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recombinant (ri-kom-ba-nant), adj. Patents. Of, relating to, or describing the introduction of DNA from one living organism into another.

recombinant DNA technology Patents. The science of mutating organisms by splicing sections of one organism s DNA onto that of another. - Abbr. rDNA.

recommit Parliamentary law. To refer (a motion) back to a committee that has considered it. The motion is called "recommit" rather than "re-refer" for the sake of euphony. See REFER. Cf. re-refer under REFER. recommit, n.

recompensable See COMPENSABLE.

recompensation Scots law. In an action for debt, a plaintiff s allegation that money owed to a defendant has already been paid and should not be considered as a setoff against an award to the plaintiff.

recompense (rek-am-pents), Repayment, compensation, or retribution for something, esp. an injury or loss. - recompense, vb.

reconciliation (rek-an-sil-ee-ay-shan), 1. Restoration of harmony between persons or things that had been in conflict <a reconciliation between the plaintiff and the defendant is unlikely even if the lawsuit settles before trial>. 2. Family law. Voluntary resumption, after a separation, of full marital relations between spouses <the court dismissed the divorce petition after the parties reconciliation>. Cf. CONDONATION (2). 3. Accounting. An adjustment of accounts so that they agree, esp. by allowing for outstanding items <reconciliation of the checking account and the bank statement>. - reconcile (rek-an-sil), vb.

reconciliation agreement A contract between spouses who have had marital difficulties but who now wish to save the marital relationship, usu. by specifying certain economic actions that might ameliorate pressures on the marriage. This type of agreement serves a limited purpose. In fact. many states have statutes prohibiting enforcement of contracts for domestic services. so ifthe agreement governs anything other than economic behavior. it may be unenforceable.

reconciliation agreement See RECONCILIATION AGREEMENT.

reconciliation statement An accounting or financial statement in which discrepancies are adjusted.

reconduction 1. Civil law. The renewal of a lease. Also termed relocation. See TACIT RELOCATION. 2. The forcible return of aliens (esp. illegal aliens. destitute or diseased aliens, or alien criminals who have served their punishment) to their country of origin. Also termed (in sense 2) renvoi. - reconduct, vb.

reconsider To discuss or take up (a matter) again <legislators voted to reconsider the bill>. Under parliamentary law, a motion to reconsider sets aside a certain vote already taken and restores the motion on which the vote is being reconsidered to its status immediately before the vote occurred. Making a motion to reconsider suspends a vote already taken until the assembly decides whether to reconsider it. reconsideration, n. The motion to reconsider is a distinctively American motion (it was first made the subject of a rule in the U. S. House of Representatives in 1 B02). This motion was unknown to the early British Parliament. When Parliament (the British Congress) passed an act. that act then stood as the judgment of the body until another law or supplementary act was afterward passed explaining or amending the previous act - a slow•moving and time-consuming process in the estimation of American lawmakers. "Consequently, the American love for celerity invented the motion to reconsider. and cleverly made it a mere procedural or restoratory motion. As a result, the motion to reconsider now makes possible immediate reconsideration of a question, even on the same day." George Demeter, Demeter Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure 154 (1969).

reconsider and enter on the minutes Parliamentary law. To make a motion to reconsider for the purpose of suspending a vote already taken and bringing it back up at the next meeting, Also termed reconsider and enter; reconsider and have it entered on the minutes.

reconsignment A change in the terms of a conSignment while the goods are in transit. See CONSIGNMENT.

reconstruction 1. The act or process of rebuilding, recreating, or reorganizing something <an expert in accident reconstruction>. 2. Patents. A rebuilding of a broken, worn-out, or otherwise inoperative patented article in such a way that a new article is created, thus resulting in an infringement <the replacement of the machine essential parts was an infringing reconstruction rather than a permissible repair>. Cf. REPAIR DOCTRINE. 3. (cap.) The process by which the Southern states that had seceded during the Civil War were readmitted into the Union during the years following the war (i.e., from 1865 to 1877) <the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution are a lasting legacy of Reconstruction>.

recontinuance 1. Resumption or renewal. 2. The recovery of an incorporeal hereditament that had been wrongfully deprived.

reconvention The act or process of making a counterclaim. See COUNTERCLAIM.

reconventional demand See DEMAND (1).

reconventional demand Civil law. A plea by which a defendant asserts any claim that it has against the plaintiff, or any off set against the plaintiff's claim. This plea is similar to the common-law counterclaim. La. Code Civ. Proc. 1061 et seq. Also termed demand in reconvention. 2. Parliamentary law. A request, usu. invoking a right, that must be granted on a Single member's motion. See REQUEST. 3. A request for payment of a debt or an amount due. 4. In economics, the intensity of buyer pressure on the availability and cost of a commodity or service. 3. A request for payment of a debt or an amount due.

