Also known as: Negotiable Order of Withdrawal
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An adverb marking the present moment at which a legal condition, capacity, or event is assessed. It identifies the time reference for determining whether a witness's memory or a constitutional restriction has changed since an earlier point.
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Nora Nash testifies at trial about a contract negotiation she attended five years earlier. When asked for details of the pricing discussion, Nora states that she once knew the figures but now cannot recall them well enough to testify fully and accurately. The court permits her to read from a contemporaneous memorandum under the recorded-recollection rule because the present inability satisfies the temporal requirement.
Congress considers a statute limiting migration of persons into states that existed at the founding. Nigel Nelson argues that the limitation violates the constitutional clause protecting states now existing from prohibition until 1808. The court applies the temporal marker as written because the clause fixes the class of protected states at the time of adoption.
Nikhil Narayan petitions for a commission that had been signed but not delivered before the change in administration. The court holds that the right vested at the moment the commission was complete and that the Executive cannot now withhold it on the basis of later political considerations.
Nadia Novak, a student in a racially segregated school, seeks admission to an integrated district. The court declares that separate facilities are inherently unequal at the present time and orders immediate desegregation, rejecting any delay based on earlier precedents.
Neil Nair, special prosecutor, subpoenas presidential tapes for use at trial. President Nixon asserts privilege, but the court rules that the need for evidence in a criminal proceeding now outweighs the generalized interest in confidentiality.
Nancy Nelson sues in federal court for injuries sustained on a railroad in State A. The court applies State A substantive law because the accident occurred there and the federal court must now follow the law of the state in which it sits.
The rule requires that the witness now cannot recall the matter well enough to testify fully and accurately. The present inability triggers the exception even if the witness had full knowledge when the record was made.
Supporting sources
The clause uses 'now existing' to identify the states whose importation rights are protected until 1808. The temporal marker fixes the class of states at the time the Constitution was adopted.
Supporting sources