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present interest 1. A property interest in which the privilege of possession or enjoyment is present and not merely future; an interest entitling the holder to immediate possession. Also termed present estate. Cf. FUTURE INTEREST. 2. A trust interest in which the beneficiary has the immediate beneficial enjoyment of the trusts proceeds. 3. A trust interest in which the trustee has the immediate right to control and manage the property in trust.

present interest See INTEREST (2).

present recollection refreshed Evidence. A witness s memory that has been enhanced by shOWing the witness a document that describes the relevant events. The document itself is merely a memory stimulus and is not admitted in evidence. Fed. R. Evid. 612. Also termed refreshing recollection; refreshing memory; present recollection revived. Cf. PAST RECOLLECTION RECORDED.

present sale See SALE.

present sale Under the UCC, a sale accomplished by the making of a contract. UCC § 2-106(1).

present sense impression Evidence. One s perception ofan event or condition, formed during or immediately after the fact. A statement containing a present sense impression is admissible even if it is hearsay. Fed. R. Evid. 803(1). Cf. EXCITED UTTERANCE.

present use See USE (4).

present value The sum of money that, with compound interest, would amount to a specified sum at a specified future date; future value discounted to its value today. Also termed present worth.

presentation 1. 1he delivery of a document to an issuer or named person for the purpose of initiating action under a letter of credit; PRESENTMENT (3). 2. . Eccles. law. A benefice patron s nomination of a person to fill a vacant benefice. If the bishop rejected the appointee, the patron could enforce the right to fill the vacancy by writ of quare impedit in the Court of Common Pleas. See QUARE IMPEDIT. Cf. ADVOWSON; INSTITUTION (5).

presentence hearing A proceeding at which a judge or jury receives and examines all relevant information regarding a convicted criminal and the related offense before passing sentence. Also termed sentencing hearing.

presentence hearing See PRESENTENCE HEARING.

presentence-investigation report A probation officer s detailed account of a convicted defendant s educational, criminal, family, and social background, conducted at the court s request as an aid in passing sentence. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 32(c). - Abbr. PSI; PIR. - Often shortened to presentence report.

presenter Any person presenting a document (such as a draft) to an issuer for honor. UCC § 5-102.

presenting bank A nonpayor bank that presents a negotiable instrument for payment. UCC § 4-105(6).

presenting bank See BANK.

presenting jury See GRAND JURY.

presenting jury See GRAND JURY.

presentment (pri-zent-mant). 1. The act of presenting or laying before a court or other tribunal a formal statement about a matter to be dealt with legally. 2. Criminal procedure. A formal written accusation returned by a grand jury on its own initiative, without a prosecutor s previous indictment request. Presentments are obsolete in the federal courts. "A grand jury has only two functions, either to indict or to return a no bill. The Constitution speaks also of a presentment, but this is a term with a distinct historical meaning now not well understood. Historically presentment was the process by which a grand jury initiated an independent investigation and asked that a charge be drawn to cover the facts should they constitute a crime. With United States attorneys now always available to advise grand juries, proceeding by presentment is an outmoded practice." 1 Charles Alan Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure § 110, at 459 (3d ed. 1999). 3. The formal production of a negotiable instrument for acceptance or payment. - Also termed (in sense 3) presentation. "Presentment and dishonor occur, for instance, when the holder of a check attempts to cash it at the drawee bank, but payment is refused because the drawer lacks sufficient funds on deposit. The demand for payment is presentment. The bank s refusal to pay is dishonor." 2 James J. White & Robert S. Summers, Uniform Commercial Code § 16-8. at 100 (4th ed. 1995).

presentment for payment Production of an instrument to the drawee, acceptor, or maker for payment. This type of presentment must be made on the date when the instrument is due.

presentment of Englishry The offering of proof that a slain person was English rather than (before the Conquest) a Dane or (after the Conquest) a Norman. This requirement was issued first by the conquering Danes and then by the Normans to protect these groups from the English by the threat of a village- or hundred-wide amercement if the inhabitants failed to prove that a dead person found among them was English.

presentment warranty See WARRANTY (2).

presentmentfor acceptance Production of an instrument to the drawee, acceptor, or maker for acceptance. This type of presentment may be made anytime before maturity, except that with bills payable at Sight, after demand, or after sight, presentment must be made within a reasonable time.

presents Archaic. 1he instrument under consideration. This is usu. part of the phrase these presents, which is part of the longer phrase know all men by these presents (itself a loan translation from the Latin noverint universi per praesentes). See KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS.

preservation order A direction to a property owner to maintain a historic building or conserve a natural habitat.

preside 1. To occupy the place ofauthority, esp. as a judge during a hearing or trial <preside over the proceedings>. 2. To exercise management or control <preside over the estate>.

president 1. The chief political executive of a government; the head of state. 2. The chief executive officer of a corporation or other organization. 3. CHAIR (1). 4. CHAIR (3). See (in senses 3 & 4) presiding officer (3) under OFFICER (2). - presidential, adj.

president emeritus See EMERITUS.

president judge See presiding judge under JUDGE.

president of a court-martial The senior member in rank present at a court-martial trial.

