Also known as: departures
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A measure of deviation from the normal method of accomplishing an authorized result. The extent of such deviation helps determine whether an agent's conduct remains within the scope of employment.
Devon Drake, a delivery driver for Drake Logistics, was authorized to complete routes using the company's standard GPS system. Instead he took a lengthy detour through residential neighborhoods to visit a friend, during which he struck a pedestrian. The court measured the extent of departure from the normal method of accomplishing the authorized delivery and concluded the conduct fell outside the scope of employment.
Dynamic Solutions challenged limits on its political expenditures. The Court examined whether upholding the restrictions would constitute an unwarranted departure from longstanding First Amendment principles protecting corporate political speech.
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Destiny Davis sought to enjoin enforcement of a state abortion statute. The Court considered whether overruling prior precedent would amount to an improper departure from principles of stare decisis that protect settled constitutional rights.
Damian Decker was questioned without warnings after arrest. The Court assessed whether admitting the statements would represent a departure from constitutional safeguards requiring notice of rights before custodial interrogation.
Deborah Dunn appealed her conviction after an evidentiary error at trial. The Court evaluated whether the mistake produced a departure from the requirement that an error must be shown harmless beyond affecting substantial rights.
Darrell Duncan, a privateer, seized an enemy vessel without a sovereign commission. The Court examined whether the capture constituted an impermissible departure from the law of nations governing private seizures during wartime.
The extent of departure from the normal method of accomplishing an authorized result is one factor used to decide whether an agent's act remains within the scope of employment. A minor deviation may keep the conduct inside the scope while a substantial departure may place it outside.
Supporting sources
Before departing from the applicable sentencing range on a ground not identified in the presentence report or a party's submission, the court must give the parties reasonable notice specifying the contemplated ground.
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No. After a lawyer departs, the remaining lawyers may represent a client adverse to a former client only if the matter is not the same or substantially related or if no lawyer still at the firm holds material confidential information.
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…is no secret that concern has been expressed lest long-range and lasting reforms be frustrated by this Court's too rapid departure from existing constitutional standards. Despite the Court's disclaimer, the practical effect of the decision made today must inevitably be to handicap seriously sound efforts at reform, not…