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courtroom deputy- The deputy clerk assigned to a particular courtroom or a particular judge.

courtroom privilege See judicial privilege under PRIVILEGE (1).

courtroom privilege See judicial privilege.

courts of the franchise See FRANCHISE COURT.

cousin 1. A child of one's aunt or uncle. Also termed first cousin;full cousin; cousin-german. 2. A relative descended from one's ancestor (such as a grandparent) by two or more steps in a diverging line. 3. Any distant relative by blood or marriage; a kinsman or kinswoman.

cousin once removed 1. A child of one's cousin. 2. A cousin of one's parent.

cousin twice removed 1. A grandchild of one's cousin. 2. A cousin of one's grandparent.

cousin-german A first cousin; a child of a full sibling of one's mother or father. See GERMAN.

cousin-german- See C0USIN (1).

cousin-in-law 1. The husband or wife of one's cousin. 2. A cousin of one's husband or one's wife.

coutlter-complaint A complaint filed by a defendant against the plaintiff, alleging that the plaintiff has committed a breach and is liable to the defendant for damages.

covenant (kav-a-nant), 1. A formal agreement or promise, usu. in a contract or deed, to do or not do a particular act.

covenant- To promise Of undertake in a covenant; to agree formally.

covenant against encumbrances A grantor's promise that the property has no visible or invisible encumbrances . In a special warranty deed, the covenant is limited to encumbrances made by the grantor. Also termed general covenant against encumbrances. Cf. special covenant against encum brances.

covenant appurtenant (a-par-ta-nant). A covenant that is connected with the grantor's land; a covenant running with the land. Cf. covenant in gross.

covenant for further assurances A covenant to do whatever is reasonably necessary to perfect the title conveyed if it turns out to be imperfect. See further assurance under ASSURANCE.

covenant for possession A covenant giving a grantee or lessee possession of land.

covenant for quiet enjoyment 1. A covenant insuring against the consequences of a defective title or any other disturbance of the title. 2. A covenant ensuring that the tenant will not be evicted or disturbed by the grantor or a person having a lien or superior title. This covenant is sometimes treated as being synonymous with covenant of warranty. Also termed covenant of quiet enjoyment.

covenant for title A covenant that binds the grantor to ensure the completeness, security, and continuance of the title transferred. This covenant usu. includes the covenants for seisin, against encumbrances, for the right to convey, for quiet enjoyment, and of warranty.

covenant in deed See express covenant.

covenant in gross A covenant that does not run with the land. Cf. covenant appurtenant.

covenant in law See implied covenant.

covenant marriage See MARRIAGE (1).

covenant not to compete See noncompetition covenant.

covenant not to execute A covenant in which a party who has won a judgment agrees not to enforce it. This covenant is most common in insurance law.

covenant not to sue A covenant in which a party having a right of action agrees not to assert that right in litigation. Also termed contract not to sue. "A covenant not to sue is a promise by the creditor not to sue either permanently or for a limited period. If the promise is one never to sue It operates as a discharge just as does a release. The theory is that should the creditor sue despite his promise not to. the debtor has a counterclaim for damages for breach of the creditor's covenant not to sue which is equal to and cancels the original claim .... If the covenant is not to sue for a limited time, the modern view is that the covenant may be raised as an affirmative defense to any action brought in violation of the covenant." John D. Calamari &Joseph M. Perillo, The Law of Contracts § 21·11, 878-79 (3d ed. 1987).

covenant of good right to convey See covenant ofseisin under COVENANT (4).

covenant of nonclaim A covenant barring a grantor or the grantor's heirs from claiming title in the conveyed land.

covenant of quiet enjoyment See covenant for quiet enjoyment.

covenant of seisin (see-zin). A covenant, usu. appearing in a warranty deed, stating that the grantor has an estate, or the right to convey an estate, of the quality and size that the grantor purports to convey. For the covenant to be valid, the grantor must have both title and possession at the time of the grant. Also termed covenant ofgood right to convey; right-toconvey covenant.

covenant of seisin See COVENANT (4).

covenant of seisin- See COVENANT (4).

covenant of warranty A covenant by which the grantor agrees to defend the grantee against any lawful or reasonable claim of superior title by a third party and to indemnify the grantee for any loss sustained by the claim. This covenant is sometimes treated as being synonymous with covenant for quiet enjoyment. The covenant is not breached if the grantor fails to defend the grantee against an invalid claim. See WARRANTY (1).

