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split-interest trust See charitable-remainder trust under TRUST.

split-level statute A law that includes officially promulgated explanatory materials in addition to its substantive provisions, so that courts are left with two levels of documents to construe.

split-level statute See STATUTE.

split-off 1. The creation of a new corporation by an existing corporation that gives its shareholders stock in the new corporation in return for their stock in the original corporation. 2. The corporation created by this process. - Also written splitoff. Cf. SPIN-OFF; SPLIT-UP.

splitting a cause of action Separating parts of a demand and pursuing it piecemeal; presenting only a part of a claim in one lawsuit, leaving the rest for a second suit. This practice has long been considered procedurally impermissible.

split-up The division of a corporation into two or more new corporations. The shareholders in the original corporation typically receive shares in the new corporations, and the original corporation goes out ofbusiness. Also written splitup. Cf. SPI~-OFF; SPLIT-OFF.

spoiled ballot A ballot reflecting a vote that cannot be counted because it was cast in a form or manner that does not comply with the applicable rules. See illegal vote under VOTE (1). 3. A vote in a series of votes that is not conclusive until one candidate attains the necessary majority or supermajority <the candidate was nominated on the 21st ballot>. 4. A list of candidates running for office <four candidates are on the ballot>. ballot, vb.

spoiled ballot See BALLOT (2).

spoils of war See BOOTY (1).

spoils system The practice of awarding government jobs to supporters and friends of the victorious political party. Cf. MERIT SYSTEM.

spoliation (spoh-lee-ay-shan), 1. The intentional destruction, mutilation, alteration, or concealment of evidence, usu. a document. Ifproved, spoliation may be used to establish that the evidence was unfavorable to the party responsible. 2. The seizure of personal or real property by violent means; the act of pillaging. 3. 1he taking of a benetit properly belonging to another. 4. Eccles. law. The wrongful deprivation of a cleric of his benefice. spoliate (spoh-Iee-ayt), vb. - spoliator (spoh-Iee-ay-tar), n.

spolium (spoh-lee-am), n. [Latin "booty"] Roman law. Something taken from an enemy in war or plundered from a fellow-citizen The plural spolia was more common than the Singular.

Spondesnef Spondeo (spon-deez spon-dee-oh). [Latin] Roman law. Do you agree to undertake? I undertake. This was the special phrase, available only to citizens, that created a sponsio. See SPONSIO; STIPULATIO.

spondet peritiam artis (spon-det pa-rish-ee-am ahr-tis). [Latin "he guarantees his professional skill"]. He promised to use the skill of his art. - This phrase is used in construction contracts to indicate an implied agreement to perform in a workmanlike manner.

sponge tax See pickup tax.

sponge tax See pickup tax under TAX.

sponsalia (spon-say-lee-a), n. [Latin]. 1. A betrothal; an engagement to marry. 2. An engagement gift. Also termed stipulatio sponsalitia.

sponsalia per verba de futuro (spon-say-lee-a par var-ba dee f[y]oo-t[y)oor-oh). [Latin "espousals by words about the future"]. A promise to marry in the future. "[A] promise to marry in the future (sponsalia per verba de futuro) gave rise only to an executory contract of marriage. The regular way of executing the contract was to solemnise the marriage, using present words. But the Canon law acknowledged that it could also be turned into the indissoluble bond of present matrimony by physical consummation .... Thus, in the absence of carnal copulation, the validity of a marriage had come to depend on whether the contract was bywords de praesenti or de futuro. It is hardly surprising that it gave rise to so much wrangling and fraud, and that the commonest species of matrimonial suit in the medieval consistory courts was to interpret and enforce espousals." j.H. Baker, An Introduction to English Legal History 546 (3d ed. 1990).

sponsalia per verba de praesenti (spon-say-lee-a par var-ba dee pri-zen-ti or pree-). Eccles. law. A type of informal marriage that occurred when the parties made an informal agreement to have each other as husband and wife. This type of informal marriage was based on nothing more than the present consent to be married but was entirely valid and would take precedence over a later formal ceremonial marriage that either of the parties attempted to contract with someone else.

