Word of the Day: Conclusion

conclusion con-clu-sion / kən-klo͞o-zhən noun 1. the final part; the end If, on a rare occasion, it is necessary to speak with some severity in order to make a grievous crime felt, we should always, at the conclusion of the rebuke, add some kind words.  Alphonsus Liguori. 1696 – 1787   2. the outcome or end result Passion makes the best observations and the sorriest conclusions.  Jean Paul, 1763 – 1825   3. the final portion of a writing or speech, which often summarizes the main points and states the final opinion or outcome Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.  Ecclesiastes 12:13 (KJV)   4. the decision or judgement reached after discussion and careful consideration It’s not the heart that compels conclusions in cases, it’s the law.  Sonia Sotomayor, 1954 –   5. the proposition or decision reached by careful reasoning and consideration Despair is the conclusion of fools.  Benjamin Disraeli, 1804 – 1881   6. a settlement or the final arrangement Natural occurrences can cause significant and unexpected changes in coastal geography which can affect circumstances essential to a maritime boundary treaty’s conclusion and radically alter the extent of on-going obligations.  Árnadóttir, S., 2016. Termination of Maritime Boundaries Due to a Fundamental Change of Circumstances. Utrecht Journal of International and European Law, 32(83), pp.94–111. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/ujiel.335   7.  in law, the formal closing of a plea or complaint The Supreme Court has said that a civil complaint may legitimately “contain[] . . . both factual allegations and legal conclusions,” (Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 324 ((1989)) and they all require a response (Saldana v. Riddle, No. 98 C 2277, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9855, at *2 ((N.D. Ill. June 25, 1998)) (denial of legal conclusions is “nonsense, for legal conclusions are a perfectly proper part of a plaintiff’s allegations in the federal notice pleading regime”). Brian Mendez, “Two often-overlooked basics about pleadings”, ‘The Daily Record Newswire’, www.legalnews.com/detroit/1408887, July 8, 2015