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distribution cost Any cost incurred in marketing a product or service, such as advertising, storage, and shipping.

distribution cost- See COST (1).

distribution in kind A transfer of property in its original state, such as a distribution of land instead of the proceeds of its sale.

distribution in liquidation See liquidating distribution under DISTRIBUTION.

distribution license See LICENSE.

distribution right A copyright holder's exclusive right to sell, lease, or otherwise transfer copies of the protected work to the public. Cf. FIRST-SALE DOCTRINE.

distributive (di-strib-ya-tiv), adj. Of or relating to apportioning, dividing, and assigning in separate items or shares; of or relating to distributing.

distributive clause A will or trust provision governing the distribution of income and gifts.

distributive deviation A trustee's authorized or unauthorized departure from the express distributional terms of a trust. A trustee must apply to the court for authoritv to deviate from the terms of a trust. In American law, courts rarely authorize deviation unless all the beneficiaries consent and there is no material purpose of the settlor yet to be served. Some state statutes provide that deviation is permitted if the court finds that deviation would effectuate the settlor's intention, though the modification is not expressly authorized by the trust's provisions. The Pulitzer trust illustrates the possibility that extraordinary circumstances not anticipated by the settlor may justify deviation, despite an express prohibition within the trust. Joseph Pulitzer set up a testamentary trust with shares of World newspaper stock; his will directed that the sale of these shares was not authorized under any circumstances. Nonetheless, the court later approved the stock sale when given evidence that because of hemorrhaging losses, the trust's continuation was jeopardized. In re Pulitzer's Estate, 249 N.Y.S. 87 (Sur. Ct. 1931).

distributive finding A jury's decision partly in favor of one party and partly in favor of another.

distributive justice Justice owed by a community to its members, including the fair allocation of common advantages and sharing of common burdens.

distributive justice See JUSTICE (1).

distributive share 1. The share that an heir or beneficiary receives from the legal distribution of an estate. 2. The portion (as determined in the partnership agreement) of a partnership's income, gain, loss, or deduction that is passed through to a partner and reported on the partner's tax return. 3. The share of assets or liabilities that a partner or partner's estate acqUires after the partnership has been dissolved.

distributor A wholesaler, jobber, or other manufacturer or supplier that sells chiefly to retailers and commercial users.

distributorship A franchise held by a person or company who sells merchandise, usu. in a specific area to individual customers <a car distributorship>.

district 1. A territorial area into which a country, state, county, municipality, or other political subdivision is divided for judicial, political, electoral, or administrative purposes. 2. A territorial area in which similar local businesses or entities are concentrated, such as a theater district or an arts district. Abbr. D.

district attorney A public official appointed or elected to represent the state in criminal cases in a particular judicial district; PROSECC"TOR (1). Abbr. D.A. - Also termed public prosecutor; state's attorney; prosecuting attorney. Cf. UNITED STATES ATTORNEY.

district clerk- See CLERK (2).

district court 1. A trial court having general jurisdiction within its judicial district. Abbr. D.C. 2. Scots law. A local court, usu. staffed by lay magistrates, with jurisdiction over petty crimes.

district court- See COURT.

district derk The clerk of a district court within a state or federal system. See district court under COURT. 3. An employee who performs general office work. 4. A law student or recent law-school graduate who helps a lawyer or judge with legal research, writing, and other tasks. Also termed law clerk; extern; or (depending on the time of year) summer clerk; summer associate. See INTERN. 5. A lawyer who assists a judge with research, writing, and case management. Also termed briefing attorney; research attorney; staffattorney. "[Mlodern American judging in all courts of national sig· nificance - the federal courts and the more prominent state appellate courts - staggers along despite the burden of bloated caseloads and the shortcomings of distinctly human judges only by the delegation of a great deal of the labor of judging to law clerks: subordinate, anonymous, but often quite powerful lawyers who function as the non· commissioned officers in the army of the jUdiciary." John Bilyeu Oakley & Robert S. Thompson, Law Clerks Clnd the Judicial Process 2 (l980).

