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public accommodation See ACCOMMODATION.

public act See PUBLIC LAW (2).

public action See civil action under ACTION (4).

public action See civil action.

public administration In some jurisdictions, an administration by an officer appointed to administer for an intestate who has left no person entitled to apply for letters (or whose possible representatives refuse to serve).

public administration See ADMINISTRATION.

public administrator A state-appointed officer who administers intestate estates that are not administered by the decedent's relatives . This officer's right to administer is usu. subordinate to the rights of creditors, but in a few jurisdictions the creditors' rights are subordinate.

public administrator See ADMINISTRATOR (2).

public advocate See ADVOCATE.

public advocate An advocate who purports to represent the public at large in matters of public concern, such as utility rates or environmental quality. 2. Civil & Scots law. A barrister; specif., a member of the Faculty of Advocates (the Scottish counterpart of a barrister) or of the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen (a society of solicitors). A member of the Aberdeen society is designated "advocate in Aberdeen." Cf. BARRISTER. 3. Hist. Eccles. law. A person who is trained in both canon and secular law and can (1) appear in an ecclesiastical or admiralty court on another's behalf, and (2) give legal advice . Members of the College of Advocates (also known as Doctors' Commons) bore the title of advocate. After the dissolution of the College in 1857, the term became indistinguishably associated with barrister. - advocate (ad-va-kayt), vb. advocacy (ad-va-ka-see), n.

public agency See AGENCY (3).

public agent See AGENT (2).

public agent A person appointed to act for the public in matters pertaining to governmental administrtion or public business.

public appointment An appointment to a public office.

public appointment See APPOINTMENT (1).

public attorney See ATTORNEY (2).

public authority See AUTHORITY (3).

public bill See BILL (3).

public bill- A bill relating to public policy in the whole community.

public blockade See BLOCKADE.

public blockade An established blockade of which the blockading nation gives formal notice to the governments of neutral nations.

public boundary A natural formation that marks the beginning of a boundary line. Also termed natural boundary. 2. A line marking the limit of the territorial jurisdiction of a state or other entity having an interna-tional status.

public boundary See BOUNDARY.

public building A building that is accessible to the public; esp., one owned by the government.

Public Buildings Service A unit in the General Services Administration responsible for constructing federal buildings and managing federally owned and leased property through 11 regional offices. Abbr. PBS.

public carrier See common carrier under CARRIER.

public character See PUBLIC FIGURE.

public commissioner See PROSECUTOR (1).

public commissioner See PROSECUTOR (1).

public contract See CONTRACT.

public contract A contract that, although it involves public funds, may be performed by private persons and may benefit them.

Public Contracts Act See WALSH-HEALEY ACT.

public controversy See CONTROVERSY.

public controversy A controversy involving issues that are debated publicly and that have substantial ramifications for persons other than those engaged in it. A participant in a public controversy may be deemed a public figure for purposes of a defamation suit arising from the controversy. See PUBLIC FIGURE. "The nature and extent of an individual's involvement in a public controversy is determined by three factors: (1) the extent to which participation in it is voluntary; (2) the extent to which there is access to channels of effective communication in order to counteract false statements; and (3) the prominence of the role played in the public controversy." 50 Am. Jur. 2d Libel and Slander § 75, at 390 (1995).

public corporation 1. A corporation whose shares are traded to and among the general public. Also termed publicly held corporation. 2. A corporation that is created by the state as an agency in the administration of civil government. Also termed political corporation. 3. A government-owned corporation that engages in activities that benefit the general public, usu. while remaining financially independent. Such a corporation is managed by a publicly appointed board. Also termed (in sense 3) government corporation; public-benefit corporation.

public corporation See CORPORATION.

public debt See DEBT.

public debt A debt owed by a municipal, state, or national government.

public defender A lawyer or staff of lawyers, usu. publicly appointed and paid, whose duty is to represent indigent criminal defendants. Often shortened to defender. - Abbr. P.D.

public delict See DELICT.

public delict A wrong for which the community as a whole takes steps to punish the offender. Cf. public tort under TORT.

public director A director elected from outside a corporation's shareholders or an organization's membership to represent the public interest.

public director See DIRECTOR.

public disclosure of private facts See DISCLOSURE (1).

public disclosure of private facts The public revelation of some aspect of a person's private life without a legitimate public purpose. The disclosure is actionable in tort if the disclosure would be highly objectionable to a reasonable person. See INVASION OF PRIVACY.

public disturbance See BREACH OF THE PEACE.

public document See DOCUMENT.

public document A document of public interest issued or published by a political body or otherwise connected with public business. Cf. public record under RECORD. 3. Evidence. Under the best-evidence rule, a physical embodiment of information or ideas, such as a letter, contract, receipt, account book, blueprint, or X-ray plate; esp., the original of such an embodiment. See Fed. R. Evid. 1001 et seq.

public domain 1. Government-owned land. 2. Government lands that are open to entry and settlement. Today Virtually all federal lands are offlimits to traditional entry and settlement. 3. Intellectual property. The universe of inventions and creative works that are not protected by intellectual-property rights and are therefore available for anyone to use without charge. _ When copyright, trademark, patent, or tradesecret rights are lost or expire, the intellectual property they had protected becomes part of the public domain and can be appropriated by anyone without liability for infringement. "[Plublic domain is the status of an invention. creative work, commercial symbol, or any other creation that is not protected by any form of intellectual property. Public domain is the rule: intellectual property is the exception." 1 J. Thomas McCarthy, McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition § 1.01 [2), at 1-3 (3d ed. 1996).

