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federal land bank See FEDERAL LAND BANK.

federal land bank- One of a system of 12 regional banks created in 1916 to provide mortgage loans to farmers. The system is now merged with federal intermediate credit banks to create the Federal Farm Credit System.

federal law The body of law consisting of the U.S. Constitution, federal statutes and regulations, U.S. treaties, and federal common law. Cf. STATE LAW.

federal law See FEDERAL LAW.

federal law enforcement training center An interagency law-enforcement training facility responsible for serving over 70 law-enforcement organizations in the federal government. The Center was transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the Department of Homeland Security in 2003. Abbr. FLETC.

federal m,otor carrier safety administration A unit in the U.S. Department of Transportation responsible for regulating the operation of large trucks and buses. Abbr. FMCSA.

federal maritime commission An independent federal agency that regulates the waterborne foreign and domestic commerce ofthe United States by (1) ensuring that U.S. international trade is open to all countries on fair and equitable terms, (2) guarding against unauthorized monopolies in U.S. waterborne commerce, and (3) ensuring that financial responsibility is maintained to clean up oil spills and indemnify injured passengers. The Agency was established in 1961. Its five commissioners are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. - Abbr. FMC.

federal maritime lien act A statute that confers an automatic lien on anyone who provides a vessel with of a wide range of goods and services. 46 USCA Abbr. FMLA.

federal mediation and conciliation service An independent federal agency that tries to prevent the interruption of interstate commerce that could result from a labor-management dispute by helping the parties reach a settlement without resorting to a job action or strike. The Service can intervene on its own authorityor at the request of a party to the dispute. It also helps employers and unions select qualified arbitrators. The Service was established by the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947.29 USCA § 172. Abbr. FMCS. Cf. NATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD.

federal mine safety and health review commission An independent five-member commission that (1) monitors compliance with occupational safety and health standards in the nation's surface and underground coal, metal, and nonmetal mines, and (2) adjudicates disputes that arise under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977. It was established in 1977.30 USCA §§ 801 et seq. -Abbr. FMSHRC.

federal national mortgage association A privately owned and managed corporation chartered by the U.S. government that provides a secondary mortgage market for the purchase and sale of mortgages guaranteed by the Veterans Administration and those insured under the Federal Housing Administration. - Abbr. FNMA. Also termed Fannie Mae.

federal parent locator service A federal program created to help enforce child-support obligations. In an effort to increase the collection of child support, Congress authorized the use of all information contained in the various federal databases to help locate absent, delinquent child-support obligors. Although initially information could be released only if the family was receiving public assistance, any judgment obligee can now apply to receive the last known address of a delinquent child-support obligor. 42 USCA § 653. Abbr. FPLS.

federal power commission See FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION.

federal preemption See PREEMPTION (5).

federal prison camp A federal minimum-security detention facility. Federal prison camps, which often do not have walls or fences, usu. house nonviolent inmates who are serving sentences shorter than a year plus one day and who are not considered escape risks.

federal procurement regulation See FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION.

federal protective service A law-enforcement agency in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security responsible for protecting ambassadors, diplomatic staffs, and embassy property .o It was transferred from the General Services Administration in 2003.

federal question In litigation, a legal issue involving the interpretation and application of the U.S. Constitution, an act of Congress, or a treaty. Jurisdiction over federal questions rests with the federal courts. 28 USCA § 1331.

federal question See FEDERAL QUESTION.

federal railroad admiuistration A unit in the U.S. Department of Transportation responsible for promulgating and enforcing rail-safety regulations; administering rail-related financial-aid programs; conducting research on rail safety; and rehabilitating rail passenger service for the Northeast corridor. Abbr. FRA.

federal register A daily publication containing presidential proclamations and executive orders, federalagency regulations of general applicability and legal effect, proposed agency rules, and documents required by law to be published The Federal Register is published by the National Archives and Records Administration. - Abbr. Fed. Reg.

federal regulations See CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS.

federal reporter See F. (1).

federal reporter second series See F.2D.

federal reporter third series See F.3D.

federal reserve board of governors The board that supervises the Federal Reserve System and sets national monetary and credit policy. The board consists of seven members nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate for 14-year terms. Often shortened to Federal Reserve Board. Abbr. FRB.

federal reserve note The paper currency in circulation in the United States. Non-interest-bearing promissory notes are payable to their bearer on demand. The Federal Reserve Banks issue the notes in denominations of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100. Until 1945, the United States Mint also printed $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 bills. Although the Federal Reserve System discontinued using bills larger than $100 in 1969, the outstanding bills remain legal tender. 31 USCA § 5103. Cf. GOLD CERTIFICATE; SILVER CERTIFICATE.

