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rebutting evidence See rebuttal evidence under EVIDENCE.

recall 1. Removal of a public official from office by popular vote. 2. A manufacturer s request to consumers for the return of defective products for repair or replacement. 3. Revocation of a judgment for factual or legal reasons. recall, vb.

recall election See ELECTION (3).

recall election An election in which voters have the opportunity to remove a public official from office.

recall exclusion See sistership exclusion under EXCLUSION (3).

recall of mandate The extraordinary action by an appellate court of withdrawing the order it issued to the trial court upon deciding an appeal, usu. after the deadline has passed for the losing party to seek a rehearing. Because this action can interfere with trial-court proceedings on remand, and also because it clouds the waters that repose (the finality of a judgment) is meant to clear, courts are reluctant to use the power. But they will use it to correct clerical errors or to remedy a fraud on the court during the appeal. It has also been used when the original mandate would result in a grave injustice. See MANDATE (1).

recant (ri-kant), vb. 1. To withdraw or renounce (prior statements or testimony) formally or publicly <the prosecution hoped the eyewitness wouldn t recant her corroborating testimony on the stand>. 2. To withdraw or renounce prior statements or testimony formally or publicly <under grueling cross-examination, the witness recanted>. recantation, n.

recapitalization An adjustment or recasting of a corporation s capital structure that is, its stocks, bonds, or other securities through amendment of the articles of incorporation or merger with a parent or subsidiary. An example of recapitalization is the elimination of unpaid preferred dividends and the creation of a new class of senior securities. Ct: REORGANIZA nON (2). recapitalize, vb.

recaption 1. At common law, lawful seizure of another s property for a second time to secure the performance of a duty; a second distress. See DISTRESS. 2. Peaceful retaking, without legal process, of one s own property that has been wrongfully taken.

recapture 1. The act or an instance of retaking or reacquiring; recovery. 2. The lawful taking by the government of earnings or profits exceeding a specified amount; esp., the government s recovery of a tax benefit (such as a deduction or credit) by taxing income or property that no longer qualifies for the benetlt. 3. Th.e retaking of a prize or booty so that the property is legally restored to its original owner. See POSTLIMINIUM (2). recapture, vb. Upon recapture from pirates, the property is to be restored to the owner, on the allowance of a reasonable compen to the owner, on the retaker, in the nature of salvlge; for it is a principle of the law of nations, that a capture by pirates does not, like a capture by an enemy in solemn war, change the title or devest the original owner of his right to the property, and it does not require the doctrine of postiminy to it." I James Kent, Commentaries on American Law *1 07-08 (George Comstock ed., 11th ed. 1866).

recapture clause 1. A contract provision that limits prices or allows for the recovery of goods if market conditions greatly differ from what the contract anticipated. 2. A commercial-lease provision that grants the landlord both a percentage of the tenant s profits above a fixed amount of rent and the right to terminate the lease and thus recapture the property - if those profits are too low.

recapture rule The doctrine that a patentee cannot regain, in a reissue patent, a claim that the patentee previously abandoned in order to gain allowance of the patent application. The rule provides a defense in an infringement action by allowing the defendant to attack the validity of a reissue patent. An attempt to recapture a strategically abandoned claim cannot meet the statutory requirement that the error be made without deceptive intent. 35lJSCA § 251.

recede vb. (Of a house in a bicameral legislature) to withdraw from an amendment in which the other house has not concurred. See CONCUR (3). A vote to recede from amendments constitutes a final passage of the bill without the amendments from which the house has receded, since both houses have then agreed to the bill in its form prior to amendment." National Conference of State Legislatures, Mason s Manual of Legislative Procedure § 767, at 555 (2000).

receding market See bear market under MARKET.

receipt 1. The act of receiving something <my receipt of the document was delayed by two days>. 2. A written acknowledgment that something has been received <keep the receipt for the gift>.

receipt 1. To acknowledge in writing the receipt of (something, esp. money) <the bill must be receipted>. 2. To give a receipt for (something, esp. money) <the bookkeeper receipted the payments>.

receipt clause In a conveyancing document, a clause that acts as a receipt for the consideration given. This clause typically appears to avoid the necessity of a separate receipt.

receiptor (ri-see-tar). A person who receives from a sheriff another property seized in garnishment and agrees to return the property upon demand or execution.

receivable An amount owed, esp. by a business s customer. See account receivable under ACCOUNT.

receivable 1. Capable of being admitted or accepted <receivable evidence>. 2. Awaiting receipt of payment <accounts receivable>. 3. Subject to a call for payment <a note receivable>.

