Law Dictionary
	Search:

feigned issue A proceeding in which the parties, by consent, have an issue tried by a jury without actually bringing a formal action. The proceeding was done when a court either lacked jurisdiction or was unwilling to decide the issue. Also termed fictitious issue. The chancellor's decree is either interlocutory or final. It very seldom happens that the first decree can be final, or conclude the cause; for, if any matter of fact is strongly controverted, this court is so sensible of the deficiency of trial by written depositions, that it will not bind the parties thereby, but usually directs the matter to be tried by jury .... But, as no jury can be summoned to attend this court, the fact is usually directed to be tried at the bar of the court of king's bench or at the assises, upon a feigned issue. For. (in order to bring it there, and have the point in dispute, and that only, put in issue) an action is feigned to be brought, wherein the pretended plaintiff declares that he laid a wager of 51. with the defendant that A was heir at law to B; and then avers that he is so; and there· fore demands the 51. The defendant allows the wager, but avers that A is not the heir to B; and thereupon the issue is joined. , ..These feigned issues seem borrowed from the sponsio judicialis of the Romans: and are also frequently used in the courts of law, by consent of the parties, to determine some disputed rights without the formality of pleading....." 3 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Law of England 452 (1768).

feigned recovery See COMMON RECOVERY.

FEIN abbr. See TAX-IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.

feist doctrine The rule that "sweat of the brow" will not support U.S. copyright protection in an unoriginal collection of facts. Feist Pubs. v. Rural Tel. Servo Co., 499 U.S. 340, IllS. Ct. 1282 (1991). Cf. SWEAT-OF-THE-BROW DOCTRINE.

FELA (fee-Ia). abbr. FEDERAL EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT.

fele (feel). [Law French], See FEAL.

fellow 1. One joined with another in some legal status or relation. 2. A member of a college, board, corporate body, or other organization.

fellow servant See FELLOW SERVANT.

fellow servant A coworker having the same employer; esp., an employee who is so closely related to another employee's work that there is a special risk of harm if either one is negligent. See FELLOW-SERVANT RULE; DIFFERENT-DEPARTMENT RULE.

fellow-officer rule Criminal procedure. The principle that an investigative stop or an arrest is valid even if the law-enforcement officer lacks personal knowledge to establish reasonable suspicion or probable cause as long as the officer is acting on the knowledge ofanother officer and the collective knowledge ofthe law-enforcement office. Also termed Whiteley rule; collectiveknowledge rule.

fellow-servant rule A common-law doctrine holding that an employer is not liable for an employee's injuries caused by a negligent coworker. This doctrine has generally been abrogated by workers' -compensation statutes. In some jurisdictions, employees were considered fellow servants when they were working with one aim or result in view. In others, the relation of fellow servant was tested by the" doctrine of vice principal" or the "superior-servant rule," meaning that an employer is liable for injuries to an employee if they result from the negligence of another employee who is given power of control or direction over the injured employee. Also termed common-employment doctrine. Cf. DIFFERENT-DEPARTMENT RULE.

felo-de-se (fee-loh or fel-oh dee see), n. See SUICIDE (2). PI. felones de se. "'Felo de Sl!.,' or felon of himself is freely spoken of by the early writers as self·murder. Hence one who killed himself before he arrived at the age of discretion or while he was non compos mentis, was not a felo de se, or suicide .... [Bly the early common law suicide was a felony and was punished by ignominious burial and forfeiture of goods and chattels to the king." Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 120 (3d ed. 1982).

felon A person who has been convicted of a felony. Also termed (redundantly) convicted felon.

felon of oneself See SUICIDE (2).

felon-de-se See SUICIDE (2).

felonia (fa-loh-nee-a). [Latin "felony"]. An offense that results in a vassal's forfeiting his fee. The attempt to derive felonia from fel 'poison' is merely a folk etymology which came into vogue when 'felony' meant a serious crime, and differed from treason. The word was well established in Feudal Law as the characteristic offense against the Feudal relationship. It will hardly do, therefore, to try to determine its meaning merely by reference to English usage ...." Max Radin, Handbook of Anglo·American Legal History 148 n.7 (1936).

felonious (fa-loh-nee-as), adj. 1. Of, relating to, or involving a felony. 2. Constituting or having the character of a felony. 3. Proceeding from an evil heart or purpose; malicious; villainous. 4. Wrongful; (of an act) done without excuse or color of right.

felonious assault An assault that is of sufficient severity to be classified and punished as a felony. See aggravated assault; assault with a deadly weapon.

