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de rescussu (dee ri-skas- [y]oo), n. [Law Latin "of rescue"]. A writ available when cattle were distrained or persons were arrested, and then rescued.

de retorno habendo (dee ri-tor-noh ha-ben-doh). [Law Latin] for having a return. This term applied to (1) a judgment for a defendant in a replevin action, (2) a writ of execution for a detendant awarded judgment in a replevin action, and (3) a surety provided by a plaintiff at the beginning of a replevin action.

de rien culpable (da reen kal-pa-bal). [Law French] Guilty of nothing; not guilty.

de sa vie (da sa vee). [Law French), Of one's own life, as distinguished from pur autre vie ("for another's life").

de salva gardia (dee sal-va gahr-dee-a), n. [Law Latin "of safeguard"]. A writ issued to protect strangers from harm while pursuing their legal rights in England.

de salvo conductu (dee sal-voh kan-dak-t[y]oo). [Law Latin "of safe conduct"]. A writ of safe conduct.

de scutagio habendo (dee skyoo-tay-jee-oh ha-ben-doh), n. [Law Latin "for having scutage"], 1. A writ ordering a tenant-in-chiefby knight's service to serve in a war, send a substitute, or pay a sum of money. 2. A writ authorizing a lord who had served in the war or paid the required fine, to recover the scutage from his knights' fees. See SCUTAGE. "Such a baron, having proved that he fulfilled his contract or paid his fine, will have a royal writ de scutagio habendo, whereby the sheriff will be ordered to cause him to have the scutage due from his tenants. Still, before he can get his scutage, he has to obtain something that the king is apt to treat as a favour." 1 Frederick Pollock & Frederic W. Maitland, The Historv of English Law Before the Time of Edward 1270 (2d ed. 1898).

de secta ad molendinum (dee sek-ta ad ma-Ien-di-nam), n. [Law Latin "of suit at mill"]. A writ forcing a person to continue grinding corn at a particular mill, as was customary, or to give a good reason why the custom should not be continued. "There are also other services, due by ancient custom and prescription only. Such is that of doing suit to another's mill: where the persons, resident in a particular place, by usage time out of mind have been accustomed to grind their corn at a certain mill; and afterwards any of them go to another mill, and Withdraw their suit. . from the ancient mill. This is not only a damage, but an injury, to the owner .... And for this injury the owner shall have a writ de secta ad molendinum commanding the defendant to do his suit at that mill ... or show good cause to the contrary: in which action the validity of the prescription may be tried, and if it be found for the owner, he shall recover damages against the defendant." 3 William Blackstone, Commentar· ies on the Laws ofEngland 234-3S (1768).

de sectis non faciendis (dee sek-tis non fay-shee-en-dis), [Law Latin "of not doing services"]. A writ exempting a ward or dowress from performing certain services.

de seisin a habenda (dee see-zin-a ha-ben-da), n. [Law Latin "of holding seisin"]. A writ ordering the sovereign to deliver seisin oflands and tenements to a lord, after holding them for the allowed year and a day because the lord's tenant committed a felony.

de solemnitate (dee sa-lem-ni-tay-tee). [Law Latin], Scots law. As a solemnity. The phrase appeared in reference to certain deed requirements essential to the deed's validity. Cf. EX SOLEMNITATE.

de son tort (da sawn [or son] tor[t]). [Law French "by his own wrongdoing"], Wrongful.

de son tort demesne (da sawn tor[t] di-mayn). [Law French], Of a person's own wrong. This is the law French equivalent of the Latin phrase de injuria. See DE INJURIA.

de statu defunctorum (dee stay-t[y]oo dee-fangk-tor-am). [Law Latin) Scots law. Concerning the status of the decedent. The phrase was often used to refer to questions about the decedent's legitimacy.

de statuto mercatorio (dee sta-tyoo-toh mar-ka-tor-ee-oh), n. [Law Latin "of statute merchant"]. A writ ordering the imprisonment of someone who forfeits a statute-merchant bond until the debt has been paid. See STATUTE MERCHANT.

de statuto stapulae (dee sta-tyoo-toh stay-pya-Iee), n. [Law Latin "of statute staple"]. A writ to seize the property of and imprison a person who forfeits a staplestatute bond. See STATUTE STAPLE.

