consequential losses, limited by foreseeability, mitigation, and certainty.

A civil wrong requiring intent to act with substantial certainty of a result, covering battery, assault, false imprisonment, trespass, conversion, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Conduct falling below the standard of a reasonable person that causes harm, requiring duty, breach, actual and proximate causation, and damages, with the standard varied for professionals and children.

An inference of negligence permitted when the harm is of a kind that ordinarily does not occur without negligence, caused by an instrumentality in the defendant's exclusive control, and not attributable to the plaintiff.

A cause legally sufficient to impose liability, requiring the harm to fall within the risk created by the breach, with intervening causes superseding only if unforeseeable.

A system reducing a plaintiff's recovery in proportion to the plaintiff's own fault, either pure or modified, with modified versions barring recovery when the plaintiff's fault reaches a statutory threshold.

An affirmative defense barring or reducing recovery where the plaintiff knowingly and voluntarily encountered a specific known risk, either expressly by agreement or impliedly through conduct.

Governmental interference with a person's freedom of movement by physical force or show of authority that would make a reasonable person feel not free to leave, triggering reasonableness review.

Judicial authorization to search or seize, requiring probable cause, particularity describing the place and items, and issuance by a neutral magistrate, with limited exceptions such as exigency and consent.

A remedy suppressing evidence obtained through an unconstitutional search or seizure, subject to exceptions including good faith, inevitable discovery, attenuation, and independent source.

Required advisement of rights to silence and counsel before custodial interrogation by police, with waiver valid only if knowing, voluntary, and intelligent, and invocation halting questioning.

An out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted, generally inadmissible unless it fits an exemption or exception such as present sense impression or excited utterance.

The Sixth Amendment right of a criminal defendant to confront adverse witnesses, barring admission of testimonial hearsay unless the declarant is unavailable and the defendant had a prior opportunity to cross-examine.

Evidence of a person's traits offered to show conduct in conformity, generally inadmissible in civil cases and in the prosecution's case-in-chief, but admissible for impeachment, in self-defense claims, and under the rape shield limits.

Attacking a witness's credibility through prior inconsistent statements, bias, conviction of a crime involving dishonesty, contradiction, or reputation testimony, subject to foundational and extrinsic evidence limits.