district judge 1. A judge in a federal or state judicial district. 2. See metropolitan stipendiary magistrate under MAGISTRATE. Abbr. D.J.

district judge See JUDGE.

district of columbia The seat of the U.S. government, situated on the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia. Neither a state nor a territory, it is constitutionally subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress. Abbr. D.C.

district parish A geographical division of an English parish made by the Crown s commissioners for the building of new churches for worship, celebration of marriages, christenings, and burials.

district parish See PARISH.

district school A public school contained in and maintained by a school district. See SCHOOL DISTRICT.

district school See SCHOOL.

district-court magistrate See MAGISTRATE.

districting The act of drawing lines or establishing boundaries between geographic areas to create voting districts. See APPORTIONMENT (3); GERRYMANDERING.

districtio (di-strik-shee-oh), n. [Law Latin "distraint"]. 1. A distress; a distraint. 2. The right of distress. 3. Something (such as a good or animal) that can be distrained. 4. A territory within which distraint can be exercised. 5. Any compulsory proceeding.

distringas (di-string-gas), n. [Law Latin "you are to distrain"], 1. A writ ordering a sheriff to distrain a defendant's property to compel the defendant to perform an obligation, such as appearing in court or giving up a chattel to a plaintiff awarded judgment in a detinue action. 2. A writ ordering the sheriff to seize jurors' goods to compel them to appear for jury service. 3. An equitable process of execution against a corporation that has refused to obey a summons. 4. An order, issued initially from the Court of Exchequer, then the Court of Chancery, and finally the High Court ofJustice, for someone interested in purchasing Bank of England stock, temporarily restraining the bank officers from transferring the stock or paying a dividend on it. This proceeding was used to prevent fraudulent dealing by a trustee or other stockholder. 'fhe relief was only temporary, and if the bank received a request from the stockholder to permit a stock deal, the bank had to warn the distringing party to promptly obtain a restraining order or a writ of injunction, or else the stock deal would go through.

distringas juratores (di-string-gas joor-a-tor-eez), n. [Law Latin "you are to distrain the jurors"]. A writ ordering the sheriff to distrain jurors or their property to compel their appearance before the judges of assize and nisi prius for jury duty on an appointed day.

distringas nuper vicecomitem (di-string-gas n[y]oo-par vi-see-kom-i-tam), n. (Law Latin "you are to distrain the late sheriff"], 1. A writ ordering a sheriff's successor to distrain the former sheriff's property until the former sheriffbrings in a defendant to answer the plaintiff's charge, sells goods attached under afieri facias, or performs some other obligation that the former sheriff should have completed while still in office. 2. A writ calling on an ex-sheriff to account for the proceeds taken in execution.

distringas vice comitem (di-string-gas vi-see kom-i-tam), n. [Law Latin "you are to distrain the sheriff"]. A distringas writ ordering the coroner to distrain the sheriff for not executing a writ of venditioni exponas. See VENDITIONI EXPONAS.

distringere (di-strinj-a-ree), vb. [Latin] To distrain; to coerce; to compel. The first-person form of the verb was distringo ("I distrain").

disturbance 1. An act causing annoyance or disquiet, or interfering with a person's pursuit of a lawful occupation or the peace and order of a neighborhood, community, or meeting. 2. At common law, a wrong done to an incorporeal hereditament by hindering the owner's enjoyment of it.

disturbance of a public meeting The unlawful interference with the proceedings of a public assembly."Generally speaking, any conduct which, being contrary to the usages of the particular sort of meeting and class of persons assembled, interferes with its due progress and services, or is annoying to the congregation in whole or in part, is a disturbance; and a meeting may be said to be 'disturbed' when it is agitated, aroused from a state of repose, molested, interrupted, hindered, perplexed, disqui· eted, or diverted from the object of the assembly." 27 c.j.S. Disturbance of Public Meetings § 1, at 817 (1959).

