De Facto

A thing done in fact but without strict legal authority; contrast with de jure.

A term used to denote a thing actually done; a President of the United States de facto is one in the exercise of the executive power, and is distinguished from one, who being legally entitled to such power is ejected from it; the latter would be a president de jure. An officer de facto is frequently considered as an officer de jure, and his official acts are of equal validity.
   

This entry contains material from Bouvier's Legal Dictionary, a work published in the 1850's.