Legal Dictionary
Main Entry:
se·ques·terPronunciation:
si-'kwes-t&rFunction:
transitive verbInflected Forms:
-tered;
-ter·ingEtymology: Anglo-French
sequestrer, from Middle French, from Latin
sequestrare to hand over to a trustee, from
sequester third party to whom disputed property is entrusted, agent, from
secus beside, otherwise
1 : to place (as a jury or witness) in seclusion or isolation
NOTE: Juries are sequestered in order to preserve their impartiality. Witnesses are sequestered so that their testimony is not influenced by the testimony of prior witnesses. 2 a : to seize esp. by a writ of sequestration
b : to deposit (property) in sequestration