Warning
Info
Warning
Info
Simple English definitions for legal terms
a priori
Read a random definition: laudator
A quick definition of a priori:
Term: a priori
Definition: A priori means that something is known or believed to be true without needing to investigate it. It's like having a feeling or idea about something before you even look into it. For example, if someone says "I just know that it's going to rain today," that's an a priori belief because they haven't checked the weather forecast yet. The term comes from Latin and means "from the former."
A more thorough explanation:
Definition: A priori signals an assertion that is based on prior knowledge or intuition. In Latin, the term literally means ‘from [the] former’. An a priori determination is formed prior to investigation.
For example:
- In McCulloch v. Maryland, the court questioned “how will [it] ascertain, a priori, that a given amount of tax will crush the bank?”
- In Burch v. Louisiana, the court held that it “[did] not pretend the ability to discern a priori a bright line below which the number of jurors participating in the trial or in the verdict would not permit the jury to function in the manner required by [their] prior cases.”
These examples illustrate how a priori is used to describe knowledge or assumptions made before any investigation or evidence is gathered. In the first example, the court is questioning how they can know beforehand that a certain tax amount will harm the bank. In the second example, the court is admitting that they cannot predict beforehand how many jurors are needed for a fair trial.