ISSUE

10 definitions found across Law Mind sources

ISSUEAuthored
The Law Mind • 1338 words
Definition
"Issue" carries three distinct legal meanings, each operating in a different domain of law. Context determines which applies, and confusion between them is common in historical sources. 1. Pleading and procedure. The disputed point or question that the parties to an action have narrowed down through their pleadings for decision by the proper tribunal. An issue arises when one party asserts a fact or legal conclusion and the other controverts it. Issues resolved by a jury or judge on questions of fact are issues in fact; those turning on legal sufficiency or legal conclusion are issues in law. The former go to the trier of fact; the latter are resolved by the court. 2. Descendants / lineal heirs. All persons descended from a common ancestor. In property and succession law, "issue" means offspring — not merely children, but descendants of whatever degree, unless context restricts the term. In deeds, the word is generally construed broadly. In wills, the testator's expressed intent controls, and courts have sometimes limited "issue" to legitimate children or to children of a particular generation. 3. Issuance of process or instruments. The act of sending forth, emitting, or giving first legal effect to a document — a writ, order, warrant, letters testamentary, or similar instrument. Process is "issued" when it is formally made out and placed with an authorized officer for service with genuine intent to have it served.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): A matter or problem for discussion or resolution; something in dispute; the act of flowing or coming out; offspring or progeny. Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): The act of passing or flowing out; egress; that which is sent out or flows forth; the whole quantity emitted or delivered at one time. The common word "issue" in everyday speech — a problem, a topic of concern, a dispute — maps loosely onto the procedural legal meaning but misses its technical precision entirely. In legal pleading, an "issue" is not merely any dispute; it is the specific, formally framed question produced by the parties' opposing allegations and ripe for judicial decision. A researcher treating "issue" as simply meaning "problem" in a historical pleading context will misread the document.
Common Confusion
Issue (descendants) vs. heirs vs. children: In wills and trust instruments, "issue," "heirs," "heirs of the body," and "children" are distinct terms with potentially different legal effects. "Issue" is broader than "children" (it reaches all generations of descendants), but narrower than "heirs" in some contexts (which may include collateral relatives). Historical documents sometimes use these terms loosely or interchangeably; the precise legal consequences, particularly under the Rule in Shelley's Case or fee tail doctrine, turned on which word was used. Issue in fact vs. issue in law: These are not interchangeable. An issue in fact is tried by the jury (or judge in a bench trial on the merits); an issue in law — such as the sufficiency of a pleading — is decided by the court alone. Conflating them in research on historical trial practice will produce errors about procedure, jury roles, and appellate review.
Recognized Forms
/SUBTYPES General issue: A pleading that denies the whole of the opposing party's declaration or claim in a single undifferentiated traverse. Historically the most common form of pleading in common law actions. Special issue: An issue formed on a specific, particular point rather than the whole matter in controversy. Used when the general issue would be too broad to resolve a discrete dispute. Material issue: An issue properly formed on a material point whose resolution will settle the question between the parties. Feigned issue: A fictitious issue, agreed upon by the parties, submitted to a jury for a verdict on a specific fact question, used in equity proceedings where juries were not ordinarily available. Formal (informal) issue: An issue defectively framed due to improper or inartificial traversal of a material allegation. Historical sources note this defect was cured by verdict under 32 Hen. VIII, c. 30.
Why It Matters in Research
The tri-partite meaning of "issue" is an active trap in primary source research. A clause in an 18th-century deed granting property "to A and her issue" has nothing to do with legal disputes; it describes descendants. The same word appearing in 19th-century pleading records describes the framed question going to the jury. Readers who carry a single definition into a multi-domain corpus will misread documents silently — the error will not be obvious. In historical succession and property research, the breadth of "issue" as a term for descendants was contested in courts repeatedly. Whether it included illegitimate children, adopted children, or issue of a predeceased child depended heavily on whether the instrument was a deed or a will, the jurisdiction, and the period. Law Mind corpus researchers encountering testamentary language should treat "issue" as a term of art requiring construction, not a transparent synonym for "children." In procedural research, the doctrine of issues is central to understanding how common law pleading worked before code pleading reforms. The entire function of pleading at common law was to produce a single, triable issue. That architecture is invisible to researchers trained only in modern notice pleading. The subtypes — general issue, special issue, feigned issue — appear throughout historical case records and require technical definition to interpret correctly. For process and instruments, "issued" as a term of art matters in questions of timing: statutes of limitations, service rules, and judicial authority often turn on when process was "issued" as a legal event, not merely when it was printed or signed.
