Also known as: abuses · abused · abusing · abusee · mistreatment · misuse
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A departure from proper or authorized exercise of power or discretion. The departure occurs when a person or entity vested with authority uses that authority for an improper purpose, in bad faith, or beyond the bounds of the grant.
A departure from proper or authorized exercise of power or discretion. The departure occurs when a person or entity vested with authority uses that authority for an improper purpose, in bad faith, or beyond the bounds of the grant.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Physical or mental maltreatment of another person, often resulting in injury. The maltreatment includes acts or omissions that cause harm or create an imminent risk of serious harm to a child, spouse, or other protected individual.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Physical or mental maltreatment of another person, often resulting in injury. The maltreatment includes acts or omissions that cause harm or create an imminent risk of serious harm to a child, spouse, or other protected individual.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Judge Amelia Amari wrote a letter on court stationery urging local businesses to hire her son's catering company for events. The judicial conduct commission found that the letter constituted an improper use of judicial office for personal economic gain.
Trustee Antonio Alvarado refused to make a discretionary distribution to beneficiary Anika Anand solely because Anand's ex-spouse had obtained a support judgment. The court determined that the refusal amounted to an abuse of the trustee's discretion and ordered payment to satisfy the judgment.
Alliance Holdings sent a letter accusing a competitor of fraud to every customer on its mailing list, far beyond the limited group with a legitimate interest in the information. The court held that the broad publication constituted an abuse of the conditional privilege that would otherwise have protected the statements.
Aether Technologies offered an expert whose opinion rested on an analytical gap between the data and the conclusion. The district court excluded the testimony. On appeal the circuit court affirmed, finding no abuse of discretion in the gatekeeping decision.
A court may order distribution when the trustee has abused discretion or failed to comply with a distribution standard. The order is limited to amounts the trustee would have distributed had the discretion been exercised properly.
Supporting sources
Appellate courts review the decision for abuse of discretion. The trial court acts as gatekeeper and may exclude testimony when there is too great an analytical gap between the data and the proffered opinion.
Supporting sources
After Andrew Avery was convicted of repeatedly beating his child, the state initiated proceedings that terminated his parental rights. Because the rights had already been terminated in the abuse case, the adoption court did not require Avery's consent to the proposed adoption by Austin Abbott.
A child present in the state told school officials that a parent had threatened physical harm. The court exercised temporary emergency jurisdiction under the statute because the child faced an imminent threat of abuse and required immediate protection.
Consent is unnecessary when parental rights have already been terminated in neglect or abuse proceedings. Notice and a hearing are still required before any waiver based on unreasonable withholding of consent.
Supporting sources
A court has temporary emergency jurisdiction when the child is present in the state and has been abandoned or faces an emergency threat of mistreatment or abuse to the child or a sibling or parent.
Supporting sources
…and primarily, a medical decision, and basic responsibility for it must rest with the physician. If an individual practitioner abuses the privilege of exercising proper medical judgment, the usual remedies, judicial and intra-professional, are available. Concurring opinions Concurring — Burger, C. J. I agree…