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slander 1. A defamatory assertion expressed in a transitory form, esp. speech. Damages for slander unlike those for libel are not presumed and thus must be proved by the plaintiff (unless the defamation is slander per se). 2. The act ofmaking such a statement. See DEFAMATION. Cf. LIBEL (1). slander, vb. - slanderous, adj. "Although libel and slander are for the most part governed by the same principles, there are two important differences: (1) Libel is not merely an actionable tort, but also a criminal offence, whereas slander is a civil injury only. (2) Libel is in all cases actionable per se; but slander is, save in special cases, actionable only on proof of actual damage. This distinction has been severely criticised as productive of great injustice." R.F.V. Heuston, Salmond on the Law of Torts 139 (17th ed. 1977).

slander of goods See DISPARAGEMENT.

slander of title A false statement, made orally or in writing, that casts doubt on another persons ownership of property. Also termed jactitation oftitle. See DISPARAGEMENT.

slander per quod See SLANDER.

slander per quod Slander that does not qualify as slander per se, thus forcing the plaintiff to prove special damages.

slander per se Slander for which special damages need not be proved because it imputes to the plaintiff anyone of the following: (1) a crime involving moral turpitude, (2) a loathsome disease (such as a sexually transmitted disease), (3) conduct that would adversely affect ones business or profession, or (4) unchastity (esp. of a woman).

slander per se See SLANDER.

slanderer One who commits slander.

SLAPP (slap). abbr. A strategic lawsuit against public participation that is, a suit brought by a developer, corporate executive, or elected official to stifle those who protest against some type of high-dollar initiative or who take an adverse position on a public-interest issue (often involving the environment). Also termed SLAPP suit.

slate A list of candidates, esp. for political office or a corporations board of directors, that usu. includes as many candidates for election as there are representatives being elected.

slave Roman law. See SERVUS (1).

slavery 1. A situation in which one person has absolute power over the life, fortune, and liberty of another. 2. The practice of keeping individuals in such a state of bondage or servitude. Slavery was outlawed by the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Slavery was a big problem for the Constitution makers. Those who profited by it insisted on protecting it; those who loathed it dreaded even more the prospect that to Insist on abolition would mean that the Constitution would die aborning. So the Framers reached a compromise, of sorts. The words slave and slavery would never be mentioned, but the Constitution would safeguard the peculiar institution from the abolitionists." Jethro K. lieberman, The Evolving ConstitutIOn 493 (1992).

slavery, badge of See BADGE OF SLAVERY.

slay To kill (a person), esp. in battIe.

slayer rule The doctrine that neither a person who kills another nor the killers heirs can share in the decedents estate. - Also termed slayers rule.

slayer statute A statute that prohibits a persons killer from taking any part of the decedents estate through will or intestacy. The Uniform Probate Code and nearly all jurisdictions have a slayer•statute provision.

SLC abbr. SPECIAL LITIGATION COMMITTEE.

sleeper A security that has strong market potential but is underpriced and lacks investor interest.

sleeping on rights See LACHES (1).

sleeping partner See secret partner under PARTNER.

sleeping partner See secret partner.

sleepwalking defense See AUTOMATISM.

sleepwalking defense See AUTOMATISM.

slidiug scale A pricing method in which prices are determined by a persons ability to pay.

slight care The degree of care a person gives to matters of minor importance; the degree of care given by a person of limited accountability.

slight care See CARE.

slight diligence The diligence that a person of less than common prudence takes with his or her own concerns. Also termed low diligence.

slight diligence See DILIGENCE.

slight evidence A small quantity of evidence; esp., the small amount of evidence sufficient to remove a presumption from a case or for a rational fact-finder to conclude that something essential has not been established beyond a reasonable doubt. See SLIGHTEVIDENCE RULE.

slight evidence See EVIDENCE.

slight negligence See NEGLIGENCE.

