issuance of the proposed regulations. As of
September 2009, the case was still pending a
final decision.
FURTHER READINGS
“Documents and Information on Rody Alvarado’s Claim for
Asylum in the U.S.” Center for Gender & Refugee
Studies. Available online at http://cgrs.uchastings.edu/
campaigns/Alvarado.php website home page: http://
cgrs.uchastings.edu (accessed September 27, 2009).
Kimmel, Barbara Brooks, and Alan M. Lubiner. 2000.
Immigration Made Simple: An Easy-to-Read Guide to the
U.S. Immigration Process. Chester, N.J.: Next Decade.
Nicholson, Frances, and Patrick Twomey, eds. 1999. Refugee
Rights and Realities: Evolving International Concepts and
Regimes. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
CROSS REFE RENCES
Aggravation; Aliens; Homeland Security Department;
Felony; Refugees
ASYLUMS
Establishments that exist for the aid and protec-
tion of individuals in need of assistance due to
disability, such as insane persons, those who are
physically handicapped, or persons who are
unable to properly care for themselves, such as
orphans.
The term asylum has been used, in consti-
tutional and legislative provisions, to encompass
all institutions that are established and sup-
ported by the general public.
An insane asylum is one in which custody
and care is provided for people with mental

state’s interest in such property is dependent
upon the terms of the deed or contract under
which it is held for the institution.
When a county conveys property to a board
of directors of an insane asylum acting as
trustees, title is not vested in the state to the
extent that the power to reconvey the land to the
county is restricted. In a situation in which
property has been conveyed for a particular
purpose connected to the operation of the
asylum, it has been held that the trustees are
permitted to reconvey the property to the county
for the establishment of a general hospital.
Location and Support When no constitution-
al provision prescribing the location of public
institutions exists, the state may designate a
location or arrange for a place to be found by a
specially appointed committee or commission.
A state asylum may be funded either by
general state
TAXATION or throu gh an allocation
of a portion or all of the costs among political
subdivisions or to the inmates of the asylum.
Regulation Under the
POLICE POWER of the
state, the establishment and regulation of
private asylums are subject to the state legisla-
tive authority. Such powers may be delegated to
political subdivisions and administrative agen-
cies. If legislative authority is delegated in such

employees and patients and access to the
records. A nursing home operator must make
records kept pursuant to a public health statute
available for inspection by authorized public
officials. In addition, a private facility can be
required to turn over annual fiscal reports to a
regulatory agency.
Statutory requirements for the safety of
individuals in institutions are imposed and
must be observed. Similarly, standards concern-
ing the type of personnel needed to care for the
patients are usually set forth, but they must not
be unreasonable.
Licenses Ordinarily, a license is required to
operate an asylum or institutional care facility in
order to ensure that minimal health and safety
requirements imposed by law are observed.
When a license is necessary, operation of a
facility without one may be enjoined and, under
certain statutes, a contract made by an unli-
censed person is void, which would bar recovery
for necessaries provided for individuals. The
procedure for procuring a license is governed by
statute, and the state licensing authorities have
the discretion concerning whether it should be
granted. When there is a final decision,
determinations in licensing proceedings may
be subject to
JUDICIAL REVIEW. The proce edings
on judicial review are generally regulated by

permitted for services actually rendered.
The individual in charge of an asylum that
stands
IN LOCO PARENTIS to infants upon their
admission has custody of the children who are
committed to its care. Unless otherwise
State and county
mental hospitals
Private psychiatric
hospitals
Non-federal general
hospital psychiatric
services
a
Residential treatment
centers for emotionally
disturbed children
Other
b
Asylums
Number of facilities
0 400 800 1200 1600
1,230
237
264
702
458
a
Data excludes mental health care provided in nonpsychiatric units of hospitals, such as
general medical units.

