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detention hearing- 1. Criminal law. A hearing to determine whether an accused should be released pending trial. See pretrial detention under DETENTION. 2. Family law. A hearing held by a juvenile court to determine whether a juvenile accused of delinquent conduct should be detained, continued in confinement, or released pending an adjudicatory hearing. Cf. adjudication hearing; disposition hearing. 3. See shelter hearing.

detention in a reformatory A juvenile offender's sentence of being sent to a reformatory school for some period.

determinable adj. 1. Liable to end upon the happening of a contingency; terminable <fee simple determinable>. 2. Able to be determined or ascertained <the written invoice>.

determinable easement See EASEMENT.

determinable easement- An easement that terminates on the happening of a specific event.

determinable estate See ESTATE (1).

determinable estate- An estate that is defeasible by operation of a special limitation. - Also termed determinable freehold.

determinable fee 1. See fee simple determinable under FEE SIMPLE. 2. See base fee under FEE (2).

determinable fee- See base fee.

determinable freehold See determinable estate under ESTATE (1).

determinable freehold- See determinable estate under ESTATE (4).

determinate hospitalization A fixed period of hospitalization, usu. by civil commitment.

determinate obligation See OBLIGATION.

determinate obligation An obligation that has a specific thing as its object. For example, an obligation to deliver the 1491 Venice edition of Vocabu¬larium Iuris that once belonged to H.L.A. Hart can be discharged only by delivering the specified book. Cf. indeterminate obligation.

determinate sentence A sentence for a fixed length of time rather than for an unspecified duration. Also termed definite sentence; definitive sentence; fixed sentence; flat sentence; straight sentence.

determinate sentence See SENTENCE.

determinate sentencing See mandatory sentencing.

determinate sentencing See mandatory sentencing under SENTENCING.

determination 1. A final decision by a court or administrative agency <the court's determination of the issue>.

determination letter A letter issued by the Internal Revenue Service in response to a taxpayer's request, giving an opinion about the tax significance of a transaction, such as whether a nonprofit corporation is entitled to tax-exempt status. Also termed ruling letter.

determinative judgment See final judgment under JUDGMENT.

determinative judgment See final judgment.

determinism (sometimes cap.) A philosophy that human behavior is governed primarily by preexisting conditions, such as family or environmental factors, and is not influenced by will. - deterministic, adj.

deterrence The act or process of discouraging certain behavior, particularly by fear; esp., as a goal of criminal law, the prevention of criminal behavior by fear of punishment. Cf. REHABILITATION (1); RETRIBUTION (1). deter, vb. deterrent, adj.

deterrent Something that impedes; something that prevents <a deterrent to crime>.

deterrent danger An obvious danger that an occupier of land creates to discourage trespassers, such as a barbed-wire fence or spikes on the top of a wall.

deterrent danger- See DANGER.

deterrent punishment 1. Criminal law. Punishment intended to deter the offender and others from committing crimes and to make an example of the offender so that like-minded people are warned of the consequences of crime. 2. Torts. Punishment intended to deter a tort feasor from repeating a behavior or failing to remove a hazard that led to an injury. Punitive damages are usu. awarded as a deterrent punishment.

deterrent punishment See PUNISHMENT.

detinet (det-i-net). [Latin "he detains"], A holding back; detention. An action in debt may be in detinet when the plaintiff alleges that the defendant wrongfully kept goods, as distinguished from wrongfully taking them. An action in debt may also be in detinet when it is brought by or against someone other than an original party to the debt, such as an executor. An action of replevin is in detinet when the defendant retains possession of the property until after the judgment. Cf. DEBET ET DETINET.

detinue (det-i-nyoo or -noo). A common-law action to recover personal property wrongfully taken or withheld by another. Cf. REPLEVIN; TROVER. "A claim in detinue lies at the suit of a person who has an immediate right to the possession of the goods against a person who is in actual possession of them, and who, upon proper demand, fails or refuses to deliver them up without lawful excuse. Detinue at the present day has two main uses. In the first place, the plaintiff may desire the specific restitution of his chattels and not damages for their conversion. He will then sue in detinue, not in trover. In the second place, the plaintiff will have to sue in detinue if the defendant sets up no claim of ownership and has not been guilty of trespass; for the original acquisition in detinue sur bailment was lawful." R.F.V. Heuston, Salmond on the Law of Torts 111 (17th ed. 1977).

detinue of goods in frankmarriage A writ allowing a divorced wife to obtain the goods given to her during the marriage.

