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doctrine of curative admissibility A rule allowing a party to introduce otherwise inadmissible evidence to remove the prejudice caused by the improper admission of evidence that was offered by the opposing party. The doctrine applies when a motion to strike cannot cure the prejudice created by the adverse party. Also termed curative-admissibility doctrine.

doctrine of discovered peril See LAST-CLEAR-CHANCE DOCTRINE.

doctrine of election A doctrine holding that when a person has contracted with an agent without knowing of the agency and later learns the principal's identity, the person may enforce the contract against either the agent or the principal, but not both. See ELECTION (1); ELECTION OF REMEDIES.

doctrine of entireties (en-ti-ar-teez). In customs law, the rule that when an entry consists of parts that assemble to form an article different from any of the parts, the proper classification will be of the whole article, rather than the individual components. Por example, an unassembled product consisting of an empty decorative glass, powdered wax in a cellophane bag, wicks, and fragrance, boxed together and sold as one product may be properly classified as a candle.

doctrine of equitable indemnity See equitable indemnity under INDEMNITY.

doctrine of equivalents A judicially created theory for finding patent infringement when the accused process or product falls outside the literal scope of the patent claims. The doctrine evolved to prevent parties from evading liability for patent infringement by making trivial changes to avoid the literal language of the patent claims. Graver Tank & Mfg. Co. v. Linde Air Prods. Co., 339 U.S. 605, 70 S.Ct. 854 (1950). In determining whether infringement exists under the doctrine, the court must first determine whether "the accused product or process contain[s} an element identical or equivalent to each claimed element of the patented invention." WarnerJenkinson Co. v. Hilton Davis Chem. Co., 520 U.S. 17, 39-40,117 S.Ct. 1040, 1054 (1997).lfit does, it infringes on the patent if the differing element performs substantially the same function in substantially the same way to get the same result as the patented product or process. Prosecution-history estoppel is not an absolute bar to a patentee who seeks to invoke the doctrine of equivalents to prove infringement on a claim that was voluntarily amended. Festo v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., 535 U.S. 722, 122 S.Ct. 1831 (2002). Also termed eqUivalents doctrine; doctrine of equivalence; doctrine ofequivalency; doctrine of substantial eqUivalents; nonliteral infringement. Cf. literal infringe ment under INFRINGEMENT.

doctrine of estates The rule that a person cannot own land, but can merely own an estate in it, authorizing the person to hold it for some period of time. This doctrine answers the question of the duration of an estate. Cf. DOCTRINE OF TENURES.

doctrine of finality See FINALITY DOCTRINE.

doctrine of general average Maritime law. A rule allowing a carrier to require cargo owners and the shipowner to contribute pro rata to the cost of protecting the ship and its cargo.

doctrine of identification English law. lhe rule that if,! person traveling in a conveyance is injured in an accident that occurs because of someone else's negligence, and the driver of the conveyance is contributorily negligent, the passenger cannot claim damages against the tortfeasor since the passenger is "identified" with the contributorily negligent driver. The leading authority for this doctrine was 7horogood v. Bryan, 8 CB. 115 (1849), but the Court of Appeal repudiated the doctrine as unsound in The Bernina [I887], 13 App. Cas. 1 (1888).

doctrine of illusory coverage A rule requiring an insurance policy to be interpreted so that it is not merely a delusion to the insured. Courts avoid interpreting insurance policies in such a way that an insured's coverage is never triggered and the insurer bears no risk.

doctrine of incontrovertible physical facts See PHYSICAL-FACTS RULE.

doctrine of ineffective revocation See DEPENDENT RELATIVE REVOCATION.

doctrine of inherency See INHERENCY DOCTRINE.

doctrine of intervening rights See INTERVENING RIGHTS.

doctrine of marital privacy See MARITAL-PRIVACY DOCTRINE.

doctrine of necessaries 1. The rule holding a parent or spouse liable to anyone who sells goods or provides medical services to that person's child or spouse if the goods or services are required for sustenance, support, or healthcare. 2. Archaic. The commonlaw rule holding a husband or father liable to anyone who sells goods to his wife or child if the goods are required for sustenance or support. See NECESSARIES.

doctrine of notice See NOTICE DOCTRINE.

doctrine of obligation English law. The rule that if a foreign court of competent jurisdiction has adjudicated a certain sum to be due from one person to another, the liability to pay that sum becomes a legal obligation enforceable domestically by a debt action. Once the plaintiff proves the judgment, the burden shifts to the defendant to show why the obligation should not be performed. The doctrine was established by Baron Parke in Russell v. Smyth, 9 M. & W. 810, 819 (1842). - Often shortened to obligation.

doctrine of parens patriae See PARENS PATRIAE (2).

doctrine of practical location See AGREED-BOUNDARY DOCTRINE.