public easement An easement for the benefit of an entire community, such as the right to travel down a street or a sidewalk.

public easement See EASEMENT.

public enemy 1. A notorious criminal who is a menace to society; esp., one who seems more or less immune from successful prosecution. 2. ENEMY (3). 3. A social, health, or economic condition or problem that affects the public at large and is difficult to control <teenage smoking has been declared a public enemy in this country>.

public enemy See ENEMY.

public entity A governmental entity, such as a state government or one of its political subdivisions.

public entity See ENTITY.

public fact See FACT.

public fact For the purpose of an invasion-of privacy claim, a fact that is in a public record or in the public domain. Cf. private fact.

public figure A person who has achieved fame or notoriety or who has voluntarily become involved in a public controversy. A public figure (or public official) suing for defamation must prove that the defendant acted with actual malice. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 84 S.Ct. 710 (1964). Also termed public character.

public forum Constitutional law. A public place where people traditionally gather to express ideas and exchange views. To be constitutional, the government s regulation of a public forum must be narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest and must usu. be limited to time-place-or-manner restrictions. Also termed open forum. See TIME-PLACE-ORMANNER RESTRICTION. Cf. NONPUBLIC FORUM. [T]raditional public fora are open for expressive activity regardless of the government s intent. The objective characteristics of these properties require the government to accommodate private speakers. The government is free to open additional properties for expressive use by the general public or by a particular class of speakers, thereby creating designated public fora. Where the property is not a traditional public forum, the property is either a nonpublie forum or not a forum at aiL" Arkansas Educ. Television Comm n v. Forbes, 523 U.S. 666, 678,118 S.Ct. 1633, 1641 (1998).

public fund See FUND (1).

public fund (usu. pl.) 1. The revenue or money of a governmental body. The term includes not only coins and paper but also bank deposits and instruments representing investments of public money. 2. The securities of a state or national government.

public grant See PATENT (2).

public ground See public land under LAND.

public health 1. The health of the community at large. 2. The healthful or sanitary condition of the general body of people or the community en masse; esp., the methods of maintaining the health of the community, as by preventive medicine and organized care for the sick. Many cities have a "public health department" or other agency responsible for maintaining the public health; federal laws dealing with health are administered by the Department of Health and Human Services.

public health See HEALTH.

Public Health Service The combined offices and units of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services responsible for promoting the physical and mental health of American citizens.

public hearing A hearing that, within reasonable limits, is open to anyone who wishes to observe. Such a hearing is often characterized by the right to appear and present evidence in a case before an impartial tribunal.

public hearing See HEARING.

public highway A highway controlled and maintained by governmental authorities for general use.

public highway See HIGHWAY.

public house 1. Archaic. An inn. 2. A tavern where alcoholic beverages may be bought and consumed on the premises. The British term pub is an abbreviation of public house. Also termed (in sense 2) tippling house.

public house See PUBLIC HOUSE. 2. A branch of a legislature or a quorum of such a branch; esp., the lower chamber of a bicameral legis lature. 3. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 4. HOUSE OF DELEGATES (1).

public improvement See IMPROVEMENT.

public injury A loss or an injury stemming from a breach of a duty or violation ofa right that affects the community as a whole.

public injury See INJURY.

public institution See INSTITUTION (3).

public instrument See PUBLIC WRITING.

public interest 1. The general welfare of the public that warrants recognition and protection. 2. Something in which the public as a whole has a stake; esp., an interest that justifies governmental regulation.

public international law See INTERNATIONAL LAW.

public intoxication The condition of a person who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol in a place open to the general public. In most American jurisdictions, public intoxication is considered a misdemeanor. In some states, alcoholism is a defense if the offender agrees to attend a treatment program.

public intoxication See INTOXICATION.

public invitee See INVITEE.

public invitee An invitee who is invited to enter and remain on property for a purpose for which the property is held open to the public.

public land Lands Of land interests held by the government, without regard to how the government acquired ownership; unappropriated land belonging to the federal or state government. Also termed public lands; government land; public ground. "The terms "public lands"and "federal lands" may ... include less than full fee interests, such as severed mineral estates. They usually do not, however, refer to submerged lands off the seacoasts (over which the United States asserts jurisdiction but not title), or lands held in trust for Indians." George Cameron Coggins et aI., Federal Public Land and Resources Law 3 (3d ed. 1993).

public land See LAND.

public law 1. The body oflaw dealing with the relations between private individuals and the government, and with the structure and operation of the government itself; constitutional law, criminal law, and administrative law taken together. Cf. PRIVATE LAW (1). 2. A statute affecting the general public. Federal public laws are first published in Statutes at Large and are eventually collected by subject in the u.s. Code. Abbr. Pub. L.; P.L. - Also termed public statute (abbr. P.S.); general statute; (esp. in BrE) public act. Cf. general law (1) under LAW; general act and public act under ACT (3). 3. Constitutional law.

public market See MARKET.

public minister See MINISTER.

public morality See MORALITY.

public necessity See NECESSITY.

public notice See NOTICE.

public nuisance See NUISANCE.

public offense An act or omission forbidden by law.

public offense See OFFENSE (1).

public offer See offer to all the world under OFFER.

public offer See offer to all the world.

public offering An offering made to the general public.

public offering See OFFERING.

public office A position whose occupant has legal authority to exercise a government s sovereign powers for a fixed period.

public official See OFFICIAL (1).