disturbance of common At common law, a wrongful interference with, or impediment to, another's right to commonable property, such as a wrongful fencing or surcharge on the common. ''The disturbance of common comes next to be considered; where any act is done, by which the right of another to his common is incommoded or diminished. This may happen, in the first place, where one who hath no right of common, puts his cattle into the land; and thereby robs the cattle of the commoners of their respective shares of the pasture. Or if one, who hath a right of common, puts in cattle which are not commonable, as hogs and goats; which amounts to the same inconvenience" 3 William Blackstone, Commentar· ies on the Laws of Eng/and 237 (1768).

disturbance of franchise At common law, a wrongful interference with a liberty or privilege. "Disturbance of franchises happens when a man has the franchise of holding a court·leet, of keeping a fair or market, of free·warren, of taking toll, of seizing waifs or estrays, or (in short) any other species of franchise what· soever, and he is disturbed or incommoded in the lawful exercise thereof." 3 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of Eng/and 236 (1768).

disturbance of patronage A wrongful obstruction of a patron from presenting a clerk to a benefice.

disturbance of public worship Any conduct that interferes with the peaceful, lawful assembly of people for religious exercises.

disturbance of tenure A stranger's ouster of a tenant from a tenancy.o The tenant's lord could recover damages for the ouster.

disturbance of the peace See BREACH OF THE PEACE.

disturbance of ways An impediment to a person's lawful right-oi-way, as by an obstruction.

disturber See IMPEDITOR.

disturbing the peace See BREACH OF THE PEACE.

dittay (dit-ay), n. Scots law. 1. The grounds for an indictment. 2. An indictment.

divadiatus See DEVADIATUS.

diverse adj. 1. Of or relating to different types <the attorney handles diverse cases ranging from probate matters to criminal law>. 2. (Of a person or entity) having a different citizenship from the party or parties on the other side of the lawsuit <the parties are diverse because the plaintiffs are citizens of Illinois and the defendant is a New York citizen>. See diversity jurisdiction under JURISDICTION. 3. (Of a group of people) including people of different races, sexes, nationalities, and cultural backgrounds <the school has a diverse student body>.

diversification 1. A company's movement into a broader range of products, usu. by buying firms already serving the market or by expanding existing operations <the soft-drink company's diversification into the potato-chip market has increased its profits>. 2. The act of investing in a wide range of companies to reduce the risk if one sector of the market suffers losses <the prudent investor's diversification of the portfolio among 12 companies>. diversify, vb.

diversified holding company A holding company that controls several unrelated companies or businesses.

diversified holding company- See COMPANY.

diversified investment company An investment company that by law must invest 75% of its assets, but may not invest more than 5% of its assets in any one company or hold more than 10% of the voting shares in anyone company.

diversified investment company- See COMPANY.

diversion 1. A deviation or alteration from the natural course of things; esp., the unauthorized alteration of a watercourse to the detriment of a lower riparian owner, or the unauthorized use of funds. 2. A distraction or pastime. - divert, vb.

diversion program 1. A program that refers certain criminal defendants before trial to community programs on job training, education, and the like, which if successfully completed may lead to the dismissal of the charges. Also termed pretrial diversion; pretrial intervention. Cf. deferred judgment under JUDGMENT. 2. A community-based program or set of services designed to prevent the need for court intervention in matters of child neglect, minor juvenile delinquency, truancy, or incorrigibility. Sustained by government funding, the program provides services quickly and in a nonadversarial manner so that there is no need for a formal court trial.

diversite des courts (di-var-si-tay da koort). [Law French], A treatise on courts written in French, supposedly by Fitzherbert during the reign of Edward III. It was printed initially in 1525 and again in 1534. Also spelled Diversite des courtes. "[F]or in the ancient treatise, entitled diversite de courtes ... we have a catalogue of the matters of conscience then cog· nizable by subpoena in chancery, which fall within a very narrow compass." 3 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of Eng/and 53 (1768).

