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installment credit See CREDIT (4).

installment debt A debt that is to be repaid in a series of payments at regular times over a specified period.

installment debt See DEBT.

installment land contract See contract for deed.

installment land contract See contract for deed under CONTRACT.

installment loan See LOAN.

installment note See NOTE (1).

installment payment One of a series of periodic payments made under an installment plan. See INSTALLMENT SALE.

installment payment See PAYMENT.

installment plan See INSTALLMENT SALE.

installment sale A conditional sale in which the buyer makes a down payment followed by periodic payments and the seller retains title or a security interest until all payments have been received. Also termed installment plan; retail installment sale.

installment sale See INSTALLMENT SALE.

instance 1. An example or occurrence <there were 55 instances of reported auto theft in this small community last year>. 2. The act of instituting legal proceedings <court offirst instance>. 3. Urgent solicitation or insistence <she applied for the job at the instance of her friend>.

instance To illustrate by example; to cite <counsel instanced three cases for the court to consider>.

instance court See COURT.

instance court 1. See trial court. 2. Hist. The admiralty court in England that exercised original jurisdiction in all cases except those involving prizes.

instant adj. This; the present (case, judgment, order, etc.); now being discussed <the instant order is not appealable>.

instant case See case at bar.

instant case See case at bar under CASE.

instantaneous crime See CRIME.

instantaneous crime A crime that is fully completed by a single act, as arson or murder, rather than a series of acts. The statute of limitations for an instantaneous crime begins to run with its completion. Cf. continuous crime.

instantaneous death Death occurring in an instant or within an extremely short time after an injury or seizure. It is a factor in determining an award of damages for the victim's pain and suffering. Sometimes also termed immediate death. "Although the possibility of a death that is truly simultaneous with the injury that caused it has been denied, it has been pointed out that death may be so contemporaneous with the fatal injury as to be instantaneous in the sense that there could be no recovery for the victim's pain and suffering. Ordinarily, death is not regarded as instantaneous if an appreciable length of time elapsed between the injury and the death. Indeed, even where the injury causing the death is necessarily fatal and death results therefrom in a few moments, it has been held that although it would commonly be called an instantaneous death, still if the injured person survives the injury for a brief period, it may not be said that the death is instantaneous .... In such case it is immaterial that the period of time between the injury and death is short." 22A Am. Jur. 2d Death § 43, at 158 (1988).

instantaneous death See DEATH.

instanter (in-stan-tar), adv. Instantly; at once <the defendant was ordered to file its motion instanter>.

instant-runoff voting See VOTING.

instar (in-stahr). [Latin]. Likeness; the equivalent of a thing. This term appeared in phrases such as instar omnium ("equivalent or tantamount to all").

instigate To goad or incite (someone) to take some action or course.

instinct adj. Archaic. Imbued or charged <the contract is instinct with an obligation of good faith>.

institor (in-sti-tor or -tar), n. [Latin] Roman law. A person, often but not always a son or slave, to whom the transaction of any particular business is committed; esp., a shopkeeper or other person in charge of a commercial business. See actio institoria under ACTIO.

institorial power (in-sta-tor-ee-al). The power given by a business owner to an agent to act in the owner s behalf.

institorial power See POWER (3).

institute 1. A legal treatise or commentary, such as Cokes Institutes in four volumes (published in 1628). 2. (cap. & pl.) An elementary treatise on Roman law in four books. This treatise is one of the four component parts of the Corpus Juris Civilis. Also termed Institutes of Justinian; Justinians Institutes. See CORPUS JURIS CIVILIS. 3. (cap. & pl.) An elementary treatise written by the Roman jurist Gaius. The Institutes, written in the second century A.D., served as a foundation for the Institutes of Justinian. Also termed Institutes of Gaius. 4. (cap. & pl.) A paraphrase of Justinians Institutes written in Greek by Theophilus, a law professor at Constantinople who helped prepare the Institutes of Justinian. This work was prepared in the sixth century A.D. Also termed Paraphrase of Theophilus; Institutes of Theophilus. 5. Civil law. A person named in a will as heir, but under directions to pass the estate on to some other specified person (called the substitute). See SUBSTITUTE (2). 6. An organization devoted to the study and improvement of the law. See AMERICAN LAW INSTITUTE.

institute To begin or start; commence <institute legal proceedings against the manufacturer>.

Institute for Telecommunication Sciences See NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION. Abbr. ITS.

Institute of Museum and Library Services An independent federal agency that makes grants to support libraries and museums. It was established within the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities in 1996. Abbr. IMLS. See NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES.

instituted heir See testamentary heir.

instituted heir See testamentary heir under HEIR.

Institutes of Gaius See INSTITUTE (3).

Institutes of Justinian See INSTITUTE (2).

