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share draft A demand that a member draws against a credit-union share account, payable to a third party. A share draft is similar to a check that is written to draw funds out of a checking account at a bank.

share draft account An account that a member maintains at a credit union and that can be drawn on through the use of share drafts payable to third parties. A share-draft account operates much like a checking account operates at a bank. Also termed share account.

share split See STOCK SPLIT.

sharecropping An agricultural arrangement in which a landowner leases land to a tenant who, in turn, gives the landlord a portion of the crop as rent. The landlord usu. provides the seed, fertilizer, and ment. - sharecropper, n.

shared custody See joint custody under CUSTODY (2).

shared custody See joint custody.

shared parenting See PARENTING.

shared parenting Cooperation between divorced parents in child-rearing

shared residency See joint physical custody under CUSTODY.

shared-appreciation mortgage See MORTGAGE.

shared-equity mortgage See MORTGAGE.

share-draft account See ACCOUNT.

shareholder One who owns or holds a share or shares in a company, esp. a corporation. Also termed shareowner; (in a corporation) stockholder.

shareholder derivative suit See DERIVATIVE ACTION (1).

shareholder oppression See OPPRESSION (4).

shareholder proposal A proposal by one or more corporate stockholders to change company policy or procedure. Ordinarily, the corporation informs all stockholders about the proposal before the next shareholder meeting.

shareholder resolution See RESOLUTION (2).

shareholder resolution A resolution by shareholders, usu. to ratify the actions of the board of directors. 3. A document containing such an expression or authorization.

shareholder voting agreement See POOLING AGREEMENT.

shareholder-control agreement See POOLING AGREEMENT.

shareholders equity See OWNERS EQUITY.

shareholders liability See LIABILITY.

shareholders scheme of arrangement See members scheme of arrangement.

shareholders scheme of arrangement See SCHEME OF ARRANGEMENT.

shareowner See SHAREHOLDER.

shares outstanding See outstanding stock under STOCK.

shareware Software that can be redistributed but not modified and requires all users to pay a license fee. The license fee applies to both originals and distributed copies. Cf. FREEWARE; PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE; SEMIFREE SOFTWARE.

share-warrant to bearer A warrant providing that the bearer is entitled to a certain amount of fully paid stock shares. Delivery of the warrant operates as a transfer of the shares of stock.

Sharia (sha-ree-a). 1he body of Islamic religious law applicable to police, banking, business, contracts, and social issues. Sharia is a system of laws, rather than a codification oflaws, based on the Koran and other Islamic sources.

shark repellent 1. TAKEOVER DEFENSE. 2. More specifically, a charter or bylaw provision designed to impede hostile bids to acquire a controlling interest in a corporation.

sharp adj. (Of a clause in a mortgage, deed, etc.) empowering the creditor to take immediate and summary action upon the debtors default. See DROPDEAD PROVISION.

sharp practice Unethical action and trickery, esp. by a lawyer. - Also termed (archaically) unhandsome dealing. ¬ sharp practitioner, n.

shave 1. To purchase (a negotiable instrument) at a greater than usual discount rate. 2. To reduce or deduct from (a price).

sheer Maritime law. A vessels sudden deviation from its line of course; a swerve.

sheet acts See SESSION LAWS.

shelf company See COMPANY.

shelf corporation See shelf company under COMPANY.

shelf issue See ISSUE (2).

shelf issue An issue of securities that were previously registered but not released at the time of registration. 3. Wills & estates. Lineal descendants; offspring.

shelf registration Registration with the SEC of securities to be sold over time, the purpose being to avoid the delays and market uncertainties of individual registration. It is generally contemplated that the entire allotment of securities covered by a registered offering will be made available for purchase on the effective date. This is not always the case, however. For example, insiders, promoters or underwriters might receive securities directly from the issuer with an intent to resell at a later date.... [I]t may be desirable to get a debt offering all ready to go but wait for a propitious moment to release it. These and other delayed offerings have led to what is known as shelf registration. In a shelf registration the registration statement is filed but the securities are put on the shelf until the manner and date of the offering are determined." Thomas Lee Hazen, The Law of Securities Regulation § 3.8, at 119 (2d ed. 1994).

shelf registration See REGISTRATION (2).

shelf security A security that is set aside for shelf registration.

shelf security See SECURITY.

shelfcompany A company that is formed without a particular purpose and may not actually operate until some purpose for its existence arises, usu. when sold to a buyer. After being formed, shelf companies are usu. allowed to age before being offered for sale. The benefits of a shelf company to a buyer include time saved by not having to form a company, the appearance of longevity, and easier access to credit. If the company is incorporated, it is also termed a shelfcorporation.

shelfcorporation See shelf company under COMPANY.

shell corporation See CORPORATION.

shell corporation A corporation that has no active business and usu. exists only in name as a vehicle for another company's business operations.

shell game A sleight-of-hand game that uses three cups or thimble-like objects, one of which has a pea, ball, or other small object underneath. This is a game of chance in which one player bets that he or she can remember under which cup the object is. lhe cups are moved around so quickly that the player finds it difficult to remember where the object is. When played casually on public streets the shell game is usu. a swindle because the operator palms the object rather than leaving it under a cup, so the player has no chance of winning. - Also termed thimble rig; thimbles and balls. See GAME OF CHANCE.