sponsio (spon-shee-oh), n. [Latin] Roman law. An undertaking, available only to citizens, in the form of an answer to a question using a solemn form of words with religious overtones. This was the original form of stipulation. See STIPULATIO.

sponsio judicia lis (spon-shee-oh joo-dish-ee-ay-lis). [Latin] Roman law. A formal promise that the judge is entitled to acquire by virtue ofhis office. PI. sponsiones judiciales.

sponsio ludicra (spon-shee-oh loo-di-kra). [Latin "a laughable promise"). 1. Civil law. An informal or illicit understanding that is not enforceable. 2. An obligation that a court will not enforce because it does not concern a worthy subject; e.g., a gambling agreement. Pi. sponsiones ludicrae.

sponsion (spon-shan), n. [fr. Latin spondere "to engage"] 1. The formal pledge by which a person becomes a surety. 2. An ultra vires promise of an official agent (such as a general in wartime), requiring later ratification by the principal. 3. Roman law. A form of guarantee accessory to an oral contract. Only Roman citizens could make this type ofguarantee. See ADPROMISSION (1). sponsional (spon-shan-al), adj.

sponsor 1. One who acts as a surety for another. 2. A legislator who proposes a bill. 3. Civil law. One who voluntarily intervenes for another without being requested to do so. 4. GODPARENT.

spontaneous abortion See MISCARRIAGE.

spontaneous abortion See MISCARRIAGE.

spontaneous crime A criminal act that occurs suddenly and without premeditation in response to an unforeseen stimulus. For example, a husband who discovers his wife in bed with another man and shoots him could be said to have committed an effectively spontaneous crime.

spontaneous crime See CRIME.

spontaneous declaration Evidence. A statement that is made without time to reflect or fabricate and is related to the circumstances of the perceived occurrence. Also termed spontaneous statement; spontaneous exclamation; spontaneous utterance. See EXCITED UTTERANCE; PRESENT SENSE IMPRESSION.

sponte (spon-tee). [Latin). Spontaneously; voluntarily. See SUA SPONTE.

sponte oblata (spon-tee a-blay-ta). [Latin "freely offered"). A gift to the Crown.

sports franchise 1. A franchise granted by a professional sports league to field a team in that league. 2. The team itself.

sports franchise See FRANCHISE (4).

sportula (spor-cha-la), n. [Latin] Roman law. 1. A present; a donation, as to the poor. 2. A fee paid to certain officials for performing judicial duties. Also termed sportella.

spot adj. Made, paid, or delivered immediately <a spot sale> <spot commodities>.

spot market See MARKET.

spot price See PRICE.

spot price The amount for which a commodity is sold in a spot market.

spot zoning See ZONING.

spousal abuse Physical, sexual, or psychological abuse inflicted by one spouse on the other spouse; esp., wife-beating. See BATTERED-WOMAN SYNDROME.

spousal abuse See ABUSE.

spousal allowance A portion of a decedent's estate set aside by statute for a surviving spouse, regardless of any testamentary disposition or competing claims. This allowance is superior to the claims of general creditors. In some states, it is even preferred to the expenses of administration, funeral, and last illness of the spouse. Also termed widow's allowance: widower's allowance. See probate homestead under HOMESTEAD. Cf. family allowance.

spousal allowance See ALLOWANCE (1).

spousal consortium A spouse's society, affection, and companionship given to the other spouse. 2. Hist. The services of a wife or daughter, the loss of which gives rise to a cause of action. A husband could, for example, bring an action against a person who had injured his wife, "whereby he lost the help or companionship (of his wife)" (per quod consortium amisit). 3. A group of companies that join or associate in an enterprise <several high-tech businesses formed a consortium to create a new supercomputer>. 4. Roman law. A community of undivided goods existing among coheirs after the death of the head of their family (paterfamilias). PI. consortiums, consortia.

spousal consortium See CONSORTIUM.

spousal labor See SPOUSAL LABOR. 2. Workers considered as an economic unit or a political element <a dispute between management and labor over retirement benefits>. 3. A Spanish land measure equal to 1771/7 acres. This measure has been used in Mexico and was once used in Texas.

spousal labor Family law. Work by either spouse during the marriage. This term is typically used in community-property states.

spousal privilege See marital privilege.

