Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Annus et dies is a Latin phrase that means "a year and a day." In criminal law, it refers to the rule that an act causing death is not considered homicide if the death occurs more than a year and a day after the act was committed. This means that if someone causes harm to another person and that person dies more than a year and a day later, the person who caused the harm cannot be charged with murder or manslaughter. The phrase "year and a day" was used in ancient times to mean just a year, but it included both the first and last day of the year. Today, we only count the last day of the year.