federal reserve system The central bank that sets credit and monetary policy by fixing the reserves to be maintained by depository institutions, determining the discount rate charged by Federal Reserve Banks, and regulating the amount of credit that may be extended on any security. The Federal Reserve System was established by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. 12 USCA § 221. It comprises 12 central banks supervised by a Board of Governors whose members are appOinted by the President and confirmed by the Senate. - Abbr. FRS; Fed. "The Federal Reserve System of 1913 evolved out of a search for consensus among bankers, politicians, and some academic experts. It was a move toward 'central bank' regulation in the European sense .... [The System] seemed to resolve the outstanding problems in money and banking. Federal Reserve banknotes could grow with expanding commercial paper and economic prosperity, and assure a more adequate, reliable monetary growth." William A. Lovett, Banking and FinanciaI Institutions Law in a Nutshell 14-15 (1997).

federal retirement thrift investment board A board that administers the Thrift Savings Plan that allows federal employees to save additional funds for retirement. It was established in 1986. 5 USCA § 8472. -Abbr. FRTIB.

federal rules decisions See F.R.D.

federal rules enabling act A 1934 statute granting the U.S. Supreme Court the authority to adopt rules of civil procedure for federal courts. For the rulemaking power offederal courts today, see 28 USCA §§ 2071, 2072. See also Fed. R. Civ. P. 83; Fed. R. Crim. P. 57.

federal rules of appellate procedure The rules governing appeals to the U.S. courts ofappeals from lower courts, some federal-agency proceedings, and applications for writs. - Abbr. Fed. R. App. P.; FRAP.

federal rules of bankruptcy procedure The rules governing proceedings instituted under the Bankruptcy Code. Abbr. Fed. R. Bankr. P.

federal rules of civil procedure The rules governing civil actions in the U.S. district courts. Abbr. Fed. R. Civ. P.; FRCP. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure "Chief Justice Hughes in 1935 appointed fourteen lawyers and law teachers as the Advisory Committee for the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, with William D. Mitchell, former Attorney General, as chairman, and Charles E. Clark, then dean of the Yale Law School, as reporter, to recommend a draft of rules uniting law and equity. The committee proposed a system of rules that was approved by the Court with certai n changes. In accordance with the Enabling Act,the rules were submitted to Congress for its acquiescence and, Congress having taken no exception to them, they became effective September 16, 1938. "The rules thus produced bear the unmistakable imprint of the reporter, Charles E. Clark, and represent the largest single accomplishment in American civil procedure since the Field Code of 1848. Although they were not perfect and have been amended many times, experience with them has on the whole been satisfactory, and more than half of the states have adopted them in their entirety or in large part." Fleming James, Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr. &John Leubsdorf, Civil Procedure § 1.8, at 24-25 (5th ed. 2001).

federal rules of criminal procedure The rules governing criminal proceedings in the U.S. district courts. -Abbr. Fed. R. Crim. P.

federal rules of evidence The rules governing the admiSSibility of evidence at trials in federal courts. -Abbr. Fed. R. Evid.; FRE.

federal savings and loan insurance corporation A federal agency created in 1934 to insure deposits in savings-and-loan associations and savings banks. When this agency became insolvent in 1989, its assets and liabilities were transferred to an insurance fund managed by the FDIC. - Abbr. FSLIC. See RESOLUTION TRUST CORPORATION.

federal sentencing guidelines See UNITED STATES SENTENCING GUIDELINES.

federal state A composite state in which the sovereignty of the entire state is divided between the central or federal government and the local governments of the several constituent states; a union of states in which the control of the external relations of all the member states has been surrendered to a central government so that the only state that exists for international purposes is the one formed by the union. Cf. confederation ofstates under CONFEDERATION.

federal state See STATE.

federal statute See FEDERAL ACT.

federal supplement See F.SUPP.

federal supplement 2d See F-S'tJPP.2D.

federal supply service A unit in the General Services Administration responsible for providing supplies to federal agencies worldwide. In procuring supplies the agency takes advantage ofthe government's aggregate buying power. Abbr. FSS.

federal technology service A unit in the General Services Administration that provides communications services worldwide to other federal departments and agencies. Abbr. FTS.

