Legal Definitions - spurious

The term spurious describes something that is not genuine, authentic, or true, despite appearing to be so. It often refers to items, claims, or evidence that are fake, counterfeit, or of questionable origin or validity.

• Example 1: A pharmaceutical company is accused of selling a new drug that, despite its impressive packaging and marketing, contains no active medicinal ingredients. Independent laboratory tests confirm that the pills are essentially sugar and inactive fillers, offering no therapeutic benefit.

  How it illustrates "spurious": The drug is spurious because it is deceptively presented as a genuine medicine but is, in fact, fake. Its claims of efficacy are not authentic, and it fails to deliver on its advertised purpose.

• Example 2: During a criminal trial, the defense introduces an alibi witness who presents a receipt from a restaurant in another city, dated and timed to prove the defendant was not at the crime scene. However, the prosecution's forensic experts later determine that the receipt paper and ink are inconsistent with the restaurant's known supplies for that date, suggesting it was fabricated.

  How it illustrates "spurious": The receipt is spurious evidence because its authenticity and origin are highly doubtful. It is not a genuine document from the restaurant, making its validity questionable and potentially misleading to the court.

• Example 3: An art dealer attempts to sell a painting attributed to a famous Renaissance master. A potential buyer, suspicious of the artwork's provenance, commissions an art historian to examine it. The historian's detailed analysis reveals stylistic inconsistencies and modern pigments, concluding that the painting is a clever forgery rather than an authentic work by the master.

  How it illustrates "spurious": The painting is spurious because it deceptively suggests an erroneous origin. It is not a genuine work by the Renaissance master but a fake, created to appear authentic and mislead potential buyers.