receiver 1. A disinterested person appointed by a court, or by a corporation or other person, for the protection or collection of property that is the subject of diverse claims (for example, because it belongs to a bankrupt or is otherwise being litigated). Cf. LIQUIDATOR.

receiver general A public official in charge of a government s receipts and treasury. PI. receivers general.

receiver in aid ofexecution See judgment receiver.

receiver s certificate An instrument issued by a receiver as evidence that the holder is entitled to receive payment from funds controlled by the bankruptcy court.

receivership 1. The state or condition of being in the control of a receiver. 2. The position or function of being a receiver appointed by a court or under a statute. 3. A proceeding in which a court appoints a receiver.

receivership estate The totality of the interests that the receivers of an association in one or more states are appointed to protect.

receiving See RECEIVING STOLEN PROPERTY.

receiving order See ORDER (2).

receiving order A court s direction to a bankruptcy receiver to take some action.

receiving state The country to which a diplomatic agent or consul is sent by the country represented by that agent. Cf. sending state.

receiving state See STATE.

receiving stolen property The criminal offense of acquiring or controlling property known to have been stolen by another person. Some jurisdictions require the additional element of wrongful intent. In some jurisdictions it is a felony, but in others it is either a felony or a misdemeanor depending on the value of the property. See Model Penal Code §§ 223.1, 223.6. Sometimes shortened to receiving. - Also termed receiving stolen goods. See FENCE (1).

recens insecutio (ree-senz in-sa-kyoo-shee-oh). [Latin "fresh pursuit"]. Pursuit of a thief immediately after discovery of the theft. See FRESH PURSUIT.

receptator (ree-sep-tay-tor or -tar). [Latin fro receptare "to harbor (a criminal or the proceeds of crime)"] Scots law, 1. A harborer of a felon. 2. A receiver of stolen property.

reception The adoption in whole or in part of the law of one jurisdiction by another jurisdiction. In the legal idiom, it is most common to speak of the reception of Roman law. In many parts of Europe monarchs encouraged a reception of Roman law at the expense of medieval customary systems. On the continent-in France, Holland, and Germany-the results of the reception of Roman law have tended to be permanent; the continental jurist in the twentieth century studies Roman law to grasp the jurisprudence underlying modern codes. And in the British Isles, the law of Scotland now contains so much borrowing from Roman law that there, too the road to legal practice leads through study of the corpus of Roman civil law compiled atJustinian s direction. But a reception of Roman law never occurred in England." Arthur R. Hogue, Origins o(the Common Law 242 (1966).

receptitious (ree-sep-tish-as), adj. Roman law. 1. (Of a dowry) returnable by agreement to the donor upon the dissolution of the marriage. 2. (Of property) retained by the wife and not included in the dowry.

receptus (ri-sep-tas). [Latin "(a person) having been received"] Civil law. An arbitrator. The term takes its name from the idea that the arbitrator is "received" by the parties to settle their dispute.

recess (ree-ses), 1. A brief break in judicial proceedings <the court granted a fifteen-minute recess so the attorney and plaintiff could confer>. Cf. CONTINUANCE (3). 2. Parliamentary law. A motion that suspends but does not end a meeting, and that usu. provides for resumption of the meeting <the meeting had a 15-minute recess>. The motion to recess, which merely suspends the meeting, differs from the motion to adjourn, which ends the meeting. Cf. ADJOURN. 3. Parliamentary law. The interval between such a motion s adoption and the meeting reconvening <Congress took a monthlong recess>. recess (ri-ses), vb.

recess appointment See APPOINTMENT.

recess appointment An appointment, including a judicial appointment, made by the President when the Senate is not in session, subject to the Senate's later ratification. 2. An office occupied by someone who has been appointed <a high appointment in the federal government>. 3. Parliamentary law. The naming of an officer, the members of a committee, or the holder of any other title in an organization by means other than the organization's election. 4. The act of disposing of property, in exercise ofa power granted for that purpose <the tenant's appOintment oflands>. See POWER OF APPOINTMENT. - appoint, vb. appointer (for senses 1-3), n. appointor (for sense 4).

recession A period characterized by a sharp slowdown in economic activity, declining employment, and a decrease in investment and consumer spending. Cf. DEPRESSION.

recessus maris (ri-ses-as mair-as). [Latin] A going back or retreat of the sea. See RELICTION.

recharacterization A court s determination that an insider s loan to an entity in liquidation (such as a corporation or partnership) should be treated as a capital contribution, not as a loan, thereby entitling the insider to only part of the liquidation proceeds payable after all the business s debts have been discharged. Factors influencing this determination include the amount of capital initially available, the ability of the entity to obtain loans from outside sources, how long the entity has existed, the treatment of the loan in the entity s business records, and past treatment of similar transactions made to that entity by an insider.