President of the United States The highest executive officer of the federal government of the United States. The President is elected to a four-year term by a majority of the presidential electors chosen by popular vote from each of the states. The President must be a natural citizen, must be at least 3S years old, and must have been a resident for 14 years within the United States. U.S. Const. art. II, § 1.

president-elect An officer who automatically succeeds to the presidency when the incumbent president s term expires. If the organization s governing documents so provide, the president-elect may act as president in the incumbent president s absence, or may assume the presidency early if the incumbent does not finish the term.

presidential elector See ELECTOR (1).

Presidential message See MESSAGE.

presiding judge See JUDGE.

presiding judge 1. A judge in charge of a particular court or judicial district; esp., the senior active judge on a three-member panel that hears and decides cases. 2. A chief judge. Abbr. P.J. Also termed president judge.

presiding juror See JUROR.

presiding officer 1. The president of the court in a special court-martial that does not have a military judge. 2. In a court-martial with a military judge, the military judge. 3. An officer who presides, esp. over a civilian court or deliberative assembly. See CHAIR (1); PRESIDE.

presiding officer See OFFICER (2).

presiding officer See PRESIDING OFFICER (3) under OFFICER (2).

presidingjuror The juror who chairs the jury during deliberations and speaks for the jury in court by announcing the verdict. The presiding juror is usu. elected by the jury at the start ofdeliberations. Also termed foreman;foreperson; (in Scots law) jury chancellor.

press 1. The news media; print and broadcast news organizations collectively. The Constitution specifically selected the press, which includes not only newspapers, books, and magazines, but also humble leaflets and circulars, to play an important role in the discussion of public affairs." Mills v. Alabama, 384 U.S. 214,219,86 S.Ct. 1434, 1437 (1966). Press could refer to one or more subsets of media, defined either by function or form. To the extent that existing law defines the press at all, it does so mostly in terms of specific media forms. The Supreme Court has addressed the matter only obliquely .... [lIt has never had to decide whether a particular litigant was press. In most cases the question does not arise because the claimed right would be protected as fully by the Speech Clause as by the Press Clause. The cases in which the Court seems to rely on the Press Clause have involved newspapers or magazines whose status as press was unquestioned. The Court on other occasions has mentioned publishers and broadcasters, the media, editorial judgment, editorial control, journalistic discretion, and newsgathering as possible objects of protection. The most famous discussion of the meaning of the Press Clause, a 1974 speech by Justice Stewart, identified its beneficiaries as the daily newspapers and other established media, or newspapers, television, and magazines. David A. Anderson, Freedom of the Press, 80 Texas L. Rev. 429, 436 (2002). 2. A piece of parchment, as one sewed together to make up a roll or record of judicial proceedings.

Press Clause The First Amendment provision that "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom ... of the press." U.S. Const. amend l. Also termed Freedom of the Press Clause.

prest (prest). A duty to be paid by the sheriff upon his account in the Exchequer or for money remaining in his custody.

prest money A monetary payment made to a soldier or sailor on enlistment.

prestable (pres-ta-bal), adj. Scots law. 1. Payable. 2. Enforceable; exigible. This term appears generally in reference to a debt. Cf. EXIGIBLE.

prestation (pre-stay-shan). 1. A payment (or presting) of money. 2. The rendering of a service.

presume To assume beforehand; to suppose to be true in the absence of proof.

presumed bias See implied bias under BIAS.

presumed crime See constructive crime.

presumed crime See constructive crime under CRIME.

presumed fact A fact whose existence can be justifiably inferred from facts established by evidence.

presumed fact See FACT.

presumed father See FATHER.

presumed father The man presumed to be the father of a child for any of several reasons: (1) because he was married to the child's natural mother when the child was conceived or born (even though the marriage may have been invalid), (2) because the man married the mother after the child's birth and agreed either to have his name on the birth certificate or to support the child, or (3) because the man welcomed the child into his home and held out the child as his own. This term represents a complicated category, and state laws vary in their requirements. See PRESUMPTION OF PATERNITY.

presumed-seller test A method of imposing product liability on a manufacturer if the manufacturer, having full knowledge of the product s dangerous propensities, would be negligent in placing the product on the market.

presumption A legal inference or assumption that a fact exists, based on the known or proven existence of some other fact or group of facts. Most presumptions are rules of evidence calling for a certain result in a given case unless the adversely affected party overcomes it with other evidence. A presumption shifts the burden of production or persuasion to the opposing party, who can then attempt to overcome the presumption. See BURDEN OF PRODUCTION. "A presumption may be defined to be an inference as to the existence of one fact from the existence of some other fact founded upon a previous experience of their connection." William P. Richardson, The Law of Evidence § 53, at 25 (3d ed. 1928).

presumption of maternity See PRESUMPTION OF MATERNITY.

presumption juris et de jure See conclusive presumption.

presumption of a quorum Parliamentary law. The presumption that a quorum, once established, is present until the chair or a member notices otherwise.

