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opt-out class A plaintiff class, certified under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3), from which class members may choose to exclude themselves if they do not want to be bound by the decisions or settlements reached in the case . Rule 23(e) permits courts to dismiss class members who request exclusion. Class members mav wait until the settlement's terms are announced before choosing to opt out.

opt-out statute A state law that limits the exemptions that a debtor who has filed for bankruptcy can claim to those provided by state and local bankruptcy laws, and nonbankruptcy federal law. The federal bankruptcy code includes an opt-out provision that allows states to choose not to adopt the federal exemptions. 11 U.S.C. § 522(b). - Also termed opt-out legislation.

opus (oh-pas), n. [Latin "work"] (A product of work or labor; esp., an artistic, literary, or musical work or composition. PI. opuses, opera (ah-pa, ra or oh-pa-ra)

opus manufactum (oh-pas man-ya-fak-tam). [Latin] An artifact; an artificial work, as distinguished from what is natural. PI. opera manufacta.

opus novum (oh-Pas noh-vam). [Latin "new work"] A structure newly built on land. PI. opera nova. See NOVI OPERIS NUNTIATIO.

or" lease See LEASE.

oraculum (a-rak-ya-lam), n. [Latin "a solemn decla¬ration"] Roman law. In the later empire, an order or decision by the emperor.

oral adj. Spoken or uttered; not expressed in writing. Cf. PAROL.

oral argument An advocate s spoken presentation before a court (esp. an appellate court) supporting or opposing the legal relief at issue. Also termed (in BrE) hearing. [Tjhe oral argument is the one chance for you (not for some chance-assigned mere judge) to answer any questions you can stir any member of the court into being bothered about and into bothering With, and the one chance to sew up each such question into a remembered point in favor. In any but freak situations, oral argument is a must. Karl N. Llewellyn, The Common Law Tradition: Deciding Appeals 240 (1960).

oral confession A confession that is not made in writing. Oral confessions are admissible, though as a practical matter police interrogators prefer to take written or recorded confessions since juries typically view these as being more reliable.

oral confession See CONFESSION.

oral contract See parol contract (1) under CONTRACT.

oral contract See parol contract (1).

oral deposition A deposition given in response to oral questioning by a lawyer.

oral deposition See DEPOSITION.

oral evidence See testimonial evidence under EVIDENCE.

oral trust See TRUST.

oral will See WILL.

Orange Book A list of patents on drugs or drug products for which generic-drug applications may be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration. The expiration dates of the patents are also listed. An applicant may submit a generic-drug application at any time, but the applicant must either accept deferral of FDA approval until the patent expires or contest the validity of the patent. The Orange Book s official title is Approved Drug Products With Therapeutic EqUivalence Evaluations.

oratio consultoria (or-ay-shee-oh kon-sal-tor-ee-a). See LIBELLUS CONSULTORIA.

orator (or-a-tar), 1. Roman law. (ita!.) An advocate or pleader. 2. Hist. A plaintiff or petitioner in an action in chancery.

oratrix (or-a-triks).A female orator.

orbation (or-bay-shan). Bereavement or deprivation of one s parents or children.

orced pooling See compulsory pooling.

ordeal (bef. 12c) A primitive form oftrial in which an accused person was subjected to a usu. dangerous divine revelation of the person s guilt or innocence . The participants believed that God would reveal a person s culpability by protecting an innocent person from some or all consequences of the ordeal. The ordeal was commonly used in Europe until the 13th century, but only sporadically after 1215, when the Fourth Lateran Council forbade the clergy from participating in ordeals. Also termed trial by ordeal; judiCium Dei ("judgment of God"); vulgariS purgatio. Cf. CANFARA. Ordeals involved an appeal to God to reveal the truth in human disputes, and they required priestly participation to achieve this rapport with the Deity. Several forms of ordeal were recognised by the early Christian Church, but in England they usually took the form of fire or water. In the former, a piece of iron was put into a fire and then in the party s hand; the hand was bound, and inspected a few days later: if the burn had festered, God was taken to have deCided against the party. The ordeal of cold water required the party to be trussed and lowered into a pond; if he sank, the water was deemed to have received him with God s blessing, and so he was quickly fished out. In 1215, the Lateran Council took the decisive step of forbidding clergy to participate any more in ordeals. This led in England to the introduction of the criminal trial jury. J.H. Baker, An Introduction to English Legal History 5-6 (3d ed. 1990).

ordeal by fire An ordeal in which the accused person was forced to hold a piece of hot metal or to walk barefoot across a hot surface, the judgment ofguilt or innocence depending on how qUickly and cleanly the person s hands or feet healed. Typically the person s hand was bandaged and, upon the bandage s removal three days later, was examined for festers (indicating guilt). Also termed fire ordeal; ordeal by hot iron; ordeal offire. Such evidence as we have seems to show that the ordeal of hot iron was so arranged as to give the accused a considerable chance of escape. 2 Frederick Pollock & Frederic William Maitland, History Of English Law Before the Time of Edward 1599 (2d ed. 1899).