Recht (rekt). [German "right"] 1. Law generally. 2. A body oflaw. 3. A right or claim.

Rechtsbesitz (rekts-be-zitz). See possession of a right under POSSESSION.

Rechtsphilosophie (rekts-fa-los-a-fee). See ethical jurisprudence under JURISPRUDENCE.

recidivate (ri-sid-a-vayt), vb. To return to a habit of criminal behavior; to relapse into crime.

recidivation Archaic. See RECIDIVISM.

recidivism (ri-sid-a-viz-am), A tendency to relapse into a habit of criminal activity or behavior. Also termed (archaically) recidivation. - recidivous, recidivist, adj.

recidivist (ri-sid-a)-vist), One who has been convicted of multiple criminal offenses, usu. similar in nature; a repeat offender <proponents of prison reform argue that prisons don t cure the recidivist>. Also termed habitual offender; habitual criminal; repeater; career criminal; prior and persistent offender.

reciprocal (ri-sip-ra-kal), 1. Directed by each toward the other or others; MUTUAL <reciprocal trusts>. 2. BILATERAL <a reciprocal contract>. 3. Corresponding; equivalent <reciprocal discovery>.

reciprocal contract See bilateral contract under CONTRACT.

reciprocal contract See bilateral contract.

reciprocal dealing A business arrangement in which a buyer having greater economic power than a seller agrees to buy something from the seller only if the seller buys something in return. Reciprocal dealing usu. violates antitrust laws. -Also termed reciprocal-dealing arrangement. Cf. TYING ARRANGEMENT.

reciprocal discovery See reverse Jencks material under JENCKS MATERIAL.

reciprocal discovery See reverse Jencks material under JENCKS MATERIAL.

reciprocal exchange An association whose members exchange contracts and pay premiums through an attorney- in-fact for the purpose of insuring themselves and each other. A reciprocal exchange can consist of individuals, partnerships, trustees, or corporations, but the exchange itself is unincorporated. Also termed interinsurance exchange; reciprocal insurance exchange; reciprocal interinsurance exchange. See reCiprocal insurance under INSURANCE; EXCHANGE (5).

reciprocal insurance See INSURANCE.

reciprocal insurance A system whereby several individuals or businesses act through an agent to underwrite one anothers risks, making each insured an insurer of the other members of the group. Also termed interinsurance.

reciprocal insurance exchange See RECIPROCAL EXCHANGE.

reciprocal interinsurance exchange See RECIPROCAL EXCHANGE.

reciprocal negative easement An easement created when a landowner sells part of the land and restricts the buyer's use of that part, and, in turn, that same restriction is placed on the part kept by the landowner. Such an easement usu. arises when the original landowner creates a common scheme of development for smaller tracts that are carved out of the original tract.

reciprocal negative easement See EASEMENT.

reciprocal trade agreement An agreement between two countries providing for the exchange ofgoods between them at lower tariffs and better terms than exist between one of the countries and other countries.

reciprocal trust See TRUST.

reciprocal will See mutual will under WILL.

reciprocity (res-a-pros-i-tee). 1. Mutual or bilateral action <the Arthurs stopped receiving social invitations from friends because of their lack of reciprocity>. 2. 1he mutual concession of advantages or privileges for purposes of commercial or diplomatic relations <Texas and Louisiana grant reciprocity to each other citizens in qualifying for in-state tuition rates>. Also termed mutuality of benefits; quid pro quo; eqUivalence of advantages. 3. Intellectual property. The recognition by one country of a foreign national s intellectual-property rights only if and only to the extent that the other nation would recognize those same rights for the first country s citizens. Reciprocity is the most restrictive approach to international intellectual-property law rights. Cf. NATIONAL TREATMENT; UNIVERSALITY. "It has become common when introducing new categories of rights for them to be granted on the basis of reciprocity. The advantages of reciprocity are twofold. First. reciprocity benefits rights owners by providing incentives for nonconforming countries to change their laws. Secondly, it saves users in one country (A) from paying royalties for foreign authors from countries that do not pay royalties to the authors of country A." lionel Bently & Brad Sherman, Intellectual Property Law 101 (2001).

recision See RESCISSION.

recission See RESCISSION.

