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unindicted conspirator See unindicted coconspirator under COCONSPIRATOR

uninstructed delegate A delegate who is not instructed and may therefore vote according to his or her conscience. Cf. instructed delegate.

unintentional act An act not resulting from the actor's will toward what actually takes place.

union rate The wage scale set by a union as a minimum wage to be paid and usu. expressed as an hourly rate or piecework rate. 3. INTEREST RATE <the rate on the loan increases by 2% after five years>. 4. PREMIUM RATE. 5. English law. A sum assessed or payable to the local government in the place where a ratepayer dwells or has property. See RATEPAYER. rate, vb.

union shop A shop in which the employer may hire nonunion employees on the condition that they join a union within a specified time (usu. at least 30 days).

unique chattel A chattel that is absolutely irreplaceable because it is one of a kind.

unissued stock Stock that is authorized by the corporate charter but not yet distributed.

unit cost The cost of a single unit of a product or service; the total manufacturing cost divided by the number of units.

unit depreciation method A depreciation method directly related to the productivity of the asset - that divides the asset's value by the estimated total number of units to be produced, and then multiplies the unit cost by the number of units sold during the year, representing the depreciation expense for the year.

unit price A price of a food product expressed in a well-known measure such as ounces or pounds.

unitary state A state that is not made up of territorial divisions that are states themselves. Also termed (archaically) simple state. 2. An institution of self-government within a larger political entity; esp., one of the constituent parts of a nation haVing a federal government <the 50 states>. 3. (often cap.) The people of a state, collectively considered as the party wronged by a criminal deed; esp., the prosecution as the representative of the people <the State rests its case>.

unitary tax A tax of income earned locally by a business that transacts business through an affiliated company outside the state or country. See UNITARY BUSINESS.

united states court of International trade See UNITED STATES COURT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE.

united states claims court See UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERALCLAIMS.

united states commissioner A judicial officer appointed by a u.s. district court to hear a variety of pretrial matters in criminal cases. Commissioners' duties have been transferred to U.S. Magistrate Judges. Cf. UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.

united states court See federal court.

united states currency Currency issued under the authority of the federal government.

united states customs court See UNITED STATES CUSTOMS COURT.

united states district court See UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT.

United States Magistrate Judge See UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.

United States officer An officer appointed under the authority of the federal government; specif., an officer appointed in the manner described in Article II, section 2, of the U.S. Constitution. [Cases; United States 2. Military law. One who holds a commission in the armed services, or a military post higher than that of the lowest ranks; a person who has a command in the armed forces. Also termed military officer.

united states supreme court See SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES.

united states tax court See TAX COURT, U.S. upper court. See court above.

units-of-output depreciation method A method by which the cost of a depreciable asset, minus salvage value, is allocated to the accounting periods benefited based on output (as miles, hours, number of times used, an'd the like).

universal agency See general agency. 2. An agent's place of business. 3. A governmental body with the authority to implement and administer particular legislation. - Also termed (in sense 3) government agency; administrative agency; public agency; regulatory agency.

universal agent An agent authorized to perform all acts that the principal could personally perform.

universal inheritance A system by which an intestates estate escheats to the state only if the decedent leaves no surviving relatives, no matter how distant. Universal inheritance has been almost universally abandoned in Anglo-American jurisdictions. See UNIVERSAl.-INHERITANCE RULE.

universal life insurance See LIFE INSURANCE.

universal partnership A partnership formed by persons who agree to contribute all their individually owned property and to devote all their skill, labor, and services to the partnership.

universal succession Succession to an entire estate of another at death. This type of succession carries with it the predecessors liabilities as well as assets. Originally developed by Roman law and later continued by civil law, this concept has now been widely adopted as an option endorsed and authorized by the Uniform Probate Code. La. Civ. Code art. 3506(28).

universal successor 1. One who succeeds to all the rights and powers of a former owner, as with an intestate estate or an estate in bankruptcy. 2. Louisiana law. An heir or legatee who succeeds in the entire estate of the deceased or a specified portion of it, rather than by particular title as legatee of a specific thing. A universal successor succeeds in all of the decedents rights and charges, whereas the particular legatee succeeds only to the rights and charges pertaining to the bequeathed thing. La. Civ. Code art. 3506(28).

unlawful arrest The taking of a person into custody either without a valid warrant or without probable cause to believe that the person has committed a crime. Cf. lawful arrest.

