Law Dictionary
	Search:

high bailiff A bailiff attached to a county court, responsible for attending court sessions, serving sum-monses, and executing orders, warrants, and writs.

high bailiff- See BAILIFF.

high commission court See COURT OF HIGH COMMISSION.

high commission court- See COURT OF HIGH COMMISSION.

high court 1. See HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE. 2. See HIGH COURT OF JUSTICIARY.

high court- 1. See HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE. 2. See HIGH COURT OF JUSTICIARY.

high court of admiralty In England, a court exercising jurisdiction in matters relating to shipping, collisian, and salvage cases .o The court dates from the 14th century, and much of its early history concerns prize and piracy cases. Its jurisdiction varied through the centuries, sometimes extending into criminal matters and other areas oflaw not related directly to maritime issues. The Judicature Acts of 1873-1875 merged the Court into the High Court as part of the Probate, Divorce, and Admiraltv Division. The Administration ofJustice Act of 1970 established a new Admiralty Court as part of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court. It is regulated by the Supreme Court Act of 1981. Also termed Court of the Lord High Admiral; Court ofAdmiralty. Cf. ADMIRALTY (1). "To the office of the Lord High Admiral (originally a naval official concerned with the command of the fleet and the suppression of piracy and wrecking) there was annexed a court which acquired a jurisdiction over civil cases of a maritime nature. Just how and when this happened is too cloudy and controversial for simple or even accurate summary, but by the time of Richard II (1377~1400) the admiral and vice~admiral were transacting enough judicial business to move Parliament to limit their jurisdiction by statute to 'a thing done upon the sea,' and in Tudor times the court was well established as a court of record, doing a large civil business. It slowly but surely took away most of their business from the local maritime courts in the port towns, and attracted the easily aroused jealousy of the common law courts, as well as the dislike of those who feared it as a prerogative court .... These factors resulted in the rather anticlimactic eclipse of the court for almost two centuries." Grant Gilmore & Charles L. Black Jr., The Law of Admiralty § 1~4, at 9~10 (2d ed. 1975).

high Court of admiralty See HIGH COURT 0F ADMIRALTY.

high court of chivalry A court of honor having jurisdiction over matters relating to deeds of arms and war, armorial insignia, and precedence. Also termed Court of Chivalry; Court of Earl Marshal. See COURT OF HONOR. "This Curia Marescalli, or High Court of Chivalry, was revived by James I as a court of honour, which not only tried the right to distinctions of honour and coat armour but also redressed affronts to honour such as slander. The slander jurisdiction was later denied, leaving it with ajurisdiction probably confined to disputes over armorial bearings, which are determined according to the law of arms. The court, which has only sat once since 1737, is the last English court to use the procedure of the civil law:' J.H. Baker. An Introduction to English Legal History 142 (3d ed. 1990).

high court of delegates See COURT OF DELEGATES.

high court of Delegates See COURT OF DELEGATES.

high court of errors and appeals See COURT OF ERRORS AND APPEALS.

high court of justice The superior dvil court of England and Wales. - Often shortened to High Court.

high court of justiciary See HIGH COURT OF JUSTICIARY.

high court of justiciary- (ja-stish-ee-er~ee). Scots law. The superior criminal court of Scotland, acting both as a trial court and as a court of final criminal appeal. Its judges are Lords Commissioners ofJusticiary. - Often shortened to High Court.

high courta of Justice See HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE.

high crime A crime that is very serious, though not necessarily a felony. Under the U.S. Constitution, a government officer's commission of a "high crime" is, along with treason and bribery, grounds for removal from office. U.S. Const. art. II, § 4. See IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE.

high crime- See CRIME.

high degree of care See great care.

high degree of care- See great care under CARE.

high diligence See great diligence under DILIGENCE.

high flier A security that has strongly attracted public interest so that investors pay an unusually high price.

high justice Jurisdiction over crimes of every kind, including high crimes.

high justice See JUSTICE (3).

high misdemeanor See MISDEMEANOR.

high seas The seas or oceans beyond the jurisdiction of any country. Under traditional international law, the high seas began 3 miles from the coast; today the distance is generally accepted as 12 miles. Under the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal shores now have a 200-mile exclusive economic zone. Also termed free seas; open seas; main sea.

high seas- See SEA.

high sheriff See SHERIFF (1).

high treason See TREASON.

higher court See court above.

higher court- See court above under COURT.

higher scale See SCALE (4).

highest and best use See USE (1).

highest court The court oflast resort in a particular jurisdiction; a court whose decision is final and cannot be appealed because no higher court exists to consider the matter. The U.S. Supreme Court, for example, is the highest federal court.

highest court- See COURT.

highest degree of care 1. The degree of care exercised commensurate with the danger involved. 2. See great care.

highest degree of care- See CARE.

highest proved value See VALUE (2).

highgrade 1. To steal rich ore, as from a mine by a miner. 2. To mine only esp. valuable ore (such as gold).