Institutes of Theophilus See INSTITUTE (4).

institutio heredis (in-sti-t[y]oo-shee-oh ha-ree-dis). [Latin] Roman law. The naming of an heir, which was essential to the validity of a will; specif., the designation in a will of a person as the testators heir. Also termed heredis institutio.

institution 1. The commencement of something, such as a civil or criminal action. 2. An elementary rule, principle, or practice. 3. An established organization, esp. one of a public character, such as a facility for the treatment of mentally disabled persons. Also termed public institution. 4. A testators appointment of an heir; the designation of an institute. See INSTITUTE (5). 5. Eccles. law. The investiture of a cleric with a benefice, by which the cleric becomes responSible for the spiritual needs of the members of a parish. Cf. PRESENTATION (2); ADVOWSON.

institutional broker See BROKER.

institutional broker A broker who trades securities for institutional clients such as banks, mutual funds, pension funds, and insurance companies.

institutional gerrymandering Gerrymandering by means of varying the number of representatives per district.

institutional gerrymandering See GERRYMANDERING.

institutional investor One who trades large volumes of securities, usu. by investing other peoples money into large managed funds. Institutional investors are often pension funds, investment companies, trust managers, or insurance companies. See MUTUAL FUND.

institutional investor See INVESTOR.

institutional lender A business, esp. a bank, that routinely makes loans to the general public.

institutional litigant An organized group that brings lawsuits not merely to win but also to bring about a change in the law or to defend an existing law. "Our second observation relates to what has been called the institutional litigant. There are organized groups, such as labour unions or trade associations, that have a continuing interest in the development of the common law. A group of this sort may take a case to litigation, not so much for the sake of a determination of the case itself, but for the purpose of bringing about a change in the law or of defending an existing rule against a change sought by some other group. When such groups are involved, the usual arguments against prospective changes in the law through judicial decisions lose much of their force. Indeed, when the litigants have this sort of long-term interest, a judicial proceeding may take on, with the assent of all involved, something of the nature of a legislative hearing." Lon L. Fuller, Anatomy of the Law 163 (1968).

institutional market See MARKET.

institutionalize 1. To place (a person) in an institution. 2. To give (a rule or practice) official sanction.

institutiones (in-sti-t[y]oo-shee-oh-neez), n. [Latin] Roman law. Elementary works of law; institutes. See INSTITUTE.

instruct vb. See JURY CHARGE (3).

instruct down Missouri law. (Of a court) to give jurors an instruction on a lesser included offense. A court must instruct down only if the jury could find the defendant not guilty of the higher offense but guilty of the lesser one.

instructed delegate See DELEGATE.

instructed delegate A delegate bound to vote according to a constituency's expressed wishes. Cf. uninstructed delegate; UNIT RULE (2).

instructed verdict See directed verdict under VERDICT.

instruction See JURY INSTRUCTION.

instruction directive A document that contains specific directions concerning the declarants wishes for healthcare decisions. Cf. ADVANCE DIRECTIVE; LIVING WILL; PROXY DIRECTIVE.

instructional text A literary, graphic, or pictorial work designed and prepared for use in ordinary teaching activities. See 17 USCA § 101.

instrument 1. A written legal document that defines rights, duties, entitlements, or liabilities, such as a contract, will, promissory note, or share certificate. Also termed legal instrument. "An instrument seems to embrace contracts, deeds, statutes, wills, Orders in Council, orders, warrants, schemes, letters patent, rules, regulations, bye-laws, whether in writing or in print, or partly in both; in fact, any written or printed document that may have to be inter preted by the Courts." Edward Seal, Cardinal Rules of Legal Interpretation 55 (A.E. Randall ed., 3d ed. 1924).

instrument of accession A document formally acknowledging the issuing states consent to an existing treaty, and exchanged with the treaty parties or deposited with a designated state or international organization. See ACCESSION (3).

instrument of appeal A document used to appeal a judgment of divorce rendered by a trial judge of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division to the full panel of the court. The use of the instrument of appeal ended in 1881, when appeals were taken to the Court of Appeal rather than the full panel of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division.

instrument of crime See CRIMINAL INSTRUMENT.

instrument of ratification A document formally acknowledging the issuing states confirmation and acceptance of a treaty, and exchanged by the treaty parties or deposited with a deSignated state or international organization. See RATIFICATION (4).

instrumenta noviter reperta (in-stra-men-ta noh-va-tar ri-par-ta). [Law Latin]. Instruments newly discovered. See EX INSTRUMENTIS DE NOVO REPERTIS.

instrumental crime See CRIME.

instrumental crime A crime committed to further another end or result; esp., a crime committed to obtain money to purchase a good or service. Cf. expressive crime.

instrumentality 1. A thing used to achieve an end or purpose. 2. A means or agency through which a function of another entity is accomplished, such as a branch of a governing body.

