Bright-line test: Difference between revisions

Bright-line test (view source)

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-{{def|Bright line test|/brʌɪt lʌɪn tɛst/|n|}}
+{{def|Bright-line test|/brʌɪt lʌɪn tɛst/|n|}}
-. (''American''). An unwelcome degree of [[certainty]]. Always uttered in the negative, and with insincere remorse — e.g., “sadly, [[there’s no bright line test]]” — a [[bright line test]] is a [[Metaphysics|metaphysical]] concept that does not exist as a matter of {{tag|New York law}} (or for that matter Federal law or any other state’s law). It is a [[US attorney]]’s means of evading any responsibility for anything she says or does, instantly rendering any [[legal opinion]] she may have written to you worthless.
+. (''American''). A conceptual exercise bestowing a so great degree of confidence in the mind of a member of the New York bar that it cannot, as a matter of [[Metaphysics|metaphysical]], much less legal theory, exist.  A bright-line test is thus a kind of unachievable Platonic ideal; a sunlit upland to which all US attorneys wistfully aspire in their written memorands, but which all know, and thank their lucky stars, they will never encounter in person. Thus the words “[[bright-line test]]” are always uttered in the negative, and with insincere remorse — e.g., “sadly, [[there’s no bright-line test] for this”. It is a [[US attorney]]’s means of evading any responsibility for anything she says, does, or commits to a lengthy written [[legal opinion|memorandum of advice]].
 ===Usage===