detinue sur bailment (det-i-nyoo sar bayl-mant) [Law French). An action to recover property that the defendant acquired by bailment but refuses to return.

detinuit (di-tin-yoo-it). [Latin "he has detained"], (Of property) the former condition of being withheld. An action is said to be in the detinuit when the plaintiff finally recovers possession of the property claimed under a writ of replevin.

detour An employee's minor deviation from the employer's business for personal reasons. Because a detour falls within the scope of employment, the employer is still vicariously liable for the employee's actions. Cf. FROLIC.

detournement (di-tuurn-mant), n. An employee's misappropriation of the employer's funds.

detraction The removal of personal property from one state to another after transfer of title by a will or inheritance.

detriment 1. Any loss or harm suffered by a person or property. 2. Contracts. The relinqUishment of some legal right that a promisee would have otherwise been entitled to exercise. Also termed legal detriment. Cf. BENEFIT (2). "A promise or an act may be a detriment although on balance the promisor is making a good bargain. Thus a promise to pay £10,000 for a Rolls Royce worth £12,000, is none the less a detriment, and a good consideration for a promise to deliver the car." P.S. Atiyah, An Introduction to the Law of Contract 101 (3d ed. 1981).

detriment to a promisee Contracts. Consideration offered by a promisee to a promisor, esp. in a unilateral contract.

detrimental reliance See RELIANCE.

detrimental reliance Reliance by one party on the acts or representations of another, causing a worsening of the first party position. Detrimental reliance may serve as a substitute for consideration and thus make a promise enforceable as a contract. See promissory estoppel under ESTOPPEL.

detunicari (di-tyoo-ni-kair-i), vb. [Latin "to be revealed"], To discover; to lay open.

deuterogamy (d[y]oo-tar-og-a-mee), n. [fr. Greek deuteragamia "second marriage"] A second marriage after the death of or divorce from the first spouse, or after an annulment of a first marriage. - Also termed digama; digamy.

devadiatus (di-vad-ee-ay-tas), n. [Law Latin]. A defendant without a surety. - Also termed divadiatus.

devaluation The reduction in the value of one currency in relation to another currency. Cf. REVALUATION. devalue, vb.

devastation 1. An executor's squandering or mismanagement of the deceased's estate. 2. An act of destruction. 3. WASTE (1).

devastaverunt (di-vas-ta-veer-ant). [Latin pI. of devastavit "he (or she) has wasted"] They have wasted. This word usu. referred to both an executor's waste ofa decedent's property and the action against the executor for that waste.

devastavit (dev-a-stay-vit), n. [Latin "he (or she) has wasted"] A fiduciary's failure to administer an estate or trust promptly and properly, esp. by spending extravagantly or misapplying assets. A fiduciary who commits waste in this way becomes personally liable to those having claims on the assets, such as creditors and beneficiaries.

developed water See WATER.

developing country A country that is not as economically or politically advanced as the main industrial powers. - Developing countries are located mostly in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Latin and South America. - Also termed developing state; underdeveloped country; less-developed country; Third World country. '"Pertinent terminology has undergone extensive changes in the past 40 years. At the very start, before the category found its way into official texts, econom ic and political writings referred mainly to 'poor' or 'backward' countries. In the late 19405, the term 'underdeveloped countries' came into common usage in economic literature and in the jargon of international organizations. It was replaced in the 19505 by the term 'less developed countries: for which the current 'developing countries' was eventually substituted. These terms are essentially interchangeable as they refer to the same group and kind of countries. However, variations in the use of the term reflect significant changes in the perception of the central issue, namely, economic development, as well as responses to justified sensitivities on the part of the countries principally concerned." A.A. Fatouros, "Developing States," in 1 Encyclopedia of Public International Law 1017 (1992).

development 1. A substantial human-created change to improved or unimproved real estate, including the construction of buildings or other structures. 2. An activity, action, or alteration that changes undeveloped property into developed property.

developmental disability See DISABILITY (2).

developmental disability- An impairment of general intellectual functioning or adaptive behavior.

developmental neglect See NEGLECT.

development-stage company A company that devotes substantially all of its efforts to establishing a new business in which the principal operations either have not yet begun or have begun but are not generating significant revenue.

development-stage company- See COMPANY.

devest (di-vest), 1. To deprive (a person) of possession, title, or property. 2. To take; to draw away. Also spelled divest.

deviance The quality or state ofdeparting from established norms, esp. in social customs. - deviate (dee-vee-ayt), vb. - deviant, adj. & n. deviate (dee-vee-at), n.