doctrine of precedent 1. The rule that precedents not only have persuasive authority but also must be followed when similar circumstances arise. This rule developed in the 19th century and prevails today. See STARE DECISIS. 2. A rule that precedents are reported, may be cited, and will probably be followed by courts. This is the rule that prevailed in England until the 19th century.

doctrine of preclusion of inconsistent positions See judicial estoppel under ESTOPPEL.

doctrine of relation back See RELATION BACK.

doctrine of res judicata See RES JUDICATA.

doctrine of revestment A rule by which a court regains jurisdiction after the entry of final judgment when the former opposing parties have actively participated in proceedings inconsistent with the court's judgment.

doctrine of scrivener's error A rule permitting a typographical error in a document to be reformed by parol evidence, if the evidence is precise, clear, and convincing. See clerical error under ERROR (2).

doctrine of separate spheres See SEPARATE-SPHERES DOCTRINE.

doctrine of specialty The principle, included as a provision in most extradition treaties, under which a person who is extradited to a country to stand trial for certain criminal offenses may be tried only for those offenses and not for any other pre-extradition offenses. Also termed specialty doctrine. See EXTRADITION.

doctrine of spousal unity See SPOUSAL-UNITY DOCTRINE (1).

doctrine of subsequent negligence See LAST-CLEARCHANCE DOCTRINE.

doctrine of substantial equivalents See DOCTRINE OF EQUIVALENTS.

doctrine of substituted judgment See SUBSTITUTEDJUDGMENT DOCTRINE.

doctrine of superior equities A rule by which an insurer is unable to recover from anyone whose equities are equal or superior to the insurer's; esp., a rule that a right ofsubrogation may be invoked against another party only if that party's guilty conduct renders the party's equity inferior to that of the insured. Also termed risk-stops-here rule.

doctrine of tenures The rule that all land is held of the Crown, either directly or indirectly, on some type of tenure. This doctrine answers the question of the manner in which an estate is held. Also termed doctrine of tenure. Cf. DOCTRINE OF ESTATES.

doctrine of the conclusiveness of the judgment See judicial estoppel under ESTOPPEL.

doctrine of the last antecedent See RULE OF THE LAST ANTECEDENT.

doctrine of the last preceding antecedent RULE OF THE LAST ANTECEDENT.

doctrine of ultimate negligence See LAST-CLEARCHANCE DOCTRINE.

doctrine of unconstitutional conditions See UNCONSTITUTIONAL-CONDITIONS DOCTRINE.

doctrine of vested rights See VESTED-RIGHTS DOCTRINE.

document 1. Something tangible on which words, symbols, or marks are recorded. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(a). 2. (pl.) The deeds, agreements, title papers, letters, receipts, and other written instruments used to prove a fact.

document of authority See governing document.

document of title A written description, identification, or declaration of goods authorizing the holder (usu. a bailee) to receive, hold, and dispose of the document and the goods it covers. Documents of title, such as bills of lading, warehouse receipts, and delivery orders, are generally governed by Article 7 of the Ucc. See BAILMENT (1)-(3).

document request See REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION.

document, vb 1. To support with records, instruments, or other evidentiary authorities <document the chain of custody>. 2. To record; to create a written record of <document a file>.

documentary credit 1. Credit extended on a document of title or any other legal document. 2. A financing arrangement in which a financial institution authorizes or makes a payment to a third party (usu. an exporter) at a customer's request. This financing method facilitates international transactions by providing the importer with necessary credit and the exporter with an expedited cash payment.

documentary draft See DRAFT.

documentary draft- A payment demand conditioned on the presentation of a document, such as a document of titie, invoice, certificate, or notice of default.

documentary evidence See EVIDENCE.

documentary evidence- Evidence supplied by a writing or other document, which must be authenticated before the evidence is admissible.

documentary instruction A written agreement between an importer and exporter covering the relegation of various documents relating to the shipment and disposition of goods.

documentary letter of credit See LETTER OF CREDIT. documentary-originals rule. See BEST-EVIDENCE RULE.

documentary sale A sale in which the buyer pays upon the sellers tender of documents of title covering the goods, plus a sight draft requiring the buyer to pay "at sight." This type of sale typically occurs before delivery of the goods, which might be en route when the buyer pays. Also termed cash-against-documents sale.

documentary sale See SALE.

documentary stamp A stamp required to be affixed to a deed or other instrument before it is recorded.

documentary-stamp transfer tax See stamp tax under TAX.

documentum (dok-ya-men-tam), n. [Latin), Roman law. 1. Proof. 2. A document .o This term appeared in post-classical imperial constitutions.

DOD abbr. Department of Defense. See DEFENSE DEPARTMENT.

DoDDS abbr. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DEPENDENTS SCHOOLS.

