Gale Encyclopedia Of American Law 3Rd Edition Volume 1 P10 doc

What Causes AIDS—and What
Does Not?
S
B
ince the first U.S. case was identified in 1981,
acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)
has grown into an epidemic that has, as of 2007,
caused the death of 545,805 persons in the United
States. The Joint United Nations Programme on
HIV/AIDS estimates that at the end o f 2007 there
were 33 million people living with HIV/AIDS
worldwide. During 2007, AIDS c aused the deaths
of an estimated 2 million people. At that time,
women were increasingly affected by AIDS; it was
estimated that women comprised approximately
50 percent of persons living with HIV or AIDS
worldwide. No cure has been found, although
existing treatment employing multiple drugs has
made substantial gains in prolonging life and
reducing pain. Despite t he limits in medical
treatment, however, much is known about the
disease.
AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV). Transmitted by bodily fluids from person
to person, HIV invades certain key blood cells that
are needed to fight off infections. HIV replicates,
spreads, and destroys these host cells. When the
body’s immune system becomes deficient, the
person becomes AIDS-symptomatic, which means
the person develops infections that the body can no
longer ward off. Ultimately, a person with AIDS dies

from diseases caused by other infections. The
leading killer is a form of pneumonia.
Most of the fear surrounding AIDS has to do
with its most common form of transmission: sexual
behavior. The virus can be passed through any
behavior that i nvolves the exchange of blood,
semen, or vaginal secretions. Anal i ntercourse is
the highest-risk activity, but oral or v aginal inter-
course is dangerous too. Thus, federal health
authorities recommend using a condom, yet they
caution that condoms are not 100 percent effective;
condoms can leak, a nd they can break. Highly
accurate HIV testing is widely available and often
advisable, since infected people can feel perfectly
healthy. Although the virus can be contracted
immediately upon exposure to i t, symptoms of full -
blown AIDS may take up to ten years to appear.
In addition to sexual behavior, only a few
other means of HIV transmission exist. Sharing
unsterilized needles used in drug injections is one
way, owing to the exchange of blood on t he needle,
and thus intravenous drug users are an extremely
high-risk group. Several cities have experimented
with programs that offer free, clean needl es. These
programs have seen up to a 75- percent reduction in
new HIV cases. Receipt of donations of blood,
semen, organs, and other human tissue can also
transmit HIV, although here screening methods
have proved la rgely successful. Childbirth and
breast feeding are also avenues of transmission;

thus, children of H IV-positive mothers ma y be
at risk.
The medical fa cts about HIV and AIDS are
especially relevant to the law. Unless exposed in
one of a few very specific ways, most people have
nothing to fear. Casual contact with people who are
infected is safe. Current medical k nowledge is quite
strong on this point: no one is known to have caught
the virus by sitting next to, shaking the hand of, or
breathing the same air a s an infected person. For
this reason, U.S. law has moved to protect the civil
rights of HIV-positive and AIDS-symptomatic per-
sons. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(29 U.S.C. § 794 [1994]) prohibits discrimination
against otherwise qualified disabled individuals,
including individuals with a contagious disease or
an infection such as HIV or AIDS.
The AIDS quilt, on display in Washington, D.C.,
has become a well-known symbol of support for
victims of AIDS and their families. Fami lies and
supporters of victims of AIDS c reate a panel to
commemorate that person’s lif e and that panel is
joined with others from around the country to create
the quilt.
FURTHER READINGS
Barnett, Tony, and Alan Whiteside. 2006. AIDS in the Twenty-
First Century. 2d ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Farmer, Paul. 2003. Pathologies of Power: Health, Human
Rights, and the New War on the Poor. Berkeley: Univ. of
California Press.

CROSS REFERENCES
Discrimination
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
78 ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME
through drug-treatment regimens that require
individuals to consume many different types of
medications at the same time. These anti-AIDS
“cocktails” undergo constant study and modifi-
cation as researchers learn more about the
workings of HIV. The medications are from a
family of drugs called “protease inhibitors.”
Survival rates have dramatically improved
for those individuals using protease inhibitors,
but other problems have also arisen. Some
persons do not respond to these medications, or
the side effects from taking the drugs diminish
the quality of life. Protease inhibitors, for many
people, are intolerable because of nausea,
diarrhea, vomiting, headache, kidney stones,
and serious drug interactions with other
medications. By 2003 researchers had found
that serious side effects include increased risk of
heart attack, abnormalities in fat distribution,
an increased propensity toward diabetes, and
abnormalities in cholesterol metabolism.
Cost is another concern associated with
protease inhibitors. To be effective, protease
inhibitors must be used in combination with at
least two other anti-HIV drugs. Originally,
annual costs for this treatment was estimated