recital 1. An account or description of some fact or thing <the recital of the events leading up to the accident>. 2. A preliminary statement in a contract or deed explaining the reasons for entering into it or the background of the transaction, or showing the existence of particular facts <the recitals in the settlement agreement should describe the underlying dispute>. Traditionally, each recital begins with the word whereas. Also termed (in sense 2) whereas clause. ¬redte, vb. The parries may wish to begin the agreement with a statement of their intentions. Often they do this through reCitals, which were traditionally introduced by whereas, but can simply state the background without this formal• ity." Scott J. Burnham, Contract Drafting Guidebook § 8.4, at 158 (2d ed. 1992).

recite See READ ON.

reckless adj. (bef. 12c) Characterized by the creation of a substantial and unjustifiable risk of harm to others and by a conscious (and sometimes deliberate) disregard for or indifference to that risk; heedless rash. Reckless conduct is much more than mere negligence: it is a gross deviation from what a reasonable person would do. See RECKLESSNESS. Cf. CARELESS; WANTON. ¬recklessly, adv. "Intention cannot exist without foresight, but foresight can exist without intention. For a man may foresee the possible or even probable consequences of his conduct and yet not desire them to occur; none the less if he persists on his course he knowingly runs the risk of bringing about the unwished result. To describe this state of mind the word reckless is the most appropriate. The words rash and rashness have also been used to indicate this same attitude." J.W. Cecil Turner, Kenny s Outlines of Criminal Law 28 (16th ed. 1952).

reckless disregard 1. Conscious indifference to the consequences of an act. 2. Defamation. Serious indifference to truth or accuracy of a publication. "Reckless disregard for the truth" is the standard in proving the defendant's actual malice toward the plaintiff in a libel action. 3. The intentional commission of a harmful act or failure to do a required act when the actor knows or has reason to know of facts that would lead a reasonable person to realize that the actor's conduct both creates an unreasonable risk of harm to someone and involves a high degree of probability that substantial harm will result.

reckless disregard See DISREGARD.

reckless driving The criminal offense of operating a motor vehicle in a manner that shows conscious indifference to the safety of others.

reckless endangerment The criminal offense of putting another person at substantial risk of death or serious injury. This is a statutory, not a common-law, offense.

reckless homicide See HOMICIDE.

reckless homicide The unlawful killing of another person with conscious indifference toward that person's life. Cf. MANSLAUGHTER.

reckless indifference See deliberate indifference under INDIFFERENCE.

reckless indifference See deliberate indifference.

reckless knowledge See KNOWLEDGE,

reckless knowledge A person"s awareness that a prohibited circumstance may exist, regardless of which the person accepts the risk and goes on to act.

reckless negligence See gross negligence under NEGLIGENCE.

recklessness 1. Conduct whereby the actor does not desire harmful consequence but nonetheless foresees the possibility and consciously takes the risk. Recklessness involves a greater degree of fault than negligence but a lesser degree of fault than intentional wrongdoing. 2. The state of mind in which a person does not care about the consequences of his or her actions. Also termed heedlessness. Cf. WANTONNESS. "The ordinary meaning of the word [recklessness] is a high degree of carelessness. It is the doing of something which in fact involves a grave risk to others, whether the doer realises it or not. The test is therefore objective and not subjective." R.F.v. Heuston, Salmond on the Law of Torts 194 (17th ed. 1977). "An abiding difficulty in discussing the legal meaning of recklessness is that the term has been given several different shades of meaning by the courts over the years. In the law of manslaughter, reckless was long regarded as the most appropriate adjective to express the degree of negligence needed for a conviction: in this sense, it meant a high degree of carelessness. In the late 1950s the courts adopted a different meaning of recklessness in the context of mens rea, referring to D s actual awareness of the risk of the prohibited consequence occurring: we shall call this common-law recklessness. Controversy was introduced into this area in the early 1980s, when the House of Lords purported to broaden the meaning of recklessness so as to include those who failed to give thought to an obviOUS risk that the consequence would occur ...." Andrew Ashworth, Principles of Criminal Law 154 (1991).

reclamation (rek-la-may-shan), 1. The act or an instance of improving the value ofeconomically useless land by phYSically changing the land, such as irrigating a desert. 2. Commercial law. A seller s limited right to retrieve goods delivered to a buyer when the buyer is insolvent. DCC § 2-702(2). See STOPPAGE IN TRANSITU. 3. The act or an instance of obtaining valuable materials from waste materials. reclaim, vb.