felonious assault- See ASSAULT.

felonious homicide See HOMICIDE.

felonious homicide- Homicide committed unlawfully, without legal justification or excuse. This is the category into which murder and manslaughter fall.

felonious intent See criminal intent under INTENT (1).

felonious intent See criminal intent.

felonious restraint 1. The offense of knowingly and unlawfully restraining a person under circumstances that expose the person to serious bodily harm. Model Penal Code § 212.2(a). 2. The offense of holding a person in involuntary servitude. Model Penal Code § 212.2(b).

felony 1. A serious crime usu. punishable by imprisonment for more than one year or by death. Examples include burglary, arson, rape, and murder. Also termed major crime; serious crime. Cf. MISDEMEANOR. "Felony, in the general acceptation of our English law, comprizes every species of crime, which occasioned at common law the forfeiture of lands or goods." 4 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 94 (1769). "Amongst indictable crimes, the common law singled out some as being so conspicuously heinous that a man adjudged gUilty of any of them incurred not as any express part of his sentence but as a consequence that necessarily ensued upon it ~ a forfeiture of property, whether of his lands or of his goods or of both (in the case of treason). Such crimes came to be called 'felonies.' The other, and lesser, crimes were known as 'transgressions' or 'trespasses,' and did not obtain their present name of mis· demeanours until a much later date. A felony is, therefore, a crime which either involved by common law such a forfei·ture, or else has been placed by statute on the footing of those crimes which did involve it." J.W. Cecil Turner, Kennv's Outlines of Criminal Law 93 (16th ed. 1952).

felony injury to a child The act of causing or allowing a child to suffer in circumstances likely to produce great bodily harm or death, or inflicting unjustifiable pain or mental suffering in those circumstances.

felony murder See MURDER.

felony-de-se See SUICIDE (1).

felony-murder rule The doctrine holding that any death resulting from the commission or attempted commission of a felony is murder. - Most states restrict this rule to inherently dangerous felonies such as rape, arson, robbery, and burglary. Cf. MISDEMEANOR-MANSLAUGHTER RULE. "[I]t seems fair to suggest that the future of felony murder is uncertain. England, where the doctrine originated, has abolished it. The Model Penal Code recommends its abolition except for the purpose of creating a rebuttable presumption of malice for killings perpetrated during the course of a felony. Although most states have not yet adopted this position, many of the judicial limitations on felony murder discussed above seem to insure that in many states it will be an unusual case in which one is convicted of felony murder, who absent this doctrine, would not have been convicted of murder." Arnold H. Loewy, Criminal Law in a Nutshell 46 (2d ed. 1987).

FEMA abbr. FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.

female genital mutilation 1. Female circumcision. 2. The act of cutting, or cutting off, one or more female sexual organs. Female genital mutilation is practiced primarily among certain tribes in Africa, but it also occurs among some immigrant populations in the United States and in other Western nations. There are three commonly identified types: sunna, in which the hood of the clitoris is cut off; excision, in which the entire clitoris is cut off; and infibulation, in which the clitoris, the labia minora, and much of the labia majora are cut off. In the United States, Congress has outlawed female genital mutilation, specifically prohibiting the use of a cultural defense for persons accused of performing the act. 18 USCA § 16. Abbr. FGM. See CULTURAL DEFENSE.

fem-crit A feminist adherent of critical legal studies.

fem-crit- See CRIT.

feme (fern), n. [Law French]. Archaic. 1. A woman. 2. A wife. - Also spelled femme.

feme covert (fem kav-art). [Law French "covered woman"], Archaic. A married woman. The notion, as Blackstone put it, was that the husband was the one "under whose wing, protection, and cover, she performs every thing." 1 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Law of England 430 (1766). See COVERTURE.

feme sole (fem sohl). [Law Prench], Archaic. 1. An unmarried woman. 2. A married woman handling the affairs of her separate estate. Also termed (in sense 2) feme sole trader;feme sole merchant.

femicide (fem-a-sid). 1. The killing of a woman. 2. One who kills a woman.