Historical Dictionary Support
The historical dictionaries agree on the three core meanings but allocate attention differently. Black's (both editions) treats the pleading meaning most fully, devoting substantial space to the taxonomy of issue types and the mechanics of how issues are formed and tried. Bouvier's is strongest on the descendants meaning, citing Chancery authorities and Roper on Legacies for the proposition that "issue" includes all descendants in deeds but may be narrowed by testamentary intent in wills. Anderson's is the most useful on the process/issuance meaning, with the practical note that process is issued upon placement with an authorized officer for bona fide service — a point Black's glosses over. Rapalje & Lawrence is thin on substance here, offering only a cross-reference note on issuable pleas without developing the underlying doctrine. A gap worth flagging: none of the historical dictionaries adequately addresses the evolution of "issue" in the context of code pleading reform. When code states like New York and California abolished the distinction between actions at law and equity and replaced common law pleading with simplified procedures, the technical meaning of "issue" in the pleading sense shifted. The Code of Civil Procedure of California (§ 588) and Iowa's Revised Code (§ 2787) are cited in Black's 2nd edition as governing authorities, but the dictionaries do not analyze how the concept transformed in practice. Researchers working across the 19th-century pleading reform period should not assume continuity in how courts used the term.
Jurisdictional Note
The descendants meaning of "issue" in wills and trusts has been modified in many U.S. jurisdictions by statute, particularly with respect to adopted children and non-marital children. Modern uniform acts and state codes may define "issue" or "descendants" expressly for succession purposes, superseding the common law presumption of legitimate lineal descendants only.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
The Law Mind Criminal Law Encyclopedia: Homicide — Causation Issues in Homicide Cases (criminal_33) The Law Mind Family Law Encyclopedia: Divorce — Bifurcation of Status and Property Issues (family_47)
Related Terms
General issue — Special issue — Feigned issue — Traverse — Pleading — Joinder of issue — Demurrer — Issue in fact — Issue in law — Descendants — Heirs of the body — Lineal heirs — Children — Writ — Process — Issuance — Trier of fact — Common law pleading — Code pleading — Rule in Shelley's Case
ISSUEmain
Black's Law Dictionary • 1891
The jury are bound to give their verdict for that party who, upon the evidence, appears to them to have succeeded in estab- lishing his side of the issue. But there are cases in which an issue may be found dis- tributively, i. e., in part for plaintiff, and in part for defendant. Thus, in an action for goods sold and work done, if the defendant pleaded that he never was indebted, on which issue was joined, a verdict might be found for the plaintiff as to the goods, and for the defendant as to the work. Steph. Pl. (7th Ed.) 77d.
