Also known as: absences
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
The state of being away from a usual place or not present at a required location. Temporary departure does not necessarily alter legal status attached to the location or relationship.
The state of being away from a usual place or not present at a required location. Temporary departure does not necessarily alter legal status attached to the location or relationship.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
The lack or nonexistence of a fact, element, condition, or proof. This absence may determine admissibility, liability, or the failure of a required showing.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
The lack or nonexistence of a fact, element, condition, or proof. This absence may determine admissibility, liability, or the failure of a required showing.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Arthur Abrams left his apartment for a two-week business trip while continuing to pay rent and store personal belongings there. A burglar broke in during the trip. The structure remained a dwelling because the temporary absence did not strip its character as a place regularly used for sleeping.
Anchor Bank sued Atlas Ventures over a disputed contract but omitted a necessary co-obligor from the complaint. In that person's absence the court could not accord complete relief among the existing parties, requiring joinder before the action could proceed.
A temporary absence by the occupants does not strip the structure of its character as a dwelling when the structure is used regularly for sleeping.
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A person must be joined if in that person's absence the court cannot accord complete relief among existing parties.
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Alan Ackerman was charged with knowingly filing false invoices. The prosecution offered evidence of his earlier submission of identical false documents to prove absence of mistake rather than to show character.
Andre Antoine stood trial for theft. The prosecution presented no evidence on one required element. In the absence of such proof the innocence of the defendant is assumed and conviction is barred.
Anita Ali wished to end her tenancy after the landlord breached a covenant. In the absence of any valid provision on the subject she took reasonable steps to assure that the landlord had knowledge of her decision to terminate.
Aaron Adams suffered injury when a heavy object fell from a scaffold controlled exclusively by the defendant. The event is of a kind which ordinarily does not occur in the absence of negligence, permitting an inference of fault.
Evidence of other acts may be admissible to prove absence of mistake even though it is not admissible to prove character.
Supporting sources
In the absence of proof beyond a reasonable doubt on each element the innocence of the defendant is assumed and conviction is precluded.
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In the absence of any valid provision the tenant must take reasonable steps to assure that the landlord has knowledge of the decision to terminate and the reason for it.
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The doctrine applies when the event is of a kind which ordinarily does not occur in the absence of negligence.
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…in utero , appearing usually from the 16th to the 18th week of pregnancy[^maj-20]—was not an indictable offense.[^maj-21] The absence of a common-law crime for pre-quickening abortion appears to have developed from a confluence of earlier philosophical, theological, and civil and canon law concepts of when life begins.…