shipper1. One who ships goods to another. 2. One who contracts with a carrier for the transportation of cargo. As a legal term of art, the shipper may not be the person who owns the cargo, but an agent or an independent contractor. Cf. CARRIER (1). |
shipping articlesA document (provided by a master of a vessel to the mariners) detailing voyage information, such as the voyage term, the number of crew, and the wage rates. 46 USCA § 10302. |
shipping commissionerAn officer, appointed by the secretary of the treasury, who is posted at a port of entry, and vested with general supervisory authority over seamens contracts and welfare. In 1993, the term was changed to "master or individual in charge." See Pub. L. 103-206 § 403. |
shipping documentAny paper that covers a shipment in trade, such as a bill oflading or letter of credit. |
shipping lawSee LAW OF SHIPPING. |
shipping orderA copy of the shippers instructions to a carrier regarding the disposition of goods to be transported. |
ships husbandA person appointed to act as general agent of all the coowners of a ship, as by contracting for all necessary services, equipment, and supplies. Cf. EXERCITOR. |
shipwreck1. A ships wreckage. 2. The injury or destruction of a vessel because of circumstances beyond the owners control, rendering the vessel incapable of carrying out its mission. "There are two kinds of shipwreck: (1.) When the vessel sinks or is dashed to pieces. (2.) When she is stranded, which is, when she grounds and fills with water. The latter may terminate in shipwreck, or may not, and it depends on circumstances whether it will or will not justify an abandonment." 4 James Kent, Commentaries on American Law *323 n.(b) (George Comstock ed., 11th ed. 1866). |
shireA county in Great Britain (esp. England), originally made up of many hundreds but later consisting oflarger divisions set offby metes and bounds. |
shire-gerefaSee shire-reeve under REEVE. |
shire-reeveSee REEVE. |
shire-reeveThe reeve of a shire. The shire- reeve was a forerunner of the sheriff. - Also spelled shire-reve. Also termed shire-gerefa. |
Shively presumption(shiv-lee). The doctrine that any prestatehood grant of public property does not include tidelands unless the grant specifically indicates otherwise. Shively v. Bowlby, 152 U.S. 1, 14 S.Ct. 548 (1894); United States v. Holt State Bank, 270 U.S. 49, 46 S.Ct. 197 (1925). See EQUAL-FOOTING DOCTRINE. |
shockA profound and sudden disturbance of the physical or mental senses; a sudden and violent physical or mental impression depressing the bodys vital forces, as by a sudden injury or medical procedure. |
shock incarcerationSee INCARCERATION. |
shock incarcerationIncarceration in a military-type setting, usu. for three to six months, during which the offender is subjected to strict discipline, physical exercise, and hard labor. See 18 USCA § 4046. After successfully completing the program, the offender is usu. placed on probation. See BOOT CAMP. Cf. shock probation under PROBATION. |
shock probationSee PROBATION. |
shock probationProbation that is granted after a brief stay in jail or prison. Shock probation is intended to awaken the defendant to the reality of confinement for failure to abide by the conditions of probation. This type of probation is discretionary with the sentencing judge and is usu. granted within 180 days of the original sentence. Also termed split sentence. Cf. shock incarceration under INCARCERATION. 2. The act of judicially proving a wilL See PROBATE. probate, . |
shock the conscienceTo cause intense ethical or humanitarian discomfort. This phrase is used as an equitable standard for gauging whether (1) state action amounts to a violation of a persons substantive-dueprocess rights, (2) a jurys award is excessive, (3) a fine, jail term, or other penalty is disproportionate to the crime, or (4) a contract is unconscionable. See CONSCIENCE OF THE COURT (2). |
shopA business establishment or place of employment; a factory, office, or other place of business. |
shop booksRecords of original entry maintained in the usual course of business by a shopkeeper, trader, or other businessperson. Also termed books of account; account books. |
shop committeeA union committee that resolves employee complaints within a union shop. See union shop under SHOP. |
shop rightAn employers right to an irrevocable, nonassignable, nonexclusive, royalty-free license in an employees invention, if the employee conceived and developed the invention during the course ofemployment and used company funds and materials. The term derives from the idea that the right belongs to the shop, not to the employee. Employment contracts frequently contain patent-assignment clauses, but the employer is entitled to the license even if the employee retains the patent. If the employee or consultant was hired to invent, then the employer owns the resulting inventions. If an employee develops an invention independently, the employee is its sole owner. But if an employees uses the employers resources to make the invention, courts use the shop-right doctrine to order the employee to compensate the employer. |
shop stewardSee STEWARD (2). |