de superoneratione pasturae (dee soo-pa-roh-na-ray-shee-oh-nee pas-tra-ree), n. [Law Latin "of surcharge of pasture"]. A judicial writ against a person who was initially brought into county court for putting too many cattle on pasture, and later was impleaded in the same court on the same charge, and the cause was removed to the superior court at Westminster.

de tabulis exhibendis (dee tab-ya-lis ek-si-ben-dis). [Latin]. Roman law. Of producing the tablets of a will. This was a subject covered under Roman exhibitory interdicts governing the production of documents. A will of a deceased person had to be produced and opened to determine whether the applicant had rights under it.

de tallagio non concedendo (dee ta-lay-jee-oh non kon-sa-den-doh), n. [Law Latin "of not granting tallage"]. The title of a statute declaring that no taxes will be imposed by the king or his heirs without the consent of the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, knights, and other freemen of the realm. The statute has been used to support the constitutional doctrine disallowing taxation except by Parliament. 34 Edw. I st. 4.

de tempore cujus contrarium memoria hominum non existit- (dee tem-pa-ree k[y]oo-jas kan-trair-ee-am ma-mor-ee-a hom-a-nam non eg-zis-tit). [Latin] From time whereof the memory of man does not exist to the contrary. See LEGAL MEMORY.

de tempore in tempus et ad omnia tempora (dee tem-pa-ree in tem-pas et ad om-nee-a tem-pa-ra). [Latin] From time to time, and at all times.

de temps dont memorie ne court (da tahn dawn mem-a-ree na koor). [Law French] From time whereof memory does not run; time out of human memory. This Law French phrasing was a forerunner of Blackstone's classic formulation: "time whereof the memory of man does not run to the contrary." 1 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 460-61 (1765). See LEGAL MEMORY.

de termino moto (dee tar-ma-noh moh-toh). [Law Latin]. The common-law offense of moving or defacing landmarks. This was considered a serious crime because of the importance that agrarian laws attached to landmarks.

de theolonio (dee thee-a-loh-nee-oh), n. [Law Latin "of toll]. A writ of trespass available to a person prevented from taking toll. See TOLL.

de transgressione (dee trans-gresh-ee-oh-nee), n. [Law Latin "of trespass"], The general name of various writs of trespass. See TRESPASS.

de transgressione ad audiendum et terminandum (dee trans-gresh-ee-oh-nee, ad aw-dee-en-dam et tar-mi-nan-dam), n. [Law Latin "of trespass, for determining and hearing a misdemeanor"]. A commission for hearing and determining an outrage or misdemeanor.

de una parte (dee yoo-na pahr-tee), n. [Latin] Of one party. A deed is de una parte when only one party grants something to another, as distingUished from a deed inter partes. See INTER PARTES.

de uxore rapta et abducta (dee ak-sor-ee rap-ta et ab-dak-ta), n. [Law Latin "of seizing and carrying away a man's wife"]. A writ of trespass for a man whose wife had been raped and carried away.

de vasto (dee vas-toh), n. [Law Latin "of waste"] A writ allowing a reversioner or remainderman to compel a tenant for life or for years to appear and answer for the waste and resulting damage to the plaintiff's inheritance. See WASTE (1).

de ventre inspiciendo (dee ven-tree in-spish-ee-en-doh), n. [Law Latin "of (or for) inspecting the belly"], 1. A writ allowing a presumptive heir to summon a jury of matrons to verify the pregnancy of a widow suspected of feigning the pregnancy to produce a supposed heir. - Also termed ad ventrem inspiciendum. See venire facias tot matronas under VENIRE FACIAS. "And this gives occasion to a proceeding at common law, where a widow is suspected to feign herself with child, in order to produce a supposititious heir to the estate: an attempt which the rigor of the GothiC constitutions esteemed equivalent to the most atrocious theft, and therefore punished with death. In this case with us the heir presumptive may have a writ de ventre inspiciendo to examine whether she be with child, or not ... and, if the widow be upon due examination found not pregnant, any issue she may afterwards produce, though within nine months, will be bastard." 1 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 444 (1765). 2. A writ providing a temporary stay of execution if a jury of matrons determines that a woman scheduled for execution and claiming pregnancy is "quick with child." - The execution would be postponed until after the birth, but if the woman became pregnant a second time before execution, she had no remedy. Some times shortened to ventre inspiciendo. - Also spelled de ventre in spiciendo.

