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defense of honesty See honesty defense.

defense of honesty- See DEFENSE (1).

defense of inequitable conduct Patents. A defense to an action for patent infringement, made by charging the plaintiff with breaching the duty of candor and good faith. To succeed, the defendant must show that, in the patent prosecution, the plaintiffintentionally withheld material information from or misled the examiner. Inequitable conduct is a combination of two former defenses: unclean hands and fraud on the Patent Office.

defense of marriage act A federal statute that (1) provides that no state can be required to recognize or give effect to same-sex marriages, (2) defines the term "marriage" for purposes of federal law as the union of a man and a woman as husband and wife, and (3) defines "spouse" for purposes of federal law as being only a person of the opposite sex. 1 USCA § 7; 28 USCA 1738C. The Defense of Marriage Act was enacted in response to the fear that if one state sanctioned same-sex marriages, other states might then have to give full faith and credit to those marriages. - Abbr. DOMA.

defense of others A justification defense available if one harms or threatens another when defending a third person. See JUSTIFICATION (2).

defense of premises See defense of habitation under DEFENSE (1).

defense of property A justification defense available if one harms or threatens another when defending one's property. See JUSTIFICATION (2).

defense of self See SELF-DEFENSE.

defense security cooperation agency A unit in the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for fostering and overseeing security-cooperation arrangements and for promoting security relationships with US. friends and allies. Abbr. DSCA.

defense security service A unit in the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for conducting personnel investigations and providing industrial-security products and services to the Department and other agencies. The agency was formerly known as the Defense Investigative Service. Abbr. DSS.

defense threat reduction agency A unit in the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for reducing the risk of and defending against attacks that involve nuclear, chemical, biological, or other weapons of mass destruction .o The Agency was created in 1998. Abbr. DTRA.

defense-month See FENCE-MONTH.

defensiva (dee-fen-si-va), n. [Latin "a protector"]. A warden of the Marches, being one of many lords appointed by the Crown to defend England's borders.

defensive collateral estoppel See COLLATERAL ESTOPPEL.

defensive allegation Eccles. law. A defendant's response in an ecclesiastical action; specif., a defendant's pleading of the facts relied upon that require the plaintiff's response under oath. Cf. primary allegation (2). "The proceedings in the ecclesiastical courts are therefore regulated according to the practice ofthe civil and canon laws .... [Tlheir ordinary course of proceeding is; first, by citation, to call the party injuring before them. Then ... to set forth the complainant's ground of complaint. To this succeeds the defendant's answer upon oath; when, if he denies or extenuates the charge, they proceed to proofs by witnesses examined, and their depositions taken down in writing, by an officer of the court. if the defendant has any circumstances to offer in his defence, he must also propound them in what is called his defenSive allegation, to which he is entitled in his turn to the plaintiff's answer upon oath, and may from thence proceed to proofs as well as his antagonist." 3 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 100 (1768).

defensive allegation- See ALLEGATION.

defensive collateral estoppel Estoppel asserted by a defendant to prevent a plaintiff from relitigating an issue previously decided against the plaintiff.

defensive disclosure The deliberate publication of details about an invention in order to render it prior art and preclude others from getting a patent on the same invention .o This can be done formally, by filing for public disclosure through the Statutory Invention Registration and publishing the abstract in the Official Gazette of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or privately, by publishing it in an independent journal that will probably be consulted by a patent examiner. Also termed defensive publication. See STATUTORY INVENTION REGISTRATION.

defensive disclosure- See DEFENSIVE DISCLOSURE.

defensive lockout See LOCKOUT.

defensive profile The set of strategies devised by a company to discourage others from attempting a hostile takeover.

defensive publication See DEFENSIVE DISCLOSURE.

defensive treaty See TREATY (1).

defensive-force justification See JUSTIFICATION.

defensive-force justification A justification defense available when an aggressor has threatened harm to the particular interest that is the subject of the defense usu. to the actor (self-defense), to other persons (defense of others), or to property (defense of property).

defensive-posture memorandum See DEFENSIVE PROFILE.

defensive-profile memorandum Corporations. An outline of a company's strategy against a hostile takeover. Also termed defensive-posture memorandum.

defensor (di-fen-sar or -sor), n. [fr. Latin defendere "to forhid"]. 1. Roman law. A defender of another's interests in court; an advocate, esp. for a corporation. Cf. PROCURATOR LITIS. 2. Roman law. DEFENSOR CIVITATIS. 3. Eccles. law. An advocate or patron of a church; a church warden. 4. A guardian; a protector; a defender.

