lawfully authorized

USAGE SUMMARY

"lawfully authorized" is correct and usable in written English. You can use it in contexts where you want to indicate that someone has been given legal permission to do something. Example: "The agent acted within the scope of his lawfully authorized duties." Alternative expressions include "legally permitted" and "officially sanctioned."

✓ Grammatically correct

Academia

News & Media

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

11 human-written examples

"This is about lawfully authorized intercepts," said Valerie E. Caproni, FBI general counsel.

The Washington Post

Depending on when a request is made and then acted upon, it is easy to imagine a situation where a manual recount could be lawfully authorized, commenced, but not completed within seven days of the election.

The New York Times

"Depending on when a request is made and then acted upon, it is easy to imagine a situation where a manual recount could be lawfully authorized, commence, but not completed within seven days of the election," he wrote.

The New York Times

These center on how companies encrypt e-mail and other data from their users and whether law enforcement can get access to encrypted information when lawfully authorized to do so.

MIT Technology Review

This section does not prohibit any lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law enforcement agency of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State, or of an intelligence agency of the United States.

Cornell University

This section does not prohibit any lawfully authorized investigative, protective, information security, or intelligence activity of an officer, agent, or employee of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State, or a person acting pursuant to a contract with the United States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State.

Cornell University

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

49 human-written examples

It was, rather, that with the Bush administration's claim that the president could lawfully authorize warrantless NSA wiretapping of American citizens on American soil, I realized just how far this administration is prepared to push the envelope.

HuffPost

Many ethical, lawfully managed businesses have consumer data they aren't legally authorized to possess, obtained from a surprising source: their customers, who inadvertently share the personal data of family, friends, and colleagues.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Senator John McCain apparently now believes that President Bush acted lawfully when he authorized the National Security Agency to violate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The New York Times

For example, a person who lawfully acquires an authorized copy of a motion picture would be an in­fringer if he or she engages in the business of renting it to others for purposes of unauthorized public per­formance.

Harvard University

(a) Technical assistance agreements are not required for the provision of training in the basic operation and maintenance of defense articles lawfully exported or authorized for export to the same recipient.

Cornell University

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Reserve this phrase for formal contexts like legal briefs, administrative reports or news articles concerning government oversight.

Common error

Do not pair "lawfully authorized" with other redundant legal terms like "legal" or "valid" unless they add specific distinct meaning. For example, saying "legally and lawfully authorized" is often unnecessary unless you are distinguishing between common law and statutory law. Furthermore, ensure you do not confuse it with "lawful authority", which is a noun phrase referring to the power itself rather than the status of the action.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "lawfully authorized" functions primarily as an adjectival modifier or predicative adjective. It combines the adverb "lawfully" with the past participle "authorized" to describe the legal status of an action, person or document. In the data provided by Ludwig, it often modifies nouns like "intercepts", "recount" or "agent".

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

Academia

45%

News & Media

40%

Wiki

10%

Less common in

Science

3%

Social Media

1%

Reference

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In conclusion, "lawfully authorized" is a robust and highly specialized phrase used to denote the legal validity of an action or entity. Based on the data from Ludwig, the phrase is indispensable in legal drafting (U.S. Code) and investigative reporting, particularly regarding government surveillance and corporatelarceny cases. It serves to emphasize that strict legal procedures have been followed. While synonyms like "<a href="/s/legally+permitted" target="_blank" rel="alternative">legally permitted" exist, they lack the specific formal weight that "lawfully authorized" carries in administrative and judicial contexts. Writers should use this phrase when precision regarding the source and legality of power is paramount.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

legally permitted

Slightly less formal and broader in scope, referring to anything allowed by law.

officially authorized

A neutral alternative that emphasizes the formal nature of the permission.

duly authorized

Focuses on the correct procedural following of authorization protocols.

legally empowered

Focuses on the granting of power to an individual or entity by law.

officially sanctioned

Emphasizes the approval of an governing body rather than just the legality.

judicially sanctioned

Specifically implies that the authorization came from a court or judge.

statutorily empowered

Indicates that the authority is derived specifically from written legislation.

lawfully mandated

Implies a legal requirement or order rather than just permission.

legally valid

Refers to the status of a document or action rather than the permission granted to an agent.

rightfully commissioned

More common in historical or military contexts regarding an individual's role.

FAQs

How to use "lawfully authorized" in a sentence?

You can use it to describe actions permitted by law, such as: "The FBI conducted a <a href="/s/lawfully+authorized" target="_blank" rel="alternative">lawfully authorized investigation into the matter."

What is the difference between "lawfully authorized" and "legally authorized"?

While often interchangeable, "<a href="/s/lawfully+authorized" target="_blank" rel="alternative">lawfully authorized" often carries a stronger connotation of following specific procedures and warrants, whereas "<a href="/s/legally+authorized" target="_blank" rel="alternative">legally authorized" is a more general term for anything allowed by law.

Is "lawfully authorized" a formal expression?

Yes, it is highly formal. In casual writing, you might prefer "<a href="/s/officially+allowed" target="_blank" rel="alternative">officially allowed" or "<a href="/s/permitted+by+law" target="_blank" rel="alternative">permitted by law".

What are some synonyms for "lawfully authorized"?

Common synonyms include "<a href="/s/duly+authorized" target="_blank" rel="alternative">duly authorized", "<a href="/s/legally+permitted" target="_blank" rel="alternative">legally permitted" and "<a href="/s/officially+sanctioned" target="_blank" rel="alternative">officially sanctioned".