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innocuae utilitatis (i-nok-yoo-[w]ee yoo-til-a-tay-tis). [Latin "useful without harming"]. An act that is beneficial to one person and harmful to no one.

innominate (i-nom-a-nat), adj. Civil law. Unclassified; having no special name or designation. See innominate contract under CONTRACT.

innominate action See ACTION (4).

innominate action (i-nom-i-nat). An action that has no special name by which it is known. Cf. nominate action.

innominate contract See CONTRACT.

innominate contract (i-nom-a-nit). Roman & civil law. A contract not classifiable under any particular name; a contract for which the law supplies nothing in addition to the express agreement of the parties. La. Civ. Code art. 1914. This type of contract was developed late in classical Roman law. Although the agreements were reciprocal, they did not become operational without at least part performance. Also termed innominate real contract. Cf. nominate contract.

innominate obligations Obligations having no classification or name because they are not strictly contractual, delictual, or quasi-contractual. An example is the obligation of a trustee to a beneficiary. Also termed obligationes innominati.

innominate real contract See innominate contract under CONTRACT.

innotescimus (in-oh-tes-a-mas). [Law Latin "we make known"]. A certification, in the form of letters patent, of a charter of feoffment or other instrument not filed of record. This term derives from the word of emphasis appearing at the end of the document. Cf. EXEMPLIFICATION.

innovata lite dependente (in-oh-vay-ta li-tee dee-pen-den-tee). [Law Latin]. Innovations during the pendency of a suit. -lhe phrase appeared in reference to the interference with something that is the subject of a lawsuit. See PENDENTE LITE.

innovation Scots law. See NOVATION.

innoxiare (i-nok-shee-air-ee), vb. [Law Latin]. To purge (a person) of fault.

innuendo (in-yoo-en-doh). [Latin "by hinting"). 1. An oblique remark or indirect suggestion, usu. of a derogatory nature. 2. An explanatory word or passage inserted parenthetically into a legal document. In criminal law, an innuendo is a statement in an indictment showing the application or meaning of matter previously expressed, the meaning of which would not otherwise be clear. In the law of defamation, an innuendo is the plaintiffs explanation of a statements defamatory meaning when that meaning is not apparent from the statements face. For example, the innuendo of the statement "David burned down his house" can be shown by pleading that the statement was understood to mean that David was defrauding his insurance company (the fact that he had insured his house is pleaded and proved by inducement). Cf. INDUCEMENT (4); COLLOQUIUM. "Innuendo (from innuo, to nod or beckon with the head) is a word used in declarations and law pleadings, to ascertain a person or thing which was named before .... If a man say, that such a one had the pox, innuendo the French pox, this will not be admitted, because the French pox was not mentioned before, and the words shall be construed in a more favourable sense. But, if in discourse of the French pox, one say, that such a one had the pox, innuendo the French pox, this will be admitted to render that certain which was uncertain before." 2 Richard Burn, A New Law Dictionary 24 (1792). "It is not a true innuendo to repeat the obvious meaning of defamatory words in other language, or in an embroidered or exaggerated way. Otherwise an ingenious pleader could perplex the judge and jury and harry the defendant by ringing the changes on the same words, creating numerous different causes of action, each requiring a separate verdict. A true innuendo relies on a conjunction of the words used and some extrinsic fact.

inofficiosus (in-a-fish-ee-oh-sas), adj. [Latin "inofficious"] Roman law. Contrary to a natural duty of affection, used esp. of a will that unjustly disinherits a child or close relative. See QUERELA INOFFICIOSI TESTAMENTI.

inofficious testament See TESTAMENT.

inofficious will See inofficious testament under TESTAMENT.

inoperable mode In a patent application, a disclosed way of working an invention that is not the best mode. The term usu. designates a mode that is intended to misrepresent or deliberately conceal the best mode. That misrepresentation or concealment is inequitable conduct that will bar patentability or render an issued patent unenforceable.