federal tort claims act A statute that limits federal sovereign immunity and allows recovery in federal court for tort damages caused by federal employees, but only if the law of the state where the injury occurred would hold a private person liable for the injury. 28 USCA §§ 2671-2680 - Abbr. FTCA. See sovereign immunity under IMMUNITY (1). "Although it has been suggested that the maxim, 'the King can do no wrong' never had an existence in the United States, it has also been declared that in enacting the Federal Tort Claims Act, Congress recognized the manifold injustice that springs from the delimiting effect of the rule represented by that maxim. And it is said that in passing the Act, Congress intended to compensate the victims of negligence in the conduct of governmental activities in circumstances in which a private person would be liable, rather than leave just treatment to the caprice and legislative burden of individual private laws, and to eliminate the burden on Congress of investigating and passing on private bills seeking individual relief." 35 Am. Jur. 2d Federal Tort Claims Act § 1, at 296 (1967).

federal trade commission An independent five-member federal commission that administers various laws against business monopolies, restraint of trade, and deceptive trade practices. It was established by the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914. 15 USCA §§ 41-58. The Commission's body of rulings reaches into many state-law actions because many so-called "Little FTC Acts" of the states specify that FTC interpretations should provide a model for state-court decisions. Abbr. FTC.

federal trademark act See LANHAM ACT.

federal trademark dilution act A 1995 amendment to the Lanham Act (Trademark Act of 1946) that provides additional remedies against the dilution of famous trademarks. 15 USCA § 1125(c). - Sometimes shortened to Dilution Act. Abbr. FTDA.

federal transfer The federal district court's right to move a civil action filed there to any other district or division where the plaintiff could have brought the action originally. 28 USCA § 1404(a). See CHANGE OF VENUE.

federal transit administration A unit in the U.S. Department of Transportation responsible for increasing public-transit ridership through demonstration projects and financial assistance. - Abbr. FTA.

federal unemployment tax act The federal statute requiring employers to remit taxes based on employees' wages and salaries. 18 USCA § 1201 et seq. - Abbr. FUTA.

federal-comity doctrine The principle requiring federal district courts to refrain from interfering in each other's affairs.

federal-employer-identification number See TAX-IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.

federal-funds rate The interest rate at which banks lend to each other overnight. The loans are usu. made by banks with excess reserves to those with temporarily insufficient reserves. Often shortened to fed funds. Also termed fed-funds rate.

federalism The legal relationship and distribution of power between the national and regional governments within a federal system of government.

federalist papers A series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison (under the pseudonym Publius) expounding on and advocating the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. Most of the essays were published in 1787 and 1788. Also termed The Federalist.

federalist society A national association of lawyers, law students, and others committed to conservative and libertarian viewpoints on political and social matters. The group is based in Washington, D.C. Cf. NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD.

federal-juvenile-delinquency jurisdiction A federal courts power to hear a case in which a person under the age of IS violates federal law. In such a case, the federal court derives its jurisdictional power from 18 USCA §§ 5031 et seq. The Act severely limits the scope of federal-juvenile-delinquency jurisdiction because Congress recognizes that juvenile delinquency is essentially a state issue. The acts that typically invoke federal jurisdiction are (I) acts committed on federal lands (military bases, national parks, Indian reservations), and (2) acts that violate federal drug laws or other federal criminal statutes.

federal-juvenile-delinquency jurisdiction See JURISDICTION.

federal-question jurisdiction The exercise of federal-court power over claims arising under the U.S. Constitution, an act of Congress, or a treaty 28 USCA § 1331.

federal-question jurisdiction See JURISDICTION.

federation A league or union of states, groups, or peoples united under a strong central authority but retaining limited regional sovereignty, esp. over local affairs. Cf. CONFEDERATION.

fed-funds rate See FEDERAL FUNDS RATE.

fee 1. A charge for labor or services, esp. professional services.

fee simple An interest in land that, being the broadest property interest allowed by law, endures until the current holder dies without heirs; esp., a fee simple absolute. Often shortened to fee. - Also termed estate in fee simple; tenancy in fee; fee-Simple title; exclusive ownership;feudum simplex. See AND HIS HEIRS. "[Fee simple] is a term not likely to be found in modern conversation between laymen, who would in all probability find it quite unintelligible, Yet to a layman of the 14th century the term would have been perfectly intelligible, for it refers to the elementary social relationship of feudal, ism with which he was fully familiar: the words 'fee' and feudal' are closely related ... ,The estate in fee simple is the largest estate known to the law, ownership of such an estate being the nearest approach to ownership of the land itself which is consonant with the feudal principle of tenure, It is 'the most comprehensive estate in land which the law recognises'; it is the 'most extensive in quantum, and the most absolute in respect to the rights which it confers, of all estates known to the law', Traditionally, the fee simple has two distinguishing features: first, the owner ('tenant' in fee simple) has the power to dispose of the fee simple, either inter vivos or by Will; second, on intestacy the fee simple descends, in the absence of lineal heirs, to collateral heirs to a brother, for example, if there is no issue," Peter Butt, Land Law 35 (2d ed. 1988).

