Also known as: otherwise · to the contrary
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A Latin adverb used in legal writing to signal a contrary proposition or alternative outcome. It introduces a view or result opposite to the one just stated.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Scott Summers killed his wife's lover after discovering them together. The jury accepted the sudden provocation and returned a voluntary manslaughter verdict. Defense counsel wrote that the facts showed adequate provocation, secus the prosecution's premeditation theory.
Sylvia Santos sold farmland to Steven Silva and took back a purchase money mortgage at closing. Birch Land's earlier liens contained after-acquired property clauses. The court held that Sylvia's mortgage took priority, secus the argument that the liens attached automatically upon title transfer.
Samuel Soto was charged with a serious federal offense by information alone. Counsel moved to dismiss, arguing that the Fifth Amendment requires indictment by grand jury, secus the government's claim that the exception for military cases applied.
Sasha Stone filed an unsigned complaint in federal court. The clerk notified counsel of the defect. The court struck the pleading, secus the argument that the omission could be ignored without prompt correction.
Sierra Santos testified at trial inconsistently with her deposition. The opponent sought to introduce the deposition transcript without first confronting her. The court excluded the extrinsic evidence, secus the proponent's assertion that no opportunity to explain was required.
A former government lawyer joined a firm representing a client adverse to a person about whom the lawyer held confidential information. The firm screened the lawyer, but the court disqualified the firm anyway, secus the argument that screening alone cured the conflict.
It signals that the following proposition or result is contrary to the one just stated. The term therefore functions as a concise way to introduce an opposing view or outcome.
…any ordinary act of the legislature the Constitution and not such ordinary act must govern cases to which both apply. To contend otherwise is to say courts must close their eyes on the Constitution and see only the law which would subvert written constitutions. The Constitution extends judicial power to all cases arising…