de vi laka amovenda (dee vi lay-a-ka ay-moh-ven-da), n. [Law Latin "of removing a lay force"]. A writ allowing a parson claiming rights to a church to order a sheriff to remove a group of laymen who, with another parson, had taken control of the church and prevented the new parson from entering.

de vicineto (dee vi-sin-a-toh or -si-na-toh). [Law Latin] From a vicinage; from a neighborhood. This term was generally used in reference to a jury pool. See DE CORPORE COMITATUS.

de warrantia chartae (dee wa-ran-shee-a kahr-tee), n. [Law Latin "of a warranty of charter"]. A writ allowing a tenant enfeoffed with a warranty, who was impleaded in an assize or other action in which the tenant could not call upon the warranty, to compel the feoffor to assist the tenant with a plea or defense, or else to pay damages and the value of the land, if it is recovered against the tenant. "This we still make use of in the form of common recoveries, which are grounded on a writ of entry; a species of action that we may remember relies chiefly on the weakness of the tenant's title, who therefore vouches another person to warrant it .... In assises indeed. where the principal question is whether the demandant or his ancestors were or were not in possession till the ouster happened, and the title of the tenant is little (if at all) discussed, there no voucher is allowed; but the tenant may bring a writ of warrantia chartae against the warrantor, to compel him to assist him with a good plea or defence, or else to render damages and the value of the land, if recovered against the tenant." 3 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 299 (1768).

de warrantia diei (dee wa-ran-shee-a di-ee-i), n. [Law Latin "of warranty of day"]. A writ ordering a judge not to default a party for nonappearance because the Crown warranted that the party was busy in its service.

deacon 1. In certain churches, a member of the clerical order who assists the priest in various duties, including the presentation of the sacrament. It is the third order below bishops and priests. A deacon is not allowed to consecrate the Holy Communion or pronounce absolution but can perform most of the other priestly duties. 2. An elected or appointed officer of a church who assists a minister or priest in various duties.

dead asset A worthless asset; an asset that has no realizable value, such as an uncollectible account receivable.

dead asset- See ASSET.

dead corporation See dissolved corporation.

dead corporation- See dissolved corporation under CORPORATION.

dead freight See FREIGHT.

dead freight- The amount paid by a shipper to a shipowner for the ship's unused cargo space.

dead letter 1. A law or practice that, although not formally abolished, is no longer used, observed, or enforced. 2. A of mail that can be neither delivered nor returned because it lacks correct addresses for both the intended recipient and the sender.

dead man's part 1. Archaic. By custom in certain places, the portion of a dead man's estate set aside for mass services; later, that portion set aside as payment for the administrator. That portion ranged from one-third (if the deceased had a wife and children) to the entire estate (if the deceased had no wife or children). "'If the deceased leaves a Widow and children, his sub· stance ... is divided into three parts; one of which belongs to the Widow, another to the children, and the third to the administrator: if only a widow, or only children, they shall respectively, in either case, take one moiety, and the administrator the other: if neither widow nor child, the administrator shall have the whole. And this portion, or dead man's part, the administrator was wont to apply to his own use, till the statute Ijac. II. c. 17 declared that the same should be subject to the statute of distributions." 2 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 518 (1766). "If a testator leaves neither Wife nor child, he can give away the whole of his movable goods. If the testator leaves wife but no child, or child but no wife, his goods must, after his debts have been paid, be divided into two halves; one of these can be disposed of by his will, it is 'the dead's part; the other belongs to the widow, or (as the case may be) to the child or children." 2 Frederick Pollock & Frederic William Maitland, History of English Law Before the Time of Edward 1349 (2d ed. 1899). 2. Scots law. The part of the movable estate that may be disposed of by will in any way the testator wishes; specif., the of a dead man's personal estate not legally reserved for his spouse or children and capable of being bequeathed by will or falling upon intestacy to his next-of-kin. Also termed dead's part.