An individual may be dismissed from the
institution for conduct proscribed by the bylaws
under penalty of expulsion, provided the person
is first afforded notice and an opportunity to be
heard.
Contracts for Care and Occupancy
The admission of an individual to a public
institution for care can be the subject of a
contract between the patient and the institution
concerning the transfer of property to the
institution. Even without an express agreement,
however, the circumstances may bring about a
QUASI CONTRACT to provide for services rendered.
An individual may not rescind an occupancy
agreement and regain an admission fee without
proof of a breach of contract by the institution.
Management
The management of public institutions is
usually entrusted to specific governing bodies
or officers. The appropriate body can hire
employees to operate the asylum but cannot
relinquish its management responsibilities.
Physicians who wish to visit patients in private
nursing homes can be excluded. If an institution
does not provide reasons at the time of the
exclusion, it does not preclude the institution
from excluding the physician, provided that
valid reasons exist and are communicated upon
request.
Generally, the governing body of an asylum

by the contributory negligence of the injured
party. The defense of contributory negligence
cannot, however, be used when an individual is
physically or mentally incapable of self-care.
FURTHER READINGS
Goffman, Erving. 2007. Asylums: Essays on the Social
Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. New
Brunswick, NJ: Aldine Transaction.
Jones, Kathleen. 1993. Asylums and After: Revised History of
the Mental Health Services from the Early 18th Century to
the 1990s. London: Athlone.
Rothman, David J. 2002. The Discovery of the Asylum: Social
Order and Disorder in the New Republic. New York:
Aldine de Gruyter.
CROSS REFERENCES
Disability Discrimination; Establishment Clause; Health
Care Law; Patients’ Rights.
AT ISSUE
A phrase that describes the status of parties in a
lawsuit when they make contradictory statements
about a point specified in their pleadings.
AT LARGE
Not limited to any place, person, or topic; for
example, a representative at large is elected by the
voters of the state as a whole rather than voters of
a particular district. Free from control or restraint,
such as a criminal at large.
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
410 AT ISSUE
AT LAW

machine, forced him to withdraw additional
cash, and then took him to an isolated location
where they shot him eight times at close range.
Initially, both Jones and Atkins were
indicted for capital murder. The prosecution
ultimately permitted Jones to plead guilty to
first-degree murder in exchange for his
TESTIMO-
NY
against Atkins. As a result of the PLEA, Jones
became ineligible to receive the death penalty.
Jones and Atkins both testified in the guilt
phase of Atkins’s trial. Each confirmed most of
the details in the other’s account of the incident,
except that each blamed the other for killing
Nesbitt. Jones’s testimony, which was both
more coherent and credible than Atkins’s
testimony, was apparently credited by the jury
in establishing Atkins’s guilt. Highly damaging
to the credibility of Atkins’s testimony was its
substantial inconsistency with the statement he
gave to the police upon his arrest. Jones, in
contrast, had declined to make an initial
statement to the authorities.
At the penalty phase of the trial, the state
introduced victim impact evidence and proved
two aggravating circumstances: future danger-
ousness and “vileness of the offense.” To prove
future dangerousness, the state relied on
Atkins’s prior felony convictions as well as the

death row inmate, notwithstanding objections
that such executions violate the Eighth Amend-
ment’s ban on
CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT.
Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 109 S. Ct. 2934,
106 L.Ed.2d 256 (1989). But Justice
JOHN PAUL
STEVENS
, writing for the majority in Atkins,
concluded that times had changed in the
13 years since the Penry decision was handed
down.
When Penry was decided, Stevens observed,
only two of the 38 states allowing
CAPITAL
PUNISHMENT
barred execution of mentally retarded
inmates. However, at the time Atkins came
before the Court, that number had risen to 18.
Noting the “procession” of states in which
executing the mentally retarded had been
deemed illegal, Justice Stevens stated that it
was not so much the number of states that was
significant, but the co nsistency of the direction
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
ATKINS V. VIRGINIA 411
of change. “Given the well-known fact that anti-
crime legislation is far more popular than
legislation providing protections for persons
guilty of violent crime,” he stated, “the large