covenant ofgood right to convey See covenant of seisin.

covenant ofhabitability (hab-a-ta-bil-a-tee). See implied warranty ofhabitability under WARRANTY (2).

covenant rnnning with the land See COVENANT (4).

covenant running with the land A covenant intimately and inherently involved with the land and therefore binding subsequent owners and successor grantees indefinitely. Also termed real covenant. "The important consequence of a covenant running with the land is that its burden or benefit will thereby be imposed or conferred upon a subsequent owner of the property who never actually agreed to it. Running covenants thereby achieve the transfer of duties and rights in a way not permitted by traditional contract law." Roger Bernhardt, Real Property in a Nutshell 212 (3d ed. 1993).

covenant running with the title- 1. A covenant that relates to the land but has a specific or reasonably determinable expiration time. 2. See covenant running with the land.

covenant to convey A covenant in which the covenantor agrees to transfer an estate's title to the covenantee.

covenant to protect against drainage See PROTECTION COVENANT.

covenant to renew An executory contract that gives a lessee the right to renew the lease.

covenant to stand seised (seezd). Archaic. A covenant to convey land to a relative. This covenant could not be used to convey land to a stranger; the only consideration that supports the covenant is the relationship by blood or marriage.

covenantee (kav-a-nan-tee). The person to whom a promise by covenant is made; one entitled to the benefit of a covenant.

covenanter See COVENANTOR.

covenantor (kav-a-nan-tar or kav-a-nan-tor). The person who makes a promise by covenant; one subject to the burden of a covenant. - Also spelled covenanter.

coventry act (kav-an-tree or kov-). An 1803 English statute establishing the death penalty for anyone who, with malice aforethought, did "cut out or disable the tongue, put out an eye, slit the nose, cut off a nose or lip, or cut off or disable any limb or member of any subject; with the intention in so doing to maim or disfigure him." "[A]common law,] an injury such as cutting off [a man's] ear or nose did not constitute mayhem ... , because it did not result in permanent disablement, but merely disfigured the victim. This was corrected by an early English statute. It seems that an assault was made upon Sir John Coventry on the street by persons who waylaid him and slit his nose in revenge for obnoxious words uttered by him in Parliament. This emphasized the weakness of the law of mayhem, and the so-called 'Coventry Act' was passed [in 1803]." Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 239-40 (3d ed. 1982).

coventurer (koh-ven-char-ar). A person who undertakes a joint venture with one or more persons. Also termed co-adventurer. Cf. JOINT VENTURE.

cover The purchase on the open market, by the buyer in a breach-of-contract dispute, of goods to substitute for those promised but never delivered by the seller. Under VCC § 2-712, the buyer can recover from the seller the difference between the cost of the substituted goods and the original contract price.

cover letter See TRANSMITTAL LETTER.

cover note A written statement by an insurance agent confirming that coverage is in effect. The cover note is distinguished from a binder, which is prepared by the insurance company.

coverage 1. Inclusion of a risk under an insurance policy; the risks within the scope of an insurance policy. - cover, vb.

coverage opinion See OPINION (2).

coverage opinion A lawyer s opinion on whether a particular event is covered by a given insurance policy. infringement opinion. Patents. A patent attorney s opinion about the probable outcome of an infringement hearing or trial on whether a particular product or process infringes one or more claims of another s patent.

coverage ratio A measurement of a firm's ability to cover its financing charges.

cover-all clause See MOTHER HUBBARD CLAUSE (2).

cover-baron See COVERT BARON.

covered wages See WAGE.

covered-interest arbitrage The simultaneous investment in a currency and execution of spot- and forward-rate foreign-exchange contracts to take advantage of exchange-rate and interest-rate differentials between currencies with out assuming foreignexchange risk.

covered-interest arbitrage- See ARBITRAGE.

covert baron (kav-art bar-an). [Law French]. The condition or status of a married woman at common law. Also written cover-baron. - Also termed covert de baron. "By marriage, the husband and Wife are one person in law: that is, the very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage, or at least is incorporated and consolidated into that of the husband: under whose wing, protection, and cover, she performs every thing; and is therefore called in our law-french a feme·covert; is said to be covert· baron, or under the protection and influence of her husband, her baron, or lord; and her condition during her marriage is called her coverture." 1 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 430 (1765).