diversity 1. DIVERSITY OF CITIZENSHIP. 2. Ethnic, socioeconomic, and gender heterogeneity within a group; the combination within a population of people with different backgrounds. The Supreme Court has found diversity in education to be a compelling government interest that can support a narrowly tailored affirmative-action plan. Grutter v. Bollinger, 123 S.Ct. 2325 (2003). 3. Hist. A plea that a prisoner to be executed is not the one that was accused and found guilty, at which point a jury is immediately impaneled to try the issue of the prisoner's identity.

diversity- adj. Of, relating to, or involving diversity jurisdiction <a diversity case>.

diversity jurisdiction See JURISDICTION.

diversity jurisdiction A federal courts exercise of authority over a case involving parties who are citizens of different states and an amount in controversy greater than a statutory minimum. 28 USCA § 1332. See DIVERSITY OF CITIZENSHIP; AMOUNT IN CONTROVERSY.

diversity of citizenship A basis for federal-court jurisdiction that exists when (1) a case is between citizens of different states, or between a citizen of a state and an alien, and (2) the matter in controversy exceeds a specific value (now $75,000).28 USCA § 1332. For purposes of diversity jurisdiction, a corporation is considered a citizen of both the state of incorporation and the state orits principal place of business. An unincorporated association, such as a partnership, is considered a citizen of each state where at least one of its members is a citizen. Often shortened to diversity. See diversity jurisdiction under JURISDICTION.

divertee A defendant who participates in a diversion program. See DIVERSION PROGRAM.

dives costs (di-veez), n. Ordinary court costs granted to a successful party, as distinguished from limited costs (such as out-of-pocket costs) allowed to a successful pauper who sued or defended in forma pauperis. The term derives from the name of Dives, the supposed of the rich man in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). Dives is a Latin word meaning "rich."

divestitive fact See FACT.

divestitive fact- (di-ves-ta-tiv or di-). A fact that causes the loss of rights; an act or event modifying or extinguishing a legal relation. - Also termed extinctive fact; destitutive fact; ablative fact.

divestitive publication See PUBLICATION.

divestitive publication The public distribution of an author s work on a scale large enough to divest the author of any claim to state common-law copyright protection. The Copyright Act of 1976 preempted most common-law copyright. Sometimes (erroneously) written divestive publication.

divestiture (di-ves-ta-char or d1-), 1. The loss or surrender of an asset or interest. 2. A court order to a party to dispose of assets or property. 3. Antitrust. A court order to a defendant to rid itselfof property, securities, or other assets to prevent a monopoly or restraint of trade. divest, vb.

divestment 1. The cutting short ofan interest in property before its normal termination. 2. The complete or partial loss of an interest in an asset, such as land or stock. 3. DISINVESTMENT (2). - divest, vb.

divide the assembly Parliamentary law. To order that votes in a meeting be counted. - Also termed challenge the vote; divide the house; doubt the vote. See counted vote under VOTE (4).

divide the house See DIVIDE THE ASSEMBLY.

divide the question Parliamentary law. To break a long or complex motion, usu. one covering more than one subject, into shorter motions that the assembly considers independently.

divide-and-pay-over rule Wills & estates. The principle that if the only provisions in a testamentary disposition are words ordering that payment be made at some time after the testator's death, time will be of the essence and the interest is future and contingent rather than vested and immediate.

divided court See DIVIDED COURT.

divided court- An appellate court whose opinion or decision in a particular case is not unanimous, esp. when the majority is slim, as in a 5-to-4 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.

divided custody An arrangement by which each parent has exclusive physical custody and full control of and responsibility for the child part of the time, with visitation rights in the other parent. For example, a mother might have custody during the school year, and the father might have custody during the summer vacation.

