Also known as: same courses of conduct · same transaction · same conduct
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A series of acts or omissions connected by time, place, purpose, or motive that courts and statutes treat as a single unit.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Samantha Stone and Skylar Sullivan each purchased a defective appliance from Synergy Systems in separate transactions two weeks apart. Both suffered identical injuries when the appliances malfunctioned in the same manner. Their complaints assert rights to relief arising from the connected sales and defects. The court permits them to join as plaintiffs in one action.
Stephen Shaw was acquitted in federal court of directing illegal waste dumping. State prosecutors later charged him with conspiracy to conceal the identical dumping through falsified manifests. The subsequent charge rests on the same connected acts of disposal and concealment. The court dismisses the state prosecution as barred.
Steven Silva signed a purchase order with Sierra Solutions for equipment. A separate delivery schedule and warranty addendum were executed the same day without physical attachment. The writings address the identical equipment sale and pricing terms. The court reads all documents together to determine the parties' obligations.
Scott Summers consented to a specific knee surgery at Southland Foods' clinic. The surgeon performed an additional tendon repair during the same operation using the same incision. The extra procedure constitutes substantially connected conduct within the original consent. The court finds the consent effective and dismisses the battery claim.
Santiago Sanchez obtained a loan from Skyline Construction to buy land and build a warehouse. The mortgage was executed as part of the closing in which title passed. Proceeds funded both acquisition and immediate construction under one integrated deal. The mortgage receives purchase money priority over earlier liens.
Synergy Systems' manager was convicted of drug distribution. Prosecutors later charged the same manager with conspiracy based on overlapping sales evidence from the identical period. Each offense requires proof of an element the other does not. The court permits the second prosecution despite the shared facts.
Claims satisfy the standard when they arise from a connected series of transactions or occurrences even if not identical events. Plaintiffs or defendants may join if the facts share a logical relationship in time or purpose. The presence of common questions of law or fact then supports a single action.
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A later prosecution is barred if it rests on the identical connected acts that supported an earlier acquittal or conviction. The Blockburger elements test still governs even when facts overlap. Separate sovereigns may prosecute the same connected conduct without violation.
…Code Ann. § 21.06(a) (2003). Sodomy between opposite-sex partners, however, is not a crime in Texas. That is, Texas treats the same conduct differently based solely on the participants. Those harmed by this law are people who have a same-sex sexual orientation and thus are more likely to engage in behavior prohibited by §…
…conduct, to be made on a standard of proof that is less rigorous than that which would obtain had the accused been tried for the same conduct
…N. J., at 20, 731 A. 2d, at 492. Indeed, the fact that New Jersey, along with numerous other States, has also made precisely the same conduct the subject of an independent substantive offense makes it clear that the mere presence of this "enhancement" in a sentencing statute does not define its character.[^maj-20] New Jersey's…
…force. Id. at 375-76. The same reasoning applies here. Tennessee’s aggravated sexual battery statute criminalizes the same conduct
…make the judgment that two people are equally culpable where one commits an act stone sober, and the other engages in the same conduct after his voluntary intoxication has reduced his capacity for self-control? For the reasons that follow, I resist categorizing § 45-2-203 as merely an evidentiary prescription, but join the…
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Writings executed as part of one integrated deal are read together even without physical attachment. Courts examine whether the documents address the same subject matter and were signed in close temporal proximity. This approach gives effect to the parties' overall transaction.
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Consent extends to conduct that is substantially connected to the authorized act in time and manner. An actor who exceeds the precise limits of consent may still avoid liability if the deviation remains part of the same connected episode. Distinct or remote acts fall outside the consent.
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A mortgage qualifies for purchase money status when loan proceeds fund acquisition or construction as part of the single closing transaction. The mortgage must be given incident to title acquisition or within a reasonable time thereafter. This timing requirement preserves the mortgage's superpriority over other claims.
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