slight-evidence rule 1. The doctrine that if evidence establishes the existence of a conspiracy between at least two other people, the prosecution need only offer slight evidence of a defendants knowing participation or intentional involvement in the conspiracy to secure a conviction. This rule was first announced in Tomplain v. United States, 42 F.2d 202, 203 (5th Cir. 1930). In the decades after Tomplain, other circuits adopted the rule, but not until the 1970s did the rule become Widespread. Since then, the rule has been widely criticized and, in most circuits, abolished. See, e.g., United States v. Durrive, 902 F.2d 1379, 1380 n.* (7th Cir. 1990). But its vitality remains undiminished in some jurisdictions. 2. The doctrine that only slight evidence of a defendants participation in a conspiracy need be offered in order to admit a coconspirators out-of-court statement under the coconspirator exception to the hearsay rule. See Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(2)(E).

slip decision See slip opinion under OPINION (1).

slip law An individual pamphlet in which a single enactment is printed immediately after its passage but before its inclusion in the general laws (such as the session laws or the u.s. Statutes at Large). Also termed slip-law print.

slip opinion See OPINION (1).

slip opinion 1. A court opinion that is published individually after being rendered and then collectively in advance sheets before being released for publication in a reporter. Unlike an unpublished opinion, a slip opinion can usu. be cited as authority. - Also termed slipsheet. Cf. ADVANCE SHEETS. 2. Archaic. A preliminary draft of a court opinion not yet ready for publication. Also termed slip decision. Cf. unpublished opinion.

slip-and-fall case 1. A lawsuit brought for injuries sustained in slipping and falling, usu. on the defendants property. 2. Loosely, any minor case in tort.

slippery-slope principle See WEDGE PRINCIPLE.

slipsheet See slip opinion under OPINION (1).

slot charter A charter for one or more slots on a container vessel. Each slot accommodates a 20-foot container. A slot charter is a form of vessel-sharing agreement. Cf. space charter. "Slot charters (and vessel·sharing agreements) have become increasingly popular in the container trades, as they enable two or more carriers to combine their capacities and offer more frequent service on their routes. If three carriers all serve the New York to Rotterdam route, for example, and each devotes one vessel to the route every three weeks, they can implicitly (with slot charters) join forces and each offer weekly service." David W. Robertson, Steven F. Friedell & Michael F. Sturley, Admiralty and Maritime Law in the United States 377 (2001).

slot charter See CHARTER (8).

slough 1. (sloo) An arm of a river, separate from the main channel. 2. (slow) A bog; a place filled with deep mud.

slowdown An organized effort by workers to decrease production to pressure the employer to take some desired action.

slowdown strike See STRIKE (1).

slowdown strike A strike in which the workers remain on the job but work at a slower pace to reduce their output. Also termed ca canny strike.

SLSDC abbr. SAINT LAWRENCE SEAWAY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.

slump A temporary downturn in the economy and particularly in the stock market, characterized by falling market prices.

slush fund Money that is set aside for undesignated purposes, often corrupt ones, and that is not subject to financial procedures designed to ensure accountability.

SM abbr. SERVICEMARK.

Small Business Administration A federal agency that helps small businesses by assuring them a fair share of government contracts, guaranteeing their loans or lending them money directly, and providing disaster relief. The agency was established by the Small Business Act of 1953. - Abbr. SBA.

Small Business Investment Act A federal law, originally enacted in 1958, under which investment companies may be formed and licensed to supply long-term equity capital to small businesses. The statute is implemented by the Small Business Administration. 15 USCA §§ 661 et seq.

small claim A claim for damages at or below a specified monetary amount. See small-claims court under COURT.

small entity An independent inventor, a nonprofit organization, or a company with 500 or fewer employees. A small entity is usu. charged a lower fee for patent applications and related expenses as long as the patent rights are not aSSigned or licensed to a large entity (a for-profit organization with more than 500 employees). 37 CFR § 1.27.

small invention See UTILITY MODEL.

small invention See UTILITY MODEL.