instrumentality rule The principle that a corporation is treated as a subsidiary if it is controlled to a great extent by another corporation. Also termed instrumentality theory.

instrumentum (in-stroo-men-tam). [Latin]. A document, deed, or instrument; esp., a document that is not under seal, such as a court roll.

insubordination 1. A willful disregard of an employers instructions, esp. behavior that gives the employer cause to terminate a workers employment. 2. An act of disobedience to proper authority; esp., a refusal to obey an order that a superior officer is authorized to give.

insufficient evidence Evidence that is inadequate to prove or support a finding of something. This term usu. describes a case that is not strong enough to even get to the fact-finder.

insufficient funds See NOT SUFFICIENT FUNDS.

insula (in-s[y]a-la), n. [Latin] Roman law. 1. An island. 2. A detached house or block of apartments leased to tenants.

insular 1. Of, relating to, from, or constituting an island <insular origin>. 2. Isolated from, uninterested in, or ignorant of things outside a limited scope <insular viewpoint>.

insular area A territory or commonwealth. This phrase is used by some writers to denote the genus of which the terms territory and commonwealth are species. See COMMONWEALTH (2); TERRITORY (1).

insular court See COURT.

insular court A federal court with jurisdiction over U.S. island territories, such as the Virgin Islands.

insular possession An island territory of the United States, such as Guam.

insular possession See POSSESSION.

insurable adj. Able to be insured <an insurable risk>. insurability, n.

insurable interest See INTEREST (2).

insurable interest A legal interest in another persons life or health or in the protection of property from injury, loss, destruction, or pecuniary damage. To take out an insurance policy, the purchaser or the potential insureds beneficiary must have an insurable interest. If a policy does not have an insurable interest as its basis, it will usu. be considered a form of wagering and thus be held unenforceable. See wager policy under INSURANCE POLICY.

insurable value The worth of the subject ofan insurance contract, usu. expressed as a monetary amount.

insurance 1. A contract by which one party (the insurer) undertakes to indemnify another party (the insured) against risk ofloss, damage, or liability arising from the occurrence of some specified contingency, and usu. to defend the insured or to pay for a defense regardless of whether the insured is ultimately found liable. An insured party usu. pays a premium to the insurer in exchange for the insurers assumption of the insureds risk. Although indemnification provisions are most common in insurance policies, parties to any type of contract may agree on indemnification arrangements. 2. The amount for which someone or something is covered by such an agreement. - insure, vb. "Insurance, or as it is sometimes called, assurance, is a contract by which one party, for a conSideration, which is usually paid in money either in one sum or at different times during the continuance of the risk, promises to make a certain payment of money upon the destruction or injury of something in which the other party has an interest. In fire insurance and in marine insurance the thing insured is property; in life or accident insurance it is the life or health of the person." 1 George J. Couch, Couch on Insurance § 1.2, at 4-5 (2d ed. 1984).

insurance adjuster A person who determines the value of a loss to the insured and settles the claim against the insurer. Also termed claims adjuster. See ADJUSTER.

insurance agent See INSURANCE AGENT.

insurance agent A person authorized by an insurance company to sell its insurance policies. Also termed producer; (in property insurance) recording agent; record agent.

insurance broker See BROKER.

insurance broker A person who, for compensation, brings about or negotiates contracts of insurance as an agent for someone else, but not as an officer, salaried employee, or licensed agent of an insurance company . The broker acts as an intermediary between the insured and the insurer. Also termed producer. "The term 'insurance broker' is often used to characterize an indiVidual who is thought to act primarily on behalf of a purchaser in an insurance transaction. This delineation ... is employed by some courts and writers even though almost all insurance brokers are actually compensated for their services through commissions that are paid by the insurers. Because brokers receive compensation from the insurer, it seems evident that a persuasive argument can be made for not treating a broker as an agent of the insurance purchaser." Robert E. Keeton & Alan I. Widiss, Insurance Law: A Guide to Fundamental Principles, Legal Doctrines, and Commercial Practices § 2.5, at 83-84 (1988).

insurance certificate 1. A document issued by an insurer as evidence of insurance or membership in an insurance or pension plan. 2. A document issued by an insurer to a shipper as evidence that a shipment of goods is covered by a marine insurance policy.

insurance commissioner A public official who supervises the insurance business conducted in a state.

insurance company A corporation or association that issues insurance policies.

insurance fraud See FRAUD.

insurance fraud Fraud committed against an insurer, as when an insured lies on a policy application or fabricates a claim.

insurance of the person See INSURANCE.

insurance of the person Insurance intended to protect the person, such as life, accident, and disability insurance.

insurance policy 1. A contract of insurance. 2. A document detailing such a contract. Often shortened to policy. Also termed policy of insurance; contract of insurance.