shop-book ruleEvidence. An exception to the hearsay rule permitting the admission into evidence of original bookkeeping records if the books entries were made in the ordinary course of business and the books are authenticated by somebody who maintains them. |
shopliftingTheft of merchandise from a store or business; specif., larceny of goods from a store or other commercial establishment by willfully taking and concealing the merchandise with the intention of converting the goods to ones personal use without paying the purchase price. See LARCENY. - shoplift, vb. "Shoplifting is a form of larceny .... As a practical matter, however, the difficulty of proving the wrongful taking and the felonious intent requisites for a conviction under the general larceny statutes, together with the risk of retributory civil action against the shopkeeper consequent to acquittal of an accused shoplifter, have caused shoplifting to be established as a specific statutory crime in many jurisdictions." 50 Am. Jur. 2d Larcenv § 71, at 79-80 (1995). |
shore1. Land lying between the lines of highand low-water mark; lands bordering on the shores of navigable waters below the line of ordinary high water. 2. Land adjacent to a body of water regardless of whether it is below or above the ordinary high- or low-water mark. Also termed shore land. |
short1. Not holding at the time of sale the security or commodity that is being sold in anticipation of a fall in price <the trader was short at the markets close. 2. Of or relating to a sale of securities or commodities not in the sellers possession at the time of sale <a short position>. See short sale under SALE. Cf. LONG. |
shortadv. Bya short sale <sold the stock short>. See short sale under SALE. |
shortvb. To sell (a security or commodity) by a short sale <shorted 1,000 shares of Pantheon stock>. See short sale under SALE. |
short causeSee CAUSE (3). |
short causeA case that requires little time to try, usu. half a day or less. - Also termed short-cause trial. |
short interestSecurities. In a short sale, the number of shares that have not been purchased for return to lenders. See short sale under SALE. |
short leaseSee LEASE. |
short noticeSee NOTICE. |
short positionThe position of an investor who borrowed stock to make a short sale but has not yet purchased the stock to repay the lender. See short sale under SALE. |
short saleSee SALE. |
short saleA sale of a security that the seller does not own or has not contracted for at the time of sale, and that the seller must borrow to make delivery. Such a sale is usu. made when the seller expects the securitys price to drop. If the price does drop, the seller can make a profit on the difference between the price of the shares sold and the lower price of the shares bought to pay back the borrowed shares. Also termed sale short. |
short sale against the boxA short sale of a security by a seller who owns enough shares of the security to cover the sale but borrows shares anyway because the seller wants to keep ownership a secret or because the owned shares are not easily accessible. Delivery may be made with either the owned or the borrowed shares, so it is less risky than an ordinary short sale. The phrase against the box refers to the owned shares that are in safekeeping; formerly, the "box" was a container used to store stock certificates. - Often shortened to sale against the box. |
short sale against the boxSee SALE. |
short summonsSee SUMMONS. |
short summonsA summons having a response time less than that of an ordinary summons, usu. served on a fraudulent or nonresident debtor. |
short titleSee TITLE (3). |
short tonSee TON. |
short-cause calendarSee CALENDAR (2). |
short-cause calendarA trial calendar on which a short-cause trial may be scheduled for the 10th day after the opposing party is given notice. The request for scheduling must include an affidavit that the trial will take no longer than a certain specified period (e.g., an hour). |
short-cause trialSee short cause under CAUSE (3). |
shortened statutory periodAn amount of time less than 6 months, but not less than 30 days, given in certain circumstances to a patent applicant to respond to an office action. The period for most responses can be extended up to the statutory period of 6 months. MPEP 710.02. |
shorter-term ruleSee RULE OF THE SHORTER TERM. |
short-form agreementA contract usu. entered into by a small independent contractor whereby the contractor agrees to be bound by a collective-bargaining agreement negotiated between a union and a multiemployer bargaining unit. |
short-form bill of ladingA bill of lading that does not expressly contain all the terms of the transporta-tion contract, but incorporates them by reference to another document, usu. one at the office of the carrier. |
short-form bill of ladingSee BILL OF LADING. |
short-form mergerSee MERGER. |
short-shippedadj. Commercial law. Partially filled; containing fewer units than requested or paid for. |
short-swing profitsProfits made by a corporate insider on the purchase and sale (or sale and purchase) of company stock within a six-month period. These profits are subject to being returned to the company. |
short-swingproJitsSee SHORT-SWING PROFITS. |