presumption of death A presumption that arises on the unexpected disappearance and continued absence of a person for an extended period, commonly seven years.

presumption of fact A type of rebuttable presumption that may be, but as a matter oflaw need not be, drawn from another established fact or group of facts <the possessor of recently stolen goods is, by presumption of fact, considered the thief>. - Also termed factual presumption.

presumption of general application A presumption that applies across the board to all legislation, as a result of which lawmakers need not list each such presumption in all bills. "One function of the word presumption in the context of statutory interpretation is to state the result of this legislative reliance (real o( assumed) on firmly established legal principles. There is a presumption that mens rea is required in the case of statutory crimes, and a presumption that statutory powers must be exercised reasonably. These presumptions apply although there is no question of linguistic ambiguity in the statutory wording under construction, and they may be described as presumptions of general application: At the level of interpretation, their function is the promotion of brevity on the part of the draftsman. Statutes make dreary enough reading as it is, and it would be ridiculous to insist in each instance upon an enumeration of the general principles taken for granted." Rupert Cross, Statutory Interpretation 142-43 (1976)

presumption of innocence See PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE.

presumption of innocence Criminal law. The fundamental principle that a person may not be convicted of a crime unless the government proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, without any burden placed on the accused to prove innocence.

presumption of intent A permissive presumption that a criminal defendant who intended to commit an act did so.

presumption of law A legal assumption that a court is required to make if certain facts are established and no contradictory evidence is produced <by presumption of law, a criminal defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt>. Also termed legal presumption; artificial presumption; praesumptio juris; pseudopresumption of law.

presumption of legitimacy See PRESUMPTION OF PATERNITY.

presumption of maternity The presumption that the woman who has given birth to a child is both the genetic mother and the legal mother of the child. Also termed maternity presumption. Cf. PRESUMPTION OF PATERNITY.

presumption of natural and probable consequences presumption that mens rea may be derived from proof of the defendant s conduct.

presumption of natural and probable consequences See PRESUMPTION OF NATURAL AND PROBABLE CONSEQUENCES.

presumption of paternity See PRESUMPTION OF PATERNITY.

presumption of paternity Family law. The presumption that the father of a child is the man who (1) is married to the child s mother when the child was conceived or born (even though the marriage may have been invalid), (2) married the mother after the child s birth and agreed either to have his name on the birth certificate or to support the child, or (3) welcomed the child into his home and later held out the child as his own. Also termed paternity presumption; presumption of legitimacy; legitimacy presumption. See presumed father under FATHER.

presumption of survivorship The presumption that one of two or more victims of a common disaster survived the others, based on the supposed survivor s youth, good health, or other reason rendering survivorship likely.

presumption of survivorship See PRESUMPTION OF SURVIVORSHIP.

presumption of validity See PRESUMPTIONO OF VALIDITY.

presumption of validity The doctrine that the holder of a patent is entitled to a statutory presumption that the patent is valid and that the burden is on a challenger to prove invalidity. See BORN VALID.

presumption-of-fertility rule See FERTILE-OCTOGENARIAN RULE.

presumption-of-identity rule The common-law rule that unless there is a specific, applicable statute in another state, a court will presume that the common law has developed elsewhere identically with how it has developed in the court s own state, so that the court may apply its own state s law. Today this rule applies primarily in Georgia. See Shorewood Packaging Corp. v. Commercial Union Ins., 865 F. Supp. 1577 (N.D. Ga. 1994).

presumptive (pri-zamp-tiv), adj. 1. Giving reasonable grounds for belief or presumption. 2. Based on a presumption. presumptively, adv.

presumptive authority See implied authority under AUTHORITY (1).

presumptive authority See implied authority.

presumptive damages See punitive damages.

presumptive damages See punitive damages under DAMAGES.

presumptive death See DEATH.

presumptive death Death inferred from proof of the person's long, unexplained absence, usu. after seven years. See ENOCH ARDEN LAW.

presumptive evidence 1. Evidence deemed sufficient to establish another fact unless discredited by other evidence. 2. Archaic. Circumstantial evidence as distinct from testimonial evidence. - Also termed probable evidence.

presumptive evidence See EVIDENCE.

presumptive heir See heir presumptive under HEIR.

presumptive heir See heir presumptive.

presumptive notice See implied notice under NOTICE.

presumptive proof See conditional proof

presumptive proof See conditional proof under PROOF.

presumptive sentence An average sentence for a particular crime (esp. provided under sentencing guidelines) that can be raised or lowered based on the presence of mitigating or aggravating circumstances.

presumptive sentence See SENTENCE.

presumptive sentencing A statutory scheme that prescribes a sentence or range of sentences for an offense but allows the court some flexibility in atypical cases.

presumptive sentencing See SENTENCING.

presumptive taker See TAKER.

presumptive taker A person who would take under the applicable provisions if the takers were to be finally ascertained at the present moment.

presumptive title See TITLE (2).

presumptive trust See resulting trust under TRUST.