unlawful assembly A meeting of three or more persons who intend either to commit a violent crime or to carry out some act, lawful or unlawful, that will constitute a breach of the peace. Cf. RIOT. "In order that the assembly may be 'unlawful,' it is not necessary that the object of the meeting should itself be illegal. The test is, not the illegality of the purpose for which the persons are met, but the danger to the peace which their meeting involves. The mere fact, therefore, that the purpose is unlawful is not enough; it must be shown that it involves reasonable apprehension of a breach of the peace. Thus, if a number of persons meet to plan a fraud, they may be guilty of a conspiracy, but their meeting is not an unlawful assembly." 4 Stephen's Commentaries on the Laws of England 135-36 (L. Crispin Warmington ed., 21st ed.1950). "An unlawful assembly differs from a riot in that if the parties assemble in a tumultuous manner, and actually execute their purpose with violence, it is a riot; but if they merely meet on a purpose, which, if executed, would make them rioters, and, having done nothing, they separate without carrying their purpose into effect, It is an unlawful assembly." 77 C.J.S. Riot; Insurrection § 2, at 565 (1994). 2. In many states, the lower house of a legislature. 3. Parliamentary law. CONVENTION (4). 4. Patents. In a patent claim, a collection of parts used to form a structure.

unlawful condition A condition that cannot be fulfilled without violating the law. 3. Loosely, a term, provision, or clause in a contract. 'This term condition is generally used to describe any fact, subsequent to the formation of a contract, which operates to make the duty of a promisor immediately active and compelling. Such a fact may be described as such in a term of the contract or it may not. In either event, the term of conditional fee agreement the contract should not itself be called the condition . ... It is not uncommon, popularly, to speak of a condition of the contract as synonymous with term or provision of the contract. This should be avoided." William R. Anson, Principles of the Law of Contract 226 n.l (Arthur L. Corbin ed., 3d Am. ed. 1919). 'The word 'condition' is used in the law of property as well as in the law of contract and it is sometimes used in a very loose sense as synonymous with 'term,' 'provision,' or 'clause.' In such a sense it performs no useful service." Id. at 409. 4. A qualification attached to the conveyance of property providing that if a particular event does or does not take place, the estate will be created, enlarged, defeated, or transferred. 5. A state of being; an essential quality or status. - condition, vb.

unlawful detainer The unjustifiable retention of the possession of real property by one whose original entry was lawful, as when a tenant holds over after lease termination despite the landlord's demand for possession. 2. The confinement of a person in custody. 3. A writ authorizing a prison official to continue holding a prisoner in custody. 4, A person who detains someone or something.

unlawful entry 1. The crime of entering another's real property, by fraud or other illegal means, without the owner's consent. Cf. TRESPASS (1). 2. An alien's crossing of a border into a country without proper documents. 2. An item written in a record; a notation <Forney made a false entry in the books on March 3>. blind entry. An accounting entry that indicates only the debited and credited amounts without any expla nation.

unlawful force Force that is directed against a person without that person's consent, and that is a criminal offense or an actionable tort. Model Penal Code § 3.11.

unlawful interest See USURY.

unlawful picketing Picketing carried on in violation of law, as when the picketers use threats or violence to dissuade other employees from returning to work.

unliquidated claim A claim in which the amount owed has not been determined. 4. An interest or remedy recognized at law; the means by which a person can obtain a privilege, possession, or enjoyment of a right or thing; CAUSE OF ACTION (1) <claim against the employer for wrongful termination>.

unliquidated damages Damages that cannot be determined by a fixed formula and must be established by a judge or jury. Cf. liquidated damages.

unliquidated debt A debt that has not been reduced to a specific amount, and about which there may be a dispute.

unlisted security An over-the-counter security that is not registered with a stock exchange. - Also termed unlisted stock.

unlisted stock See unlisted security under SECURITY.

unnatural offense See SODOMY.

unofficious payment A payment made by a person who has an interest in seeing that it should be made.

unpaid dividend A declared but unpaid dividend.

unperfected security interest A security interest held by a creditor who has not established priority over any other creditor. - The only priority is over the debtor.

unprofessional conduct Behavior that is immoral, unethical, or dishonorable, esp. when judged by the standards of the actor's profession.

unpublislted opinion An opinion that the court has specifically designated as not for publication. Court rules usu. prohibit citing an unpublished opinion as authority. Such an opinion is considered binding only on the parties to the particular case in which it is issued. Cf. slip opinion. 2. A formal expression of judgment or advice based on an expert s special knowledge; esp., a document, usu. prepared at a client s request, containing a lawyer s understanding of the law that applies to a particular case. Also termed opinion letter. The essence of a lawyer s job is to obtain the facts and the law with due diligence and then to give advice. But, strangely, no controlling definition has evolved for what is an opinion. The lack of a definition is not crucial for some purposes. On the other hand, a definition is vital in other areas; for example, to determine within a law firm when peer review is necessary 8 Arnold S. Jacobs, Opinion Letters in Securities Matters § 3, at Intro-12 (1998).