Shelley S Case, Rule in See RULE IN SHELLEYS CASE.

shelter 1. A place of refuge providing safety from danger, attack, or observation.

shelter doctrine Commercial law. The principle that a person to whom a holder in due course has transferred commercial paper, as well as any later transferee, will succeed to the rights of the holder in due course. As a result, transferees of holders in due course are generally not subject to defenses against the payment of an instrument. Ihis doctrine ensures the free transferability of commercial paper. Its name derives from the idea that the transferees "take shelter" in the rights of the holder in due course.

shelter hearing A hearing shortly after the state's removal of a child for suspected abuse or neglect. The hearing, generally held within 24 to 72 hours after the removal, is for the purpose of determining whether the state has adequate cause to maintain the children in protective care. - Also termed shelter-care hearing; continued- custody hearing; preliminary protective hearing; probablecause hearing; detention hearing; dependency hearing.

shelter hearing See HEARING.

shelter-care hearing See shelter hearing under HEARlNG.

shelving The failure to begin or the stopping of commercial use of a patent during a specified period, usu. the term of the license. A licensor may place an anti-shelving provision in a license to ensure the licensed products manufacture and sale. The term usu. applies to patented inventions, but licenses for trade-marked products may also address shelving.

shepardize 1. (often cap.) To determine the subsequent history and treatment of (a case) by using a printed or computerized version of Shepards Citators. 2. Loosely, to check the precedential value of (a case) by the same or similar means. shepardization, shepardizing, n.

sheriff [Middle English shire reeve from Anglo-Saxon scirgerefal1. A countys chief peace officer, usu. elected, who in most jurisdictions acts as custodian of the county jail, executes civil and criminal process, and carries out judicial mandates within the county. Also termed high sheriff; vice-comes.

sheriff derk The clerk of a sheriffs court.

sheriff principal Scots law. The chief judge of a sheriffdom comprising one or more counties.

sheriff s court See COURT.

sheriff s sale See SALE

sheriff"s jury A jury selected and summoned by a sheriff to hold inquests for various purposes, such as assessing damages in an action in which the defendant makes no defense or ascertaining the mental condition of an alleged lunatic.

sheriff-depute Scots law. The qualified judge of a district or county, acting for the titular, unqualified sheriff.

sheriff's court The principal inferior court in Scotland, haVing both civil and criminal jurisdiction.

sheriffs deed See DEED.

sheriff's deed A deed that gives ownership rights in property bought at a sheriff's sale.

sheriffs jury See JURY.

sheriffs sale 1. See execution sale. 2. See judicial sale.

Sherman Antitrust Act A federal statute, passed in 1890, that prohibits direct or indirect interference with the freely competitive interstate production and distribution of goods. This Act was amended by the Clayton Act in 1914. 15 USCA §§ 1-7. Often shortened to Sherman Act. - Also termed the Antitrust Law.

Sherman-Sorrells doctrine The principle that a defendant may claim as an affirmative defense that he or she was not disposed to commit the offense until a public official (often an undercover police officer) encouraged the defendant to do so. This entrapment defense, which is recognized in the federal system and a majority ofstates, was developed in Sherman v. United States, 356 U.S. 369, 78 S.Ct. 819 (1958), and Sorrells v. United States, 287 U.S. 435, 53 S.Ct. 210 (1932). Also termed subjective method. See ENTRAPME:-IT. Cf. HYPOTHETICAL-PERSON DEFENSE.

shield law 1. A statute that affords journalists the privilege not to reveal confidential sources. See journalists privilege under PRIVILEGE (3). More than half of the states have shield laws creating reporters privileges that are sometimes broader than the First Amendment version of that privilege." David A. Anderson, Freedom of the Press, 80 Texas L. Rev. 429, 432 (2002). 2. A statute that restricts or prohibits the use, in rape or sexual-assault cases, of evidence about the victims past sexual conduct. - Also termed (in sense 2) rape shield law; rape shield statute. The rape shield law. At common law the character of the woman as to chastity or unchastity was held to be admissible in evidence on the theory that it had probative value in determining whether she did or did not consent. Defense counsel, in unrestrained zeal for an acquittal, took advantage of this to the point that it often seemed as if it was the victim of the rape, rather than the perpetrator, who was on trial. A typical rape shield statute does not prevent the introduction of any relevant and otherwise admissible evidence, but requires that the relevancy of any evidence of the previous sexual conduct of the complaining witness must be determined in a pretrial hearing before the judge in camera. Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 206 (3d ed. 1982).

shifting ad). (Of a position, place, etc.) changing or passing from one to another <a shifting estate>.