ordeal by hot iron See ordeal by fire.

ordeal by water 1. An ordeal in which gUilt or innocence depended on whether the accused person floated or sank after being submerged in cold water. A priest would first consecrate the pool of water, adjuring it to receive the innocent but reject the guilty. An accused who sank was declared innocent; one who floated was adjudged guilty because floating revealed the water s (and therefore God s) rejection of the person. This type of ordeal was used esp. in witch craft trials. Also termed ordeal by cold water; cold water ordeal; ordeal ofcold water; (in ecclesiastical law) aquae frigidae judiCium. 2. An ordeal in which guilt or innocence was determined by how quickly the accused person s arm healed after being placed in boiling water. Often the person was forced to retrieve a stone from the bottom of a pot of boiling water. The person s hand and arm were then bandaged and, upon the bandage s removal three days later, were examined for festers (indicating guilt). Also termed (in sense 2) ordeal by hot water; hot-water ordeal; ordeal of hot water; (in both senses) water ordeal; ordeal of water; (in ecclesiastical law) aquae ferventis judicium; aenum. The ordeal of water was a very singular institution. Sinking was the sign of innocence, floating the sign of guilt. As anyone would sink unless he understood how to float, and intentionally did so, it is difficult to see how anyone could ever be convicted by this means. Is it possible that this ordeal may have been an honourable form of suicide, like the Japanese happy despatch? In nearly every case the accused would sink. This would prove his innocence, indeed, but there would be no need to take him out. He would thus die honourably. If by any accident he floated, he would be put to death disgracefully. 1 James Fitz- james Stephen, A History of the Criminal Law of England 73 (1883).

ordeal of the morsel An ordeal in which the person who was to make the proof was given a one-ounce piece of bread or cheese that a priest had solemnly charged to stick in the throat of the guilty. A person who choked was declared guilty; a person who did not was declared innocent. Also termed corsnaed; corsned; trial by corsnaed;judicial morsel; morsel of execration.

ordelf (or-delf). See OREDELF.

ordels (or-deelz). English law. The right to conduct trials by ordeal within a given jurisdiction.

order 1. A command, direction, or instruction. See MANDATE (1). 2. A written direction or command delivered by a court or judge. The word generally embraces final decrees as well as interlocutory directions or commands. Also termed court order:]udicial order. See MANDAMUS. An order is the mandate or determination of the court upon some subsidiary or collateral matter arising in an action, not disposing of the merits, but adjudicating a preliminary point or directing some step in the proceedings. 1 Henry Campbell Black, A Treatise on the Law ofJudgments § 1, at 5 (2d ed. 1902). While an order may under some circumstances amount to ajudgment, they must be distinguished, owing to the different consequences flowing from them, not only in the matter of enforcement and appeal but in other respects, as, for instance, the time within which proceedings to annul them must be taken. Rulings on motions are ordinarily orders rather than judgments. The class of judgments and of decrees formerly called interlocutory is included in the definition given in [modern codes] of the word order. 1 A.C. Freeman, A Treatise of the Law ofJudgments § 19, at 28 (Edward W. Tuttle ed., 5th ed. 1925).

order absolute See decree absolute under DECREE.

order assigning residue A probate court s order naming the persons entitled to receive parts of an estate and allotting that share to each.

order at the market See market order under ORDER (8).

order at the market See market order.

order bill of lading A negotiable bill oflading stating that the goods are consigned to the order of the person named in the bill.

order bill of lading See BILL OF LADING.

order document See order paper under PAPER.

order instrument See order paper under PAPER.

order nisi See decree nisi under DECREE.

order of business See ORDER (4).

order of business 1. AGENDA. 2. The sequence in which a meeting considers its business. A settled order of business is, however, necessary for the government of the presiding person, and to restrain individual members from calling up favorite measures, or matters under their special patronage, out of their just turn. It is useful also for directing the discretion of the house, when they are moved to take up a particular matter, to the prejudice of others having priority of right to their attention in the general order of business. Thomas Jefferson, A Manual of Parliamentary Practice 30 (1801).

order of dismissal See dismissal order under ORDER.

order of dismissal See dismissal order.

order of filiation See filiation order under ORDER (2).

Order of the Coif (koyf). 1. Formerly, the order of serjeants-at-law, the highest order of counsel at the English Bar. The last serjeant was appointed to the Order in 1875.2. An honorary legal organization whose members are selected on the basis of their law-school grades. See COIF.

order of the day See ORDER (4).

order of the day 1. An item of business scheduled for consideration at a certain upcoming meeting, at a certain time, or in a certain order. An order of the day is either a general order or a speCial order. 2. The daily order of business. See order of business.

order paper See PAPER.

order paper An instrument payable to a specific payee or to any person that the payee deSignates. Also termed order document; order instrument.

order to pay See ORDER (2).

order to pay 1. Commercial law. A written order to a person to deliver money, usu. out of funds on deposit with that person, to a third party on demand. 2. A court order directing a person to deliver money that the person owes or for which the person is responsible.

order to show cause See show-cause order under ORDER (2).

