Lat. Withstand beginnings; resist the first approaches or encroachments. “It is the duty of courts to be watchful for the constitutional rights of the citizen, and against any stealthy encroachments thereon. Their motto should be ‘Obsta prineipiis.’ ” Bradley, J.. Boyd v. U. S., 116 U. S. 035, 6 Sup. Ct. 535, 29 L. Ed. 746.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