inoperative adj. 1. Having no force or effect; not operative <an inoperative statute>. 2. Patents. (Of an invention), the condition of not being capable of functioning as described in the patent application. "An invention is inoperative if an exemplification, built exactly as described in the patent, wont operate, or if further experiment and invention are required to make it operate." Roger Sherman Hoar, Patent Tactics and the Law 37 (3d ed. 1950).

inops consilii (in-ahps kan-sil-ee-i), adj. [Latin) Des¬titute of counsel; without legal counsel. This term described actions taken without benefit of legal advice, as when a testator drafts a will without the help of an attorney. "[T]hat in devises by last will and testament, (which, being often drawn up when the party is inops consilii, and are always more favoured in construction than formal deeds, which are presumed to be made with great caution, fore-thought, and advice) in these devises, I say, remainders may be created in some measure contrary to the rules before laid down ...." 2 William Blackstone. Commentaries on the Laws of England 172 (1766).

inordinatus (in-or-da-nay-tas), n. [Latin "disorderly; unordained"]. See INTESTATE.

inpenny and outpenny A customary payment of a penny on entering into and going out of a tenancy.

in-presence rule The principle that a police officer may make a warrantless arrest of a person who commits a misdemeanor offense not only in the officers actual presence but also within the officers immediate vicinity. "The common law rule with respect to misdemeanors was quite different; a warrant was required except when a breach of the peace occurred in the presence of the arresting officer. ... Though the in presence rule might be construed as requiring that the misdemeanor in fact have occurred in the officers presence, the modern view is that the officer may arrest if he has probable cause to believe the offense is being committed in his presence." Wayne R. LaFave & Jerold H. Israel, Criminal Procedure § 3.5, at 169-70 (2d ed. 1992).

inquest 1. An inquiry by a coroner or medical examiner, sometimes with the aid of a jury, into the manner of death of a person who has died under suspicious circumstances, or who has died in prison. Also termed coroners inquest; inquisition after death. 2. An inquiry into a certain matter by a jury empaneled for that purpose. 3. The finding of such a specially empaneled jury. 4. A proceeding, usu. ex parte, to determine, after the defendant has defaulted, the amount of the plaintiffs damages. Cf. INQUISITION.

inquest jury A jury summoned from a particular district to appear before a sheriff, coroner, or other ministerial officer and inquire about the facts concerning a death. See INQUEST. Also termed jury of inquest.

inquest jury See JURY.

inquest of office An inquest conducted by a coroner, sheriff, or other royal officer into the Crowns right to property by reason of escheat, treason, or other ground of forfeiture. 5. WARDMOTE.

inquilinus (in-kwa-li-nas). [Latin] Roman law. A person who leases or lives in anothers house or apartment; esp., an urban tenant.

inquirendo (in-kwa-ren-doh). [Latin]. An inquiry or investigation; esp., an inquiry into a matter concerning the Crowns interests, such as lands that are forfeited to the Crown.

inquiry 1. FACT-FINDING (2). 2. Parliamentary law. A request for information, either procedural or substantive. See REQUEST; POINT (2).

inquiry notice See NOTICE.

inquisitio (in-kwa-zish-ee-oh). [Latin] Inquisition or inquest. See INQUISITION (1).

inquisitio post mortem (in-kwa-zish-ee-oh pohst mor-tam). [Latin] See inquest ofoffice under INQUEST.

inquisition 1. The record of the finding of the jury sworn by the coroner to inquire into a persons death. 2. A judicial inquiry, esp. in a derogatory sense. 3. A persistent, grueling examination conducted without regard for the examinees dignity or civil rights. Cf. INQUEST.

inquisition after death See INQUEST (1).

inquisitor 1. An officer who examines and inquires, such as a coroner or sheriff. 2. A person who inquires; esp., one who examines another in a harsh or hostile manner. 3. Eccles. law. An officer authorized to inquire into heresies; esp., an officer of the Spanish Inquisition.

inquisitorial court See COURT.