deviation 1. Generally, a change from a customary or agreed-on course of action. 2. Employment law. A departure from one's course of employment to tend to a personal matter. A deviation from the course of employment may be an issue in disputes about workers' compensation or about the employer's tort liability to third parties based on the employee's actions. See COURSE OF EMPLOYMENT. Cf. FROLIC. 3. Insurance. A departure by an insured party from a routine course of action, resulting in increased risk of some loss that the insured is indemnified against. 4. Maritime law. A departure from the terms expressed in a bill of lading or other transportation contract. "For both geographic deviations and quasi-deviations, the contractual voyage is the benchmark against which the carrier's performance is to be measured. If the parties agreed to an indirect route, the carrier commits no deviation in following it; if the parties agreed to deck carriage, the carrier may stow the cargo on deck. All deviations 'have one common, indispensable element a violation of the terms of the bill of lading.'" Michael F. Sturley, "Deviation Defined," in 2A Benedict on Admiralty 122 (7th rev. ed. 2002) (quoting Rockwell Int'I Corp. v. M/V Incorrans Spirit, 707 F. Supp. 272, 273 (S.D. Tex. 1989), aff'd, 998 F.2d 316 (5th Or. 1993)).

deviation doctrine 1. A principle allowing variation from a term ofa will or trust to avoid defeating the document's purpose. 2. A principle allowing an agent's activity to vary slightly from the scope of the principal's permission. 3. Maritime law. The rule that a carrier loses the benefit ofits limitations and exemptions under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act if a deviation from the terms of the bill oflading is unreasonable, but does not if it is reasonable.

deviation-well survey An examination to determine whether a well is bottomed under another person's land.

device 1. A mechanical invention, as differentiated in patent law from a chemical discovery. A device may be an apparatus or an article of manufacture. - Also termed machine. 2. A scheme to trick or deceive; a stratagem or artifice, as in the law relating to fraud.

devil on the neck A torture device made of irons that fastened to a person's neck and legs and then wrenched together to either gradually or quickly break the person's back. It was often used to coerce confessions.

deviling (dev-a-ling). 1. The act of a barrister's handing a brief over to another to handle a case. 2. The practice of a junior barrister (known as a "devil") who drafts pleadings or other documents for a senior barrister who approves them, signs them, and is ultimately responsible for the work. - Also spelled devilling.

devisable 1. Capable ofbeing bequeathed by a will. 2. Capable of being invented. 3. Feigned.

devisavit vel non (dev-a-say-vit [or -zay-vit] vel non), n. [Law Latin "he (or she) devises or not"]. An issue directed from a chancery court to a court oflaw to determine the validity of a will that has been contested, as by an allegation offraud or testamentary incapacity. See VEL NON.

devise (di-viz), 1. The act of giving property by will. Although this term traditionally referred to gifts of real property - and in British usage the term is still confined to real property in American usage the term has been considerably broadened. In both the Restatement of Property and the Uniform Probate Code, a disposition of any property by will is a devise. In the United States today, it is pedantry to insist that the noun devise be restricted to real property. 2. The provision in a will containing such a gift. 3. Property disposed of in a will. 4. A will disposing of property. Cf. TESTAMENT (1); BEQUEST; LEGACY. devise, vb.

devise- To give (property) by will. "The modern convention which sets apart 'devise' for realty' and 'bequeath' for 'personalty' is modern; in the middle ages, the English word ... is the equivalent of the French word." 2 Frederick Pollock & Frederic William Maitland, Historv of English Law Before the Time of Edward 1338 (2d ed. 1899).

devisee (dev-a-zee or di-vi-zee). A recipient of property by will. Cf. LEGATEE.

deviser One who invents or contrives <the deviser of these patents>.

devisor One who disposes of property (usu. real property) in a will.

devoir (da-vwahr or dev-wahr). Hist. A duty; a tax. Also spelled devoire. "Devoire is as much as to say a duty. It is used in the statute of 2 R. 2, cap. 3, where it is provided, that all the western merchants, being of the king's amity, shall pay all manner of customs and subsidies, and other devoire of Calais." Termes de la Lev 168 (1st Am. ed. 1812).

devolution (dev-a-Ioo-shan), n. The act or an instance oftransferring one's rights, duties, or powers to another; the passing of such rights, duties, or powers by transfer or succession <the federal government's devolution of police power to the states>. - devolutionary, adj. - devolutionist, n.

devolutive appeal (di-vol-ya-tiv). An appeal that does not suspend the execution of the underlying judgment.

devolutive appeal- See APPEAL.

devolve (di-vahlv), vb. 1. To transfer (rights, duties, or powers) to another. 2. To pass (rights, duties, or powers) by transmission or succession. See DEVOLUTION.

devy (da-vi), vb. [Law French] To die.

dextrarius (dek-strair-ee-as). One at the right hand of another.

dextras dare (dek-stras dair-ee), vb. [Latin "to give right hands"], 1. To shake hands to show friendship. 2. To give oneself up to the power of another.