feminist jurisprudence A branch of jurisprudence that examines the relationship between women and law, including the history of legal and social biases against women, the elimination of those biases in modern law, and the enhancement of women"s legal rights and recognition in society. 'The first published use of the phrase feminist jurisprudence occurred in 1978 when Professor Ann Scales published an article called Toward a Feminist Jurisprudence. Feminist legal theory is diverse, and anything but monolithic. Many feminists believe that it is difficult to generalize about feminist jurisprudence. It is, however, possible to understand feminist legal theory as a reaction to the jurisprudence of modern legal scholars (primarily male scholars) who tend to see law as a process for interpreting and perpetuating a universal, gendereutral public morality. Feminist legal scholars, despite their differences, appear united in claiming that masculine jurisprudence of all stripes fails to acknowledge, let alone respond to. the interests, values, fears, and harms experienced by women." Gary Minda, Postmodern Legal Movements 129-30 (1995).

feminist jurisprudence See JURISPRUDENCE.

femme See FEME.

fence 1. A person who receives stolen goods, usu. with the intent to sell them in a legitimate market. ''The receivers of stolen goods almost never 'know' that they have been stolen, in the sense that they could testify to it in a courtroom. The business could not be so conducted, for those who sell the goods the 'fences' must keep up a more respectable front than is generally possible for the thieves." United States v, Wernet', 160 F.2d 438, 441-42 (2d eir. 1947). ''The typical 'fence' takes over the stolen property and pays the thief a price. He purports to 'buy' the goods from the thief." Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 395 (3d ed. 1982). 2. A place where stolen goods are sold. See RECEIVING STOLEN PROPERTY. 3. LAWFUL FENCE. 4. Scots law. The formal warning to not interrupt or obstruct judicial or legislative proceedings. 5. Scots law. A penalty of forfeiture prescribed in a statute or a contract.

fence- 1. To sell (stolen property) to a fence. 2. Scots law. To open (a legislative or judicial sitting) by warning persons against obstructing or interrupting the legislature or court. 3. Scots law. To threaten with forfeiture as a consequence of violating a law or breaching a contractual promise.

fence-month The summer fawning season when it was unlawful to hunt deer. Also termed defense-month.

fencing patent See PATENT (3).

fencingpatent A patent procured for some aspect of an invention that the inventor does not intend to produce but that the inventor wants to prevent competitors from using in making improvements. By making a claim whose only purpose is to protect other claims, the inventor seeks to fence in any such competing improvements. Courts disfavor fenCing claims. Also termed dominating patent.

feneration (fen-a-ray-shan). 1. The act or practice of lending money with interest. 2. USURY.

fenus (fen-as), n. [Latin]. Roman law. Simple interest.

fenus nauticum See NAUTICUM FENUS.

feod (fyood). 1. See FEE (2). 2. See FEUD.

feodal (fyoo-daI), adj. See FEUDAL.

feodal action See FEUDAL ACTION.

feodal system See FEUDALISM.

feodality (fyoo-dal-a-tee). See FEALTY.

feodarum consuetudines (fee-a-dair-am [or fyoo-dair-am] kon-swa-t[y]oo-da-neez). See FEUOARAM CONSUETUDINES.

feodary (fyoo-da-ree). An officer of the Court of Wards who traveled with the escheator from county to county in order to receive royal rents and estimate the value ofland tenures for the Crown. See COURT OF WARDS AND LIVERIES.

feodatory (fyoo-da-tor-ee). See FEUDATORY.

feodi firma (fee-a-di or fyoo-di far-ma). See FEE FARM.

feodi firmarius (fee-a-di or fyoo-di far-mair-ee-as). The tenant of a fee farm.

feodum (fee-a-dam or fyoo-dam). [Law Latin]. 1. A fee; a heritable estate. "Feodum ... A fee; the same as feudum. This is the word uniformly employed by Glanville and Bracton to denote an estate of inheritance, and an estate held of another by service, instead of feudum, which is invariably used by the continental feudists." 1 Alexander M. Burrill, A Law Dictionary and Glossary 615 (2d ed. 1867). 2. Part of a lord's estate held by a tenant (Le., a seigniory). See SEIGNIORY (2). 3. A payment for services rendered.

feodum antiquum See feudum antiquum under FEUDUM.

feodum apertum See feudurn apertum under FEUDUM.

feodum laicum See feudum laicum under FEUDUM.

feodum militis (fee-a-dam or fyoo-dam mil-a-tis). A knight's fee. Also termed feodum militare.

feodum nobile (fee-a-dam or fyoo-dam noh-ba-lee). See feudum nobile under FEU DUM.

feodum novum (fee-a-dam or fyoo-dam noh-vam). See feudum novum under FEU DUM.

feodum simplex (fee-a-dam or fyoo-dam sim-pleks). A fee simple.

feodum talliatum (fee-a-dam or fyoo-dam tal-ee-ay-tam). A fee tail. Also spelledfeudum talliatum.