to be between $12,000 and $15,000 per person.
However, in 2006 research was released that
estimated that Americans who were diagnosed
with the AIDS virus could have a life expectancy
of 24 years and spend approximately $600,000
in healthcare costs during those years. The
average cost of the drugs equated to $2,100 a
month and $25,200 a year. The increase in cost
from the original reports is due to improved
and more costly HIV medications. Those
persons without private health insurance must
rely on public programs such as the AIDS Drug
Assistance Program (ADAP), a federally funded
initiative to provide AIDS-related drugs to
people with HIV. Most ADAP programs, which
are administered by states, have lacked the
funding to enroll everyone in need.
International Issues By 2003 the international
AIDS problem had become a crisis in Africa and
parts of Asia. The situation is gravest in sub-
Saharan Africa, where AIDS is the leading cause
of death. Over 22 million adults and children live
with HIV and AIDS, which accounts for more
than two-thirds of all individuals worldwide
living with AIDS. Approximately 1.7 million
people die there each year from AIDS. This
number is more than three-quarters of the global
total number of AIDS-related deaths each year.
These figures stand in stark contrast to those of
North America, where fewer than one million

people are living with HIV and AIDS.
The growth of AIDS in Africa and Asia has
raised worries about global political and eco-
nomic stability. Governments in these ravaged
countries have not been able to afford the anti-
viral drugs. In 2002 pharmaceutical companies
agreed to sell these drugs to these countries as
generic drugs, thus dropping the cost from
$12,000 to $300 per year per patient; yet, even at
these prices, many governments would be hard
pressed to purchase them.
The
UNITED NATIONS (UN) and the World
Health Organization (WHO) have worked to-
gether to address the issues of prevention and
treatment. Although AIDS is among the most
deadly infectious diseases in the world, the
statistics reveal that, on a global basis, thenumber
of individuals dying of AIDS-related causes has
declined in recent years. In December 2002 a
joint UN-WHO report disclosed that 42 million
people in the world were living with HIV and
AIDS. In 2002 five million people contracted
HIV, and over three million people died of AIDS.
In 2007 the reports indicated that the number of
individuals living with HIV had dropped to 33
million people worldwide and that 2.7 million
people were newly infected in that year. The total
number of AIDS deaths decreased from five
million to two million in 2007. This decline is

due in large part to the increased availability of
the antiretroviral treatment and improved pre-
vention and care programs available worldwide.
FURTHER READINGS
ACLU. 1996. The Rights of People Who Are HIV Positive.
Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
———. 1995a. AIDS and Civil Liberties. Briefingpaper no. 13.
———. 1995b. Lesbian and Gay Rights. Briefing paper no. 18.
———. 1994. ACLU Wins Precedent-Setting Claim in AIDS
Case; Federal Court Rules That ADA Covers AIDS
Discrimination. Press release, November 21.
———. 1993. ACLU Files AIDS Discrimination Suit;
Challenges South Carolina Insurance Risk Pool. Press
release, April 6.
“Fighting Aids.” February 10, 2003. PBS News Hour. Available
online at www.pbs.org (accessed Mar. 31, 2010).
Health and Human Services Department. Social Security
Administration. 1991. A Guide to Social Security and SSI
Disability Benefits for People with HIV Infection. Pub. no.
05-10020, September.
Jarvis, Robert M., et al., eds. 1996. AIDS Law in a Nutshell.
2d ed. Minneapolis, Minn.: West.
Rollins, Joe. 2002. “AIDS, Law, and the Rhetoric of
Sexuality.” Law & Society Review 36 (April).
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME 79
White House. Office of the Press Secretary. 1994. Proclamation
for World AIDS Day, November 30, 1994. Press release.
———. 2009. Obama Administration Announces New
Campaign to Refocus National Attention on the HIV Crisis