fee simple determinable An estate that will automatically end and revert to the grantor if some specified event occurs (e.g., "to Albert and his heirs while the property is used for charitable purposes"); an estate in fee simple subject to a special limitation. The future interest retained by the grantor is called a possibility of reverter. - Also termed determinable fee; qualified fee;fee simple subject to common-law limitation;fee Simple subject to speciallimitation;fee simple subject to special interest; base fee; estate on limitation. "In theory, it should be easy to determine whether an instrument creates a fee simple determinable or a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent. If the instrument includes a special limitation (introduced by words such as so long as' or 'until') it creates a fee simple determinable, whether or not it also includes an express reverter clause. If the instrument includes an express condition or proviso ('on condition that' or 'provided that') and an express right to re-enter for breach of the stated condition, it creates a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent. But deeds and wills often fail to employ the appropriate words to create one of the twO types of defeasible estate or the others. Instead deeds and wills often contain a confusing mixture of words appropriate for creation of both types of defeasible estate." William B. Stoebuck & Dale A. Whitman, The Law of Property 43 (3d ed. 2000).

fee damages Damages awarded to the owner of property abutting an elevated railrhist oad for injury caused by the railroad's construction and operation. The term is used because the damage is to the property owner's easements of light, air, and access, which are parts of the fee.

fee damages- See DAMAGES.

fee estate See FEE (2).

fee expectant A fee tail created when land is given to a man and wife and the heirs of their bodies. See FRANKMARRIAGE.

fee farm A species of tenure in which land is held in perpetuity at a yearly rent (fee-farm rent), without fealty, homage, or other services than those in the feoffment. Also termed feodi firma;firma feodi. See EMPHYTEUSIS. "Now to all appearance the term socage, a term not found in Normandy, has been extending itself upwards; a name appropriate to a class of cultivating peasants has begun to include the baron or prelate who holds land at a rent but is not burdened with military service. , , . He is sometimes said to have feodum censuale: far more commonly he is said to hold 'in fee farm.' This term has difficulties of its own, for it appears in many different guises; a feoffee is to hold in feofirma, in fel,lfirmam, in fedfirmam, in feudo firmam, in feudo firma, ad firmam feadalem, but most commonly, in feadi firma. The Old English language had whatever may be the precise history of the phrase, to hold in fee farm means to hold heritably, perpetually, at a rent; the fee, the inheritance, is let to farm." 2 Frederick Pollock & Frederic W. Maitland, The History of English Law Before the Time Of Edward' 293 (2d ed. 1899).

fee interest 1. See FEE. 2. See FEE SIMPLE. 3. See FEE TAIL. 4. Oil & gas. Ownership of both the surface interest and the mineral interest.

fee simple See FEE SIMPLE.

fee simple absolute An estate of indefinite or potentially infinite duration (e.g., "to Albert and his heirs).-- Often shortened to fee simple or fee. Also termed fee simple absolute in possession. "Although it is probably good practice to use the word absolute' whenever one is referring to an estate in fee simple that is free of special limitation, condition subsequent. or executory limitation, lawyers frequently refer to such an estate as a 'fee simple' or even as a 'fee.'" Thomas F. Bergin & Paul G. Haskell, Preface to Estates in Land and Future Interests 24 (2d ed. 1984).

fee simple conditional An estate restricted to some specified heirs, exclusive of others (e.g., "to Albert and his female heirs"). The fee simple conditional is obsolete except in Iowa, Oregon, and South Carolina. - Also termed general fee conditional; conditional fee. "The reader should be careful not to confuse this estate with estates having similar labels, such as the estate in fee simple subject to a condition subsequent' ...." Thomas F. Bergin & Paul G. Haskell, Preface to Estates in Land and Future Interests 29 n.19 (2d ed. 1984).

fee simple defeasible (di-fee-za-bal). An estate that ends either because there are no more heirs of the person to whom it is granted or because a special limitation, condition subsequent, or executory limitation takes effect before the line of heirs runs out. Also termed defeasible fee simple; qualified fee.