spousal privilege See marital privilege under PRIVILEGE (3).

spousal rape See marital rape.

spousal rape See marital rape under RAPE.

spousal support See ALIMONY.

spousal support See ALIMONY. 3. Basis or foundation. 4. The bracing of land so that it does not cave in because of another landowners actions. support, vb.

spousal-impoverishment provision A section of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act allOWing the stayat-home spouse of a person residing in a nursing home to retain certain assets and some joint income, and to earn income without jeopardizing the institutionalized spouses eligibility for Medicaid. Before the provision was enacted in 1988, almost all of a couples joint assets and the non institutionalized spouses income had to go toward the cost of the nursing-home residents care before Medicaid provided any support. 42 USCA § 1396r-5.

spousals Mutual promises to marry.

spousal-unity doctrine 1. Family law. The common-law rule that a husband and wife were a legal unity. Under the spousal-unity doctrine, the husband had all rights to the possession, management, control, and alienation of property. The wife had no interests in property. Also termed doctrine of spousal unity. Cf. LEGAL-UNITIES DOCTRINE. See MARRIED WOMENS PROPERTY ACTS. 2. Tax. The rule that a person and that persons spouse are treated as one. This rule has been repealed. Also termed spousal-unity rule.

spouse Ones husband or wife by lawful marriage; a married person.

spouse-breach See ADULTERY.

spray trust See sprinkle trust under TRUST.

spread 1. Banking. The difference between the interest rate that a financial institution must pay to attract deposits and the rate at which money can be loaned. 2. Securities. The difference between the highest price a buyer will pay for a security (the bid price) and the lowest price at which a seller will sell a security (the asked price). 3. Securities. The simultaneous buying and selling of one or more options or futures contracts on the same security in order to profit from the price difference. 4. In investment banking, the difference between the price the underwriter pays the issuer of the security and the price the public paid in the initial offering. The spread compensates the underwriter for its services; it comprises the managers fee, the underwriters discount, and the selling-group concession or discount. Also termed (in sense 4) gross spread; underwriting spread.

spread eagle See STRADDLE.

spread upon the minutes Parliamentary law. To incorporate into the minutes a statement expressing a sentiment, such as a memorial celebrating a deceased members life.

spreadsheet A multicolumn worksheet used esp. by accountants and auditors to summarize and analyze financial transactions.

spreta auctoritate judicis (spree-ta awk-tor-a-tay-tee joo-di-sis). [Law Latin]. The authority of the judge being disregarded.

spreta inhibitione (spree-ta in-hi-bish-ee-oh-nee). [Law Latin]. In contempt of an inhibition.

spring tide See TIDE.

springing durable power of attorney See springing power of attorney under POWER OF ATTORNEY.

springing executory interest An executory interest that operates in defeasance of an interest left in the transferor.

springing executory interest See EXECUTORY INTEREST.

springing power of attorney See POWER OF ATTORNEY.

springing power of attorney A power of attorney that becomes effective only when needed, at some future date or upon some future occurrence, usu. upon the principal s incapacity. Also termed springing durable power of attorney. See durable power of attorney; ADVANCE DIRECTIVE.

springing use See USE (4).

sprinkle power In a sprinkle trust, the trustees discretion about when and how much of the trust principal and income are to be distributed to the beneficiaries. See sprinkle trust under TRUST.

sprinkle trust See TRUST.

spuilzie (spuul-yee), n. Scots law. 1. The wrongful taking of corporeal movable property from anothers possession. This is the Scottish equivalent of commonlaw conversion. 2. An action to recover wrongfully taken movables, and often for either profits made with them while in the takers possession or reparations for unjust dispossession. - Also spelled spulzie; spulyie. spuilzied, adj.

spurious (spyoor-ee-as), ad;. 1. Deceptively suggesting an erroneous origin; fake <spurious trademarks>. 2. Of doubtful or low quality <spurious goods that fell apart>. 3. Archaic. Of illegitimate birth <spurious off spring>.

spurious bank bill See spurious banknote under BANKNOTE.

spurious banknote 1. A banknote that is legitimately made from a genuine plate but that has forged sig-natures of the issuing officers, or the names of ficti-tious officers. 2. A banknote that is not a legitimate impression from a genuine plate, or is made from a counterfeit plate, but that is signed by the persons shown on it as the issuing officers. Also termed spurious bank bill.

spurious banknote See BANKNOTE.

spurious class action A former category of class action in which the interests of class members are several, not interdependent, and joinder is allowed to avoid multiplicity of suits.

spurious class action See CLASS ACTION.

spurius (spyuur-ee-as), n. [Latin] Roman law. A bastard; the off spring of unlawful intercourse. PI. spurii (spyuur-ee-i). See NOTHUS.