in the United States. Press release, April 7, 2009; National
Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB
Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Barack Obama: Fighting HIV/AIDS Worldwide.” Available
online at />Sheet.pdf; website home page: acko
bama.com (accessed June 10, 2009).
Public Library of Science (Pl o S Medicine). 2007. The US
Anti-Prostitution Pledge; First Amendment Challenges
and Public Health Priorities. (Policy Forum)(United
States Leadership Against Global HIV/AIDS, Tubercu-
losis, and Malaria Act of 2003).
“Global Summary of the AIDS Epidemic, December 2007.”
Available online at />2008_global_summary_AIDS_ep.png; website home
page: (accessed June 10, 2009).
“AIDS Patients Will Spend $600K for care.” Available online
at />displaymode/1098; website home page: http://www.
msnbc.com (accessed June 8, 2009).
“The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief (PEPFAR).” Available online at http://www.
pepfar.gov/about/index.htm. (accessed June 7, 2009).
CROSS REFERENCES
Disability Discrimination; Discrimination; Food and Dru g
Administration; Gay and Lesbian Rights ; Health Care Law;
Patients’ Rights; Physicians and Surgeons; Privacy.
ACQUISITION CHARGE
A fee imposed upon a borrower who satisfies a
loan prior to the date of payment specified in the
loan agreement.
Many home mortgages provide that if the
persons who borrowed the money want to repay

their
MORTGAGE within two year s, th ey must pay an
ACQUI SITION CHARGE of a small percentage of the
outstanding balance of the mortgage. Prepayment
penalty is another name for acquisition charge.
ACQUIT
To set free, release or discharge as from an
obligation, burden or accusation. To absolve one
from an obligation or a liability; or to legally
certify the innocence of one charged with a crime.
ACQUITTAL
The legal and formal certification of the innocence
of a person who has been charged with a crime.
Acquittals in fact take place when a jury finds a
VERDICT of not GUILTY.Acquittalsin law take place
by
OPERATION OF LAW such as when a person has
been charged as an
ACCESSO RY to the cr ime of
ROBBERY and the principal has been acquitted.
ACT
Something done; usually, something done inten-
tionally or voluntarily or with a purpose.
The term encompasses not only physical
acts—such as turning on the water or purchasing
Results of Criminal Trials in 2007–2008
a
Acquitted
0.6%
Dismissed

9%
Convicted
90.4%
SOURCE: U.S. Courts, “Federal Judicial Caseload
Statistics,” available online at ourts
.gov/caseload2008/contents.html (accessed on August
12, 2009).
a
Refers to trials completed in U.S. District Courts from April 1,
2007, to March 31, 2008.
ILLUSTRATION BY GGS CREATIVE RESOURCES. REPRODUCED BY
PERMISSION OF GALE, A PART OF CENGAGE LEARNING.
Total felony dispositions
statewide: 165,016
Percentage resulting in conviction
Percentage resulting in dismissal
Percentage resulting in acquittal
Acquittal: State of New York Felony Arrest Dispositions for 2008
Percent
0 20 40 60 80 100
69%
23%
0.4%
SOURCE: New York State, Division of Criminal Justice Services, “Criminal Justice
Statistics,” available online at />dis
p
os/index.htm (accessed on Au
g
ust 7, 2009).
ILLUSTRATION BY GGS

CREATIVE RESOURCES.
REPRODUCED BY
PERMISSION OF GALE,
A PART OF CENGAGE
LEARNING.
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3
RD E DITION
80 ACQUISITION CHARGE
agun—butalsoreferstomoreintangibleacts
such as adopting a decree, edict, law, judgment,
award, or determination. An act may be a private
act, done by an individual managing his or her
personal affairs, or it may be a public act, done
by an official, a council, or a court. When a bill is
favorably acted upon in the process of
LEGISLA-
TION
, it be comes an act .
ACT OF GOD
An event that directly and exclusively results from
the occurrence of natural causes that co uld not
have been prevented by the exercise of foresight or
caution; an inevitable accident.
Courts have recognized various events as
acts of God—tornadoes, earthquakes, death,
extraordinarily high tides, violent winds, and
floods. Many insurance policies for property
damage exclude from their protection damage
caused by acts of God.
ACTION

Conduct; behavior; something done; a series of
acts.
A case or lawsuit; a legal and formal demand
for enforcement of one’s rights against another
party asserted in a court of justice.
The term action includes all the proceedings
attendant upon a legal demand, its
ADJUDICATION,
and its denial or its enforcement by a court.
Specifically, it is the
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS, while a
CAUSE OF ACTION is the underlying right that gives
rise to them. In casual conversation, action and
cause of action may be used interchangeably, but
they are more properly distinguished. At one
time it was more correct to speak of actions at
law and of proceedings or suits in equity. The
distinction is rather technical, however, and not
significant since the merger of law and equity.
The term action is used more often for civil
lawsuits than for criminal proceedings.
Parties in an Action
ApersonmusthavesomesortofLEGAL RIGHT
before starting an action. That legal right implies a
duty owed to one person by another, whether it is
a duty to do something or a duty not to do
something. When the other person acts wrong-
fully or fails to act as the law requires, such
behavior is a breach, or violation, of that person’s
legal duty. If that breach causes harm, it is the

