Barratry

The act of a vessel's captain or crew knowingly endangering the vessel's cargo and/or the vessel itself.

Acts that are considered barratry include intentionally sinking the ship, transporting illegal immigrants, and stealing cargo.

Two legal concepts go by the name barratry: one in criminal and civil law, the other in admiralty law.

• In criminal law, barratry is the act or practice of bringing repeated legal actions solely to harass. Usually, the actions brought lack merit. This action has been declared a crime in some jurisdictions. See also: champerty, SLAPP, vexatious litigation, abuse of process, malicious prosecution, forum shopping.

• In admiralty law, barratry is a fraudulent act committed by a master or crew of a vessel which damages the vessel or its cargo, including desertion, illegal scuttling, and theft of the ship or cargo.

• A third meaning also exists: the buying and selling of positions of authority, especially those within the church. This meaning is synonymous with simony.

Pirate

A person who commits piracy, takes or appropriates by piracy. E.g. copy, distribute, or use without authorization especially in infringement of copyright: the pirated software, pirating cable TV signals.

Monition

• In general English: a warning or an intimation of something imminent, especially of impending danger. Cautionary advice or counsel; an admonition. A formal order from a bishop or an ecclesiastical court to refrain from a specified offense.

• In legal English: A summons or citation in civil or admiralty law.

Jones Act (sailor rights)

The Jones Act (also known as Merchant Marine Act) is a United States Federal statute that requires U.S.-flagged vessels to be built in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and documented under the laws of the United States. Documented means "registered, enrolled, or licensed under the laws of the United States." In addition, all officers and 75% of the crew must be U.S. citizens. Vessels that satisfy these requirements comprise the "Jones Act fleet".

The Jones Act also allows injured sailors to obtain damages from their employers for the negligence of the ship owner, the captain, or fellow members of the crew. It operates simply, by extending similar legislation already in place that allowed for recoveries by railroad workers and providing that this legislation also applies to sailors.

The statute provides that: ‘any seaman who shall suffer personal injury in the course of his employment may, at his election, maintain an action for damages at law, with the right to trial by jury, and in such action all statutes of the United States modifying or extending the common-law right or remedy in cases of personal injury to railway employees shall apply. . . .’

Like other workers compensation statutes, the Jones Act entitles injured sailors to what the Act calls "transportation, wages, maintenance and cure:" the employer or ship owner must get the sailor home, pay him wages while unable to work, and provide medical care for his injuries until the sailor has recovered all he will be able to. If the sailor's injuries are the result of negligence, whether by the employer, captain, or another crew member, the sailor may be able to obtain damages for pain and suffering from the employer or ship owner as well.

Any worker who spends more than thirty percent of his time in the service of a vessel on navigable waters qualifies as a seaman under the Jones Act. An action under the Jones Act may be brought either in a U.S. federal court or in a state court.

The Jones Act should not be confused with the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, which is a Federal statute that defines the workers compensation rights of dockside employees whose work affects shipping upon navigable waters. The Death on the High Seas Act governs remedies for the survivors of sailors who die on the job.

Everyday "Legal" Jargon

Admiralty Law

Admiralty law or maritime law is the distinct body of law (both substantive and procedural) governing navigation and shipping. Topics associated with this field in legal reference works may include: shipping; navigation; waters; contracts; commerce; seamen; towage; wharves, piers, and docks; insurance; maritime liens; canals; and recreation. Piracy (ship hijacking) is also an aspect of admiralty.

Sea-borne transport being one of the most ancient channels of commerce. Because ships sail from nation to nation over seas no nation owns, nations need to seek agreement over customs related to shipping. From such agreements between nations has grown a body of customs and usages that is the basis for maritime law. It was, in origin, based on customs only, but it felt the influence of the Roman civil law. In the later Middle Ages, when traders were more and more venturous in crossing the waters, the rules of the sea were compiled into widely recognized collections such as the Consolato del mare [consulate of the sea], The Rolls of Oléron or The Laws of Oléron, and the English Black Book of the Admiralty. In England, special courts were set up to administer the law under the high court of admiralty. The Judicature Act of 1873 abolished these courts and assigned their functions to the high court of justice.

