Also known as: highways · public road · right of way
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A public roadway or street open for general use by travelers.
Hunter Hughes stood on the shoulder of a busy highway after his car broke down. When a stranger approached with a raised tire iron, Hunter used a defensive strike that fractured the attacker's arm. The court assessed whether the force threatened serious bodily harm given the highway setting and the attacker's known frailty.
Heidi Henderson filed a complaint alleging that a delivery truck negligently struck her while she crossed a highway. The pleading described only the location and the negligent act without further factual elaboration. The court evaluated whether the highway reference supplied enough notice to survive dismissal.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Hakeem Harris owned land abutting a planned highway expansion. The city condemned a strip for road widening and offered minimal payment. Harris challenged the valuation, arguing the highway project destroyed the property's highest use.
Hamid Hassan bought a used car from Harmony Retail. Days later the steering failed on the highway, causing a crash. Hassan sued, claiming the dealer's warranty disclaimer could not bar recovery for the highway defect.
Helena Hoffman owned acreage along a developing highway corridor. The village zoned the land residential, blocking commercial use. She argued the highway location made the restriction arbitrary and a taking of economic value.
Hyun Han, a Pennsylvania resident, was injured while walking beside railroad tracks that paralleled a state highway in Pennsylvania. He sued in federal court in New York. The court applied Pennsylvania highway-adjacent premises law under the Erie doctrine.
A highway is any public roadway or street that members of the public have the right to use, subject to reasonable regulations such as licensing requirements for drivers.
No. A highway encompasses any public way open to travelers, including footpaths, horseways, and navigable waterways that the public may lawfully use.
Stops are permitted at sobriety checkpoints or other neutral, systematic roadblocks that serve highway safety or special needs, provided officer discretion is limited by standardized procedures.
Yes. A state may treat operation of a motor vehicle on its highways as implied consent to jurisdiction for accidents occurring there, allowing service on a state official.
A person commits a violation by purposely or recklessly obstructing a highway so that it becomes impassable without unreasonable inconvenience or hazard, unless the gathering is protected speech.
…was incorrect. Appellee’s brief correctly interpreted the ordinance: “The northerly 500 feet thereof immediately adjacent to the right of way of the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Company under the original ordinance was classed as U-6 territory and the rest thereof as U-2 territory. By amendments to the ordinance, a…