inquisitorial court A court in which the inquisitorial system prevails. ''We should remember that in the 'inquisitorial court' the roles of prosecutor, defender, and judge are combined in one person or group of persons. It is no accident that such a court commonly holds its sessions in secret. The usual explanation for this is that the methods by which it extracts confessions cannot stand public scrutiny. But the reason runs deeper. The methods employed by an inquisitorial court, even if open to the public, could scarcely be a secret of meaningful observation by an outsider. It is only when the roles of prosecutor, defender, and judge are separated that a process of decision can take on an order and coherence that will make it understandable to an outside audience and convince that audience that all sides of the controversy have been considered." Lon L. Fuller, Anatomy of the Law 35-36 (1968).

inquisitorial system A system of proof-taking used in civil law, whereby the judge conducts the trial, determines what questions to ask, and defines the scope and the extent of the inquiry. This system prevails in most of continental Europe, in Japan, and in Central and South America. Cf. ADVERSARY SYSTEM.

INR abbr. BUREAU OF INTELLIGENCE AND RESEARCH.

inroll vb. See ENROLL (1).

inrollment See ENROLLMENT.

INS abbr. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE.

insane adj. Mentally deranged; suffering from one or more delusions or false beliefs that (1) have no foundation in reason or reality, (2) are not credible to any reasonable person of sound mind, and (3) cannot be overcome in a sufferers mind by any amount of evidence or argument. See INSANITY.

insane asylum See ASYLUM (3).

insane delusion An irrational, persistent belief in an imaginary state of facts resulting in a lack of capacity to undertake acts of legal consequence, such as making a will. See CAPACITY (2).

insanity Any mental disorder severe enough that it prevents a person from having legal capacity and excuses the person from criminal or civil responsibility. Insanity is a legal, not a medical, standard. Also termed legal insanity; lunacy. Cf. SANITY. 'The lawyers refer to insanity. This is a legal term only, and one that is not used by the psychiatrist; the latter prefers to speak of mental disorder, mental illness, or of psychosis or neurosis." Winfred Overholser, Psychiatry and the Law, 38 Mental Hygiene 243,244 (1954). "The word insanity is commonly used in discussions of this problem although some other term would seem to be preferable such as mental disease or defect, - which may be shortened to mental disorder in general discussions if this is clearly understood to include disease of the mind, congenital lack, and damage resulting from traumatic injury, but to exclude excitement or stupefaction resulting from liquor or drugs. Apart from its uses In the law insanity is usually employed to indicate mental disorder resulting from deterioration or damage as distinguished from congenital deficiency, Criminal incapacity may result as readily from one as from the other, but while the earlier authorities spoke of the idiot and the madman the more recent tendency in the law has been to include both under the insanity label," Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N, Boyce, Criminal Law 952 (3d ed, 1982). "Another objection to the word insanity is the unwarranted assumption that it refers to a very definite mental condition, seldom put into words but apparent in many discussions of the problem." Id.

insanity defense An affirmative defense alleging that a mental disorder caused the accused to commit the crime. See 18 USCA § 17; Fed. R. Crim. P. 12.2. Unlike other defenses, a successful insanity defense may not result in an acquittal but instead in a special verdict ("not guilty by reason of insanity") that usu. leads to the defendants commitment to a mental institution. Also termed insanity plea. See MCNAGHTEN RULES; SUBSTANTIAL-CAPACITY TEST; IRRESISTIBLE-IMPULSE TEST; DURHAM RULE; APPRECIATION TEST.

insanity defense See INSANITY DEFENSE.

Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984 test See APPRECIATION TEST.

insanity plea See INSANITY DEFENSE.

insanity plea See INSANITY DEFENSE.

inscriptio (in-skrip-shee-oh). [Latin] In later Roman law, a written accusation detailed in an official register. The accuser was liable to punishment if the accused was acquitted. See INSCRIPTION (3). PI. inscriptiones (in-skrip-shee-oh-neez). inscribere, vb.

inscription 1. The act of entering a fact or name on a list, register, or other record. 2. An entry so recorded. 3. An agreement whereby an accuser must, if the accusation is false, receive the same punishment that the accused would have been given if found guilty. - inscribe, vb. inscriptive, adj.

inscriptiones (in-skrip-shee-oh-neez). [Latin]. Title deeds; written instruments by which rights or interests are granted.

