Retract

Retraction
(n) Retraction is the action by which an earlier action is reversed so as to restore the original position. For example withdrawing a legal proceedings, withdrawing by correcting an earlier statement, withdrawing a claim already forwarded.

retraction
n. 1) to withdraw any legal document in a lawsuit or other legal proceeding, or withdraw a promise or offer of contract. 2) in defamation, particularly libel, ...

TO RETRACT. To withdraw a proposition or offer before it has been accepted.

Landing Gear: Retracting legs which support the front of a semitrailer when it is not coupled to a tractor.

The Times did, however, subsequently publish a retraction of the advertisement upon the demand of Governor John Patterson of Alabama, who asserted that the publication charged him with "grave misconduct and ...

Most states have retraction statutes under which a defamed person who fails to seek a retraction from the publisher, or who seeks and obtains a retraction, is limited to compensation equal to the actual (or special) damages.

Withdrawal - An arriving alienÌs voluntary retraction of an application for admission to the United States in lieu of a removal hearing before an immigration judge or an expedited removal.

[from the comparison of such evidence to a harpoon, which can be retracted after it has injured its target]
: evidence consisting esp.

An example of a demand letter would be in the situation of defamation. The plaintiff's lawyer would write to the alleged defaming person and demand a retraction and an apology.
Demand letters are powerful tools in a lawyer's arsenal.

Perjury is a crime and may be punished by fine or imprisonment. One can retract false testimony in the course of a criminal procedure without committing perjury. The crime of inducing another person to commit perjury is called subornation of perjury.

Most states provide for a party defamed by a periodical to demand a published retraction. If the correction is made, then there is no right to file a lawsuit.

See also: State, Person, Action, Nation, Law