feoff (fef or feef), vb. See ENFEOFF.

feoffamentum (fee-[a]-fa-men-tam). [Law Latin]. See FEOFFMENT.

feoffare (fee-[a]-fair-ee), vb. [Law Latin]. See ENFEOFF.

feoffator (fee-[a]-fay-tar). [Law Latin]. See FEOFFOR.

feoffatus (fee-[a]-fay-tas). [Law Latin]. See FEOFFEE.

feoffee (fef-ee or feef-ee). The transferee of an estate in fee simple; the recipient of a fief.

feoffee to uses A person to whom land is conveyed for the use of a third party (called a cestui que use); one who holds legal title to land for the benefit of another. See CESTUI QUE USE; GRANT TO USES. Cf. TRUSTEE (I).

feoffer See FEOFFOR.

feoffment (fef-mant or feef-mant). 1. The act of conveying a freehold estate; a grant of land in fee simple. Also termed feoffment with livery of seisin. 2. The land so granted. 3. The charter that transfers the land. Also termed deed of feoffment.

feoffment to uses An enfeoffment of land to one person for the use of a third party. The feoffee was bound in conscience to hold the land according to the prescribed use and could derive no benefit from the holding. "Conveyances of freehold land could originally be made only by a feoffment with livery of seisin. This was a solemn ceremony carried out by the parties entering on the land, and the feoffor, in the presence of witnesses, delivering the seisin to the feoffee either by some symbolic act, such as handing him a twig or sad of earth, or by uttering some words such as 'Enter into this land and God give you joy' and leaving him in possession of the land." Robert E. Megarry & HW.R. Wade, The Law of Real Property 47 (5th ed,1984),

feoffment with livery of seisin See FEOFFMENT (1).

feoffor (fef- or feef-ar or -or). The transferor of an estate in fee simple. Also spelled feoffer.

feorme A portion of the land's produce owed by the grantee to the lord according to the terms of a charter.

ferae bestiae (feer-ee bes-tee-ee). [Latin], Roman law. Wild beasts. Since a wild animal belonged to no one (res nullius), its captor acquired ownership by occupatio. See OCCIJPATIO.

ferae naturae (feer-ee na-tyoor-ee). [Latin "of a wild nature"], 1. adj. (Of animals) wild; untamed; undomesticated. 2. n. Wild animals. See RULE OF CAPTURE (2).

feral animal A domestic animal that has returned to a wild state. Feral animals, unlike others of their species, are usu. unsocialized to people.

feral animal- See ANIMAL.

FERC (fark). abbr. FEDERAl. ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION.

FERC-out clause Oil & gas. A provision in a contract to sell natural gas specifying that if a regulatory agency does not allow the price paid to the producer to be passed on to consumers, either the contract price will be reduced accordingly or the contract will be terminated. - Also termed regulatory-out clause.

ferdella terrae (far-del-a ter-ee). [Latin], 1. Ten acres ofland. 2. A yard-land (twenty acres).

ferdfare (fard-fair), n. [fr. Saxon fird "military service" + fare "a going"]. 1. A summons to military service. 2. An exemption from military service. - Also spelled firdfare; fyrdfare.

ferdingus (far-ding-gas).. A freeman of the lowest class.

Feres doctrine (feer-is or feer-eez or fer-ez). Torts. The rule that a member of the military is barred from recovering damages from the United States on a claim brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act for injuries sustained in military service. Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135,71 S.Ct. 153 (1950). - Also termed Feres rule. See ACTIVITY INCIDENT TO SERVICE.

feria (feer-ee-a), n. [Law Latin]. 1. A weekday. 2. A holiday. 3. See ferial day under DAY. 4. A fair. 5. A ferry.

feriae (feer-ee-i), n. pl. [Latin] Roman law. Religious and public holidays on which Romans suspended politics and lawsuits, and on which slaves enjoyed a partial break from labor.

ferial day (feer-ee-al). 1. A day free from labor, pleading, and service of process; a holiday. 2. A working day, under a 1449 statute (27 Hen. 6, ch. 5).

ferial day- See DAY.

ferlingum See FURLONG.

ferlingus See FURLONG.

ferm See FARM.

fermer [Law French]. 1. A lessee, esp. one who holds lands for agricultural purposes. 2. One who holds something (such as land or an incorporeal right) by the term.

FERPA abbr. FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT.

ferriage (fer-ee-ij). The toll or fare paid for the transportation of persons or property on a ferry.