DOE abbr. 1. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. 2. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.

Doe, Jane See JANE DOE.

Doe, John See JOHN DOE.

D'Oench Duhme doctrine (dench doom). The rule that estops a borrower from asserting a claim or defense against a federal successor to a failed financial institution - if the claim or defense is based on a side or secret agreement or representation unless the agreements or representations have been (l) put into writing, (2) executed by the financial institution and borrower when the loan was issued, (3) approved by the financial institution's board of directors or loan committee, and (4) made a permanent part ofthe financial institution's records. D'Oench, Duhme & Co. v. FDIC, 315 U.S. 447, 62 S.Ct. 676 (1942) (now partially codified at 12 USCA § 1823(e), and otherwise of questionable standing in light of O'Melveny & Myers v. FDIC, 512 U.S. 79, 114 S.Ct. 2048 (1994")).

d'office (daw-fees). [Law French], Of office; officially. This is similar to the Latin phrase ex officio.

dog 1. Something undesirable, esp. a lawsuit <the cases assigned to the new lawyer were all dogs>. 2. Securities. A stock or other investment that suffers public disdain and repeated price declines or poor performance.

dog-draw The apprehension of someone chasing a deer in a forest with a dog. "Dog'draw is an apparent deprehension of an offender against venison in the forest. There are four kinds of them observed by Manwood, part. 2, cap. 18, num. 9, of his Forest Laws, that is, dog·draw, stable-stand, back·bear, and bloody-hand. Dog·draw is, when one is found drawing after a deer by the scent of a hound led in his hand." Termes de fa Ley 181 (1 st Am. ed. 1812).

dogma (dawg-ma or dahg-), n. A philosophy, opinion, or tenet that is strongly held, is believed to be authoritative, and is followed steadfastly, usu. to the exclusion of other approaches to the same subject matter; a formally stated and proclaimed doctrine of faith. Pl. dogmas, dogmata (-ma-ta).

DOHSA (doh-sha). abbr. DEATH ON THE HIGH SEAS ACT.

doing business The act of engaging in business activities; specif., the carrying out of a series of similar acts for the purpose of realizing a pecuniary benefit, or otherwise accomplishing a goal, or doing a single act with the intention of starting a series of such acts; esp., a nonresident's participation in sufficient business activities in a foreign state to allow the state's courts to exercise personal jurisdiction over the nonresident. See BUSINESS (1); D/B/AI; DOING-BUSINESS STATUTE; LONG-ARM STATUTE; MINIMUM CONTACTS.

doing-business statute A state law defining the acts that constitute undertaking business there, usu. for the purpose of establishing the circumstances under which the state's courts may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident. See MINIMUM CONTACTS; LONG-ARM STATUTE.

DOJ abbr. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.

DOL abbr. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

dol (dohl or dol), n. [French "deceit; fraud"], Civil law. Fraud committed in inducing another to enter into a contract. See fraud in the inducement under FRAUD. Cf. FRAUDE.

dole 1. A share of something that is jointly owned but divisible. 2. Slang. Welfare benefits received from a governmental agency. 3. Scots law. Criminal intent; the equivalent of mens rea.

dole test A four-part test used to determine the constitutionality of a condition attached by Congress under its Spending Clause power to the receipt of federal money. The spending must be in pursuit of the general welfare, and the condition must be unambiguous, related to some federal interest, and not barred by any other provision of the Constitution. South Dakota v. Dole, 483 U.S. 203, 107 S.Ct. 2793 (1987).

dole-land Jointly owned land in which each owner or user has an assigned portion with distinct landmarks. The share may be allotted annually on a rotating basis or permanently. Also termed dolemeadow; dole-moor.

dole-meadow See DOLE-LAND.

dole-moor See DOLE-LAND.

doli capax (doh-li kay-paks), adj. [Latin "capable of wrong"] Roman law. Capable of committing a crime or tort; esp., old enough to determine right from wrong. Also termed capax doli. Cf. DOLI INCAPAX. "In criminal cases, an infant of the age of fourteen years may be capitally punished for any capital offence: but under the age of seven he cannot. The period between seven and fourteen is subject to much incertainty: for the infant shall, generally speaking, be judged prima facie innocent; yet if he was doli capax, and could discern between good and evil at the time of the offence committed, he may be convicted and undergo judgment and execution of death, though he hath not attained to years of puberty or discretion. 1 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 452-53 (1765).

doli incapax (doh-li in-kay-paks), adj. [Latin "incapable of wrong"], Roman law. Incapable of committing a crime or tort. - Also termed incapax doli. Cf. DOLI CAPAX.

dollar-cost averaging The investment practice of purchasing a fixed dollar amount of a type of security at regular intervals.

