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space charter A charter for a part of a vessel 's capacity, such as a specified hold or deck or a specified part of the vessel's carrying capacity. A space charter is a form of vessel-sharing agreement. Cf. slot charter.

space charter See CHARTER (8).

spacial jurisdiction See JURISDICTION.

spado (spay-doh), n. [Latin] Roman law. 1. A eunuch. 2. One who is incapable of sexual intercourse by reason of impotence. PI. spadones (spa-doh-neez).

spam Unsolicited commercial e-mail.

sparsim (spahr-sim). [Latin]. Scattered; here and there. - This term was used in several situations for example, when an action to recover for waste not only when the injury was complete, but also when the injury was partial or scattered. "And if waste be done sparsim. or here and there, allover a wood, the whole wood shall be recovered; or if in several rooms of a house, the whole house shall be forfeited: because it is impracticable for the reversioner to enjoy only the identical places wasted, when lying interspersed with the other. But if waste be done only in one end of a wood (or perhaps in one room of a house) if that can be conveniently separated from the rest, that part only is the locus vastatus, or thing wasted, and that only shall be forfeited to the reversioner." 2 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 283-84 (1766).

spatae placitum (spay-tee plas-a-tam), n. [Latin "the plea of the sword]. During the reign of Henry II, a court providing swift justice in military matters.

spatial jurisdiction Jurisdiction based on the physical territory that an entity"s authority covers. Also termed jurisdiction loci.

SPD abbr. SUMMARY PLAN DESCRIPTION.

SPDA See single-premium deferred annuity under ANNUITY.

SPE abbr. SPECIAL-PURPOSE ENTITY.

spe numerandae pecuniae (spee n[y]oo-ma-ran-dee pi¬kyoo-nee-ee). [Law Latin] Scots law. In the hope of the money being paid. "So, also, where one delivers a conveyance, which acknowl- edges receipt of the consideration price, and discharges the disponee, this does not exclude his action for the price, if the disponee. on receiving delivery, refuses payment; the disponee is still liable ex dolo, the deed having been delivered spe numerandae pecuniae: John Trayner, Trayners Latin Maxims 582 (4th ed, 1894).

speaker 1. One who speaks or makes a speech <the slander claim was viable only against the speaker>. 2. The presiding officer of a large deliberative assembly, esp. a legislatures more numerous house, such as the House of Representatives <Speaker of the House>. See CHAIR (1).

speaking a vessel Maritime law. A pilots offer of services.

speaking demurrer See DEMURRER.

speaking demurrer A demurrer that cannot be sustained because it introduces new facts not contained in the complaint.

speaking motion See MOTION (1).

speaking objection An objection that contains more information (often in the form of argument) than needed by the judge to sustain or overrule it. Many judges prohibit lawyers from using speaking objections, and sometimes even from stating the grounds for objections, because of the potential for influencing the jury.

speaking objection See OBJECTION.

speaking statute A statute to be interpreted in light of the understanding of its terms prevailing at the time of interpretation. - Also termed alwaysspeaking statute.

speaking statute See STATUTE.

spec abbr. SPECIFICATION.

special 1. Of, relating to, or designating a species, kind, or individual thing. 2. (Of a statute, rule, designed for a particular purpose. 3. (Of powers, etc.) unusual; extraordinary.

special advocate See guardian ad litem under GUARDIAN.

special employee See borrowed employee under EMPLOYEE.

Special 301 Intellectual property. A provision of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 directing the U.S. Trade Representative to report annually on countries that do not provide adequate and effective protection against the pirating of goods protected by U.S. intellectual-property rights. Countries that fail the annual audit are put on a watch list and may face trade sanctions. 19 USCA §§ 2411 et seq.

special acceptance An acceptance that departs from either the terms of a bill or the terms added to but not otherwise expressed in a bill. An example is an acceptance of a draft as payable in a particular place even though the draft contains no such limitation.

special acceptance See ACCEPTANCE (4).

special act See special law under LAW.

special administration 1. An administration with authority to deal with only some ofa decedent's property, as opposed to administering the whole estate. 2. See administration pendente lite. Cf. general administration.

special administration See ADMINISTRATION.

special administrator 1. A person appointed to administer only a specific part of an intestate decedent's estate. [2. A person appointed to serve as administrator of an estate solely because of an emergency or an unusual situation, such as a will contest. Also termed (in sense 2) administrator pendente lite.

special administrator See ADMINISTRATOR (2).

special agency See AGENCY (1).

special agency An agency in which the agent is authorized only to conduct a single transaction or a series of transactions not involving continuous service.