inscrutable fault See FAULT.

inscrutable fault Maritime law. Fault ascribed solely to human error but for which no responsible party or parties can be identified. "Inscrutable fault' exists when a collision clearly resulted from human fault but the court is unable to locate it or allocate the fault among the parties." Atkins v. Lorentzen, 328 F.2d 66, 69 (5th Cir. 1964).

insecure adj. Having a good-faith belief that the possibility of receiving payment or performance from another party to a contract is unlikely.

insecurity clause A loan-agreement provision that allows the creditor to demand immediate and full payment of the loan balance if the creditor has reason to believe that the debtor is about to default, as when the debtor suddenly loses a significant source of income. Cf. ACCELERATION CLAUSE.

insert Parliamentary law. To amend (a motion) by placing new wording within or around the current wording. Some authorities distinguish amendment by adding, which places new wording after the current wording, from amendment by inserting. See ADD; AMENDMENT (3).

inside director A director who is also an employee, officer, or major shareholder of the corporation.

inside director See DIRECTOR.

inside information Information about a companys financial or market situation obtained not from public disclosure, but from a source within the company or a source that owes the company a duty to keep the information confidential. Also termed insider information. See INSIDER TRADING.

insider 1. Securities. A person who has knowledge of facts not available to the general public.

insider dealing See INSIDER TRADING.

insider information See INSIDE INFORMATION.

insider preference See PREFERENCE.

insider preference A transfer of property by a bankruptcy debtor to an insider more than 90 days before but within one year after the filing of the bankruptcy petition.

insider report Securities. A monthly report that must be filed with the SEC when more than 10% of a company s stock is traded.

insider report See REPORT (1).

insider trading The use of material, non public information in trading the shares of a company by a corporate insider or other person who owes a fidUciary duty to the company. This is the classic definition. The Supreme Court has also approved a broader definition, known as the "m isappropriation theory": the deceitful acquisition and misuse of information that properly belongs to persons to whom one owes a duty. Thus, under the misappropriation theory, it is insider trading for a lawyer to trade in the stock of XYZ Corp. after learning that a client of the lawyers firm is planning a takeover of XYZ. But under the classic definition, that is not insider trading because the lawyer owed no duty to XYZ itself. Also termed insider dealing. What is insider trading? The term is probably best defined, to the extent any definition is adequate, as the purchase or sale of securities on the basis of material, non-public information. What counts as non-public information? What non-public information can be deemed material? When is a trader who is in possession of material, non- public information trading on the baSis of that information? Must the information be about the company whose securities are being purchased or sold? What characteristics establish insider status sufficient to warrant legal proscriptions of trading? These are all questions that are derived from the definition of insider trading just offered ...." C. Edward Fletcher, Materials on the Law of Insider Trading 3 (1991). "A number of different parties may be subject to a variety of monetary penalties under the federal securities laws for engaging in illegal insider trading. These parties may include actual traders, their tippers, as well as broker-dealers and investment advisors (when they fail to take appropriate steps to prevent the insider trading violation(s) or fail to maintain and enforce policies.

insidiatio viarum (in-sid-ee-ay-shee-oh vi-air-am). [Latin "ambush on the highway"]. The crime of waylaying someone along the roadway. See LATROCINATION; HIGHWAYMAN.

insilium (in-sil-ee-am). (Law Latin]. Pernicious advice or counsel.

insimul (in-sim-al or in-si-mal), adv. [Latin] Together, jointly.

insimul tenuit (in-sim-al or in-si-mal ten-yoo-it). [Law Latin "he held together"]. A writ brought by a coparcener to recover a fee tail alienated by an earlier tenant; a type offormedon in the descender. See formedon in the descender under FORMEDON.

insimul computassent (in-sim-al or in-si-mal kahm-pyoo-tas-ant). [Law Latin "they accounted together"]. A count in an assumpsit action asserting that the parties had reviewed their accounts and that the defendant voluntarily agreed to pay the amount sought by the plaintiff. This term derives from the initial words of the count.

insinuare (in-sin-yoo-air-ee), vb. [Latin] Roman & civil law. To register; to deposit (an instrument) with a public registry.

