V

n. The quality or state of being vague. Uncertainty. Certainty is required in contracts, wills, pleadings, judgments, and indeed in all the acts on which courts have to give a judgment, and if they be vague, so as not to be understood, they are in general invalid. A charge of 'frequent intemperance' and 'habitual indolence' are vague and too general.

Vagueness may invalidate a criminal law for either of two independent reasons. First, it may fail to provide the kind of notice that will enable ordinary people to understand what conduct it prohibits; second, it may authorize and even encourage arbitrary and ...