covert-entry search warrant See SEARCH WARRANT.

covert-entry search warrant A warrant authorizing law-enforcement officers to clandestinely enter private premises in the absence of the owner or occupant without prior notice, and to search the premises and collect intangible evidence, esp. photographs and eyewitness information. Although previously used in federal criminal investigations, these types of warrants were first given express statutory authority by the USA Patriot Act. 18 USCA § 3103a. Information gathered while a sneak-and-peek warrant can later be used to support a search warrant under which physical evidence can be seized. - Also termed sneak-and-peek search warrant; surreptitiousentry search warrant.

coverture (kav-ar-char also -tyoor), n. Archaic. The condition of being a married woman <under former law, a woman under coverture was allowed to sue only through the personality of her husband>. See feme covert under FEME. - covert (kav-art), adj. "Coverture, is a french word signifying any thing that covereth, as apparel!. a coverlet .... It is particularly applied in our common lawe, to the estate and condition of a maried woman, who by the lawes of our realme, is in (potestate viri) and therefore disabled to contract with any, to the preiudice of her selfe or her husband, without his consent and privity: or at the least, without his allowance and confirmation." John Cowell, The Interpreter (1607). "Coverture is by law applied to the state and condition of a married woman, who is sub potestati viri, (under the power of her husband) and therefore unable to contract with any to the damage of herself or husband, without his consent and privity, or his allowance and confirmation thereof. When a woman is married she is called a Femme couvert, and whatever is done concerning her during marriage is said to be done during coverture." The Pocket Lawyer and Family Conveyancer 96 (3d ed. 1833).

cover-up Concealment of wrongdOing, esp. by a conspiracy of deception, nondisclosure, and destruction of evidence, usu. combined with a refusal to cooperate with investigators. A cover-up often involves obstruction of justice. cover up, vb.

covin (kav-an). A secret conspiracy or agreement between two or more persons to injure or defraud another. Also spelled covine. "Covin is a secret assent determined in the hearts of two or more, to the prejudice of another: As if a tenant for term of life, or tenant in tail, will secretly conspire with another, that the other shall recover against the tenant for life the land which he holds, &c. in prejudice of him in the reversion." Termes de la Ley 129 (lst Am. ed. 1812).

covinous (kav-a-nas), ad;. Ofa deceitful or fraudulent nature.

cozen (kaz-an), vb. To cheat or defraud. Also spelled cosen.

cozening (kaz-an-ing). Hist. A deceitful practice; the offense of cheating, or fraudulent dealing. Also spelled cosening. Cf. STELLIONATUS. "Cosening is an offence unnamed, whereby any thing is done guilefully in or out of contracts, which cannot be fitly termed by any special! name. It is called stellionatus in the civile law ..." John Cowell, The Interpreter(1607).

cpa abbr. 1. See certified public accountant under ACCOUNTANT. 2. See continued-prosecution application under PATENT APPLICATION.

cpc abbr. Certificate of probable cause. See CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY.

cpd abbr. OFFICE OF COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT.

cpi abbr. CONSUMER PRICE INDEX.

cps abbr. CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES.

cpsc abbr. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION.

cpt abbr. CARRIAGE PAID TO. =

cr abbr. CURIA REGIS.

crack vb. Slang. 1. To open (a lock). 2. To decode (security information); esp., to decipher or discover (a code, a password, etc. needed to break into a computer, network, server, or database). Cf. HACK. 3. To bypass (an encryption or a security device, esp. one deSigned to prevent unauthorized access, as in a cable televi sion box, or copying, as in a DVD player). 4. To hack (acomputer, network, server, or database) with the inten tion of causing damage or disruption.

cracking A gerrymandering technique in which a geographically concentrated political or racial group that is large enough to constitute a district's dominant force is broken up by district lines and dispersed through out two or more districts. Cf. PACKING; STACKING (2).

craft union See UNION.

cramdown Court confirmation of a Chapter II bankruptcy plan despite the opposition of certain creditors. Under the Bankruptcy Code, a court may confirm a plan - even ifit has not been accepted by all classes of creditors - if the plan (1) has been accepted by at least one impaired class, (2) does not discriminate unfairly, and (3) is fair and equitable. 11 USCA § 1129(b). - cram down, vb:

crash-and-dash See RAM RAID.