than “any objective effort to ascertain the
content of an evolving standard of decency.”
FURTHER READINGS
Dowling, Alexis Krulish. 2003. “Post-Atkins Problems with
Enforcing the Supreme Court’s Ban on Executing the
Mentally Retarded.” Seton Hall Law Review 33 (sum-
mer).
Henshaw, Jaime L. 2003. “Atkins v. Virginia: The Court’s
Failure to Recognize What Lies Beneath.” Univ. of
Richmond Law Review 37, vol. 4 (May).
“Implementing Atkins.” 2003. Harvard Law Review 116
(June).
Velasquez, Eli. 2003. “The Shaping of an American
Consensus against the Execution of Mentally Retarded
Criminals.” Whittier Law Review 24 (summer).
CROSS REFE RENCES
Eighth Amendment; Felony; Forensic Science; Murder;
Plea; Rebut; Victims of Crime.
ATTACHMENT
The legal process of seizing property to ensure
satisfaction of a judgment.
The document by which a court orders such
a
SEIZURE may be called a WRIT of attachment or
an order of attachment.
Originally, the main purpose of attachment
was to coerce a
DEFENDANT into appearing in
court and answering the plaintiff’s claim. The
court’s order pressured the sher iff to take the

amount larger than the value of the property
nor can the individual reach the defendant’s
property outside the state, but this sort of
jurisdiction, called jurisdiction in rem or quasi
in rem, may be the best the plaintiff can get.
Before the court can exercise jurisdiction over
the property, the plaintiff must obtain a writ of
attachment to bring it into custody of the court.
Attachment may also be a provisional
remedy, that is, relief that temporarily offers
the plaintiff some security while pursuing a final
judgment in the lawsuit. For example, a plaintiff
who has good reason to believe that the person
he or she is suing is about to pack up and leave
the state will want the court to prevent this until
the plaintiff has a chance to win the action and
collect on the judgment. The plaintiff can apply
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
412 ATTACHMENT
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
*Alias and Pluries Order
The Order originally issued against you was returned not
served.
Original-File Copy-Each Defendant
(Over)
Copy-Attorney/Plaintiff
[continued]
County
VERSUS
G.S. 1-440.12, 1-440.13

GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
ATTACHMENT 413
A sample order
of attachment
(continued)
ILLUSTRATION BY GGS
CREATIVE RESOURCES.
REPRODUCED BY
PERMISSION OF GALE,
A PART OF CENGAGE
LEARNING.
RETURN OF SERVICE
DATE OF LEVY PROPERTY LEVIED ON
NOTE TO SHERIFF:
$
AOC-CV-301, Side Two, Rev. 1/98
©1998 Administrative Office of the Courts
I certify that pursuant to this Order I levied on the following described property of the defendant on the date set out below:
NOTE TO CLERK: If the return certifies that the sheriff levied on real property, note the levy on the judgment docket and index it.
If you levy on real property and this Order Of Attachment was issued by a Clerk from a county other than your
county, in addition to returning the order and return of service to the Clerk who issued it, you must give a copy of
this order and return of service to the Clerk of Superior Court in your county. G.S. 1-440.17(a).
Fee Paid Date Received
Date Served
Date Returned
Name Of Sheriff
County
Deputy Sheriff Making Return
By
No levy has been made within ten (10) days after the issuance of this Order Of Attachment for the following reasons:

a court cannot
SANCTION a seizure that is made
without a court order of attachment. To obt ain
the order, the plaintiff must swear to a set of facts
that justify such a drastic interference with the
defendant’sproperty.
The process of attachment varies in detail
from state t o state, b ut it is not overly
complicated. The plaintiff submits an application
to the court describing the
CAUSE OF ACTION against
the defendant and the grounds for seeking an
attachment. The plaintiff may have to include
documents or other e vidence t o s upport the
claim that he or she will probably win t he lawsuit,
and the individual usually is required to make the
application under oath. States generally require
that the plaintiff post a bond or undertaking in an
amount sufficient t o secure payment of damages
to the defendant if it turns out that the plaintiff
was not in fact entitled to the attachment.
The court issues a writ of attachment
directing the sheriff or other law enforcement
officer to serve a copy of the order on the
defendant and to seize property equal in value
to the sum specified in the writ. This is called a
levy of attachment. The defendant then has a
right to challenge the seizure or to post bond for
the release of the property, in effect substituting
the bond for the property in the court’s custody.