short-term alimonySee rehabilitative alimony under ALIMONY. |
short-term capital gainSee CAPITAL GAIN. |
short-term capital gainThe profit realized from selling or exchanging a capital asset held for less than a specified period, usu. one year. It is treated as ordinary income under current federal tax law. |
short-term debtCollectively, all debts and other liabilities that are payable within one year. Also termed current liability. |
short-term debt1. See DEBT. 2. See current liability under LIABILITY. |
short-term loanSee LOAN. |
short-term securitySee SECURITY. |
short-term securityA bond or note that matures and is payable within a brief period (often one year). |
short-term tradingSee TRADING. |
short-term trustSee Clifford trust under TRlJST. |
shotgun instructionSee ALLEN CHARGE. |
shotgun pleadingA pleading that encompasses a wide range of contentions, usu. supported by vague factual allegations. |
shotgun pleadingSee PLEADING (I). |
shotgun rejectionSee REJECTION. |
shotgun rejectionSlang. Denial of all or almost all claims in a patent application by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, esp. in the first office action. |
showvb. To make (facts, etc.) apparent or clear by evidence; to prove. |
show causeTo produce a satisfactory explanation or excuse, usu. in connection with a motion or application to a court. |
show of handsSee vote by show of hands under VOTE (4). |
show trialA trial, usu. in a nondemocratic country, that is staged primarily for propagandistic purposes, with the outcome predetermined. |
show-canse orderSee ORDER (2). |
show-cause motionSee MOTION. |
show-cause orderAn order directing a party to appear in court and explain why the party took (or failed to take) some action or why the court should or should not grant some relief. Also termed order to show cause; rule to show cause; show-cause rule. |
show-cause proceedingA usu. expedited proceeding on a show-cause order. Also termed rule to show cause; summary process; summary procedure; expedited proceeding. |
show-cause ruleSee show-cause order under ORDER (2). |
shower(shoh-ar), n. A person commissioned by a court to take jurors to a place so that they may observe it as they consider a case on which they are sitting. See VIEW (3). |
showingThe act or an instance of establishing through evidence and argument; proof <a prima fade showing>. |
show-stopperCorporations. An antitakeover tactic by which the company seeks an injunction barring the takeover usu. because the proposed merger violates antitrust laws. |
showupA pretrial identification procedure in which a suspect is confronted with a witness to or the victim of a crime. - Unlike a lineup, a showup is a oneon-one confrontation. Cf. LINEUP. |
shrinkageThe reduction in inventory caused by theft, breakage, or waste. |
shrink-wrap licenseSee LICENSE. |
SHUabbr. SPECIAL HOUSING UNIT. |
shutdownA cessation of work production, esp. in a factory. |
shut-in royaltySee ROYALTY (2). |
shut-in royaltyA payment made by an oil-and-gas lessee to the lessor to keep the lease in force when a well capable of producing is not utilized because there is no market for the oil or gas. Generally, without such a payment, the lease will terminate at the end of the primary term unless actual production has begun. |
shut-in royalty clauseOil & gas. A provision in an oil¬and-gas lease allowing the lessee to maintain the lease while there is no production from the property because wells capable of production are shut in. -The lessee pays the lessor a shut-in royalty in lieu of production. |
shuttle diplomacyDiplomatic negotiations assisted by emissaries, who travel back and forth between negotiating countries. In legal contexts, the term usu. refers to a similar approach used by a mediator in negotiating the settlement ofa lawsuit. The mediator travels back and forth between different rooms, one of which is assigned to each side's decision-makers and counsel. The mediator relays offers and demands between the rooms and, by conferring with the parties about their positions and about the uncertainty of litigation, seeks to reach an agreed resolution of the case. The mediator does not bring the parties together in the same room. 2. Loosely, foreign policy. 3. The collective functions performed by a diplomat. diplomatic, adj. diplomat, n. |
shuttle diplomacySee DIPLOMACY. |
shyster(Shis-tar). A person (esp. a lawyer) whose business affairs are unscrupulous, deceitful, or unethcal. |
si actio(si ak-shee-oh), n. [Latin]. The closing state- ment in a defendants plea demanding judgment. |
si aliquid sapit(si al-i-kwid say-pit). [Law Latin]. If he knows anything. |
si antecedit ictum licet non congressum(si an-ti-see-dit ik-tam li-set non kan-gres-am). [Law Latin]. If it precedes the blow, although not actually connected with it. The phrase appeared in reference to the malice sufficient to warrant a capital murder conviction. |
si constet de persona(si kon-stet dee par-soh-na). [Latin] If it is certain who is the person meant. |
si contingat(si kon-ting-at). [Law Latin] If it happens. This term was formerly used to describe conditions in a conveyance. |
si deprehendatur(si dep-ri-hen-day-tar). [Latin]. If captured. |