dolo (doh-Ioh), n. [Spanish] Spanish law. Fraud or deceit; bad or mischievous design,

dolo circumventus (doh-loh sar-kam-ven-tas). [Latin]. Overreached by fraud.

dolose (da-Iohs or doh-Iohs). [Latin]. Fraudulent; deceitful; malicious.

dolus (doh-las). [Latin "device; artifice"] Roman & civil law. 1. Fraud or deceit; conduct intended to deceive someone; bad faith. Although there may be dolus without fraud, fraud alwavs includes dolus. Cf, CASUS (1); CULPA (1). 2. Intention~l aggression; willful injury, esp. to another's property. - Also termed dolus malus; fraus. "In the twelfth century the resuscitated Roman law introduced some new ideas. Men began to contrast, as Glanvill does, civil with criminal causes, to speak of dolus and culpa and casus, and to lay stress on the psychical element in crime." 2 Frederick Pollock & FrederiC W. Maitland, History of English Law Before the Time of Edward I 477 (2d ed. 1899). "Although the word malitia is not unknown to the Roman lawyers, the usual and technical name for wrongful intent is dolus, or more specifically dolus malus. Dolus and culpa are two forms of mens rea. In a narrower sense, however, dolus includes merely that particular variety of wrongful intent which we term fraud ~ that is to say, the intent to deceive. From this limited sense it was extended to cover all forms of wilful wrongdoing. The English term fraud has never received an equally wide extension." John Salmond, Jurisprudence 385 (Glanville L. Williams ed., 10th ed. 1947).

dolus bonus (doh-Ias boh-nas). [Latin "good deceit"], Shrewdness or justifiable deceit, as when a person lies to an attacker to prevent an assault.o Dolus bonus does not produce any legal consequences.

dolus dans locum contractui (doh-las danz loh-kam kan-trak-choo-i). [Latin] Fraud (or deceit) giving rise to the contract; specif., a fraudulent misrepresentation that, having been made by one of the parties to the contract and relied on by the other, was actually instrumental in inducing the latter to enter into the contract.

dolus incidens (doh-las in-si-denz). [Law Latin]. Fraud incidental; fraud that does not affect the essential terms of an agreement.

dolus malus (doh-las mal-as). [Latin "bad or evil deceit"], Evil or fraudulent design or intent; an unjustifiable deceit.

dom. proc abbr. DOMUS PROCERUM.

DOMA abbr. DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT.

domain (doh-mayn), 1. The territory over which sovereignty is exercised <the 19th-century domains of the British Empire>. 2. An estate in land <the family domain is more than 6,000 acres>. 3. The complete and absolute ownership of land <his domain over this land has now been settled>. See EMINENT DOMAIN; PUBLIC DOMAIN.

domain name The words and characters that website owners designate for their registered Internet addresses. All domain names have at least two levels. The firstlevel domain name identifies the registrant's category as, e.g., a commercial site (.com), a governmental institution (.gov), an educational institution (.edu), a nonprofit group (.org), or a discussion group (.net). The second-level domain name is the unique identifier for the user in a particular category <rhapsangel.com> <rhapsangel.org>. A second-level domain name may be protected under trademark law but first-level domain names are not. In some circumstances, the entire domain name may be validly registered as a trademark. But trademark rights are not automatically created by registering a domain name. See INTERNET-PROTOCOL ADDRESS.

domain-name infringement Infringement of anothers trademark or servicemark by the use of a confusingly similar Internet domain name.

domain-name infringement See INFRINGEMENT.

domboc See DOOMBOOK.

dombrowski doctrine A short-lived rule that entitled a person to seek a federal-court injunction to prevent prosecution under a broad or vague state statute that affects rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. Dombrowski v. Pfister, 380 U.S. 479, 85 S.Ct. 1116 (1965). The doctrine was greatly cut back six years after it was announced, when the Supreme Court ruled that a speculative First Amendment chilling effect does not Justify federal-court intervention in state affairs. Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 91 S.Ct. 746 (1971).

domebook See DOOMBOOK.

domesday book (doomz-day). The census or survey, ordered by William the Conqueror and substantially completed in 1086, of England's landholdings, buildings, people, and livestock. - Abbr. D.B. - Also spelled Doomsday Book. "Domesday Book had several variant names- Uber de Wintonia, Rotulus Wintoniae, Scriptura Thesauri Regis. Libel' RegiS, Libel' judiciarius, Censualis Angliae, Angliae Notitia et Lustratio, Rotulus RegiS, Libel' de Thesauro, Exchequer Domesday . .. , Domesday Book had as its main object a fiscal one, and a limited fiscal one at that. Beyond that it does not profess to go, and if we get any further information from it as to contemporary law and society, we get it as an indirect consequence." Percy H. Winfield, The Chief Sources ofEnglish Legal History 11 0-11 (1925).