Clod of Dirt = Afterbirth

Ejectment
Originally the ownership of land in England could be passed to another only by delivering the actual
possession of the land. The present owner passed title to another by picking up a “clod of dirt” on the
land and handing it to the other person in front of others from the community. This ceremonial act from
ancient times was called Livery of Seisin, or delivery of possession. Instead of a clod, a twig or a key
could be handed over as a symbol of ownership, but only later was it permissible to deliver the symbol of
ownership anywhere but on the land itself. As time passed and writing became more common, a written
deed could symbolize the delivery of ownership. The purpose of the ceremony was to make the acquiring
of land a public act generally known in the community, so that disputes were less likely to arise.

Everyone in old England was tied to the land. The feudal land tenement system determined social,
economic, political, and legal rights. The stability of the system was founded on the security of each
person's right to possess or own a parcel of land. For this reason the first kinds of lawsuits were those
allowing the assertion of rights in land. By the end of the thirteenth century, the action of Trespass was
allowed against one who intruded on property possessed by the plaintiff. The action of ejectment
branched off from this as another action for the relief of one whose possession had been disturbed. By it,
the plaintiff might claim that he or she had been in possession of a certain parcel of land and that the land
had been taken by the defendant. The plaintiff could do this by obtaining from the clerk of the court a
writ of entry—a command from the king telling the defendant to let the plaintiff go back on the land taken
by the defendant or to appear in court to answer the charge. The defendant could then appear and deny
that the plaintiff had been dispossessed or show that as the defendant, he or she had a prior and better
right to hold the land. A trial was held to settle the issue. If it were found that the defendant had
wrongfully withheld possession of the property from the plaintiff, he or she could be made to pay an
amercement, or fine. This fine became a precedent for the later practice of awarding money damages to
the successful plaintiff in addition to restoring possession of the land.

Originally, the action of ejectment was intended to protect the rights of a tenant who leased the land.
Ultimately, it came to be the principal method for determining the ownership of real property. When the
question of title to land became the issue, it was essential to describe the property as carefully as it would
be described in a deed to a purchaser. This led to enforcement of very strict technicalities by the court,
and the action of ejectment became less attractive to plaintiffs because of the chance that the case would
be lost on a point of procedure. The old action of ejectment does not exist today, but every state has a
statute that outlines a modern procedure for recovering the possession of real property. Modern ejectment
actions still are somewhat slow and expensive. They are most often used by landlords trying to recover
possession of their premises from stubborn tenants. States generally have another law that permits the
efficient ousting of a tenant by summary proceedings, but a landlord can pursue the simpler procedure
only when the tenant has broken the lease in certain specified ways. The details of ejectment and
summary proceedings to dispossess vary greatly from state to state.

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Ejectment is the common law term for civil action to recover the possession of or title to land. It
replaced the old real actions as well as the various possessory assizes. Though still used in some places,
the term is now obsolete in many common law jurisdictions, in which possession and title are contested
via the actions of eviction and quiet title, respectively.

Originally, an ejectment was concerned with the recovery of possession of land, for example against a
defaulting tenant or a trespasser, who did not have (or no longer had) any right to remain there. It has
continued to be used for this, though in some jurisdictions the terminology has changed.

The old real actions, which were concerned with the title to land, were found to be too technical and
difficult to use. The practice thus developed of trying the title to ownership of land, by means of an
ejectment. The practice was for the claimant to grant a lease to a friend and later to a fictitious person
(such as John Doe). However, on occasion, the name "Casual Ejector" was used instead. An action was
brought in the name of this tenant often against another fictitious person (often Richard Roe) who had
allegedly evicted him.

A letter was then sent in his name to the real defendant, inviting him to defend the case on behalf of his
supposed tenant (a fictitious defendant). The true defendant's right to appear depended on the existence
of the fictitious lease (whose existence he thus could not deny). This enabled rights of the true claimant
and defendant to be litigated. Such fictitious actions have been abolished in many jurisdictions as a result
of the provision of alternative remedies.

