Also known as: expresses · expressed · expressing · explicit
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A statement or promise articulated or stated in words rather than inferred from indirect language or circumstances.
Elena Estrada points a gun at Edward Everett during a heated dispute and fires a single shot directly into his chest after declaring she intends to end his life. The prosecution charges murder based on the deliberate choice to kill. The court finds express malice satisfied by the stated intent paired with the act.
Evelyn Ellison testifies at trial that she saw the defendant at the scene. Defense counsel suggests she fabricated the account after speaking with prosecutors. The government offers her earlier consistent statement made under oath at a preliminary hearing to rebut the charge of recent fabrication.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Elise Everly transfers her leased commercial building to Emerald Enterprises while still bound by an express written promise in the lease to maintain the roof. The promise touches and concerns the property. Because the obligation rests on privity of contract and the landlord does not release her, Elise remains liable after the transfer.
Eduardo Enriquez conveys a parcel to Elliot Edmonds and includes language in the deed granting a right of way across retained land for ingress and egress. The conveyance states the intent to create the servitude in clear terms. No further implication is needed to establish the burden on the servient estate.
Residents of several legislative districts sue state officials alleging that the apportionment plan violates equal protection. The state moves to dismiss on political-question grounds. The court applies the six-factor test and concludes the claim is justiciable because none of the factors barring adjudication are present.
Eastern Electric is a partnership formed for a five-year project. One partner notifies the others of withdrawal by express will two years early, breaching an express provision in the partnership agreement that prohibits early exit absent unanimous consent. The dissociation is therefore wrongful under the statute.
An express statement appears in words within the writing itself. Courts treat it as the parties' actual articulation rather than something inferred from conduct or surrounding circumstances.
Supporting sources
A deliberate intent to kill another human being satisfies express malice. That mental state, when paired with an unlawful killing, supports a murder charge under the common-law definition.
The statement must be consistent with the declarant's testimony and offered specifically to rebut the charge that the testimony was recently fabricated or influenced by an improper motive. It qualifies as non-hearsay under the evidence rule when those conditions are met.
Yes, if the obligation rests on privity of contract and the person entitled to enforce it does not release the transferor. The transfer alone does not terminate that contractual liability.
The intent appears in the language of the deed or other instrument. No particular form of words is required so long as the writing clearly states the parties' purpose to create the servitude.
…the right against compelled self-incrimination the Court has created a limited Fifth Amendment right to counsel—or, as the Court expresses it, a "need for counsel to protect the Fifth Amendment privilege . . . ." Ante , at 470. The focus then is not on the will of the accused but on the will of counsel and how much influence…