Jasper, Margaret C. 2000. The Law of Attachment and
Garnishment. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana.
Lambert, Vicki. 1999. Garnishment: A Practical Guide.
Chicago, IL: CCH.
Morganstern, Stanley. 1971. Legal Protection in Garnishment
and Attachment. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana
Siegel, Lee S., and Charlotte Biblow. 2000. “Attachment in
Aid of Arbitration.” Banking Law Journal 117, vol. 5
(September-October).
CROSS REFERENCE
Search and Seizure.
ATTAINDER
At COMMON LAW,thatextinctionofCIVIL RIGHTS and
capacities that took place whenever a person who
had committed
TREASON or a felony received a
sentence of death for the crime.
Theeffectofattainderuponafelonwas,in
general terms, that all estate, real and personal, was
forfeited. In common law, attainder resulted in
three ways: by confession, by verdict, and by process
or outlawry. The first case was where the prisoner
pleaded guilty at the bar, or having fled, confessed
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
ATTAINDER 415
guilt and abjured the realm to save his or her life.
Thesecondwaswheretheprisonerpleadednot
guilty at the bar, and the jury brought in a verdict
against him or her. The third, when the person
accused made his or her escape and was outlawed.

any govern ment office to be a type of attainder.
Attainder is akin to the concept of
CIVIL DEATH,
the forefeiture of certain rights and privi leges
upon conviction of a serious crime.
ATTEMPT
An undertaking to do an act that entails more
than mere preparation but does not result in the
successful completion of the act.
In
CRIMINAL LAW, an attempt to commit a
crime is an offense when an accused makes
a substantial but unsuccessful effort to commit
a crime. The elements of attempt vary, although
generally, there must be an intent to commit the
crime, an
OVERT ACT beyond mere preparation,
and an apparent ability to co mplete the crime.
Generally attempt s are punishable by impris-
onment, with sentence lengths that vary in time,
depending upon the severity of the offense
attempted.
ATTENUATE
To reduce the force or severity; to lessen a
relationship or connection between two objects.
In
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, the relationship be-
tween an illegal search and a confession may be
sufficiently attenuated as to remove the confes-
sion from the protection afforded by the

in the manner required by law in the presence
of the witness who places his or her signature in
the designated space.
ATTICA PRISON RIOT
See PRISON “1971 Attica Prison Riot” (Sidebar).
ATTORN
To turn over money, rent, or goods to another. To
assign to a specific function or service.
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
416 ATTEMPT
ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE
In the law of evid ence, a client’s privilege to refuse
to disclose, and to prevent any other person from
disclosing, confidential communications between
the client and his or her attorney. Such privilege
protects communications between attorney and
client that are made for the purpos e of furnishing
or obtaining professional legal advice or assistance.
That privilege that permits an attorney to refuse to
testify as to communications from the client. It
belongs to the client, not the attorney, and hence
only the client may waive it. In federal courts,
state law is applied with respect to such privilege.
The attorney-client privilege encourages
clients to disclose to their attorneys all pertinent
information in legal matters by protecting such
disclosures from discovery at trial. The privileged
information, held strictly between the
ATTORNEY
and the client, may remain private as long as a

client, or must have sought to become a client at
the time of disclosure; second, the person
connected to the communication must be
acting as a lawyer; third, the communication
must be between the lawyer and the client
exclusively—no non-clients may be includ ed in
the communication; fourth, the communication
must have occurred for the purpose of securing
a legal opinion, legal services, or assistance in
some legal proceeding, and not for the purpose
of committing a crime; fifth, the privilege may
be claimed or waived by the client only (usually,
as stated above, through counsel).
Sometimes, even when all five of the United
Shoe requirements have been met, courts will
compel disclosure of the information sought. They
base exceptions to the privilege on Rule 501 of the
FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE, w hich states that “the
recognition of a privilege based on a confidential
relations hi p should be determined on a case-
by-case b asis.” Courts weigh the benefits to be
gained by upholding the privilege (that is, preserv-
ing the confidence between a ttorney and client)
against the harms that might be caus ed if they deny
it (that is, the loss of information that would be
valuable to the opposing party).
Courts have declared that the fact of an
attorney-client relationship itself need not always
remain privileged information (National Union
Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh v. Aetna Casualty

can be a client and can have a r i ght to the
GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION
ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE 417