defensor civitatis (di-fen-sar siv-i-tay-tis). [Latin "defender of the city"]. Roman law. An officer conducting public business, including protecting people, esp. the poor, from legal injustices, adjudicating certain minor offenses and pecuniary matters, and acting as a notary in the execution of a will or other transfer. Often shortened to defensor.

defensor fidei (di-fen-sar fi-dee-i), n. [Latin "defender of the faith"]. A unique title of the sovereign of England, first granted in 1521 by Pope Leo X to Henry VIII for writing against Martin Luther. The Pope later withdrew the title because of Henry's harsh regulation of the church, but the title was again bestowed on the King by Parliament in 1544. The term is similar to the application of "Catholic" to the Spanish sovereign and "Most Christian" to the French sovereign. Also termed Defender of the Faith.

defensum (di-fen-sam), n. [Law Latin "an inclosure"]. 1. A portion of an open field allotted for corn or hay but not for feeding. 2. A wood partially enclosed to prevent the cattle from damaging the undergrowth. 3. A prohibition.

defer 1. To postpone; to delay <to defer taxes to another year>. 2. To show deference to (another); to yield to the opinion of <because it was a political question, the courts deferred to the legislature>.

deferment 1. The act of delaying; postponement <deferment of a judicial decision>. 2. Military law. A delay in serving in the military.3. Military law. A delay in serving confinement that results from a court-martial until the sentence has been approved and its execution has been ordered. The convening authority may grant a defer ment.

deferral of taxes The postponement of paying a tax from one year to another, as by contributing money to an IRA, for which earnings and contributions will be taxed only when the money is withdrawn.

deferral state Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), a state that has its own anti-discrimination legislation and enforcement mechanism, so that the time to file a federal lawsuit under the ADEA is postponed until state remedies have been exhausted.

deferred adjudication See deferred judgment under JUDGMENT.

deferred annuity An annuity that begins making payments on a specified date if the annuitant is alive at that time. Also termed deferred-payment annuity. Cf. immediate annuity.

deferred annuity- See ANNUITY.

deferred charge An expense not currently recognized on an income statement but carried forward on the balance sheet as an asset to be written off in the future <insurance premiums are a deferred charge>.

deferred claim A claim postponed to a future accounting period.

deferred compensation 1. Payment for work performed, to be paid in the future or when some future event occurs. 2. An employee's earnings that are taxed when received or distributed rather than when earned, such as contributions to a qualified pension or profit-sharing plan.

deferred compensation- See COMPENSATION.

deferred credit A credit (such as a premium on an issued bond) that is required to be spread over later accounting periods.

deferred dividend See DIVIDEND.

deferred dividend- A dividend that is declared, but is payable at a future date.

deferred expense See EXPENSE.

deferred expense- A cost incurred by a business when the business expects to benefit from that cost over a period beyond the current year. An example is a prepaid subscription to a business periodical the cost of which will be recognized as an expense over a multiyear subscription period.

deferred income See INCOME.

deferred income- Money received at a time later than when it was earned, such as a check received in January for commissions earned in November.

deferred judgment See JUDGMENT.

deferred judgment A judgment placing a convicted defendant on probation, the successful completion of which will prevent entry of the underlying judgment of conviction. This type of probation is common with minor traffic offenses. Also termed deferred adjudication; deferred-adjudication probation; deferred prosecution; probation before judgment; probation without judgment; pretrial intervention; adjudication withheld.

deferred lien See LIEN.

deferred payment A principal-and-interest payment that is postponed; an installment payment.

deferred prosecution See deferred judgment under JUDGMENT.

deferred prosecution See deferred judgment under JUDGMENT.

deferred revenue See prepaid income under INCOME.

deferred sentence A sentence that will not be carried out if the convicted criminal meets certain requirements, such as complying with conditions of probation.

deferred sentence See SENTENCE.

deferred stock Stock whose holders are entitled to dividends only after the corporation has met some other specified obligation, such as the discharge of a liability or the payment of a dividend to preferred shareholders.

deferred stock See STOCK.

deferred-adjudication probation See deferred judgment under JUDGMENT.

deferred-adjudication probation See deferred judgment under JUDGMENT.

deferred-dividend insurance policy A life insurance policy that accumulated a fixed percentage ofthe insurers surplus profits, payable as a lump sum on a certain date or at the insureds death, whichever came first.

deferred-dividend insurance policy See INSURANCE POLICY.

deferred-interest bond A bond whose interest payments are postponed for a time.