DFA abbr. DELAYED FUNDS AVAILABILITY.

DFAS abbr. DEFENSE FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING SERVICE.

DHS abbr. 1. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 2. Department of human services. See DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE.

di.et fl (di et fl). abbr. DILECTO ET FIDEL!.

DIA abbr. DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY.

diaconate (di-ak-a-nit), n. [Law Latin], A deacon's office.

diaconus (di-ak-a-nas), n. [Law Latin], A deacon. See DEACON.

diagnosis (di-ag-noh-sis). 1. The determination of a medical condition (such as a disease) by physical examination or by study of its symptoms. 2. The result of such an examination or study. Cf. PROGNOSIS.

diagnostic commitment Pretrial or presentencing confinement of an individual, usu. to determine the individual's competency to stand trial or to determine the appropriate sentence to be rendered.

diagnostic commitment- See COMMITMENT.

dialectic (di-a-Iek-tik), n. 1. A school oflogic that teaches critical examination ofthe truth of an opinion, esp. by discussion or debate. The method was applied by ancient philosophers, such as Plato and Socrates, primarily in the context of conversational discussions involving questions and answers, and also by more modern philosophers, such as Immanuel Kant, who viewed it as a theory of fallacies, and G.W.F. Hegel, who applied the term to his philosophy proceeding from thesis, to antithesis, to synthesis. 2. An argument made by critically examining logical consequences. 3. A logical debate. 4. A disputant; a debater. PI. dialec tics.

diallage (di-al-a-jee), n. [fr. Greek diallage "interchange"], A rhetorical figure of speech in which arguments are placed in several points of view, and then brought to bear on one point.

dialogus de scaccario (di-al-a-gas dee ska-kair-ee-oh), n. [Law Latin "a dialogue of or about the Exchequer"]. A treatise, written during the reign of Henry II, on the Court of Exchequer, set up in imaginary dialogue form between a master and a disciple .o Although some originally attributed the work to Gervase of Tilbury, it was proba.bly written by Richard Fitz Nigel, the bishop of London under Richard I, and the former Treasurer of the Exchequer. "The Dialogus de Scaccario is an anonymous book, but there can be little doubt that we are right in ascribing it to Richard Fitz Neal: that is to say, to Richard the son of that Nigel, bishop of Ely .... The book stands out as an unique book in the history of medieval England, perhaps in the history of medieval Europe. A high officer of state, the trusted counsellor of a powerful king, undertakes to explain to all whom it may concern the machinery of government. He will not deal in generalities, he will conde· scend to minute details. Perhaps the book was not meant for the general public so much as for the numerous clerks who were learning their business in the exchequer, but still that such a book should be written, is one of the wonderful things of Henry's wonderful reign." 1 Frederick Pollock & Frederic W. Maitland, The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward 1161-62 (2d ed. 1898).

dianatic (di-a-nat-ik). See DIANOETIC.

dianoetic (di-a-noh-et-ik), n. [Greek dianoetikos, fr. dia"through" + noein "to revolve in the mind"] Archaic. A form of logical reasoning that proceeds from one subject to another. - Also termed (erroneously) dianatic.

diarchy See DYARCHY.

diarium (di-air-ee-am), n. [fr. Latin dies "day"] Roman law. An allowance (usu. of food) needed for a day; a daily allowance of food or pay. PI. diaria (di-air-ee-a).

diatim (di-ay-tam). [fr. Latin dies "day"], Every day; daily.

dica (di-ka), n. [Law Latin) An account tally. See TALLY (1).

dicast (di-kast or dik-ast), n. [Greek dikastes]. An ancient Greek officer sitting as both judge and juror. Each dicast was generally a free citizen over the age of 30. The dicasts sat together in groups of between 100 to 500, according to each case's importance, and decided cases by a majority.

dicis causa (di-sis kaw-za). [Latin] Roman law. For form's sake; on the surface. The phrase appeared in reference to transactions completed in a certain form to conceal their true purpose.