ISSUEmain
Black's Law Dictionary • 1891
cess issues from a court. To put into circu- lation; as, the treasury issues notes. ISSUE, n. The act of issuing, sending forth, emitting, or promulgating; the giving a thing its first inception; as the issue of an order or a writ. In pleading. The disputed point or ques- tion to which the parties in an action have narrowed their several allegations, and upon cision of the proper tribunal. which they are desirous of obtaining the de- When the plaintiff and defendant have arrived at some specific point or matter affirmed on the one side, and denied on the other, they are said to be at issue. The question so set apart is called the "issue," and is designated, accord- ing to its nature, as an “issue in fact” or an "issue in law." Brown. Issues arise upon the pleadings, when a fact or conclusion of law is maintained by the one party and controverted by the other. They are of two kinds: (1) Of law; and (2) of fact. Code N. Y. § 248; Rev. Code Iowa 1880, § 2737; Code Civil Proc. Cal. § 588. Issues are classified and distinguished as follows: General and special. The former is raised by a plea which briefly and directly traverses the whole declaration, such as “not guilty" or "non assumpsit." The latter is formed when the defendant chooses one single ma- terial point, which he traverses, and rests his whole case upon its determination. Material and immaterial. They are so described according as they do or do not bring up some material point or question which, when determined by the verdict, will dispose of the whole merits of the case, and leave no uncertainty as to the judgment. Formal and informal. The former spe cies of issue is one framed in strict accord- ance with the technical rules of pleading. The latter arises when the material allega- tions of the declaration are traversed, but in an inartificial or untechnical mode. Real or feigned. A real issue is one J formed in a regular manner in a regular suit K for the purpose of determining an actual con- practice of the English courts, Hilary term troversy. A feigned issue is one made up and Trinity term were called "issuable terms," because the issues to be tried at the assizes were made up at those terms. 3 Bl. Comm. 353. But the distinction is superseded by the provisions of the judicature acts of 1873 and 1875. ISSUE, 0. To send forth; to emit; to promulgate; as, an officer issues orders, pro- by direction of the court, upon a supposed case, for the purpose of obtaining the verdict of a jury upon some question of fact collat- L erally involved in the cause. Common issue is the name given to the is. sue raised by the plea of non est factum to an action for breach of covenant. In real law. Descendants. All persons who have descended from a common ancestor M
ISSUEmain
Black's Law Dictionary • 1891
8 Ves. 257; 17 Ves. 481; 19 Ves. 547; 1 Rop. Leg. 90. In this sense, the word includes not only a child or children, but all other descendants in whatever degree; and it is so construed generally in deeds. But, when used in wills, it is, of course, subject to the rule of construction that the intention of the testator, as ascertained from the will, is to have effect, rather than the technical meaning of the language used by him; and hence issue may, in such a connection, be restricted to children, or to descendants living at the death of the testator, where such an intention clearly appears. Abbott. In business law. A class or series of bonds, debentures, etc., comprising all that are emitted at one and the same time.
ISSUEn.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
The act of passing or flowing out; a moving out from any inclosed place; egress; as, the issue of water from a pipe, of blood from a wound, of air from a bellows, of people from a house. The act of sending out, or causing to go forth; delivery; issuance; as, the issue of an order from a commanding officer; the issue of money from a treasury. That which passes, flows, or is sent out; the whole quantity sent forth or emitted at one time; as, an issue of bank notes; the daily issue of a newspaper. Progeny; a child or children; offspring. In law, sometimes, in a general sense, all persons descended from a common ancestor; all lineal descendants. If the king Should without issue die. Shak. Produce of the earth, or profits of land, tenements, or other property; as, A conveyed to B all his right for a term of years, with all the issues, rents, and profits. A discharge of flux, as of blood. Matt. ix. 20. An artificial ulcer, usually made in the fleshy part of the arm or leg, to produce the secretion and discharge of pus for the relief of some affected part. The final outcome or result; upshot; conclusion; event; hence, contest; test; trial. Come forth to view The issue of the exploit. Shak. While it is hot, I 'll put it to the issue. Shak. A point in debate or controversy on which the parties take affirmative and negative positions; a presentation of alternatives between which to choose or decide. In pleading, a single material point of law or fact depending in the suit, which, being affirmed on the one side and denied on the other, is presented for determination. See General issue, under General, and Feigned issue, under Feigned. Blount. Cowell. At issue, in controversy; disputed; opposing or contesting; hence, at variance; disagreeing; inconsistent. As much at issue with the summer day As if you brought a candle out of doors. Mrs. Browning. -- Bank of issue, Collateral issue, etc. See under Bank, Collateral, etc. -- Issue pea, a pea, or a similar round body, used to maintain irritation in a wound, and promote the secretion and discharge of pus. -- To join, or take, issue, to take opposing sides in a matter in controversy.
ISSUEv.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
To pass or flow out; to run out, as from any inclosed place. From it issued forced drops of blood. Shak. To go out; to rush out; to sally forth; as, troops issued from the town, and attacked the besiegers. To proceed, as from a source; as, water issues from springs; light issues from the sun. To proceed, as progeny; to be derived; to be descended; to spring. Of thy sons that shall issue from thee. 2 Kings xx. 18. To extend; to pass or open; as, the path issues into the highway. To be produced as an effect or result; to grow or accrue; to arise; to proceed; as, rents and profits issuing from land, tenements, or a capital stock. To close; to end; to terminate; to turn out; as, we know not how the cause will issue. In pleading, to come to a point in fact or law, on which the parties join issue.