reconventione (ree-kan-ven-shee-oh-nee). [Law Latin]. By reconvention. See RECONVENTION.

reconversion The notional or imaginary process by which an earlier constructive conversion (a change of personal into real property or vice versa) is annulled and the converted property restored to its original character. See equitable conversion under CONVERSION (1).

reconveyance The restoration or return of something (esp. an estate or title) to a former owner or holder. - reconvey, vb.

record 1. A documentary account of past events, usu. designed to memorialize those events. 2. Information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that, having been stored in an electronic or other medium, is retrievable in perceivable form. UCC § 2A-102(a)(34). 3. MINUTES (2). 4. The official report of the proceedings in a case, including the filed papers, a verbatim transcript of the trial or hearing (if any), and tangible exhibits. Also termed (in some jurisdictions) clerk record; (in BrE) bundle. See DOCKET (1).

record To deposit (an original or authentic official copy of a document) with an authority <she recorded the deed in the county property office>.

record of decision Environmental law. A public document, generated under CERCLA, describing a federal agency decision regarding an environmental problem, identifying the remedies considered and which one is best, stating whether practical means to minimize or prevent environmental harms caused by the chosen remedy have been adopted, and summarizing a plan for monitoring and enforcing any measures required to mitigate environmental harm. - Abbr. ROD.

record agent See INSURANCE AGENT.

record agent See INSURANCE AGENT.

record date 1. The date on which a stockholder must own shares to be entitled to vote or receive a dividend. Also termed date of record. See EX-DIVIDEND DATE. 2. See payable date.

record date See DATE.

record notice See NOTICE.

record on appeal The record ofa trial- court proceeding as presented to the appellate court for review. Also termed appellate record. See RECORD (4).

record owner 1. A property owner in whose name the title appears in the public records. 2. STOCK HOLDER OF RECORD.

record owner See OWNER.

record title See TITLE (2).

recorda (ri-kor-da). In England, records that contained the judgments and pleadings in actions tried before the barons of the Exchequer. Cf. ORIGINALIA.

recordal See RECORDATION.

recordare (ree-kor-dair-ee), n. [Law Latin] See RECORDARI.

recordari (ree-kor-dair-i). A writ to bring up for review, as a substitute for an appeal, a judgment of a justice of the peace or other court not of record. Writs of recordari are most common in North Carolina but are used infrequently in other states. Also spelled recordare.

recordari facias loquelam (ree-kor-dair-i fay-shee-as la-kwee-lam), n. [Law Latin "you cause the plaint to be recorded"]. In England, a writ by which a suit or plaint in replevin could be removed from a county court to a superior court (esp. to one of the courts of Westminster Hall). - Abbr. reo fa. 10. See PLAINT (1).

recordation (rek-ar-day-shan), n. The act or process of recording an instrument, such as a deed or mortgage, in a public registry. Recordation generally perfects a person interest in the property against later purchasers (including later mortgagees), but the effect of recordation depends on the type of recording act in effect. Also termed recordal.

recordatur (ri-kor-da-tuur). An order to record the verdict returned in a nisi prius case.

recorded recollection See PAST RECOLLECTION RECORDED.

recorder 1. A magistrate with criminal jurisdiction in some British cities or boroughs. 2. A municipal judge with the criminal jurisdiction of a magistrate or a police judge and sometimes also with limited civil jurisdiction. 3. A municipal or county officer who keeps public records such as deeds, liens, and judgments.

recorder of deeds See register of deeds under REGISTER (1). 4. SECRETARY (3).

recorder s court See COURT.

recorder's court A court having jurisdiction over felony cases. This court exists in only a few jurisdictions, such as Michigan, where the recorder's court hears felony cases arising within the Detroit city limits.

recording act A law that establishes the requirements for recording a deed or other property interest and the standards for determining priorities between persons claiming interests in the same property (usu. real property). Recording acts the three main types ofwhich are the notice statute, the race statute, and the race-notice statute are deSigned to protect bona fide purchasers from earlier unrecorded interests. Also termed recording statute. See NOTICE STATUTE; RACE STATUTE; RACENOTICE STATUTE.

recording agent See INSURANCE AGENT.

recording officer See SECRETARY (3).

recording officer See SECRETARY (3).

recording secretary See SECRETARY (3).