special agent 1. See AGENT (2). 2. See INSURANCE AGENT.

special agent 1.An agent employed to conduct a particular transaction or to perform a specified act. 2. See INSURANCE AGENT.

special agent An agent whose powers are usu. confined to soliciting applications for insurance, taking initial premiums, and delivering policies when issued. Also termed local agent; solicitor.

special agreement See ad hoc compromis under COMPROMIS.

special allocatur An allowance of a writ (such as a writ of error) that is legally required in certain cases.

special allocatur See ALLOCATUR.

special allowance See ALLOWANCE (4).

special appearance See APPEARANCE.

special appearance 1. A defendant's pleading that either claims that the court lacks personal jurisdiction over the defendant or objects to improper service of process. 2. A defendant's showing up in court for the sole purpose of contesting the court's assertion of personal jurisdiction over the defendant. Special appearances have been abolished in federal court. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b). Also termed limited appearance; appearance de bene esse; (in English & Canadian law) appearance under protest.

special assessment The assessment of a tax on property that benefits in some important way from a public improvement. Also termed assessment for benefits. 3. Official valuation of property for purposes of taxation <assessment of the beach house>. Also termed tax assessment. Cf. APPRAISAL. 4. An audit or review <internal financial assessment> <environmental site assessment>. - assess, vb.

special assessment See ASSESSMENT.

Special Assistant to the United States Attorney See UNITED STATES ATTORNEY.

special assumpsit See ASSUMPSIT.

special assumpsit An action based on the defendant's breach of an express contract. Also termed express assumpsit. "Special assumpsit lies for the recovery of damages for the breach of simple contract, either express or implied in fact. The term 'special contract' is often used to denote an express or explicit contract as contrasted with a promise implied in law." Benjamin J. Shipman, Handbook of Common·Law Pleading § 58, at 148 (Henry Winthrop Ballantine ed., 3d ed. 1923). "From the allegations concerning the 'assumpsit,' a new action which split off from the action on the case came to be known as the action of assumpsit. Since, however, the plaintiff had to allege and prove a specific or special promise, in order to get a judgment, the action came to be known as the action of 'special assumpsit.' When the special promise came to be regarded as the basis of the action, the action came to be regarded as a contract action, rather than one based on unclassified 'wrongs.'" Charles Herman Kinnane, A First Book on Anglo-American Law 633-34 (2d ed. 1952).

special attorney See special counsel under COUNSEL.

special attorney See special counsel under COUNSEL.

special authority See AUTHORITY (1).

special authority Authority limited to an individual transaction.

special bail See bail to the action.

special bail See bail to the action under BAIL (4).

special bailiff A deputy sheriff appointed at a liti-gant's request to serve or execute some writ or process related to the lawsuit.

special bailiff See BAILIFF.

special benefit Eminent domain. A benefit that accrues to the owner of the land in question and not to any others .o Any special benefits justify a reduc-tion in the damages payable to the owner of land that is partially taken by the government during a public project. Also termed peculiar benefit. 3. Financial assistance that is received from an employer, insurance, or a public program (such as social security) in time of sickness, disability, or unemploy-ment <a benefit from the welfare office>. benefit, vb.

special benefit See BENEFIT.

special calendar A calendar marked with court cases that have been specially set for hearing or trial. See special setting under SETTING.

special calendar See CALENDAR (2).

special case See case reserved (1).

special case See case reserved (I) under CASE.

special charge An ordinary cost of business excluded from income calculations .The term is meaningless under generally accepted accounting principles because "special charge" expenses do not meet the GAAP test for extraordinary items. Also termed one-time charge; unusual charge; exceptional charge. See extraordinary expense under EXPENSE; operating earnillgs under EARNINGS. 8. Parliamentary law. A deliberative assembly's mandate to a committee. Also termed committee jurisdiction.

special charge 1. See special instruction under JURY INSTRUCTION. 2. See CHARGE.

special charter A legislative act creating a private corporation as opposed to a public, charitable, or educational corporation Special charters were common until the 19th century, when legislatures enacted general incorporation laws that allowed private corporations to be formed without legislative action. 4. The organic law of an organization; loosely, the highest law of any entity. Cf. ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION. 5. A governing document granting authority or recognition from a parent organization to a subordinate or constituent organization, such as a local affiliate or chapter, organized under the first organization's authority; or the instrument granting such authority or recognition. See governing document under DOCUMENT (1). 6. Hist. The writing that accompanies a livery of seisin. Rather than being an operative element of transfer, the writing was merely evidence of it. 7. The leasing or hiring of an airplane, ship, or other vessel. 8. CHARTERPARTY.