small-business corporation 1. A corporation having no more than 75 shareholders and otherwise satisfying the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code provisions permitting a subchapter Selection. IRC (26 USCA) § 1361. See S corporation. 2. A corporation receiving money for stock (as a contribution to capital and paid-in surplus) totaling not more than $1,000,000, and otherwise satisfying the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code section 1244(c) thereby enabling the shareholders to claim an ordinary loss on worthless stock. IRC (26 USCA) § 1244(c).

small-business corporation See CORPORATION.

small-business investment company See SMALL-BUSINESS INVESTMENT COMPANY.

small-business investment company A corporation created under state law to provide long-term eqUity capital to small businesses, as provided under the Small Business Investment Act and regulated by the Small Business Administration. 15 USCA §§ 661 et seq. -Abbr. SBIC.

small-busiuess concern A business qualifying for an exemption from freight undercharges because it is independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field of operation, with limited numbers of employees and business volume. 15 USCA § 632. Often shortened to small business.

small-claims court See COURT.

small-claims court A court that informally and expeditiously adjudicates claims that seek damages below a specified monetary amount, usu. claims to collect small accounts or debts. - Also termed small-debts court; conciliation court.

small-debts court See small-claims court under COURT.

small-estate probate See PROBATE.

small-estate probate An informal procedure for administering small estates, less structured than the normal process and usu. not requiring the assistance of an attorney. 2. Loosely, a personal representative s actions in handling a decedent s estate. 3. Loosely, all the subjects over which probate courts have jurisdiction. 4. Archaic. A nonresident plaintiff s proof of a debt by swearing before a notary public or other officer that the debt is correct, just, and due, and by having the notary attach a jurat.

small-loan act A state law fixing the maximum legal interest rate and other terms on small, shorHerm loans by banks and finance companies.

small-loan company See consumer finance company under FINANCE COMPANY.

smart card See STORED-VALUE CARD.

smart money 1. Funds held by sophisticated, usu.large investors who are considered capable of minimizing risks and maximizing profits <the smart money has now left this market>. 2. See punitive damages under DAMAGES <although the jury awarded only $7,000 in actual damages, it also awarded $500,000 in smart money>.

smash-and-grab The act of breaking a window or other glass barrier in order to seize goods beyond it before fleeing. In a smash-and-grab, the criminal usu. breaks a shop window or a glass display case with a handheld tool and seizes whatever merchandise is nearest. Cf. RAM RAID.

Smith Act A 1948 federal antisedition law that criminalizes advocating the forcible or violent overthrow of the government. 18 USCA § 2385. The Smith Act is aimed at the advocacy and teaching of concrete action for the forcible overthrow of the government, and not at advocacy of principles divorced from action. The essential distinction is that those to whom the advocacy is addressed must be urged to do something, now or in the future, rather than merely to believe in something." 70 Am. Jur. 2d Sedition, Etc. § 63, at 59 (1987).

Smithsonian Institution An independent trust of the United States responsible for conducting scientific and scholarly research; publishing its results; maintaining over 140 million artifacts, works of art, and scientific specimens for study, display, and circulation throughout the nation; and engaging in educational programming and international cooperative research. It was created in 1846 to give effect to the terms of the will of a British scientist, James Smithson, who left his entire estate to the United States.

smoking gun A piece of physical or documentary evidence that conclusively impeaches an adversary on an outcome-determinative issue or destroys the adversarys credibility.

Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act A 1930 protectionist statute that raised tariff rates on most articles imported into the U.S. and provoked U.S. trading partners to institute comparable tariff increases. This act is often cited as a factor in precipitating and spreading the Great Depression. The Act was named for the legislators who sponsored it, Senator Reed Smoot of Utah and Representative Willis C. Hawley of Oregon. It is sometimes called the Grundy Tarifffor Joseph Grundy, who was president of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association and the chieflobbyist supporting the Act. - Also termed Tariff Act of 1930.

smuggling The crime of importing or exporting illegal articles or articles on which duties have not been paid. See CONTRABAND. Cf. PEOPLE-SMUGGLING; TRAFFICKING. - smuggle, vb.

smurf 1. A person who participates in a moneylaundering operation by making transactions of less than $10,000 (the amount that triggers federal reporting requirements) at each of many banks The name derives from a cartoon character of the 1980s. 2. See CURRENCY-TRANSACTION REPORT.

snbstantial performance See PERFORMANCE.

sneak-and-peek search warrant See covert-entry search warrant.

sneak-and-peek search warrant See covert-entry search warrant under SEARCH WARRANT.