fee simple subject to a condition subsequent An estate subject to the grantor's power to end the estate if some specified event happens (e.g., "to Albert and his heirs, upon condition that no alcohol is sold on the premises"). The future interest retained by the grantor is called a power of termination (or a right of entry). - Also termed fee simple on a condition sub sequent; fee simple subject to a power oftermination; fee simple upon condition.

fee simple subject to a power of termination See fee simple subject to a condition subsequent.

fee simple subject to an executory limitation A fee simple defeasible that is subject to divestment in favor of someone other than the grantor if a speci fied event happens (e.g., "to Albert and his heirs, but if the property is ever used as a parking lot, then to Bob"). Also termed fee simple subject to an executory interest.

fee simple subject to common-law limitation See fee simple determinable.

fee simple subject to special interest See fee simple determinable.

fee simple subject to special limitation See fee simple determinable.

fee simple upon condition See fee simple subject to a condition subsequent.

fee statement A lawyer's bill for services either already rendered or to be rendered, usu. including itemized expenses.

fee tail See FEE TAIL.

fee tail- An estate that is heritable only by specified descendants of the original grantee, and that endures until its current holder dies without issue (e.g., "to Albert and the heirs of his body"). - Most jurisdictions except Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island have abolished the fee tail. - Also termed entailed estate; estate tail; estate in tail; estate in fee tail; tenancy in tail; entail;feodum talliatum. See ENTAIL; TAIL. "The old estate tail was throughout its history invariably with family settlements, and in particular with marriage settlements .... Medieval landowners sought to achieve [familial continuity and status] by perfecting a single estate which in itself would conform to three requirements: (1) While it should be an estate of inheritance it should devolve on lineal heirs only, and not on collaterals in other words that it should descend only to the heirs of the body of the first (2) As a corollary, the estate should be such that at any time the first grantee's issue should fail the estate itself should come to an end and the land revert to the original settlor or his heirs. (3) No owner of the estate for the time being should have power to dispose of the land in such a way as to prevent it descending on his death to the next heir of the body of the original grantee. All this was attempted by limiting land, not to 'A and his heirs,' which would give A a fee simple, but to 'A and the heirs of his body.'" 1 Stephen's Commentaries on the Laws of Eng/and 150 (L. Crrispin Warmington ed., 21st ed. 1950). "If we cannot resist the temptation to say that De Donis per· mitted the creation of tailor·made estates, we can at least argue that it is not a pun. Our word 'tailor' and the word 'tail,' as used in 'fee tail,' come from the same source - the French tailler, to cut. The word 'tail' in 'fee tail'

fee tail general A fee tail that is heritable by all of the property owner's issue by any spouse. Formerly, a grant "to A and the heirs of his body" created a fee tail general.

fee tail special A fee tail that restricts the eligibility of claimants by requiring a claimant to prove direct descent from the grantee and meet the special condition in the grant. For example, the words "to A and the heirs of his body begotten on his wife Mary" meant that only descendants of A and Mary could inherit; !\s children by any other wife were excluded. An estate tail special could also be restricted to only male or only female descendants, as in "to A and the heirs male of his body."

feeder organization An entity that conducts a business or trade for the benefit of a tax-exempt organization.The feeder organization is not tax-exempt. IRC (26 USCA) § 502.

fee-farm rent See RENTCHARGE.

feemail (fee-mayl). Slang. 1. An attorney's fee extorted by intimidation, threats, or pressure. 2. The act or process of extorting such a fee. Cf. BLACKMAIL (1); GRAYMAIL; GREENMAIL (I), (2).

fee-sharing See FEE SPLITTING.

fee-shifting The transfer of responsibility for paying fees, esp. attorney's fees, from one party to another. See AMERICAN RULE (1); ENGLISH RULE.

fee-simple title See FEE SIMPLE.

fee-splitting 1. The division of attorney's fees between two or more lawyers, esp. between the lawyer who handled a matter and the lawyer who referred the matter. Some states consider this practice unethical. 2. The division of attorney's fees between two or more lawyers who represent a client jointly but are not in the same firm. - Under most states' ethics rules, an attorney is prohibited from splitting a fee with a nonlawyer. Also termed fee-sharing; division of fees.

feign (fayn), vb. (Be) To make up or fabricate; to make a false show of <he feigned an illness>.

feigned adj. Pretended; simulated; fictitious.

feigned accomplice See INFORMANT.

feigned action An action brought for an illegal purpose on a pretended right. Also termed faint action;false action.