basis for a cause of action. The injured person
may seek redress by starting an action in court.
The person who starts the action is the
PLAINTIFF, and the pe rson sued is the DEFENDANT.
They are the parties in the action. Frequently,
there are multiple parties on a side. The defen-
dant may assert a defense which, if true, will
defeat the plaintiff’s claim. A
COUNTERCLAIM may
be made by the defendant against the plaintiff
or a
CROSS-CLAIM against another party on the
same side of the lawsuit. The law may permit
joinder of two or more claims, such as an action
for property damage and an action for personal
injuries, after one auto
ACCIDENT;oritmay
require consolidation of actions by an order of
the court. Where prejudice or injustice is likely to
result, the court may order a
SEVERANCE of actions
into different lawsuits for different parties.
Commencement of an Action
The time when an action may begin depends on
the kind of action involved. A plaintiff cannot
start a lawsuit until the cause of action has
accrued. For example, a man who wants to use a
parcel of land for a store where only houses are
allowed must begin by applying for a variance
from the local zoning board. He cannot bypass

the board and start an action in court. His right
to
SUE does not ACCRUE until the board turns
down his request.
Neither can a person begin an action after
the time allowed by law. Most causes of action
are covered by a
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS, which
specifically limits the time within which to
begin the action. If the law in a particular state
says that an action for libel cannot be brought
more than one year after pu blication of a
Acts of God, which
include hurricanes
such as Hurricane
Katrina, are
sometimes excluded
from insurance
policies for property
damage.
AP IMAGES
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3
RD E DITION
ACTION 81
defamatory statement, then those actions must
be initiated within that statutory period. Where
there is no statute that limits the time to
commence a particular action, a court may
nevertheless dismiss the case if the claim is stale
and if

LITIGATION at that point would not be fair.
A plaintiff must first select the right court,
then an action can be commenced by delivery of
the formal legal papers to the appropriate person.
Statutes that regulate proper procedure for this
must be strictly observed. A typical statute
specifies that an action may be begun
by delivery of a
SUMMONS,oraWRIT on the
defendant. At one time, common-law actions had
to be pleaded according to highly technical
FORMS
OF ACTION
, but now it is generally sufficient simply
toservepapersthatstatefactsdescribinga
recognized cause of action. If this
SERVICE OF
PROCESS
is done properly, the defendant has fair
notice of the claim made against him or her and
the court acquires jurisdiction over him or her. In
some cases, the law requires delivery of the
summons or writ to a specified public officer such
as a U.S. marshal, who becomes responsible for
serving it on the defendant.
Termination of an Action
After an action is commenced, it is said to be
pending until termination. While the action is
pending, neither party has the right to start
another action in a different court over the same

dispute or to do any act that would make the
court’s decision futile.
A lawsuit may be terminated because of
dismissal before both sides have fully argued the
merits of their cases at trial. It can also be ended
because of
COMPROMISE AND SETTLEMENT, after
which the plaintiff withdraws his or her action
from the court.
Actions are terminated by the entry of final
judgments by the courts. A judgment may be
based on a jury
VERDICT or it may be a JUDGMENT
NOTWITHSTANDING THE VERDICT
. Where there has
been no jury, judgment is based on the judge’s
decision. Unless one party is given leave—or
permission from the court—to do something
that might revive the lawsuit, such as amending
an insufficient complaint, the action is at an end
when judgment is formally entered on the
records of the court.
CROSS REFERENCE
Civil Procedure.
ACTION ON THE CASE
One of the old common-law forms of action that
provided a remedy for the invasion of personal or
property interests.
ACTION ON THE CASE is also called TRESPASS on
the case because it developed from the

COMMON-
LAW ACTION of trespass during the fifteenth
century in Engla nd. Often it is simply called
case.
Case differs from trespass in that it redresses
more indirect injuries than the
WILLFUL invasion
of the plaintiff’s property contemplated by
trespass. It was designed to supplement the
action of trespass. For example, a person struck
by a log thrown over a fence could maintain an
action in trespass against the thrower. If,
instead, the wrongdoer tossed the log into the
street and the
PLAINTIFF were hurt by stumbling
over it, the plaintiff could maintain an action on
the case rather than in trespass.
In
PLEADING an action on the case, the
plaintiff sets forth the circumstances of the
entire case. In pleading an action on the case,
the complaint differed from the forms used in
pleading other actions because other actions
generally had highly stylized and rigid forms
that had to be followed word for word. The
plaintiff in the action on the case alleged facts to
show that (1) the
DEFENDANT had some sort of
duty; (2) the defendant had violated that duty;
and (3) the result was harm to the plaintiff or