divided custody- See CUSTODY (2).

divided-damages rule The obsolete principle that when two parties are jointly liable to a third party for a tort, each party is liable for only half the damages. The courts now apply a comparative-negligence standard. "For over a hundred years admiralty law embraced the rule of 'divided damages' in collision cases .... In 1975, in United States v. Reliable Transfer Co., 421 U.S. 397, 95 5.0. 1708,44 L.Ed.2d 251 (1975), the Supreme Court jettisoned that inequitable and illogical rule in favor of proportionate allocation of fault among joint·tortfeasors in collision cases. Each vessel now is liable to the other offending vessel in contribution for that part of the total damages proportionate to its fault, and is liable for its per capita (Virile) share only when the respective faults of the vessels are equal, or when proportionate fault can not be ascertained." Frank L. Maraist, Admiralty in a Nutshell 165 (2d ed. 1988).

dividend A portion of a company's earnings or profits distributed pro rata to its shareholders, usu. in the form of cash or additional shares.

dividend addition An amount added to the face value of a life-insurance policy and purchased by using a dividend as a single premium payment.

dividend date See DIVIDEND DATE.

dividend date- The date on which a corporation distributes dividends to record owners of stock shares. See record date under DATE. Cf. EX-DIVIDEND DATE.

dividend income See INCOME.

dividend income- The income resulting from a dividend distribution and subject to tax.

dividend preference The right of a holder of preferred shares to receive a dividend before the company pays dividends to holders of common shares. See preferred stock under STOCK.

dividend yield The current annual dividend divided by the market price per share.

dividenda (div-i-den-da), n. [fr. Latin dividere "to divide"]. Something to be divided; an indenture.

dividend-credit rule The principle that a corporate reserve fund amassed from unpaid dividends on preferred stock must be used to pay subsequent dividends on preferred stock before dividend payments on common stock. Also termed cast-iron-pipe doctrine.

dividend-payout ratio A profitability ratio computed by diViding annual dividends per share by earnings per share.

dividend-received deduction A deduction allowed to a corporate shareholder for dividends received from a domestic corporation. IRC (26 GSCA) §§ 243-247.

dividend-reinvestment plan A stock-purchase program that allows investors to reinvest their dividends, and perhaps convert additional voluntary payments, into shares of the entity's common stock, usu. with no sales charge, and sometimes at a discount from the stock's market price. Although the investor never receives the cash, it is still treated as income to the investor. An investor may be allowed to make optional cash purchases of additional stock. Abbr. DRIP; DRP.

divinare (div-i-nair-ee), vb. [Latin], To foretell or divine (something).

divinatio (div-i-nay-shee-oh), n. [Latin], Roman law. A preliminary process for deciding which of two or more applicants had the best claim to conduct a criminal prosecution against an accused.

divine law Law that emanates from a supernatural source, such as a deity. Cf. NATURAL LAW.

divine law See DIVINE LAW.

divine right of kings The political theory that the sovereign is a direct representative of God and has the right to rule absolutely by virtue of royal birth. "Divine Right of Kings ... originated in the mediaeval concept of God's award of temporal power to civil rulers and spiritual power to the Church. It was claimed by the earlier Stuart kings in England, and explains many of their attitudes in the struggle which developed between them and Parliament for political sovereignty .... The principle of divine right was submerged during the Commonwealth but re-emerged under James II, but disappeared with his flight and abdication:' David M. Walker, The Oxford Companion to Law 366 (1980).

divine service 1. A feudal tenure in which the tenants were obligated to perform special divine functions, such as singing at a certain number of masses or distributing a specified amount in alms. 2. A public worship service.

divisa (di-vi-za), n. lfr. French diviser "to divide"] 1. A division, as of goods by a will; a devise. 2. A boundary of neighboring lands. 3. A court held on such a boundary to settle the tenants' disputes.