See Movie: Meet John Doe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZEHV1T5B6g

Deed

: something that is done : an act or action

: a legal document that shows who owns a building or piece of land

1) : something that is done <evil deeds>

2 : a usually illustrious act or action : feat, exploit <a hero's daring deeds>

3 : the act of performing : action <righteous in word and indeed>

4 : a signed and usually sealed instrument containing some legal transfer, bargain, or contract

Origin of DEED

Middle English dede, from Old English dǣd; akin to Old English dōn to do

First Known Use: before 12th century

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Trespass

law : the crime of going on someone's land without permission

: a sin or other wrong or improper act

1) a : a violation of moral or social ethics : transgression; especially : sin

b : an unwarranted infringement

2) a : an unlawful act committed on the person, property, or rights of another; especially : a

wrongful entry on real property

b : the legal action for injuries resulting from trespass

Origin of TRESPASS

Middle English trespas, from Anglo-French, passage, overstepping, misdeed, from trespasser

First Known Use: 13th century

Parcel

: a section or area of land

: a box or large envelope that is usually given, sent, or delivered to a person

1) a : fragment, portion

b : a volume of a fluid (as air) considered as a single entity within a greater volume of the
same fluid

2) : a tract or plot of land

3) : a company, collection, or group of persons, animals, or things : lot <the whole story was
a parcel of lies>
4) a : a wrapped bundle : package

b : a unit of salable merchandise

Origin of PARCEL

Middle English, from Anglo-French parcele, from Vulgar Latin *particella, from
Latin particula small part — more at particle

First Known Use: 14th century

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 Land lot - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_lot

In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by
some owner(s). A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries
or immovable property (meaning practically the same thing) in other countries. Possible
owner(s) of a lot can be one or more person(s) or another legal entity, such as a
company/corporation, organization, government, or trust. A common form of ownership
of a lot is called fee simple in some countries.

A lot may also be defined as a small area of land that is empty except for pavement or
similar improvement. An example would be a parking lot. This article covers lots as
parcels of land meant to be owned as units by an owner(s).

Like most other types of real estate, lots owned by private parties are subject to a
periodic real estate tax payable by the owners to local governments such as a county
or municipality. These real estate taxes are based on the assessed value of the real
property; additional taxes usually apply to transfer of ownership and property sales.
Other fees by government are possible for improvements such as curbs and sidewalks or
an impact fee for building a house on a vacant lot.

Key

1) a : a usually metal instrument by which the bolt of a lock is turned

b : any of various devices having the form or function of such a key

2) a : a means of gaining or preventing entrance, possession, or control

b : an instrumental or deciding factor

3) a : something that gives an explanation or identification or provides a solution <the key to a

riddle>

b : a list of words or phrases giving an explanation of symbols or abbreviations

c : an aid to interpretation or identification : clue

d : an arrangement of the salient characters of a group of plants or animals or of taxa

designed to facilitate identification

e : a map legend

4) a (1) : cotter pin (2) : cotter

b : a keystone in an arch

c : a small piece of wood or metal used as a wedge or for preventing motion between parts

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 5) a : one of the levers of a keyboard musical instrument that actuates the mechanism and
produces the tones

b : a lever that controls a vent in the side of a woodwind instrument or a valve in a brass
instrument

c : a part to be depressed by a finger that serves as one unit of a keyboard

6) : samara
7) : a system of tones and harmonies generated from a hierarchical scale of seven tones based
on a tonic <the key of G major>
8) a : characteristic style or tone

b : the tone or pitch of a voice

c : the predominant tone of a photograph with respect to its lightness or darkness

9) : a decoration or charm resembling a key

10) : a small switch for opening or closing an electric circuit <a telegraph key>
11) : the set of instructions governing the encipherment and decipherment of messages
12) : a free-throw area in basketball

Origin of KEY

Middle English, from Old English cǣg; akin to OldFrisian kēi key

First Known Use: before 12th century

Quay (pronounced “Key”)

: a structure built on the land next to a river, lake, or ocean that is used as a place for boats to stop
for loading and unloading freight and passengers

: a structure built parallel to the bank of a waterway for use as a landing place

Origin of QUAY

alteration of earlier key, from Middle English, from Middle French dialect (Picard) kay, probably
of Celtic origin; akin to Breton kae hedge, enclosure; akin to Old English hecghedge

First Known Use: circa 1635

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 What is AMERCEMENT?

A pecuniary penalty, in the nature of a fine, imposed upon a person for some fault or misconduct, he
being "in mercy" for his offense. It was assessed by the peers of tjie delinquent, or the af- feerors, or
imposed arbitrarily at the discretion of the court or the lord. Goodyear v. Sawyer (C. C.) 17 Fed. 9. The
difference between amercements and fines is as follows: The latter are certain, and are created by some
statute; they can only be imposed and assessed by courts of record; the former are arbitrarily imposed
by courts not of record, as courtsleet. Termes de la Ley, 40.

The word "amercement" has long been especially used of a mulct or penalty, imposed by a court upon its
own officers for neglect of duty, or failure to pay over moneys collected. In particular, the remedy
against a sheriff for failing to levy an execution or make return of proceeds of sale is, in several of the
states, known as "amercement." In others, the same result is reached by process of attachment. Abbott
Stansbury v. Mfg. Co., 5 N. J. Law, 441.