high-grade security A security issued by a company of sound financial condition and having the ability to maintain good earnings (e.g., a utility company security).

high-grade security See SECURITY.

high-low agreement A settlement in which a defendant agrees to pay the plaintiff a minimum recovery in return for the plaintiffs agreement to accept a maximum amount regardless of the outcome of the trial. Also termed hilo settlement.

highly prudent person See REASONABLE PERSON.

high-managerial agent An agent of a corporation or other business, having authority to formulate corporate policy or supervise employees. Also termed superior agent.

high-managerial agent- See AGENT (2).

high-probability rule Marine insurance. The principIe that an insured may abandon a vessel if it appears extremely likely that a total loss is imminent.

high-test marriage See covenant marriage under MARRIAGE (1).

high-water line See high-water mark under WATERMARK.

high-water mark See WATER MARK.

highway (bef. 12c) 1. Broadly, any main route on land, on water, or in the air. 2. A free and public roadway or street that every person may use. "Every thoroughfare which is used by the public, and is, in the language of the English books, 'common to all the king's subjects,' is a highway, whether it be a carriage· way, a horse-way, a foot-way, or a navigable river. It is, says Lord Holt, the genus of all public ways." 3 James Kent, Commentaries on American Law *432 (George Comstock ed., 11th ed. 1866). 3. The main public road connecting towns or cities. 4. The entire width between boundaries of every publicly maintained way when part is open to public use for purposes of vehicular traffic.

highway act (usu. pl.) One of a body of statutes governing the laying out, construction, repair, and use of highways. Also termed highway law.

highway rate In England, a tax for the maintenance and repair of highways.

highway robbery See ROBBERY.

highway robbery 1. Robbery committed against a traveler on ornear a public highway. 2. Figuratively, a price or fee that is unreasonably high; excessive profit or advantage.

highway tax A tax raised to pay for the construction, repair, and maintenance of highways.

highway tax See TAX.

highwayman A highway robber; a person who robs on a public road.

high-yield bond A high-risk, high-yield subordinated bond issued by a company with a credit rating below investment grade. Also termed junk bond; high-yield debt obligation.

high-yield bond- See BOND (3).

high-yield debt obligation See high-yield bond under BOND (3).

higuela (ee-gay-Iah), n. Spanish law. A receipt given by a decedent's heir, setting forth what property the heir has received from the estate, and kept as a record.

hijack, 1. To commandeer (a vehicle or airplane), esp. at gunpoint. See CARJACK; SKYJACK. 2. To steal or rob from (a vehicle or airplane in transit). 3. To rob by trickery or violence; esp., to rob (a smuggler or bootlegger) and take illegal goods.

Hilary rules A collection of English pleading rules designed to ease the strict pleading requirements of the special-pleading system, esp.by limiting the scope of the general issue in the formed actions and by for Cing the defendant to set up affirmatively all matters other than a denial of the breach of duty or of the wrongful act. Promulgated in England in the 1834 Hilary Term, these rules followed an 1828 initiative to examine procedural laws and other subjects and to report to Parliament changes that might be enacted. The rules had the unintended effect of extending the reach of strict-pleading requirements into new areas of law. Widespread dissatisfaction with the Hilary Rules led to the liberalization of the pleading system under the 1873-1875 Judicature Acts. - Formerly also termed New Rules. "The failure of the Hilary Rules ... lay in their insistence on special pleading as it was understood late in the eighteenth century. That parties should plead precisely, and clarify as far as possible the issue between them, is one thing; that their endeavours to do so should be judged by the extremely artificial standards of the old system, was quite another." Theodore F.T. Plucknett, A Concise Hlstorv of the Common Law416 (5th ed. 1956).

hilary sittings In England, a term of court beginning on January 11 of each year and ending on the Wednesday before Easter. The Hilary sittings were known as Hilary term until 1875. Cf. EASTER SITTINGS; MICHAELMAS SITTINGS; TRINITY SITTINGS.

hilo settlement See HIGH-LOW AGREEMENT.

hilton doctrine Civil procedure. The rule that in a dispute between parties to an oil-and-gas lease, royalty owners who would lose their rights if the defendant's lease were terminated are regarded as indispensable parties to a proceeding challenging the lease. Hilton v. Atlantic Refining Co., 327 F.2d 217 (5th Cir. 1964).

himalaya clause A provision in a bill of lading extending the carrier's defenses and limitations under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act to third parties, typically employees, agents, and independent contractors. The Supreme Court has held that this type of clause must be strictly construed. Robert C. Herd & Co. v. Krawilllviachinery Corp., 359 U.S. 297, 79 S.Ct. 766 (1959). See CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY SEA ACT. "The plaintiff was injured while a passenger on the cruise ship The Himalaya. She sued the master and the boatswain for their negligence because the carrier was contractually exempt from all liability. Because the contract did not have a 'Himalaya clause,' she succeeded. The carrier, having indemnified its employees, ultimately paid the damages. It thus lost its contractual exemption indirectly." Michael J. Sturley, International Uniform Law in National Courts, 27 Va.j. Int'l L. 729, 740 n.lOl (1987).

hinc inde (hink in-dee). [Law Latin], Scots law. On either side. The phrase usu. refers to the respective claims of parties to a lawsuit.

hine (hIn). In England, a husbandry servant. Also spelled hind.

hinefare (hin-fair), In England, the loss or departure of a servant from the master.

hinegeld- (hin-geld), A ransom for an offense committed by a servant.