SPV abbr. Special-purpose vehicle. See SPECIAL-PGRPOSE ENTITY.

spy One who secretly observes and collects secret information or intelligence about what another government or company is doing or plans to do; one who commits espionage. See ESPIONAGE.

squalor carceris (skway-lor kahr-sar-is). [Law Latin] Scots law. The strictness of imprisonment. This term means merely the strictness of imprisonment which a creditor is entitled to enforce, with the view of compelling the debtor to pay the debt, or disclose any funds which he may have concealed. It does not imply (as it did with the ancient churchmen, from whom the term is derived) anything loathsome or unhealthy in the imprisonment in Scotland, which is indeed less close than in England. Squalor careeris is not necessary in imprison ment on meditatio fugae warrant, security being all that is required in such cases." William Bell, Bells Dictionary and Digest of the Law of Scotland 1032 (George Watson ed., 7th ed. 1890).

squalor morbi (skway-lor mor-bi). [Law Latin]. The dregs of disease.

square 1. A certain portion ofland within a city limit. - Also termed block. 2. A space set apart for public use. 3. In a government survey, an area measuring 24 by 24 miles.

squatter 1. A person who settles on property without any legal claim or title. 2. A person who settles on public land under a government regulation allowing the person to acquire title upon fulfilling specified conditions.

squatters rights The right to acquire title to real property by adverse possession, or by preemption of public lands. See ADVERSE POSSESSION.

squeeze-out An action taken in an attempt to eliminate or reduce a minority interest in a corporation. Cf. FREEZE-OUT.

Squires claim A utility-patent claim that incorporates a drawing or table by reference. This claim is allowed by the u.s. Patent and Trademark Office only if there is no practical way to define the invention in words, but the invention is simple to illustrate with the drawing or table. See SQUIRES DOCTRINE.

Squires claim See PATENT CLAIM.

Squires doctrine A rule of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that a utility-patent claim may incorporate drawings or tables by reference, but only when there is no practical way to express the information in words, and when referring to the artwork is a concise way to communicate the information. The namesake case involved a numerical font designed to be readable in the dim red light inside a submarine. It is allowed only when necessary, and is not available just for the convenience of an applicant. Ex parte Squires, 133 USPQ (BNA) 598 (Bd. App. 1961).

SRO abbr. See SELF-REGULATORY ORGANIZATION.

ss abbr. 1. Sections. 2. Subscripsi (Le., signed below). 3. Sans (i.e., without). 4. (Erroneously) scilicet. "Many possible etymologies have been suggested for this mysterious abbreviation. One is that it signifies scilicet (= namely, to wit), which is usually abbreviated sc. or scil. Another is that ss. represents [tlhe two gold letters at the ends of the chain of office or "collar" worn by the Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench ... Max Radin, Law Dictionary 327 (1955). Mellinkoff suggests that the precise etymology is unknown: Lawyers have been using 5S for nine hundred years and still are not sure what it means. David Mellinkoff, The Language of the Law 296 (1963). In fact, though, it is a flourish deriving from the Year Books -- an equivalent of the paragraph mark: Hence Lord Hardwickes statement that 5S. is nothing more than a division mark. See Jodderrell v. Cowell, 95 Eng. Rep. 222, 222 (K.B. 1737) .... An early form book writer incorporated it into his forms, and ever since it has been mindlessly perpetuated by one generation after another. Bryan A. Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usafje 825 (2d ed. 1995).

SSA abbr. SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.

SSDI abbr. SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY INSURANCE.

SSI abbr. SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME.

SSS abbr. SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM.

ssue pleading The common-law method of pleading, the main purpose of which was to frame an issue. Cf. code pleading.