Admiralty law in the United States developed from the British admiralty courts present in most of the American colonies. These courts functioned separately from courts of law and equity. With the Judiciary Act, though, Congress placed admiralty under the jurisdiction of the federal district courts. Although admiralty shares much in common with the civil law, it is separate from it. Common law does not act as binding precedent on admiralty courts, but it and other law may be used when no law on point is available.

Parties subject to admiralty may not contract out of admiralty jurisdiction, and states may not infringe on admiralty jurisdiction either judicially or legislatively. Since admiralty courts, however, are courts of limited jurisdiction (which does not extend to non-maritime matters), the "Savings to Suitors Clause," does provide for concurrent state jurisdiction so that non-admiralty remedies will not be foreclosed. Moreover, state courts may have jurisdiction where the matter is primarily local.

Under admiralty, the ship's flag determines the source of law. For example, a ship flying the American flag in the Persian Gulf would be subject to American admiralty law; and a ship flying a Norwegian flag in American waters will be subject to Norwegian admiralty law. This also applies to criminal law governing the ship's crew. But the ship must be flying the flag legitimately; that is, there must be more than insubstantial contact between the ship and its flag, in order for the law of the flag to apply. American courts may refuse jurisdiction where it would involve applying the law of another country, although in general international law does seek uniformity in admiralty law.

There are other special rules in processing maritime cases, which are often handled by admiralty law specialists. Lawyers appearing in admiralty cases are called "proctors."

This jurisdiction covers all maritime contracts, torts, injuries or offenses, and questions of prize.

Though maritime law is general in character, only those parts that determine the relations among nations—particularly those that deal with problems arising on the seas in wartime, such as questions of belligerency and neutrality—are part of the international law proper.

Liens

A lien is a charge against property for payment of debt. Maritime liens can arise under general maritime law (arising from collision or personal injury) and by statute (ship mortgages). Ordinarily, local law, where arrest of a vessel or personal property occurs, governs the validity of the lien and its priority with respect to other liens.

A maritime lien is a claim laid against maritime property, most often a vessel, but may also be brought against other personal property involved in maritime transactions such as cargo.

A maritime lien arises from services rendered to or injuries caused by maritime property.

A maritime lien is a very different concept from a consensual land lien. The maritime lien arises out of contract or tort. Only certain types of maritime claims can give rise to a lien and the parties cannot by agreement modify the status of a claim. The in rem decree of an admiralty court following a judicial sale extinguishes all liens regardless of whether a claimant has participated in the proceeding.

Generally a maritime lien attaches to the property and is valid whether or not recorded. It travels with the vessel or personal property from port to port and owner to owner until it is extinguished or discharged. Unlike land liens, most recent maritime liens may have first priority, subject to statutes such as those establishing mortgages. A maritime lien is enforced by an action against the property itself, by arrest. That suit must be brought in a court having jurisdiction over the place where the property is located at the time of enforcement. A maritime lien is not a possessory lien such as a mechanic’s lien.

Priority among the same class of competing maritime liens is determined by the time of their attachment but in inverse order: last in time is first in right. The maritime lien is often referred to as "secret" or "hidden" because it depends neither on possession nor notice through filing (with the exception of the preferred ship mortgage which is statutory). It is also said to be "indelible" because since it can only be executed by an admiralty court acting in rem it is valid against the whole world, including a bona fide purchaser of the vessel without regard to even bankruptcy or reorganization.

The maritime lien can only be foreclosed, or "executed" in maritime parlance, by an admiralty court acting in rem. A maritime lien is extinguished by destruction of the vessel or property or laches (undue delay in enforcement), or is discharged by paying the underlying claim or judicial act.

As If Your Life Depended On It… or How to get to Carnegie Hall? - Practice, practice

Possessed Of / Possessed By / Possessed With

If you own a yacht, you’re possessed of it. If a demon takes over your body, you’re possessed by it. If that which possesses you is more metaphorical, like an executive determined to get ahead, he or she can be possessed by or with the desire to win.

Prepositions (Wrong)

One of the clearest indications that a person reads little and doesn’t hear much formal English is a failure to use the right preposition in a common expression. You aren’t ignorant to a fact; you're ignorant of it. Things don’t happen on accident, but by accident (though they do happen "on purpose" ). There are no simple rules governing preposition usage: you just have to immerse yourself in good English in order to write it naturally.

Went / Gone

The past participle of "go" is "gone" so it’s not "I should have went to the party" but "I should have gone to the party."