insinuatio (in-sin-yoo-ay-shee-oh). [Law Latin). Information or suggestion. This term sometimes appeared in the phrase ex insinuatione ("on the information"), which is the precursor to the modern on iriformation and belief See INFORMATION AND BELIEF.

insinuation (in-sin-yoo-ay-shan). Civil law. 1. The act of depositing (an instrument) with a public registry for recording. 2. A document that evidences a donation of property.

insinuation of a will The first production of a will for probate.

insist vb. (Of a house in a bicameral legislature) to reaffirm (an amendment) that the other house has considered but in which it has not concurred, or to reaffirm nonconcurrence in an amendment from which the other house has not receded. An insistence often results in a request for a conference. See CONCUR (4); CONFERENCE (2); RECEDE. insistence, n. "When one house refuses to recede from its amendments, the bill is not thereby lost, because the house may vote to insist upon its amendments. A message is sent to the other house stating that the house has insisted upon its amendments and is usually accompanied by a request for conference. When one house insists upon its amendments, the other house may then insist upon its nonconcurrence in the amendments and request a conference or recede from its nonconcurrence and concur in the amendments, which would constitute a final passage of the bill with the amendments." National Conference of State legislatures. Masons Manual of Legislative Proceaure § 768, at 556-57 (2000).

insolvency 1. The condition of being unable to pay debts as they fall due or in the usual course of business. 2. The inability to pay debts as they mature. Also termed failure to meet obligations;failing circumstances. See BANKRUPTCY (2). Cf. SOLVENCY.

insolvency law A statute that provides relief to a debtor who lacks the means to pay creditors. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with bankruptcy law because legislative drafting may not produce a brightline distinction. Also termed insolvent law. Cf. BANKRUPTCY LAW (2).

insolvency proceeding Archaic. A bankruptcy proceeding to liquidate or rehabilitate an estate. See BANKRUPTCY (1).

insolvent adj. (Of a debtor) haVing liabilities that exceed the value of assets; having stopped paying debts in the ordinary course of business or being unable to pay them as they fall due. insolvent, n.

insolvent law See INSOLVENCY LAW.

inspectator Archaic. A prosecutor, adversary, or inspector.

inspectio corporis (in-spek-shee-oh kor-par-is). [Latin]. An inspection of the person. An inspectio corporis was an actual physical examination, the performance of which was rarely allowed except in extreme cases, such as one involVing the concealment of pregnancy.

inspection A careful examination of something, such as goods (to determine their fitness for purchase) or items produced in response to a discovery request (to determine their relevance to a lawsuit).

inspection right The legal entitlement in certain circumstances to examine articles or documents, such as a consumers right to inspect goods before paying for them.

inspection search See administrative search under SEARCH.

inspector 1. A person authorized to inspect something. 2. A police officer who ranks below a superintendent or deputy superintendent, and who is in charge of several precincts.

inspector general (often cap.) 1. One of several federal officials charged with supervising a particular agencys audits or investigations. 2. A governor-appointed state official who oversees internal review within executive agencies to ensure that there is no waste or abuse of resources.

inspeximus (in-spek-si-mas), vb. [Latin "we have inspected"). A charter in which the grantor confirms an earlier charter. Inspeximus was the opening word of the charter. Also termed vidimus.

install To induct (a person) into an office or a rank <the newly elected governor was soon installed in office>.

installment A periodic partial payment of a debt.

installment accounting method A method by which a taxpayer can spread the recognition of gains from a sale of property over the payment period by computing the gross-profit percentage from the sale and applying it to each payment.

installment accounting method See ACCOUNTING METHOD.

installment contract See retail installment contract under CONTRACT.

installment contract A contract requiring or authorizing the delivery of goods in separate lots, or payments in separate increments, to be separately accepted. - Under the UCC, this type of agreement will be considered one contract even if it has a clause stating that each delivery is a separate contract. UCC § 2-612.

installment credit Consumer credit scheduled to be repaid in two or more payments, usu. at regular intervals. The seller ordinarily exacts finance charges.