Snpplemental Security Income A welfare or needsbased program providing monthly income to the aged, blind, or disabled. It is authorized by the Social Security Act. Abbr. SSI.

SNS abbr. STRATEGIC NATIONAL STOCKPILE.

So abbr. SOUTHERN REPORTER.

so help me God The final words of the common oath. The phrase is a translation, with a change to first person, of the Latin phrase ita te Deus adjuvet so help you God." See ITA TE DEUS ADJUVET.

sober 1. (Of a person) not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 2. (Of a person) regularly abstinent or moderate in the use of intoxicating liquors. 3. (Of a situation, person, etc.) serious; grave. 4. (Of facts, arguments, etc.) basic; unexaggerated. 5. (Of a person) rational; having selfcontrol.

sober house See SOBER-LIVING RESIDENCE.

sober-living residence A transitional form of group housing for people recovering from alcoholism or drug abuse. The residents typically receive counseling about how to function without mind-altering substances. Sometimes shortened to sober living. - Also termed sober-living housing; sober house.

sobrante Surplus. This term is sometimes found in old land grants in states that were formerly governed by Mexico.

sobrestadia See ESTADIA.

sobriety checkpoint A part of a roadway at which police officers maintain a roadblock to stop motorists and ascertain whether the drivers are intoxicated.

sobriety test A method of determining whether a person is intoxicated. Common sobriety tests are coordination tests and the use of mechanical devices to measure the blood alcohol content of a persons breath sample. See BREATHALYZER; HORIZONTAL-GAZE NYSTAGMUS TEST.

sobrini (sa-bri-ni), n. pl. [Latin] Roman law. Children of first cousins; second cousins.

soc (sohk or sok), n. [Law Latin]. 1. A liberty of exercising private jurisdiction; specif., the privilege granted to a seigniory of holding a tenants court. 2. The territory subject to such private jurisdiction. Also spelled soke; soca; sac.

soca (soh-ka or sok-a), n. See SOC.

socage (sok-ij). A type of lay tenure in which a tenant held lands in exchange for providing the lord husbandry-related (rather than military) service. Socage, the great residuary tenure, was any free tenure that did not fall within the definition ofknight-service, serjeanty, or frankalmoin. Cf. KNIGHT-SERVICE; VILLEINAGE. "If they [the peasants duties] were fixed for instance, helping the lord with sowing or reaping at specified times the tenure was usually called socage. This was originally the tenure of socmen; but it became ... a generic term for all free services other than knight-service, serjeanty, or spiritual service." j.H. Baker, An Introduction to English Legal Historv 260 (3d ed. 1990).

socager (sok-ij-ar). A tenant by socage; SOCMAN.

socer (soh-sar), n. [Latin] Roman law. A father-in-law.

social contract The express or implied agreement between citizens and their government by which individuals agree to surrender certain freedoms in exchange for mutual protection; an agreement forming the foundation of a political society. The term is primarily associated with political philosophers, such as 1homas Hobbes, John Locke, and esp. Jean Jacques Rousseau, though it can be traced back to the Greek Sophists.

social cost The cost to society of any particular practice or rule <although automobiles are undeniably beneficial to society, they carry a certain social cost in the lives that are lost every year on the road>.

social cost See COST (1).

social guest A guest who is invited to enter or remain on another person's property primarily for private entertainment as opposed to entertainment open to the general public. See LICENSEE (2).