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abstention Definition

ab·sten·tion (ab sten′s̸hən, əb-)

noun

the act or an instance of abstaining

Etymology: L abstentio < abstinere, abstain

abstention Related Forms

ab·sten′·tious adjective

abstention Law Definition

n

  1. The act of voluntarily refraining from taking some action, such as casting a vote or participating in a decision or deliberation.
  2. A federal court’s act of declining to exercise its jurisdiction while awaiting or deferring to a decision by a state court. In doing so, the federal court retains jurisdiction of the legal issues at hand and may decide those issues if the plaintiff is not satisfied with the state court’s decision. See also comity and relinquishment. Several rationales for a federal court’s abstention are named for the United States Supreme Court decision in which the rationale was first applied. These include:
Burford abstention
The refusal of a federal court to consider a challenge to a state’s administrative regulations and proceedings or to review a state court’s decision involving those regulations and proceedings when they involve a substantial or sensitive area of state concern. Burford v. Sun Oil Co. (1943).
Colorado River abstention
A federal court’s act of declining to exercise its jurisdiction when there is underway a state court proceeding involving the same parties and questions. Colorado River Water Conservation Dist. v. United States (1976).
Pullman abstention
A federal court’s decision to await the interpretation of a state law by that state’s court before deciding a federal constitutional question that is dependant upon how that law is interpreted. Railroad Commission of Texas v. Pullman Co. (1941).
Rooker–Feldman abstention
A federal court’s declining to consider the argument that a state court judge violates a party’s federal rights for the reason that the proper venue to challenge that judge is that state’s court system. Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co. (1923) and District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman (1983).
Thibodaux abstention
A federal court’s act of declining to exercise its jurisdiction to allow a state court to decide difficult issues if importance in order to avoid unnecessary friction between federal and state authorities. Louisiana Power & Light Co. v. City of Thibodaux (1959).
Younger abstention
  1. A federal court’s decision to halt or interfere with a state court’s criminal proceeding unless the prosecution has been brought in bad faith or harassment.
  2. A federal court’s decision to halt or interfere with a state court proceeding on the grounds that the arguments of the party seeking the federal courts involvement can be raised and fairly determined in the state court. Younger v. Harris (1971).

abstention Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • include: BDS will cast all votes, both for and against, including any positive abstentions.
  • record: Manifest has noted that approximately a dozen companies have failed to record abstentions in their proxy poll disclosures.
  • count: Not counting the three abstentions, a majority of NER members were open to the idea of research cloning under strictly regulated conditions.
  • register: Not to mention the possibility that the machine might register my votes wrong, rather than just register some abstentions where I actually voted.

Adjective modifier

  • positive: In principle, do you support the introduction of a system of positive abstention?
  • mass: An enormous amount of hard work will be needed from responsible commentators and politicians in the coming days to explain away the mass abstention.
  • express: This is abstaining, according to its usual definition, and it was expressly stated, so it was an express abstention.
  • total: Sir George Gray found it impossible to maintain a policy of total abstention from the affairs of the republics.
  • few: The majority of staff voted in favor of the proposal while there was one against and a few abstentions.
  • large-scale: Their political unhappiness will undoubtedly take the form of large-scale abstention at the general election.

Modifies a noun

  • rate: The abstention rate was 3 times higher among women over 25 than among the younger women.
  • vote: Giordano was re-elected at the AGM but there was a combined against and abstention vote of 19 % .

Noun used with modifier

%: The degree of public confidence the present settlement commands can be measured by the 51 % abstention rate at the last Holyrood elections.

Preposition: in

election: The results posted by the CNE also dispel the myth about abstention in this elections.

Preposition: from

  • meat: However it is not possible to investigate abstention from meat by itself.
  • food: Information: Fasting is the voluntary abstention from food for a period, which can range from 12 hours to 90 days or more.
  • voting: Such high levels of distrust are leading to high rates of abstention from voting.
  • election: But unlike the FZLN it urges abstention from elections.
  • akusala: It is only occasionally that there is dåna, abstention from akusala or the development of other kinds of kusala.