ISSUEv.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
To send out; to put into circulation; as, to issue notes from a bank. To deliver for use; as, to issue provisions. To send out officially; to deliver by authority; as, to issue an order; to issue a writ.
issuenoun
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
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The action or an instance of flowing or coming out, an outflow | A movement of soldiers towards an enemy, a sortie. | The action or an instance of flowing or coming out, an outflow | The outflow of a bodily fluid, particularly (now rare) in abnormal amounts. | Someone or something that flows out or comes out | The bodily fluid drained through a natural or artificial issue. | Someone or something that flows out or comes out | Offspring: one's natural child or children. | Someone or something that flows out or comes out | Progeny: all one's lineal descendants. | Someone or something that flows out or comes out | A race of people considered as the descendants of some common ancestor. | Someone or something that flows out or comes out | The produce or income derived from farmland or rental properties. | Someone or something that flows out or comes out | Income derived from fines levied by a court or law-enforcement officer; the fines themselves. | Someone or something that flows out or comes out | The entrails of a slaughtered animal. | Someone or something that flows out or comes out | Any action or deed performed by a person. | Someone or something that flows out or comes out | Luck considered as the favor or disfavor of nature, the gods, or God. | Someone or something that flows out or comes out | A single edition of a newspaper or other periodical publication. | Someone or something that flows out or comes out | The entire set of some item printed and disseminated during a certain period, particularly (publishing) a single printing of a particular edition of a work when contrasted with other print runs. | Someone or something that flows out or comes out | The entire set of something; all of something. | Someone or something that flows out or comes out | Any financial instrument issued by a company. | Someone or something that flows out or comes out | The loan of a book etc. from a library to a patron; all such loans by a given library during a given period. | The means or opportunity by which something flows or comes out, particularly | The means or opportunity by which something flows or comes out | A sewer. | The place where something flows or comes out, an outlet | An exit from a room or building. | The place where something flows or comes out, an outlet | A confluence: the mouth of a river; the outlet of a lake or other body of water. | The action or an instance of sending something out, particularly | The action or an instance of sending something out | A small incision, tear, or artificial ulcer, used to drain fluid and usually held open with a pea or other small object. | The action or an instance of sending something out | The production or distribution of something for general use. | The action or an instance of sending something out | The distribution of something (particularly rations or standardized provisions) to someone or some group. | The action or an instance of sending something out | The action or an instance of a company selling bonds, stock, or other securities. | Any question or situation to be resolved, particularly | Any question or situation to be resolved | A point of law or fact in dispute or question in a legal action presented for resolution by the court. | Any question or situation to be resolved | Anything in dispute, an area of disagreement whose resolution is being debated or decided. | Any question or situation to be resolved | A difficult choice between two alternatives, a dilemma. | Any question or situation to be resolved | A psychological or emotional difficulty, (now informal, figurative and usually euphemistic) any problem or concern considered as a vague and intractable difficulty. | The action or an instance of concluding something | The end of any action or process. | The action or an instance of concluding something | The end of any period of time. | The end result of an event or events, any result or outcome, particularly | The end result of an event or events, any result or outcome | The result of a discussion or negotiation, an agreement. | The end result of an event or events, any result or outcome | The result of an investigation or consideration, a conclusion. | The action or an instance of feeling some emotion. | The action or an instance of leaving any state or condition.
Issuenoun
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributorsCC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
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A Monacan Indian; a member of a Mestee group originating in Amherst County, Virginia.
issueverb
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributorsCC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
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To flow out, to proceed from, to come out or from. | To rush out, to sally forth. | To extend into, to open onto. | To turn out in a certain way, to result in. | To end up as, to turn out being, to become as a result. | To come to a point in fact or law on which the parties join issue. | To send out; to put into circulation. | To deliver for use. | To deliver by authority.

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