Key Takeaways

  • Admission definition in law: An admission is a statement or conduct by a party that acknowledges certain facts against their interest. It can occur before or during legal proceedings.
  • Corporate context: Admission may also refer to the process by which individuals or entities gain rights as members of corporations, joint-stock companies, or insurance associations.
  • Admission vs. consent: While both involve acknowledgment, admissions relate to prior facts or obligations, whereas consent is a present agreement or authorization.
  • Evidentiary value: Admissions can be direct, implied, express, or tacit. Courts carefully evaluate their reliability and circumstances.
  • Use in pleadings and practice: Admissions reduce the need for formal proof, streamline cases, and may be partial or complete depending on the wording.
  • Types of admissions: Legal sources distinguish judicial admissions (binding statements made in court) and evidentiary admissions (statements used as evidence but not conclusive).
  • Parties affected: Admissions may bind not only individuals but also agents, partners, attorneys, or corporations in certain contexts.
  • Professional context: "Admission" also refers to being admitted to practice law or being admitted as a party to legal proceedings.

An admission is any statement made by a party to a lawsuit (either before a court action or during it) which tends to support the position of the other side or diminish his own position.

For example, if a husband sues his wife for divorce on the grounds of adultery, and she states out of court that she has had affairs, her statement is an admission. Any admission made by a party is admissible evidence in a court proceeding, even though it is technically considered hearsay (which is normally inadmissible). Attorneys tell their clients not to talk to anyone about their case or about the events leading up to it in order to prevent their clients from making admissions.

Admission in Corporations or Companies

The act of the corporation or company by which an individual acquires the rights of a member of such corporation or company.

In trading and joint stock corporations no vote of admission is requisite; for any person who owns stock therein, either by original subscription or by conveyance, is in general entitled to, and cannot be refused, the rights and privileges of a member.

All that can be required of the person demanding a transfer on the books, is to prove to the corporation his right to the property.

Admission in a Mututal Insurance Company

In a Mutual Insurance Company, it has been held, that a person may become a member by insuring his property, paying the premium and deposit-money, and rendering himself liable to be assessed according to the rules of the corporation. In Evidence. Concessions by a party of the existence of certain facts. The term admission is usually applied to civil transactions, and to matters of fact in criminal cases, where there is no criminal intent the term confession is generally considered as an admission of guilt.

Admission in Other Legal Contexts

Beyond corporations, the concept of admission applies in other legal areas. For example, in mutual insurance companies, membership can be acquired by insuring property and paying required assessments. In partnerships, a new partner is “admitted” when existing partners consent to extend partnership rights. Similarly, in professional regulation, admission may refer to the process of gaining eligibility to practice a regulated profession, such as medicine or law.

Difference Between Admission and Consent

An admission is the testimony which the party admitting bears to the truth of a fact against himself. It is a voluntary act, which he acknowledges as true the fact in dispute. [An admission and consent are, in fact, one and the same thing, unless indeed for more exactness we say, that consent is given to a present fact or agreement, and admission has reference to au agreement or a fact anterior for properly speaking, it is not the admission which forms a contract, obligation or engagement, against the party admitting. The admission is, by its nature, only the proof of a pre-existing obligation, resulting from the agreement or the fact, the truth of which is acknowledged. There is still another remarkable difference between admission and consent: the first is always free in its origin, the latter, always morally forced. I may refuse to consent to a proposition made to me, abstain from a fact or an action which would subject me to an obligation ; but once my consent is given, or the action committed, I am no longer at liberty to deny or refuse either; I am constrained to admit, under the penalty of dis-honor and infamy. But notwithstanding all these differences, admission is identified with consent, and they are both the manifestation of the will. These admissions are generally evidence of those facts, when the admissions themselves are proved.]

Admission and Evidence

The admissibility and effect of evidence of this description will be considered generally, with respect to the nature and manner, of the admission itself and, secondly, with respect to the parties to be affected by it.

In the first place, as to the nature and manner of the admission; it is either made with a view to evidence; or, with a view to induce others to act upon the representation; or, it is an unconnected or casual representation.

As an instance of admission made with a view to evidence may be mentioned the case where a party has solemnly admitted a fact under his hand and seal, in which case he is, estopped, not only from disputing the deed itself, but every fact which it recites.

Instances of thing second class of admissions which have induced others to act upon them are those where a man has cohabited with a woman, and treated her in the front of the world as his wife, or where he has held himself out to the world in a particular character he cannot in the one case deny her to be his Wife when sued by a creditor who has supplied her with goods as such, nor in the other can he divest himself of the character be has assumed.

Where the admission or declaration is not direct to the question pending, although admissible, it is not in general conclusive evidence; and though a party may by falsifying his former declaration, show that he has acted illegally andimmorally, yet if he is not guilty of any breach of good faith in the existing transaction, and has not induced others, to act upon his admission or declaration, nor derived any benefit from it against his adversary, be is not bound by it. The evidence in such cases is merely presumptive, and liable to be rebutted.

Secondly, with respect to the parties to be affected by it. 1. By a party to a suit. The admissions of the party really interested, although he is no party to the suit, are evidence.

