It is such a compelling legal fiction that it has its own celebrated poem, as well as a Latin maxim: Cuius est solum, ejus est usque ad coelum et usque ad inferos, literally, “Whoever holds land holds it all the way to the heavens and all the way to Hell.” As William Empson puts it in
As I write, it is May 19, feast day of the patron saint of lawyers, St. Ives, a.k.a. Yves, Yvo, Ivo, Ervoan, and Evona. He lived from 1253 to 1303, and was canonized by Pope Clement VI in 1347. Still, his fate at the hands of folk culture proves that, no matter what benefit lawyers ha
My daily work includes writing a book on judicial notice, the doctrine whereby courts and administrative tribunals accept certain matters as “factual” (because they’re notorious or subject to ready verification) although they are not put forward according to the rules of evidence. Cou