Quote:
Originally Posted by BetterRed
@Hitch - in what sense is a "moot" is US legal term? And where is 'moot' as meaning 'debatable' not in 'common usage'? It is widely and invariably used in that sense in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, India etc.
Moot Courts are conducted in the Law schools in most Common Law countries and by some international legal institutions. AFAIK they do not have any legal standing. My guess is that that is where the USA gets its parochial usage of 'moot' to mean 'irrelevant'.
BR
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Hell, Red, you're making me reach back into the dim recesses...let's see...Leonhart v. McCormick--a case is "moot" when determinaton is sought on a matter which, when rendered, cannot have any practical effect on the existing controversy."
Under US law, "a moot point" means, one not settled by judicial decisions (thanks, Black's.). An action is considered "moot" when it no longer presents a justiciable controversy because issues involved have become academic or dead. (Black's).
If memory serves, the use of moot legally partly drives the discrepancy between how moot is used in the UK, versus how it's typically used here--but honestly, I don't recall where I first read that.
Hitch