reclusion (ri-kloo-zhan). Civil law. Incarceration as punishment for a crime; esp. solitary confinement or confinement at hard labor in a penitentiary.

recognition 1. Confirmation that an act done by another person was authorized. See RATIFICATION. 2. The formal admission that a person, entity, or thing has a particular status; esp. a nation s act in formally acknowledging the existence of another nation or national government. 3. Parliamentary law. The chair s acknowledgment that a member is entitled to the floor <the chair recognizes the delegate from Minnesota>. See PRECEDENCE (4). "When any member desires to speak or deliver any matter to the house, that person should rise and respectfully address the presiding officer. When the presiding officer recognizes the member by calling the member by name or by indicating recognition, that person is entitled to the floor and may address the body or present a matter of business, but may not yield the floor to any other member." National Conference of State Legislatures, Mason s Manual of Legislative Procedure § 91, at 76-77 (2000). 4. Tax. The act or an instance of accounting for a taxpayer s realized gain or loss for the purpose of income-tax reporting. Cf. NONRECOGNITION PROVISION; REALIZATION (2). 5. An employer s acknowledgment that a union has the right to act as a bargaining agent for employees. 6. Official action by a country acknowledging, expressly or by implication, de jure or de facto, the existence of a government or a country, or a situation such as a change of territoria sovereignty. 7. RULE OF RECOGNITION. - recognize, vb.

recognition clause A clause providing that, when a tract ofland has been subdivided for development, the ultimate buyers of individual lots are protected if the developer defaults on the mortgage. Such a clause is typically found in a blanket mortgage or a contract for deed.

recognition picketing See organizational picketing under PICKETING.

recognition strike See STRIKE.

recognition strike A strike by workers seeking to force their employer to acknowledge the union as their collective-bargaining agent. After the National Labor Relations Act was passed in 1935, recognition strikes became unnecessary. Under the Act, the employer is required to recognize an NLRB-certified union for bargaining purposes. Also termed organizational strike.

recognitor (ri-kog-na-tar), n. 1. A member of a jury impaneled on an assize or inquest. See RECOGNITION (1), (2). 2. Rare. RECOGNIZOR.

recognizance (ri-kog-na-zants). 1. A bond or obligation, made in court, by which a person promises to perform some act or observe some condition, such as to appear when called, to pay a debt, or to keep the peace; sped!:, an in-court acknowledgment of an obligation in a penal sum, conditioned on the performance or nonperformance of a particular act. Most commonly, a recognizance takes the form of a bail bond that guarantees an unjailed criminal defendant s return for a court date <the defendant was released on his own recognizance>. See RELEASE ON RECOGNIZANCE. Recognizances are aptly described as contracts made with the Crown in its judicial capacity. A recognizance is a writing acknowledged by the party to it before a judge or officer having authority for the purpose, and enrolled in a court of record. It usually takes the form of a promise, with penalties for the breach of it, to keep the peace, to be of good behaVior, or to appear at the assizes." William R. Anson, Principles of the Law of Contract 80-81 (Arthur L. Corbin ed., 3d Am. ed. 1919). A recognizance is an acknowledgment of an obligation in court by the recognizor binding him to make a certain payment subject to the condition that on the performance of a specified act the obligation shall be discharged." 1 Samuel Williston, A Treatise on the Law ofContracts § 6, at 18 (Walter H.E.Jaeger ed., 3d ed. 1957).

recognized gain See GAIN (3).

recognized gain The portion of a gain that is subject to income taxation. IRC (26 USCA) § 1001(c). See BOOT (1). 4. (pl.) Civil law. A type of community property that reflects the increase in property value brought about by the spouses' common skill or labor. See COMMUNITY PROPERTY; ACQUET.

recognized loss See LOSS.

recognized market See MARKET.

recognizee (ri-kog-na-zee). A person in whose favor a recognizance is made; one to whom someone is bound by a recognizance.

recognizor (ri-kog-na-zor). A person who is obligated under a recognizance; one who is bound by a recognizance. - Also termed recognitor. "A recognizance is an acknowledgment upon record of a former debt, and he who so acknowledges such debt to be due is termed the recognizor, and he to whom or for whose benefit he makes such acknowledgment is termed the recognizee." John Indermaur, Principles of the Common Law 8 (Edmund H. Bennett ed., 1st Am. ed. 1878).

recollection 1. The action of recalling something to the mind, esp. through conscious effort. 2. Something recalled to the mind. See PAST RECOLLECTION RECORDED; PRESENT RECOLLECTION REFRESHED. recollect, vb.