Also known as: encheason · reason · cause · occasion
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A Law French term denoting the occasion, cause, or reason for which something is done.
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Eduardo Enriquez sought a search warrant for a suspected drug house. The encheson for the application was an informant's tip that drugs were present along with recent controlled buys observed by officers. The magistrate reviewed the affidavit and issued the warrant based on that cause.
Eileen Epstein was arrested without a warrant after a traffic stop revealed contraband. The encheson for promptly filing the complaint was the need to establish probable cause in the district where the offense occurred. The prosecutor submitted the document the same day to comply with timing requirements.
Evelyn Ellison was on trial for theft. The encheson for the prosecutor's attempt to introduce prior convictions was to suggest she acted in conformity with a dishonest character trait. The court excluded the evidence because it was offered solely for that prohibited purpose.
Emanuel Escobar set fire to a building to collect insurance proceeds. The encheson for finding he acted purposely as to the result was his conscious object to cause the destruction. The jury convicted him of arson after evidence showed he deliberately ignited the blaze.
Emily Ellis signed a land sale agreement while heavily intoxicated. The encheson for voiding the contract was her inability to act reasonably in the transaction and the other party's knowledge of her condition. The court rescinded the deal upon proof of those facts.
Emma Erickson operated a machine without required safety guards. The encheson for imposing tort liability was her failure to conduct herself in the particular manner that would have prevented injury to a foreseeable plaintiff. The injured worker recovered damages because that conduct was the legal cause of the harm.
It refers to the occasion, cause, or reason for which something is done. The term originates from Law French and appears in older legal texts to identify the underlying basis for an action or decision.
Supporting sources
The term is largely archaic and has been replaced by plain English equivalents such as cause or reason. Contemporary opinions and statutes rarely employ it.
Supporting sources
…the affidavit of James Marshall who had been summoned as a witness. It stated that on 4 March 1801, being informed there was reason to apprehend riotous proceedings in Alexandria that night, he called at the Secretary of State's office for commissions of justices of the peace; that as many as twelve commissions for that…