dead man's statute A law prohibiting the admission of a decedent's statement as evidence in certain circumstances, as when an opposing party or witness seeks to use the statement to support a claim against the decedent's estate. Also termed dead person's statute.

dead marriage See MARRIAGE (1).

dead person's statute See DEAD MAN'S STATUTE.

dead pledge See MORTGAGE (1).

dead rent A mining-lease payment, either in addition to or as part of the royalty, that must be made whether or not the mine is working. The purpose of the provision is to secure the working of the mine. See delay rental under RENTAL.

dead stock Goods that remain in inventorv because there is no market for them.

dead storage The stowage of goods, esp. motor vehicles, for a long time in a public storage area, as opposed to the daily or regular stowage of goods in active use. Cf. LIVE STORAGE.

dead time See TIME.

dead use A future use.

dead-and-buried company A business that has dissolved, leaving no assets.

dead-and-buried company- See COMPANY.

deadbeat A person who does not pay debts or financial obligations (such as child-support payments, fines, and legal judgments), usu. with the suggestion that the person is also adept or experienced at evading creditors.

deadbeat dad A father who has not paid or who is behind in making child-support payments.

deadbeat mom 1. A mother who has not paid or who is behind in making child-support payments. This term is used far less frequently than either deadbeat dad or deadbeat parent, probably because nearly ten times as many men as women fail to support (or are ordered to support) their children financially after divorce. 2. An able-bodied mother whose income is derived from welfare payments, not from gainful employment.

deadbeat parents punishment act A 1998 federal statute that makes it a felony, punishable by up to two years in prison, for failure to pay child support if the obligor has crossed state lines in an attempt to avoid paying the support. The Act provides felony penalties if (l) a person travels across state lines intending to evade a child-support obligation that is over $5,000 or that has remained unpaid longer than one year, or (2) a person willfully fails to pay support for a child living in a different state if that obligation is greater than $10,000 or if it remains unpaid for more than two years. The Act supersedes the Child Support Recovery Act of 1994. The greatest change in the new statute is the provision regarding the obligor's crossing of state lines in an eff.ort to evade the support obligation. 42 USCA § 228. - Abbr. DPPA. See CHILD SUPPORT RECOVERY ACT OF 1994.

deadborn See STILLBORN.

deadhand control The convergence of various legal doctrines that allow a decedent's control of wealth to influence the conduct of a living beneficiary; esp., the use of executory interests that vest at some indefinite and remote time in the future to restrict alienability and to ensure that property remains in the hands of a particular family or organization .o Examples include the lawful use of conditional gifts, contingent future interests, and the Claflin-trust principle. The rule against perpetuities restricts certain types of deadhand control, which is sometimes referred to either as the power of the mortua manus (dead hand) or as trying to retain property in mortua manu. See RULE AGAINST PERPETUITIES.

deadlock 1. A state of inaction resulting from opposition, a lack of compromise or resolution, or a failure of election. See tie vote under VOTE (2). 2. Corporations. The blocking of corporate action by one or more factions of shareholders or directors who disagree about a Significant aspect of corporate policy. - deadlock, vb.

deadlocked jury See hungjury under JURY.

deadlocked jury See hung jury.

deadly force See PORCE.

deadly force- Violent action known to create a substantial risk of causing death or serious bodily harm. Generally, a person may use deadly force in self-defense or in defense of another only if retaliating against another's deadly force. - Also termed extreme force. Cf. nondeadly force. "Under the common law the use of deadly force is never permitted for the sole purpose of stopping one fleeing from arrest on a misdemeanor charge ...." Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 1098 (3d ed. 1982).

deadly weapon See WEAPON.

deadly weapon per se See WEAPON.

dead's part See DEAD MAN'S PART.

dead-ship doctrine The rule that admiralty law no longer applies to a ship when its purpose has been so changed that it is no longer a vessel because it has no further navigation function.

deafforest See DISAFFOREST.

deal 1. An act of buying and selling; the purchase and exchange of something for profit <a business deal>. 2. An arrangement for mutual advantage <the witness accepted the prosecutor's deal to testify in exchange for immunity>. 3. An indefinite quantity <a great deal of money>.