HIPAA (hip-a), abbr. HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT.

hipoteca (ee-poh-tek-ah), n. Spanish law. A mortgage of real property. See HYPOTHECATION.

hire 1. To engage the labor or services of another for wages or other payment. 2. To procure the temporary use of property, usu. at a set price. 3. To grant the temporary use of services <hire themselves out>.

hired gun 1. An expert witness who testifies favorably for the party paying his or her often because of that financial relationship rather than because of the facts. 2. A lawyer who stops at nothing to accomplish the client's goals, regardless of moral consequences.

hireling A person who is hired or serves for wages, esp. one who works only for the sake of payments.

hire-purchase agreement See LEASE-PURCHASE AGREEMENT.

hiring See LOCATIO.

hiring at will. See employment at will under EMPLOYMENT.

his (bef. 12c) A possessive pronoun of the masculine gender but traditionally used and construed to include both sexes.o Because of the trend toward nonsexist language, careful drafters now tend to avoid the generic use of his (and the personal pronouns he and him) unless the reference is only to a male person.

his honor; Her Honor 1. A third-person title customarily given to a judge. 2. A third-person title customarily given to the mayor of a city. 3. A thirdperson title given by the Massachusetts Constitution to the lieutenant governor of the commonwealth. Cf. YOUR HONOR.

his testibus (his tes-ta-bas). [Law Latin].These being witnesses. The concluding clause of deeds and charters typically opened with these words, which stated the names of the witnesses to the instrument. This clause appeared in deeds and charters until the 16th century. - Also spelled hijs testibus; hiis testibus.

historian An officer charged with compiling or contributing to an organization's official history.

historic bay A bay that, because of its shape, would not be considered a bay subject to the coastal country's jurisdiction, except for that country's long-standing unilateral claim over it; a bay over which the coastal country has traditionally asserted and maintained dominion.

historic bay- See BAY.

historic site A building, structure, area, or property that is Significant in the history, architecture, archaeology, or culture of a country, state, or city, and has been so designated by statute. A historic site usu. cannot be altered without the permission of the appropriate authorities.

historical cost See acquisition cost.

historical cost- See acquisition cost (1) under COST (1).

historical jurisprudence See JURISPRUDENCE.

historical jurisprudence The branch of legal philosophy concerned with the history of the first principles and conceptions of a legal system, dealing with (1) the general principles governing the origin and development of law, and (2) the origin and development of the legal system"s first principles. "Historical jurisprudence was a passive restraining mode of thought on legal subjects by way of reaction from the active creative thought of the era of philosophy. It was a reaction, too, from the confident disregard of traditional legal institutions and conditions of time and place which characterized the French Revolution. We were not ready for it in the fore part of the last century. But we accepted it eagerly toward the end of that century when it was already moribund in Europe." Roscoe Pound, The Formative Era of American Law 113 (1938).

historic-preservation law An ordinance prohibiting the demolition or exterior alteration of certain historic buildings or of all buildings in a historic district.

hit (bef. 12c) 1. A physical strike. 2. Criminal law. A murder committed for money or on orders from a gang leader. 3. Criminal law. An instance of the taking of a drug. 3. Intellectual property. A Single instance of a computer's connection to a Web page. Counters keep track of how many visitors a Web page attracts, and a large number of hits is a major selling point for advertising. 4. Intellectual property. A Web page identi fied by an Internet search engine as containing words matching a user's query. 5. A creative work that is a popular or a commercial Success.

hit-and-run statute A law requiring a motorist involved in an accident to remain at the scene and to give certain information to the police and others involved.

hitherto adv. Until now; heretofore.

hla test See HUMAN-LEUKOCYTE ANTIGEK TEST.

HMO abbr. HEALTH-MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION.

hoard (bef. 12c) To acquire and hold (goods) beyond one's reasonable needs, usu. because of an actual or anticipated shortage or price increase <hoarding food and medical supplies during wartime>.

Hobbs Act A federal anti-racketeering act making it a crime to interfere with interstate commerce by extortion, robbery, or phYSical violence. 18 USCA § 1951. See RACKETEER INFLUENCED AND CORRUPT ORGANIZATIONS ACT.

hobby loss See LOSS.

hoc [Latin] This; with; by; in.