special charter See CHARTER (3).

special circumstances See exigent circumstances.

special circumstances See exigent circumstances under CIRCUMSTANCE.

special committee See COMMITTEE.

special committee A committee established for a particular purpose or a limited time. A legislature will ordinarily establish a special committee for a nonlegislative purpose, such as writing memorials, procuring chaplains, determining the qualifications of members, and settling election disputes. Also termed ad hoc committee; select committee; temporary committee.

special contract See CONTRACT.

special contract 1. See contract under seal. 2. A contract with peculiar provisions that are not ordinarily found in contracts relating to the same subject matter. 3. See express contract.

special counsel An attorney employed by the state or a political subdivision to assist in a particular case when the public interest so requires. Also termed special attorney. Cf. independent counsel.

special counsel See COUNSEL.

special count See COUNT.

special count A section of a pleading in which the plaintiff's claim is stated with great particularity. usu. employed only when the pleading rules require specificity. 3. A canvassing. See CANVASS (2).4. The plaintiff's declaration, or initial pleading, in a real action. See DECLARATION (7). 5. Patents. The part of a patent application that defines the subject matter in a priority contest (I.e., an interference) between two or more applications or between one or more applications and one or more patents. See INTERFERENCE (3).

special court-martial A proceeding that is presided over by a military judge and no fewer than three members (who serve as jurors) to hear noncapital offenses and prescribe a sanction of hard labor, dismissal, or extended confinement (up to one year). It is the intermediate level of courts-martial.

special court-martial See COURT-MARTIAL.

special covenant against encumbrances A grantor's promise that the property is free of encumbrances created by the grantor only, not the grantor's predecessors. See special warranty deed under DEED. Cf. covenant against encumbrances.

special covenant against encumbrances See COVENANT (4).

special custom See local custom under CUSTOM.

special damages See DAMAGES.

special damages Damages that are alleged to have been sustained in the circumstances of a particular wrong. To be awardable, special damages must be specifically claimed and proved. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(g). Often shortened to specials. Also termed particular damages.

special demurrer A demurrer that states grounds for an objection and specifically identifies the nature of the defect, such as that the pleading violates the rules of pleading or practice. If a pleading is defective in form but not substance, the defect must be pointed out by a special demurrer.

special demurrer See DEMURRER.

special deposit See DEPOSIT (2).

special deposit A bank deposit that is made for a specific purpose, that is kept separately, and that is to be returned to the depositor. The bank serves as a bailee or trustee for a special deposit. - Also termed specific deposit.

special deputy A deputy specially appointed to serve a particular purpose, such as keeping the peace during a riot.

special deputy See DEPUTY.

special deterrence A goal of a specific conviction and sentence to dissuade the offender from committing crimes in the future.

special deterrence See DETERRENCE.

special diligence The diligence expected from a person practicing in a particular field of specialty under circumstances like those at issue. 3. Patents. Speed and perseverance in perfecting an invention. Diligence is one factor in deciding which of two or more independent inventors will be granted a patent: if the first inventor cannot prove reason able diligence in reducing the invention to practice, a later inventor may take priority. 4. Scots law. A court-issued warrant to compel something, such as the attendance of a witness or the enforcement of an unpaid judgment debt. 5. Scots law. Any legal process available to a creditor to seize a debtor's property to compel the debtor to answer an action for debt, to preserve the property as security for a judgment that the creditor may obtain, or to liquidate the property in satisfaction of a judgment already obtained. - Forms of diligence include adjudication, arrestment, inhibition, poinding, and sequestration for rent. Until the mid-20th century, a debtor could also be imprisoned. The term diligence is also sometimes used to denote a warrant that may be granted to compel a witness's attendance or to compel production of documents. See EXECUTION (3).

special diligence See DILIGENCE.

special district A political subdivision that is created to bypass normal borrowing limitations, to insulate certain activities from traditional political influence, to allocate functions to entities reflecting particular expertise, and to provide a single service within a specified area <a transit authority is a special district>.

special district See DISTRICT.

special dividend See extraordinary dividend under DIVIDEND.

special dividend See extraordinary dividend.

special election An election that occurs in an interim between general elections, usu. to fill a sudden vacancy in office. Cf. by-election. 4. Patents. A patent applicant's choice of a single invention to continue prosecuting under the original applica tion, after an examiner has required a restriction. See RESTRICTION (4).

special election See ELECTION (3).