recording statute See RECORDING ACT.

recording statute See RECORDING ACT.

recordo et processu mittendis See DE RECORDO ET PROCESSU MITTEN DIS.

recordum (ri-kor-dam). [Law Latin]. A record, esp. a judicial one.

recoupment (ri-koop-mant), 1. The recovery or regaining of something, esp. expenses. 2. The withholding, for equitable reasons, of all or part of something that is due. See EQUITABLE RECOUPMENT (1), (2). 3. Reduction of a plaintiff s damages because ofa demand by the defendant arising out of the same transaction. See EQUITABLE RECOUPMENT (3). Cf. SETOFF (2). 4. The right of a defendant to have the plaintiff s claim reduced or eliminated because of the plaintiffs breach of contract or duty in the same transaction. 5. An affirmative defense alleging such a breach. 6. Archaic. A counterclaim arising out of the same transaction or occurrence as the one on which the original action is based. In modern practice, the recoupment has been replaced by the compulsory counterclaim. recoup, vb.

recourse (ree-kors or ri-kors). 1. The act of seeking help or advice. 2. Enforcement of, or a method for enforcing, a right. 3. The right of a holder of a negotiable instrument to demand payment from the drawer or indorser if the instrument is dishonored. See WITH RECOURSE; WITHOUT RECOURSE. 4. The right to repayment of a loan from the borrower personal assets, not just from the collateral that secured the loan.

recourse loan See LOAN.

recourse note See NOTE (1).

recover 1. To get back or regain in full or in equivalence <:the landlord recovered higher operating costs by raising rent>. 2. To obtain by a judgment or other legal process <the plaintiff recovered punitive damages in the lawsuit>. 3. To obtain (a judgment) in one favor <the plaintiff recovered a judgment against the defendant>. 4. To obtain damages or other relief; to succeed in a lawsuit or other legal proceeding <the defendant argued that the plaintiff should not be allowed to recover for his own negligence>.

recoverable adj. Capable of being recovered, esp. as a matter oflaw <court costs and attorney fees are recoverable under the statute>. recoverability, n.

recovered-memory syndrome See REPRESSED-MEMORY SYNDROME.

recoveree The party against whom a judgment is obtained in a common recovery. See COMMON RECOVERY.

recoveror The demandant who obtains a judgment in a common recovery. See COMMON RECOVERY.

recovery 1. The regaining or restoration of something lost or taken away. 2. The obtainment of a right to something (esp. damages) by a judgment or decree. 3. An amount awarded in or collected from a judgment or decree.

recrimination (ri-krim-i-nay-shan), n. 1. Family law. Archaic. In a divorce suit, a countercharge that the complainant has been guilty of an offense constituting a ground for divorce. When both parties to the marriage have committed marital misconduct that would be grounds for divorce, neither may obtain a fault divorce. Recriminations are now virtually obsolete because of the prevalence of no-fault divorce. See COMPARATIVE RECTITUDE. Cf. COLLUSION (2); CONNIVANCE (2); CONDONATION (2). 2. Criminal law. An accused person counteraccusation against the accuser. The accusation may be for the same or a different offense. recriminatory, adj.

recross-examination A second cross-examination, after redirect examination. Often shortened to recross. See CROSS-EXAMINATION.

recta gubernatio (rek-ta g[y]oo-bar-nay-shee-oh), n. [Latin "right government"] A government in which the highest power, however strong and unified, is neither arbitrary nor irresponsible, and derives from a law that is superior to itself. Also termed legitima gubernatio.

rectification (rek-ta-fi-kay-shan), 1. A court equitable correction of a contractual term that is misstated; the judicial alteration of a written contract to make it conform to the true intention of the parties when, in its original form, it did not reflect this intention. As an equitable remedy, the court alters the terms as written so as to express the true intention of the parties. The court might do this when the rent is wrongly recorded in a lease or when the area of land is incorrectly cited in a deed. 2. A court s slight modification of words of a statute as a means of carrying out what the court is convinced must have been the legislative intent. For example, courts engage in rectification when they read and as or or shall as may, as they frequently must do because of un fastidious drafting. See REFORMATION. rectify, vb.

rectification of boundaries An action to determine or correct the boundaries between two adjoining pieces of land.

rectification of register A process by which a person whose name was wrongly entered in or omitted from a record can compel the recorder to correct the error.

recto de advocatione See DE RECTO DE ADVOCATIONE.

recto de rationabili parte See DE RECTO DE RATIONABILl PARTE.

recto patens See DE RECTO PATENS.

