Also known as: functions · functioned · functioning · role · purpose · duty
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
An activity appropriate to a particular business or profession.
The office or duty associated with holding an official position.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
An activity appropriate to a particular business or profession.
Felix Franco reached through a broken window to unlock the door of a cabin occupied by tenants. His hand crossed the threshold for an instant while he manipulated the latch. The entry element was satisfied because the hand functioned to gain access for the intended felony inside the dwelling.
Frederick Ferguson contracted to sell land to Fusion Power. A recorded easement clouded the chain of title at closing. The seller's duty required conveyance of title that a prudent purchaser would accept, so the easement prevented the land from functioning as marketable title.
The office or duty associated with holding an official position.
Felipe Figueroa challenged a statute assigning certain enforcement tasks to an independent agency. The Constitution vests the executive power in the President, so the statute could not lawfully function to remove core executive duties from presidential control.
Forrest Falconer sued Falcon Dynamics and sent a written notice requesting waiver of summons service. The defendant had a duty to avoid unnecessary service expenses, so the notice functioned to trigger the obligation to respond without formal service.
Fiona Foster faced charges for theft. The prosecution offered evidence of her prior similar thefts. The evidence could function to prove intent or plan even though it could not be used to show character.
Francisco Frost, a judge, accepted an invitation to speak at a bar association dinner. The event did not raise funds, so his appearance functioned as permitted participation in an organization concerned with the legal system.
It denotes the office or duty attached to a position, such as the powers and responsibilities of the presidency under the Constitution.
Placing any part of the body inside a structure functions as an entry even if momentary, and a tool functions as an entry only when used to commit the felony rather than merely to gain access.
A structure functions as a dwelling when used regularly for sleeping by someone other than the defendant, even if also used for business or during temporary absences by occupants.
Title functions as marketable when free from reasonable doubt so that a prudent purchaser with full knowledge would accept it at closing.
…business or transactions in the office. Mr. Lee observed that the Secretary of State's duties are of two kinds and he exercises functions in two distinct capacities: as a public ministerial officer of the United States and as agent of the President. In the first capacity his duty is to the United States or its citizens; in…