deferred-interest bond See BOND (3).

deferred-payment annuity See deferred annuity under ANNUITY.

deficiency 1. A lack, shortage, or insufficiency. 2. A shortfall in paying taxes; the amount by which the tax properly due exceeds the sum of the amount of tax shown on a taxpayer's return. Also termed tax deficiency; income-tax deficiency; deficiency in tax. 3. The amount still owed when the property secured by a mortgage is sold at a foreclosure sale for less than the outstanding debt; esp., the shortfall between the proceeds from a foreclosure sale and an amount consisting of the principal debt plus interest plus the foreclosure costs. See deficiency judgment under JUDGMENT.

deficiency bill An appropriations bill covering expenses omitted from the general appropriations bills, or for which insufficient appropriations were made. An urgent deficiency bill covers immediate expenses usu. for one item, and a general deficiency bill covers a variety of items.

deficiency assessment An assessment by the IRS after administrative review and tax-court adjudication of additional tax owed by a taxpayer who underpaid. See DEFICIENCY (2).

deficiency assessment- See ASSESSMENT.

deficiency bill See BILL (3).

deficiency decree See deficiency judgment under JUDGMENT.

deficiency decree- See deficiency judgment under JUDGMENT.

deficiency dividend See DIVIDEND.

deficiency dividend- A dividend paid to reduce or avoid personal-holding-company tax in a prior year.

deficiency in tax See DEFICIENCY (2).

deficiency judgment See JUDGMENT.

deficiency judgment A judgment against a debtor for the unpaid balance of the debt if a foreclosure sale or a sale of repossessed personal property fails to yield the full amount of the debt due. Also termed deficiency decree.

deficiency letter 1. An IRS letter to a taxpayer, detailing the ways in which a tax return seems to be deficient. 2. An SEC letter to a registrant of a securities offering, detailing the ways in which the registration statement seems not to conform to federal disclosure requirements. Also termed letter ofcomment; letter of comments. See NINETY-DAY LETTER; THIRTY-DAY LETTER.

deficiency notice See NINETY-DAY LETTER.

deficiency suit An action to recover the difference between a mortgage debt and the amount realized on foreclosure. See deficiency judgment under JUDGMENT.

deficit 1. A deficiency or disadvantage; a deficiency in the amount or quality of something.

deficit spending The practice of making expenditures in excess of income, usu. from borrowed funds rather than actual revenues or surplus.

defile (di-fli), vb. 1. To make dirty; to physically soil. 2. To figuratively tarnish; to dishonor. 3. To make ceremonially unclean; to desecrate. 4. To morally corrupt (someone). 5. Archaic. To debauch (a person); to deprive (a person) of chastity.

defilement (di-fli-mant), n. 1. An act of defiling. 2. A condition of being defiled.

define 1. To state or explain explicitly. 2. To fix or establish (boundaries or limits). 3. To set forth the meaning of (a word or phrase).

defined pension plan A pension plan in which the employer promises specific benefits to each employee. Also termed fixed-benefit plan.

defined pension plan See PENSION PLAN.

defined term In legal drafting, a word or phrase given a specific meaning for purposes of the document in which it appears; a definiendum.

defined-benefit pension plan A pension plan in which an employer commits to paying an employee a specific benefit for life beginning at retirement. The amount of the benefit is based on factors such as age, earnings, and years of service.

defined-benefit pension plan See PENSION PLAN.

defined-benefit plan See EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN.

defined-benefit plan- A plan established and maintained by an employer primarily to provide systematically for the payment of definitely determinable benefits to employees over a period of years, usu. for life, after retirement; any pension plan that is not a defined-contribution plan. Retirement benefits under a defined benefit plan generally are based on a formula that included such factors as years of service and compensation. If the trust funding the plan lacks sufficient assets to pay the promised benefits, ERISA requires the employer to cover the shortfall. 29 USCA § 1002(35). Cf. defined contribution plan.

defined-contribntion plan See EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN.

defined-contribution pension plan See defined-contribution plan under EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN. defined pension plan.

defined-contribution pension plan See defined-contrbution plan under EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN.

defined-contribution plan Under ERISA, an employee retirement plan in which each participant has a separate account - funded by the employee's contributions and the employer's contributions (usu. in a preset amount) and each participant's benefits are based solelv on what has accumulated in the participant's account. 29 USCA § 1002(34). Also termed defined-contribution pension plan; individual account plan. Cf. defined~benefit plan.

definite failure of issue See FAILURE OF ISSUE.

definite sentence See determinate sentence under SENTENCE.