The admissions of a partner during the existence of a partnership, are evidence against both According to the English decisions, it seems, the admissions of one partner, after the dissolution, have been holden to bind the other partner; this rule has been partially changed by act of parliament. In the Supreme Court of the United States, a rule, the reverse of the English, has been adopted, mainly on the ground, that the admission is a new contract or promise, springing out of, ana supported by the original consideration. The state courts have varied in their decisions some have adopted the English rule and, in others it has been overruled.

3. By one of several persons who have a community of interest.

4. By an agent.

5. By an attorney.

Judicial vs. Evidentiary Admissions

Courts distinguish between judicial admissions and evidentiary admissions.

  • Judicial admissions are formal concessions made in pleadings or in court that are binding on the party and eliminate the need for further proof. For example, if a defendant admits in their answer that a contract exists, that fact cannot later be disputed.
  • Evidentiary admissions, on the other hand, are informal statements—such as oral remarks, written correspondence, or deposition testimony—that may be used as evidence but are not conclusive. The opposing party may challenge their credibility, and the court weighs them like any other piece of evidence.

Admissions Are Express or Implied

An express admission is one made in direct terms. An admission may be implied from the silence of the party, and may be presumed. As for instance, when the existence of the debt, or of the particular right, has been asserted in his presence, and he has not contradicted it. And an aquiescence and endurance, when acts are done by another, which if wrongfully done, are encroachments, and call for resistance and opposition, are evidence, as a tacit admission that such acts could not be legally resisted.

Limitations and Exclusions of Admissions

Not every statement qualifies as a binding admission. Courts may exclude admissions if they were made during settlement negotiations, as public policy encourages candid discussions to resolve disputes without trial. Similarly, some statements may be inadmissible if obtained in violation of evidentiary rules or if they lack sufficient connection to the facts at issue. These safeguards ensure that only reliable and fair admissions are considered in proceedings.

How Attorneys and Counselors Use Admission in Court

To entitle counsellors and attorneys to practice in court, they must be admitted by the court to practice there. Different statutes and rules have been made to regulate their admission; they generally require a previous qualification by study under the direction of some practicing counsellor or attorney.

In Pleading

Where one party means to take advantage of, or rely upon some matter alleged by his adversary, and to make it part of his case, he ought to admit such matter in his own pleadings; as if either party states the title under which his adversary claims, in which instances it is directly opposite in its nature to a protestation. See Prote stando. But where the party wishes to prevent the application of his pleading to some matter contained in the pleading of his adversary, and therefore makes an express admission of such matter (which is sometimes the case,) in order to exclude it from the issue taken or the like, it is somewhat similar in operation and effect, to a protestation.

The usual mode of making an express admission in pleading, is, after saying that the plaintiff ought not to have or maintain his action, to proceed thus, 'Because he says that although it be true that' repeating such of the allegations of the adverse party as are meant to be admitted. Express admissions are only matters of fact alleged in the pleadings; it never being necessary expressly to admit their legal sufficiency, which is always taken for granted, unless some objection be made to them.

Plenary and Partial Admissions

In chancery pleadings admissions are said to be plenary and partial. They are plenary by force of terms not only when the answer runs in this form, 'the defendant admits it to be true,' but also when he simply asserts, and generally speaking, when be says that 'he has been informed, and believes it to be true,' without adding a qualification such as, 'that he does not know it of his own knowledge to be so, and therefore does not admit the same.' Partial admissions are those which are delivered in terms of uncertainty, mixed up as they frequently are, with explanatory or qualifying circumstances.

Admissions in Practice

It, frequently occurs in practice, that in order to save expenses as to mere formal proofs, the attorneys on each side consent to admit, reciprocally, certain facts in the cause without calling for proof of them.

These are usually reduced to writing and the attorneys shortly add to this effect, namely, ' We agree that the above facts shall on the trial of this cause be admitted, and taken as proved on each side;' and signing two copies now called, 'admissions ' in the cause, each attorney takes one.

Admissions in Criminal Law

In criminal law, the term "admission" has a narrower scope compared to "confession." While a confession is a full acknowledgment of guilt, an admission may involve conceding specific facts without accepting overall criminal liability. For instance, a defendant might admit to being present at a crime scene without admitting to committing the crime. Courts carefully distinguish between the two, as confessions require stricter standards to ensure voluntariness and compliance with constitutional rights.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the legal definition of admission?

An admission is a statement, act, or conduct by a party acknowledging facts that may be used as evidence against them in legal proceedings.

2. How is an admission different from a confession?

An admission acknowledges certain facts, while a confession is a full acknowledgment of guilt in a criminal case. Confessions have stricter legal safeguards.

3. What are judicial admissions?

Judicial admissions are formal statements made in pleadings or court that bind the party making them, eliminating the need for further proof.

4. Can silence be considered an admission?

Yes. If a party remains silent when a fact is asserted in their presence and circumstances call for a response, courts may treat the silence as an implied admission.

5. Are admissions always admissible in court?

Not always. Admissions made during settlement negotiations, or those obtained improperly, may be excluded to ensure fairness and uphold evidentiary rules.

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