Legal Definitions - disinter

To disinter means to unearth or bring something out from a buried or hidden state. It has two primary applications:

• To exhume a body: This refers to the act of digging up a deceased person's remains from their burial place. This is typically done for legal, forensic, or humanitarian reasons, often requiring a court order or official permission.

  • Example: After new evidence suggested foul play, a prosecutor obtained a court order to disinter the remains of a man who had been buried for twenty years, hoping a new forensic examination would reveal crucial details about his death.

    Explanation: This example illustrates the literal meaning of disinter, as the deceased's body is being removed from its grave to aid a legal investigation into the cause of death.

• To uncover or reveal something hidden or forgotten: This figurative use applies when information, facts, or objects that were previously obscure, unknown, or deliberately concealed are brought to light.

  • Example: During a complex corporate fraud investigation, forensic accountants worked tirelessly to disinter years of hidden financial transactions and shell company records that had been deliberately obscured by the perpetrators.

    Explanation: Here, 'disinter' refers to the process of uncovering concealed financial data and documents, bringing them out of obscurity to expose fraudulent activities.