the plaintiff’s property. Over the years this
action developed into a remedy for a wide
variety of wrongs that were not redressed by the
other
FORMS OF ACTION. For example, a plaintiff
could
SUE a defendant who maintained a
NUISANCE in the neighborhood; who violated an
easement or a
RIGHT OF WAY; or who committed
libel, slander, malicious prosecution, fraud, or
deceit. Most importantly, the action on the case
came into common use as the legal method for
compensating victims of
NEGLIGENCE.Itthus
became one of the most widely used forms of
action in the common-law system and gave
birth to the modern law of torts.
When ejectment was still considered a
modern improvement on trespass in England, it
already had been abandoned in New England
because of its complicated technical requirements.
One of the reasons for the American experience is
that law books were scarce in the colonies, and
many judges were laymen. The most rigid
applications of technical formalities came during
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
82 ACTION ON THE CASE
the f irst half of the nineteenth century after
lawyers gained influence in the legal system.

Dissatisfaction with the technicalities of the
forms soon began to peak.
CODE PLEADING was
then introduced to replace the prior forms of
action. An attempt was made to reduce the
number of writs to some basic few that would
be adequate for all of the different requirements
of modern
LITIGATION. Attention was shifted
from the form to the elements of a
CAUSE OF
ACTION
. Courts asked only whether the plaintiff
had stated a CLAIM on which relief could be
granted. The objective was to decide whether
the plaintiff was entitled to a remedy with as
little procedural red tape as possible. When
code pleading fell short of this goal, the modern
law of
CIVIL PROCEDURE developed the theory that
there should be only one form of action, the
CIVIL ACTION.
The old forms of action exist only as names
for procedures based on them and as the
foundation of much of the
SUBSTANTIVE LAW.In
Pennsylvania, for example, the word trespass is
used for tort actions, and assumpsit for lawsuits
based upon contracts.
ACTIONABLE

Giving sufficient legal grounds for a lawsuit; giving
rise to a cause of action.
An act, event, or occurrence is said to be
actionable when there are legal grou nds for
basing a lawsuit on it. For example, an
ASSAULT
is an actionable tort.
ACTIONABLE PER SE
Legally sufficient to support a lawsuit in itself.
Words are
ACTIONABLE PER SE if they are
obviously insulting and injurious to one ’s
reputation. In lawsuits for libel or slander,
words that impute the commission of a crime, a
loathsome disease, or unchastity, or remarks
that affect the plaintiff’s business, trade, profes-
sion, calling, or office may be actionable per se.
No special proof of actual harm done by the
words is necessary to win monetary damages
when words are actionable per se.
ACTUAL CASH VALUE
The fair or reasonable cash price for which a
property could be sold in the market in the
ordinary course of business, and not at forced sale.
The price it will bring in a fair market after
reasonable efforts to find a purchaser who will give
the highest price. What property is worth in
money, allowing for depreciation. Ordinarily,
actual cash value, fair market value, and market
value are synonymous terms.

ACTUAL NOTICE
Conveying facts to a person with the intention
to apprise that person of a proceeding in which
his or her interests are involved, or informing a
person of some fact that he or she has a right to
know and which the informer has a legal duty to
communicate.
When such notice has been given to
someone personally, it is called express actual
notice or express notice. If a tenant notifies a
landlord that the elevator is broken, the
landlord has express actual notice of the defect.
Should the landlord fail to repair the elevator
and another tenant is injured while riding it,
the landlord would be liable for the tenant’s
injuries.
Actual notice can be presumed if an average
person, having witness of the same evidence,
should know that a particular fact exists. This is
called implied actual notice or implied notice.
If the landlord had been with the tenant when
the tenant discovered the broken elevator, the
landlord would be considered to have implied
notice of the defect.
ACTUARY
A statistician who computes insurance and pension
rates and premiums on the basis of the experi-
ence of people sharing similar age and health
characteristics.
The profession also includes statisticians