crashworthiness doctrine Products liability. The principle that the manufacturer of a product will be held strictly liable for injuries occurring in a collision, even if the collision results from an independent cause, to the extent that a defect in the product causes injuries above and beyond those that would have occurred in the collision itself. Also termed second-collision doctrine; second-impact doctrine.

crassa ignorantia (kras-a ig-na-ran-shee-a). Gross ignorance, esp. in circumstances where a person was able to acquire knowledge and should have done so.

crassa negligentia (kras-a neg-li-jen-shee-a). [Latin]. Crass negligence; gross negligence. "In the Civil Law: Crassa negligentia is termed magna culpa or lata culpa, and it is in some cases deemed equivalent to fraud or deceit .... In the Common Law: it is defined to be the want of that care which every man of common sense, under the circumstances, takes of his own property." Henry C. Adams, A Juridical Glossary 510 (1886).

crastino (kras-ta-noh). [Law Latin]. Tomorrow; on the morrow. The return day of writs, so-called because the court terms always began on a saint's day; writs were therefore returnable the day after.

crat abbr. Charitable-remainder annuity trust. See charitable remainder annuity trust under TRUST.

creancer (kree-an-sar). [Law French]. A creditor. Also spelled creansour.

create a blank Parliamentary law. To amend a motion by striking out one or more terms and replacing them with blanks rather than different terms. See amendment by striking out and inserting under AMENDMENT (3). This form allows a vote on several competing proposals at one time, rather than the usual process ofvoting separately upon each proposal. See BLANK (2).

creation science The interpretation ofscientific evidence, arguments, and knowledge to support creationism. See CREATIONISM.

creationism The teaching of the biblical version of the creation of the universe. The United States Supreme Court held unconstitutional a Louisiana law that forbade the teaching of the theory of evolution unless biblical creation was also taught. The Court found the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because it lacked a "clear secular purpose." Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 578, 107 S.Ct 2573 (1987). See ANTI-EVOLUTION STATUTE.

creative sentence See alternative sentence under SENTENCE.

creative sentence See alternative sentence.

creative work See work ofauthorship under WORK (2).

creativity The degree to which a work displays imaginativeness beyond what a person of very ordinary talents might create. Labor and expense are not elements of creativity; for that reason, they are not protected by copyright. Feist Pubs. Inc. v. Rural Tel. Servo Co., 499 U.S. 340, 111 S.Ct. 1282 (1991). Cf. ORIGINALITY, SWEAT-OF-THE-BROW DOCTRINE. "Where creativity refers to the nature of the work itself, originality refers to the nature of the author's contribution to the work. Thus, a public domain painting may evince great creativity, but if a copyright claimant adds nothing of his own to it, by way of reproduction or otherwise, then copyright will be denied on the basis of lack of originality. Conversely, a work may be entirely the product of the claimant's independent efforts, and hence original, but may nevertheless be denied protection as a work of art if it is completely lacking in any modicum of creativity." 1 Melville B. Nimmer & David Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright § 2.08[B][2], at 2-88 (Supp. 1995).

creator See SETTLOR (i).

creature See ANIMAL.

creature of statute A doctrine, governmental agency, etc. that would not exist but for a legislative act that brought it into being.

credential (usu. pI.) 1. A document or other evidence that proves one's authority or expertise, 2. A testimonial that a person is entitled to credit or to the right to exercise official power. 3. The letter of credence given to an ambassador or other representative of a foreign country. 4. Parliamentary law. Evidence of a delegate's entitlement to be seated and vote in a convention or other deliberative assembly. Before the meeting begins, the evidence usu. takes the form of a certificate or proof of election or appointment, which the delegate presents to a credentials committee so that the committee can list the delegate on its roster. During the meeting, the evidence usu, takes the form of a badge or card that the credentials committee issues to each delegate on its roster. See credentials committee under COMMITTEE. - credential, vb.

credentials committee A committee charged with preparing a roster of delegates entitled to be seated, examining contested claims to such entitlement, and preparing and issuing credentials to the delegates who appear so entitled. See CREDENTIAL.

credentials committee- See COMMITTEE.