shifting clause At common law, a clause under the Statute of Uses prescribing a substituted mode of devolution in the settlement of an estate. See STATUTE OF USES.

shifting executory interest An executory interest that operates in defeasance ofan interest created simultaneously in a third person.

shifting executory interest See EXECUTORY INTEREST.

shifting ground The broadening of a patent application in an amendment by claiming a feature of the invention that was disclosed but not claimed in the original application.

shifting inheritance Under intestacy laws, an inheritance that is transferred from an heir who was living when the intestate died to an afterborn heir who is more closely related to the intestate.

shifting inheritance See INHERITANCE.

shifting risk The changing risk covered under an insurance policy insuring a stock of goods or similar property that varies in amount and composition in the course of trade.

shifting risk See RISK.

shifting stock of merchandise Merchandise inventory subject to change by purchases and sales in the course of trade.

shifting the burden of proof In litigation, the transference of the duty to prove a fact from one party to the other; the passing of the duty to produce evidence in a case from one side to another as the case progresses, when one side has made a prima facie showing on a point ofevidence, requiring the other side to rebut it by contradictory evidence. See BURDEN OF PROOF.

shifting trust See TRUST.

shifting use See USE (4).

shill 1. A person who poses as an innocent bystander at a confidence game but actually serves as a decoy for the perpetrators of the scheme. 2. BY-BIDDER. - shill, vb.

shilling 1. The practice of fraudulently bidding on items at an auction solely to drive up the price. The seller might collude with another person to bid or might act alone and anonymously. Cf. BIDDING UP; BY-BIDDING. 2. An English coin equal to 12 pence or 1I20th of a pound. Shillings were revalued as five pence and phased out when decimalization was adopted in the early 1970s. The modern five-pence coin, like its predecessor equal to 1/20th of a pound, is sometimes nostalgically referred to as a shilling.

shin plaster 1. A bank note that has greatly depreciated in value; esp., the paper money of the Republic ofTexas in relation to the u.s. dollar. 2. Paper money in denominations less than one dollar.

shingle A small, usu. dignified sign that marks the office door of a lawyer or other professional.

shingle theory The notion that a broker-dealer must be held to a high standard of conduct because by engaging in the securities business (hanging out a shingle), the broker-dealer implicitly represents to the world that the conduct of all its employees will be fair and meet professional norms. "[l]n judging the appropriate standard of care that attaches to a broker-dealer in recommending securities to his or her customers and in dealing with the customers accounts, the Commission has relied upon the shingle theory. The shingle theory is but an extension of the common law doctrine of holding out. When brokers hold themselves out as experts either in investments in general or in the securities of a particular issuer, they will be held to a higher standard of care in making recommendations." Thomas Lee Hazen, The Law of Securities Regulation § 10.6, at 423 (2d ed. 1994).

ship A type of vessel used or intended to be used in navigation. See VESSEL.

ship To send (goods, documents, etc.) from one place to another, esp. by delivery to a carrier for transportation.

ship broker 1. The business agent of a shipowner or charterer; an intermediary between an owner or charterer and a shipper. 2. One who negotiates the purchase and sale of a ship.

ship channel The part of a navigable body of water where the water is deep enough for large vessels to travel safely.

Ship Mortgage Act A federal law regulating mortgages on ships registered as U.S. vessels by, among other things, proViding for enforcement of maritime liens in favor of those who furnish supplies or maintenance to the vessels. 46 USCA §§ 30101, 31301-43.

ship s papers The papers that a vessel is required to carry to provide the primary evidence of the ships national character, ownership, nature and destination of cargo, and compliance with navigation laws. These papers includes certificates of health, charter-party, muster-rolls, licenses, and bills of lading.

shipmaster See MASTER OF A SHIP.

shipment 1. The transportation of goods; esp., the delivery of goods to a carrier and subsequent issuance of a bill oflading. 2. The goods so shipped; an order of goods.

shipment contract See CONTRACT.

shipment contract A contract in which a seller bears the risk of damage to the items sold only until they are brought to the place of shipment. If a contract for the sale of goods does not address the terms of delivery, it is presumed to be a shipment contract. UCC §§ 2-319, 2-504, 2-509. Cf. destination contract. "In the jargon of commercial lawyers, a contract that requires or authorizes the seller to send the goods to the buyer but does not require that he deliver them at any particular destination is called a 'shipment contract.' Generally, in shipment contracts, risk of loss passes to the buyer at the point of shipment, which is also the point of 'delivery,' while in 'destination contracts' (seller must deliver at a particular destination) risk passes upon seller's tender at destination." 1 James J. White & Robert S. Summers, Uniform Commercial Code § 3-5, at 128-29 (4th ed. 1995).

shipowner-negligence doctrine The principle that a shipowner is liable for an assault on a crew member if the crew member was assaulted by a superior, during an activity undertaken for the benefit of the ships business, and ifthe ships officers could reasonably have foreseen the assault.