who provide expert data analysis on risk
assessment and risk management for the
financial services sector. Actuaries are most
often employed within the insurance industry,
but also prepare and assess data for commercial
and investment banks, retirement and
PENSION
fund administrators, or are self-employed as
consultants. Specific data prepared by actuaries
is often presented in the form of actuarial tables
(
MORTALITY TABLES) that indicate the life expec-
tancy of an individual. Suc h tables may be used
as the bases for calculating estimated insurance
premiums or monthly retirement annuities.
When utilized by expert
WITNESSES, actuarial
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
ACTUARY 83
tables are admissible in evidence to show life
expectancy. Juries may award damages to plain-
tiffs for compromised life expectancy resulting
from the alleged wrongdoing of tortfeasors
(wrongdoers).
ACTUS REUS
[Latin, Guilty act.] As an element of criminal
responsibility, the wrongful act or omission that
comprises the physical components of a crime.
Criminal statutes generally require proof of both
actus reus and mens rea on the part of a

defendant in order to establish criminal liability.
AD DAMNUM
[Latin, To the loss.] The clause in a complaint
that sets a maximum amount of money that the
plaintiff can recover under a default judgment if
the defendant fails to appear in court.
It is a fundamental principle of due process
that a
DEFENDANT must be given fair notice of
what is demanded of him or her. In a
CIVIL
ACTION
,aPLAINTIFF must include in the com-
plaint served on a defendant a clause that states
the amount of the loss or the amount of money
damages claimed in the case. This clause is the
ad damnum. It tells a defendant how much he
or she stands to lose in the case.
In some states, the ad damnum sets an
absolute limit on the amount of damages
recoverable in the case, regardless of how much
loss the plaintiff is able to prove at trial. The
reason for this rule is that a defendant should
not be exposed to greater
LIABILITY than the ad
damnum just because he or she comes into
court and defends himself or herself. In states
that follow this rule, a plaintiff may be given
leave to increase the amount demanded by
amending the complaint if later circumstances

can be shown to warrant this. For example, a
plaintiff who sues for $5,000 for a broken leg
may find out after the action has begun that she
will be permanently disa bled. At that point, the
court may allow the plaintiff to amend her
complaint and demand damages of $50,000.
In most states and in the federal courts, a
plaintiff can collect money damages in excess of
the ad damnu m if proof can be made at trial to
support the higher amount. A defendant may ask
for more time to prepare the case in order not to
be prejudiced at trial if it begins to look as though
the plaintiff is claiming more money than the ad
damnum demands. However, the defendant
cannot prevent judgment for a higher amount.
AD HOC
[Latin, For this; for this special purpose.] An
attorney ad hoc or a guardian or curator ad hoc is
one appointed for a special purpose, generally to
represent the client, ward, or child in the particular
action in which the appointment is made.
An administrative agency, a legislature, or
other governmental bodies may establish ad hoc
committees to study particular problems. For
example, a city government may establish an ad
hoc committee to investigate and discuss the
placement of a new stadium in the city. Likewise,
an administrative agency in some jurisdictions
may engage in ad hoc rulemaking, whereby the
agency establishes specific procedures to pro-

mulgate a rule without necessarily adhering to
formal rulemaking requirements.
AD HOMINEM
[Latin, To the person.] A term used in debate to
denote an argument made personally against an
opponent, instead of agai nst the opponent’s
argument.
AD INTERIM
[Latin, In the meantime.] An officer ad interim is
a person appointed to fill a position that is
temporarily open, or to perform the functions of a
particular position during the absence or tempo-
rary incapacity of the individual who regularly
fulfills those duties.
AD LITEM
[Latin, For the suit; for the purposes of the suit;
pending the suit.] A guardian ad litem is a
guardian appointed to prosecute or defend a suit
on behalf of a party who is legally incapable of
doing so, such as an infant or an insane person.
AD VALOREM
According to value.
The term ad valorem is derived from the
Latin ad valenti am, meaning “to the value.” It is
commonly applied to a tax imposed on the
value of property. Real property taxes that are
imposed by the states, counties, and cities are
the most common type of ad valorem taxes. ad
valorem taxes can, however, be imposed upon
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION

84 ACTUS REUS
PERSONAL PROPERTY. For example, a motor vehicle
tax may be imposed upon personal property
such as an automobile.
An article of commerce may be subjected to
an ad valorem tax in proportion to its value,
which is determined by assessment or appraisal.
Duties, taxes on goods imported or brought
into this country from a foreign country, are
either ad valorem or specific. An ad valorem
duty is one in the form of a percentage on the
value of the property, unlike a specific duty that
is a fixed sum imposed on each article of a class,
such as all Swiss wristwatches, regardless of
their individual values.
CROSS REFERENCE
Taxation.
v
ADAMS, JOHN
JOHN ADAMS achieved prominence on many
levels—as
JURIST, statesman, and as the second
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Known for his
sharp diplomatic skills, his flair for words, and
his spirited activism, he was an instrumental
figure in forging the fledgling nation that would
become the United States of America.
Adams was born on October 30, 173 5, in
Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts, the son
of a farmer. His parents encouraged him in his

studies, and pushed him to enter Harvard
College to study for the clergy. Upon graduation
in 1755, the strong-willed Adams instead
decided to teach and study law. He was
admitted to the Boston bar in 1758 and
established a prestigious legal practice. During
the pre–Revolutionary War years, Adams spoke
out strongly against many acts enforced by the
British government, including the
TOWNSHEND
ACTS
, which unjustly taxed items such as glass
and tea. He also joined the Sons of Liberty—a
group of lawyers, merchants, and businessmen
who, in 1765, banded together to oppose the
STAMP ACT.
From 1774 to 1778 Adams served as the
Massachusetts representative to the
CONTINENTAL
CONGRESS
. He entered the judiciary during this
period and rendered decisions as chief justice
of the Superior Court of Massachusetts from
1775 to 1777. In 1776 he signed the newly
created
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
After the war, Adams entered the field of
foreign service, acting as commissioner to
France in 1777. In 1783 Adams went to Paris
with

JOHN JAY and THOMAS JEFFERSON to success-
fully negotiate the
TREATY OF P ARIS with Great
Britain, which officially ended the Revolution-
ary War and established the United States as an
John Adams.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
John Adams 1735–1826
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◆
◆
◆
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1732 George
Washington
born
1735 Born,
Braintree,
Mass.
1758 Admitted to Boston bar
1755 Graduated
from Harvard
College
1774–78 Mass. representative to
the Continental Congress
1765 Joined
the Sons of

Liberty
1788 Became first vice
president of the U.S.
1775–83
American
Revolution
1797–1801
Served as second
president of the
U.S.
1824 His son
John Quincy Adams
elected president of the U.S.
1826 Died
July 4, Braintree, Mass.;
Thomas Jefferson died,
Charlottesville, Va.
(same day)
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FEAR IS THE
FOUNDATION OF
MOST
GOVERNMENTS

.
—JOHN ADAMS
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
ADAMS, JOHN 85
independent nation. In 1785 Adams became the
first U.S. minister to Great Britain.
Adams returned to the United States in 1788
and began service to the new government with
his election to the office of vice president of the
United States. He was the first person to serve in
this office and was reelected for a second term
in 1792. In 1796 Adams was elected president
of the United States. He was the second man to
hold this position, following the retirement of
the first president,
GEORGE WASHINGTON. Dur ing
his term of office, Adams advocated naval
strength; approved the
ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS
of 1798 (1 Stat. 566, 570, 577, 596), which
increased the restrictions concerning
ALIENS and
imposed harsh penalties on any person who
attempted to obstruct the government system;
averted war with France; and selected the
eminent
JOHN MARSHALL as chief justice of the
U.S. Supreme Court. In 1800 Adams ran for
the presidency for a second term but was
defeated by Thomas Jefferson.

Adams’s political and personal
JURISPRUDENCE
was characterized by intense nationalism; some
consider him the most influential designer of
the new nation’s government and identity. A
Federalist and a realist who spoke his mind
without consideration for political fallout,
Adams believed that unchecked power created
abuse even in the best of democracies. To that
end, he was the most significant advocate for
the creation of a balance of powers through a
tripartite government: a bicameral legislature, a
strong executive, and an independent judici-
ary. He also authored the state constitution for
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which
remains the oldest functioning written consti-
tution in the world. Adams published a number
of political treatises, including Thoughts on
Government (1776) and Defense of the Constitu-
tions of the United States of America against the
Attacks of Mr. Turgot (1787).
John Adams sought a written constitution
based on unwritten
NATURAL LAW. He believed
that the
COMMON LAW was the source of
unalienable,
INDEFEA SIBLE rights of men, the honor
and dignity of human nature, the grandeur and
glory of the public, and the universal happiness

