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Simple English definitions for legal terms
chancer
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A quick definition of chancer:
A chancer is when a court tries to be fair and make things right, even if the law doesn't exactly say so. This started happening in some parts of New England when the courts didn't have the power to be fair, so they had to use their own judgement. For example, if someone broke a promise and had to pay a penalty, the court might decide to be nice and not make them pay the full amount. This is called "chancering" and it's been around for a long time.
A more thorough explanation:
Definition: Chancer (chan-sər) is a verb that means to adjust something according to fair and just principles, like a court of chancery would.
For example, in parts of New England where courts had no equity jurisdiction, they would "chancer" cases by applying equitable principles. This practice dates back to the 17th century and was used to "chancer" forfeitures of penal bonds or recover conditional estates.
Another example is in Rhode Island, where an act of 1746 provided for "chancerizing" the forfeiture of penalties or recovering equity of redemption, whether judgment was confessed or obtained otherwise.
These examples illustrate how "chancering" is a way to apply fair and just principles to legal cases where traditional courts may not have the jurisdiction to do so.