Order, Resolution, or Vote Clause U.S. Const. , art. 1, § 7, d. 3.

ordered, adjudged, and decreed The traditional words used to introduce a court decision <It is therefore ordered, adjudged, and decreed that Martin must return the overpayment to Hurley>. The usual style of a decree is it is ordered, adjudged, and decreed and of an order or rule, it is ordered: etc. 1 Henry Campbell Black, A Treatise on the Law ofJudgments § 2, at 6-7 (2d ed. 1902).

orderly officer See officer of the day under OFFICER (2).

orderly officer See officer of the day.

ordinance (or-da-nants). An authoritative law or decree; esp., a municipal regulation. Municipal governments can pass ordinances on matters that the state government allows to be regulated at the local level. A municipal ordinance carries the state s authority and has the same effect within the municipality s limits as a state statute. - Also termed bylaw; municipal ordinance. An ordinance may be purely administrative in nature, establishing offices, prescribing duties, or setting salaries; it may have to do with the routine or procedure of the governing body. Or it may be a governmental exercise of the power to control the conduct of the public -estab. lishing rules which must be complied with, or prohibiting certain actions or conduct. In any event it is the determi nation of the sovereign power of the state as delegated to the municipality. It is a legislative enactment, within its sphere, as much as an act of the state legislature. 1 Judith O Galiagher, Municipal Ordinances § lA.Ol, at 3 (2d ed. 1998).

ordinandi lex (or-da-nan-di-leks). [Latin] The law of procedure, as distinguished from substantive law.

ordinarily prudent person See REASONABLE PERSON.

ordinary 1. Occurring in the regular course of events; normal; usual. Cf. EXTRAORDINARY. 2. (Of a judge) having jurisdiction by right ofoffice rather than by delegation. 3. Of jurisdiction) original or immedi-ate, as opposed to delegated.

ordinary 1. Eccles. law. A high-ranking official who has immediate jurisdiction over a specified territory, such as an archbishop over a province or a bishop over a diocese. 2. A judge having jurisdiction by right of office rather than by delegation. 3. A probate judge. The term is used in this sense only in some U.S. states.

ordinary ambassador See resident ambassador under AMBASSADOR.

ordinary ambassador See resident ambassador.

ordinary and necessary business expense See ordinary and necessary expense under EXPENSE.

ordinary and necessary expense See EXPENSE.

ordinary and necessary expense An expense that is normal or usual and helpful or appropriate for the operation of a particular trade or business and that is paid or incurred during the taxable year. Ordinary and necessary expenses are tax-deductible. - Also termed ordinary and necessary business expense.

ordinary annuity An annuity that makes payments at the end of each pay period. Cf. annuity due.

ordinary annuity See ANNUITY.

ordinary assembly Parliamentary law. A deliberative assembly other than a legislative body.

ordinary assembly See ASSEMBLY.

ordinary care See reasonable care under CARE.

ordinary care See reasonable care,

ordinary committee A committee other than a committee of the whole.

ordinary committee See COMMITTEE.

ordinary course of business See COURSE OF BUSINESS.

ordinary diligence The diligence that a person of average prudence would exercise in handling his or her own property like that at issue. Also termed common diligence.

ordinary diligence See DILIGENCE.

ordinary gain A gain from the sale or exchange of a noncapital asset. Cf. CAPITAL GAIN.

ordinary gain See GAIN (3).

ordinary goods Goods that are anything other than mobile goods, minerals, or goods covered by a certificate of title. UCC § 9-103(l)(a). The current UCC does not distinguish between ordinary and mobile goods.

ordinary goods See GOODS.

ordinary high tide See mean high tide under TIDE.

ordinary income 1. For business-tax purposes, earnings from the normal operations or activities of a business. Also termed operating income. 2. For individual income-tax purposes, income that is derived from sources such as wages, commissions, and interest (as opposed to income from capital gains).

ordinary income See INCOME.

ordinary insurance See ordinary life insurance under LIFE INSCRANCE.

ordinary law See STATUTORY LAW

ordinary life insurance See LIFE INSURANCE.

ordinary life insurance 1. See LIFE INSURANCE. 2. See whole life insurance under LIFE INSURANCE.

ordinary loss See LOSS.

ordinary main motion See original main motion under MOTION (2).

ordinary majority See simple majority under MAJORITY.

ordinary meaning See plain meaning under MEANING.

ordinary negligence See NEGLIGENCE.

ordinary s court See probate court under COURT.

ordinary seaman See SEAMAN.

ordinary seaman A seaman who has some experience but who is not proficient enough to be classified as an able-bodied seaman. Abbr. OS; OD.

ordinary shares See common stock under STOCK.

ordinary skill 1. See SKILL. 2. See ORDINARY SKILL IN THE ART.