of individuals.
John Adams was also a devoted family man.
His wife, Abigail, was a vivacious and witty first
lady who openly commented on politics and
issues of the day. There were five Adams
children, including John Quincy, who served
as the sixth president of the United States. John
Adams died on July 4, 1826, in Braintree.
FURTHER READINGS
Allen, Brooke. 2002. “John Adams: Realist of the Revolu-
tion.” The Hudson Review (spring) 55.
McCullough, David. 2001. John Adams. New York: Simon &
Schuster.
Ryerson, Richard Alan, ed. 2001. John Adams and the
Founding of the Republic. Boston: Massachusetts
Historical Society.
Thompson, C. Bradley. 1998. John Adams and the Spirit of
Liberty. Lawrence: Univ. Press of Kansas.
v
ADAMS, JOHN QUINCY
John Quincy Adams was more than just the
sixth
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. He was a
child of the American Revolution, having
witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill. He was
the son of the nation’s second president,
JOHN
ADAMS
. And he was a successful diplomat.
Chosen president by the House after finishing

second in the
ELECTORAL COLLEGE, Adams became
the first president to wear long trousers, rather
than breeches, at his inauguration, on March 4,
1825. After one term as president, he went on
to serve with distinction for 17 years in the
House of Representatives.
Adams was born on July 11, 1767, in
Braintree, Massachusetts (now Quincy, Massa-
chusetts). As the son of one of the nation’s
founders, he had many opportunities not avail-
able to other young men. Before reaching the age
when young people today graduate from high
school, Adams had established himself as a
diplomat. He accompanied his father on diplo-
matic missions to Europe in 1778 and 1780,
where he studied in Paris, France, and in
Amsterdam and Leiden, the Netherlands. In
1781, at the age of 14, Adams traveled with
Francis Dana, the first American minister to
Russia, as Dana’s private secretary and French
interpreter. In 1783 the young Adams joined his
father in Paris, where he served as one of the
secretaries to the American commissioners in the
negotiations of the peace treaty that concluded
the American Revolution. Fearing alienation
from his own country, Adams returned home
in 1785 and, by virtue of his earlier studies, was
able to enroll as a junior at Harvard College, from
which he graduated in 1787.

For three years Adams read law at New-
buryport, Massachusetts, under
THEOPHILUS
PARSONS
, and in 1790 he was admitted to the
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
86 ADAMS, JOHN QUINCY
bar. While struggling to find clients, Adams
engaged in political journalism. He wrote a
series of 11 articles controverting some of the
doctrines presented in Thomas Paine’s Rights of
Man (1791–92). In a second series of articles, he
defended President George Washington’s policy
of neutrality in the war between France and
England in 1793. His third series of articles
attacked those who wanted the United States
to join France in a war against Britain. These
articles impressed Washington so much that
he appointed Adams U.S. minister to the
Netherlands in May 1794.
President Washington thought Adams one
of the ablest officers in the foreign service. In
1796 he appointed Adams minister to Portugal.
Before Adams’s departure for that new post,
however, his father became president. Both
Adamses felt that it was undesirable for the son
of a president to hold a post in the father’s
administration, but Washington urged that the
younger Adams remain in the diplomatic corps,
calling him the most valuable public person

abroad. President Adams then appointed his
son minister to Prussia.
Before taking up his new post in Prussia,
Adams was married, in London, to Louisa
Catherine Johnson (1775–1852), daughter of
the U.S. counsel i n London.
In September 1801, with new president
THOMAS JEFFERSON in the White House, Adams
was called back from Prussia. In 1802 he was
elected to the Massachusetts senate. One year
later the state senate elected him to the U.S.
Senate. (Prior to the passage of the
SEVENTEENTH
AMENDMENT
in 1913, U.S . senators were elected
by the senates of the individual states.)
Adams had always considered himself a
political independent, and he was given a
chance to prove this in the U.S. Senate. After
his election, he was set upon by forces opposed
to the
FEDERALIST PARTY, of which Adams was
considered a member, and political enemies
of his father. Instead of accepting his fate as
a powerless and unpopular member of an
unpopular political minority, Adams asserted
his political independence. He began to vote
with President Jefferson and the opposition
Democratic-Republicans, and broke with his
party completely in 1807 by supporting the

EMBARGO ACT (46 App. U.S.C.A. § 328). This act,
backed by Jefferson, placed an embargo on all
John Quincy Adams.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
John Quincy Adams 1767–1848
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1767 Born,
Braintree,
Mass.
1775–83
American
Revolution
1787 Graduated from Harvard College
1790 Admitted to
Mass. bar
1796 Appointed minister
to Prussia
1803–08 Served
in U.S. Senate
1814–15 Key negotiator
in Treaty of Ghent
1823
Developed
the Monroe
Doctrine
1825–29 Served as sixth president of the U.S.

1831–48 Served in the
U.S. House of
Representatives
1848 Died,
Washington,
D.C.
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1825
1850
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GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
ADAMS, JOHN QUINCY 87