deal- vb. (bef. 12c) 1. To distribute (something) <to deal drugs>. 2. To transact business with (a person or entity) <to deal with the competitor>. 3. To conspire with (a person or entity) <to deal for the account>.

dealer 1. A person who purchases goods or property for sale to others; a retailer. 2. A person or firm that buys and sells securities for its own account as a principal, and then sells to a customer. See DEAL, n. & vb.

dealer's talk See PUFFING (1).

dean 1. Eccles. law. An officer who leads a chapter, parish, or other subdivision of a diocese, usu. upon a bishop's request or appointment. "A dean and chapter are the council of the bishop, to assist him with their advice in affairs of religion, and also in the temporal concerns of his see .... All ancient deans are elected by the chapter. by conge d'eslire from the king, and letters missive of recommendation; in the same manner as bishops: but in those chapters, that were founded by Henry VIII out of the spoils of the dissolved monasteries, the deanery is donative .... The chapter, consisting of canons or prebendaries, are sometimes appointed by the king, sometimes by the bishop, and sometimes elected by each other." 1 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 370-71 (1765). 2. In a school, college, or university, the administrative or academic head .o In larger schools, there may be several kinds of deans, such as a dean of admissions and a dean of student affairs. Within a university, there may be deans of specific schools. 3. The head or commander of a group of ten, such as ten soldiers or ten monks.

dean bill A bill that has been changed so much by a legislative committee that it is better to introduce a new bill (a "clean" one) than to explain the changes made. Also termed committee substitute.

dean of guild In certain burghs, the head of the Guild or Merchant Company, with jurisdiction in maritime and mercantile disputes.

dean of guild court The court presided over by the Dean of Guild.o In modern times the court dealt with municipal affairs, esp. building regulations. All such courts were abolished in 1975.

dean of guild court. See DEAN OF GUILD COURT.

dean of the arches The presiding judge of the Court of Arches. See COURT OF ARCHES.

dear and unmistakable error See clear error under ERROR (2).

dear chance See LAST-CLEAR-CHANCE DOCTRINE.

dear error A trial judge's decision or action that appears to a reviewing court to have been unquestionably erroneous. Even though a clear error occurred, it mav not warrant reversal. Also termed clear and unmistakable error.

death (bef. 12c) The ending of life; the cessation of all vital functions and signs. Also termed decease; demise.

death action See WRONGFUL-DEATH ACTION.

death benefit (usu. pl.) (1873) A sum or sums paid to a beneficiary from a life-insurance policy on the death of an insured.

death benefit- See BENEFIT.

death by misadventure 1. See ACCIDENTAL KILLING. 2. See accidental death under DEATH. 3. Archaic. A defense to a murder charge on the ground that the defendant lacked the requisite mental state for murder.The defense was abolished as redundant because the prosecution had to prove state of mind anyway as an essential element of murder.

death by one's own hand See SUICIDE (1).

death by one's own hand- See SUICIDE (1).

death case 1. A criminal case in which the death penalty may be or has been imposed. 2. WRONGFULDEATH ACTION.

death certificate An official document issued by a public registry verifying that a person has died, with information such as the date and time of death, the cause of death, and the signature of the attending or examining physician.

death duty 1. See DUTY (4). 2. See estate tax under TAX.

death duty- An estate tax or inheritance tax. Also termed estate duty.

death on the high seas act A federal law, enacted in 1920, permitting a wrongful-death action to be filed in U.S. district court for a death occurring on the high seas. 46 USCA app. §§ 761-67. Abbr. DOHSA.

death penalty 1. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. 2. A penalty that makes a person or entity ineligible to participate in an activity that the person or entity ously participated in. The penalty is usu. imposed because ofsome type of gross misconduct. 3. See deathpenalty sanction under SANCTION.

death row The area of a prison where those who have been sentenced to death are confined.

death sentence See SENTENCE.

death sentence A sentence that imposes the death penalty. See Model Penal Code § 210.6. Also termed judgment of blood. See DEATH PENALTY.

death statute A law that protects the interests of a decedent's family and other dependents, who may recover in damages what they would reasonably have received from the decedent if the death had not occurred. Cf. SURVIVAL STATUTE.