Simple English definitions for legal terms
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A FORCE ET ARMES: A legal term that means "with force and arms." It is used to describe offenses that involve violence or disturbance of the peace. The term was commonly used in medieval times and survived as a formal requirement of pleading until 1852 in England. However, it was never necessary for offenses that involved cheating, non-feazance, or consequential injury.
A force et armes (ay fors et ahr-mis) is a term in Law French that means "with force and arms." It is also spelled a force et armis. This term is used to describe actions that involve physical violence or disturbance of the peace.
Vi et armis (vI et ahr-mis) is a Latin term that means "by or with force and arms." It is often used in historical contexts to describe violent actions that were committed in the past.
For example, if someone breaks into a house and steals something, they have committed a crime a force et armes because they used physical force to enter the house and take the item. Similarly, if a group of people start a fight in a public place, they are acting vi et armis because they are using physical force to harm others.
It is important to note that these terms are not used as frequently in modern legal language, but they are still important to understand in historical and legal contexts.