rector (rek-tar). 1. Eccles. law. The spiritual head and presiding officer of a parish. Also termed parson. Cf. VICAR.

rector provinciae (pra-vin-shee-ee). A governor of a province.

rector sinecure (si-nee-kyoor-ee). A rector who does not have the cure of souls. 2. Roman law, A governor or ruler.

rectum (rek-tam). [Latinl 1. Right. 2. A trial or accusation.

rectus (rek-tas). [Latin "right"]. (Of a line ofdescent) straight; direct. Cf. OBLIQUUS.

rectus in curia (rek-tas in kyoor-ee-a), adj. [Latin "right in the court"). Free from charge or offense; competent to appear in court and entitled to the benefit of law. See LEGALIS HOMO.

recuperatio (ri-k[y]oo-pa-ray-shee-oh), n. [Latin "recovery"] Hist. Judicial restitution of something that has been wrongfully taken or denied.

recuperator (ri-k[y]oo-pa-ray-tor), n. [Latin "assessor"] Roman law. 1. A member of a mixed body of commissioners, appointed by a convention between two states tor the purpose of adjusting any claims or disputes that might arise between the members of those states. 2. One of a bank of judges, instead of a single judex, appointed to hear civil cases that had a publiC-interest element. PI. recuperatores (ri-k[y]oo-pa-ra-tor-eez).

recurrent nuisance See NUISANCE.

recusable (ri-kyoo-za-bal), 1. (Of an obligation) arising from a party s voluntary act and that can be avoided. Cf. IRRECUSABLE. 2. (Of a judge) capable of being disqualified from sitting on a case. 3. (Of a fact) providing a basis for disqualifying a judge from sitting on a case.

recusal (ri-kyoo-zal). Removal of oneself as judge or policy-maker in a particular matter, esp. because of a contlict of interest. Also termed recusation; recusement. Cf. DISQUALIFICATION.

recusant (rek-ya--zant or ri-kyoo-zant), adj. Refusing to submit to an authority or comply with a command <a recusant witness>.

recusatio judicis (reh-kyoo-zay-shee-oh joo-dish-is), n. [Latin] Eccles. law. The procedure and grounds by which a judge may be challenged and removed from hearing a case. The grounds for disqualification traditionally include great friendship or enmity with a party, close kinship to a party, acceptance of a bribe, previously giving counsel to a party, or demonstrated ignorance of the law. A panel of three arbiters, chosen by the challenging party and the judge, decides whether the party s complaint has merit.

recusation (rek-ya-zay-shan). 1. Civil law. An objection, exception, or appeal; esp. an objection alleging a judge s prejudice or conflict of interest. 2. RECUSAL.

recuse (ri-kyooz). 1. To remove (oneself) as a judge in a particular case because of prejudice or conflict of interest <the judge recused himself from the trial>. 2. To challenge or object to (a judge) as being disqualified from hearing a case because of prejudice or a conflict of interest <the defendant filed a motion to recuse the trial judge>.

recusement See RECIJSAL.

red herring 1. An irrelevant legal or factual issue, usu. intended to distract or mislead <law students should avoid discussing the red herrings that professors raise in exams>. 2. See preliminary prospectus under PROSPECTUS.

red tape A bureaucratic procedure required to be followed before official action can be taken; esp. rigid adherence to time-consuming rules and regulations; excessive bureaucracy. The phrase originally referred to the red ribbons that lawyers and government officials once used to tie their papers together.

redaction (ri-dak-shan). 1. The careful editing of a document, esp. to remove confidential references or offensive material. 2. A revised or edited document. - redactional, ad}. redact, vb.

red-cow case See WHITEHORSE CASE.

reddendo (ri-den-doh). Scots law. 1. A clause in a charter specifying a duty, rent, or service due from a vassal to a superior. 2. The duty or service specified in this clause; feu duty.

reddendo singulasingulis (ri-den-doh sing-gya-la-sing-gya-lis). [Latin "by rendering each to each"] Assigning or distributing separate things to separate persons, or separate words to separate subjects. This was used as a rule of construction designed to give effect to the intention of the parties who drafted the instrument. Also termed referenda singula singulis.

reddendum (ri-den-dam). [Latin "that must be given back or yielded"]. A clause in a deed by which the grantor reserves some new thing (esp. rent) out of what had been previously granted.

reddidit se (red-a-dit see). [Latin "he has rendered himself"]. A person who has personally appeared in order to discharge bail.

reddition (ri-dish-an). An acknowledgment in court that one is not the owner of certain property being demanded, and that it in fact belongs to the demandant.

redditus See REDITUS.