unqualified indorsement An indorsement that does not limit the indorser's liability on the paper. It does not, for example, include the phrase "without recourse."

unqualified opinion An audit opinion given by an accountant who is satisfied that the financial statements reviewed were fairly presented and consistent with the previous year, and that the audit was performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards.

unqualified ownership Absolute ownership.

unrealized profit See paper profit. 2. A servitude that gives the right to pasture cattle, dig for minerals, or otherwise take away some part of the soil; PROFIT A PRENDRE. A profit may be either appurtenant or in gross. See SERVITUDE (1).

unrealized receivable An amount earned but not yet received. Unrealized receivables have no income-tax basis for cash-basis taxpayers.

unreasonable compensation Compensation that is not deductible as a business expense because the compensation is out of proportion to the services actually rendered or because it exceeds statutorily defined limits. IRC (26 USCA) § 162.

unreasonable decision An administrative agency's decision that is so obviously wrong that there can be no difference of opinion among reasonable minds about its erroneous nature. 2. Parliamentary law. VOTE (4). 3. Parliamentary law. The chair's ruling on a point of order. See appeal from the decision of the chair under APPEAL.

unreasonable deviation A deviation that is not justified by circumstances. An unreasonable deviation causes the carrier to lose the benefit of its usual lim itations and exemptions under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act.

unreasonable restraint of trade A restraint of trade that produces a Significant anticompetitive effect and thus violates antitrust law.

unreasonable search A search conducted without probable cause or other considerations that would make it legally permissible. - Also termed illegal, search.

unreasonably dangerous conduct Conduct that involves undue risk under the circumstances. Sometimes shortened to dangerous conduct. Also termed unduly dangerous conduct.

unregistered security See restricted security.

unrelated offense A crime that is independent from the charged offense.

unrelated-business income Gross income earned by a nonprofit corporation from activities unrelated to its nonprofit functions. A nonprofit corporation's income is tax-exempt only to the extent that it is produced by activities directly related to its nonprofit purpose. Also termed unrelated-busil1eSS taxable income. IRC (26 USCA) § 512(a)(3)(A). "The [Internal Revenue] Service has justified the unrelated business income tax as a means of preventing unfair competition between tax-exempt and for-profit providers. Thus, part of the analysis of whether income from a business venture is unrelated business taxable income focuses on the impact of the activity on competitors by inquiring whether the activity at issue is one generally offered by commercial enterprise. The categorization of a business activity of an exempt organization as related or unrelated to the exempt purpose of the organization follows very few bright-line rules. Approaches to the question of exempt purposes within the context of unrelated business income differ substantially from those used in the context of the qualification of an entity for exempt status itself: Barry R. Furrow et aI., Health Law § 8·1, at 419 (2d ed. 2000).

unrelated-business-income tax A tax levied on a not-for-profit organizations taxable income, such as advertiSing revenue from a publication.

unresponsive answer Evidence. A response from a witness (usu. at a deposition or hearing) that is irrelevant to the question asked. Also termed nonresponsive answer. 3. Patents. A patent applicant's response to an office action.

unrestrictive indorsement An indorsement that includes no condition or language restricting negotiation. - Also termed unrestricted indorsement.

unrestrictive interpretation Interpretation in good faith, without reference to any specific principle. Cf. restrictive interpretation. 2. The understanding one has about the meaning of something. 3. A translation, esp. oral, from one language to another. 4. CHARACTERIZATION (1). See CONSTRUCTION (2). - interpret, vb. interpretative, interpretive, adj.

unsatisfied-judgment fund A fund established by a state to compensate persons for losses stemming from an automobile accident caused bv an uninsured or underinsured motorist. 2. (usu, pI.) Money or other assets, such as stocks, bonds, or working capital, available to pay debts, expenses, and the like <Sue invested her funds in her sister's business>,

unsecured bail bond A bond that holds a defendant liable for a breach of the bond's conditions (such as failure to appear in court), but that is not secured by a deposit of or lien on property. See RECOGNIZANCE. 3. A long-term, interest-bearing debt instrument issued by a corporation or governmental entity, usu. to provide for a particular financial need; esp., such an instrument in which the debt is secured by a lien on the issuer's property. Cf. DEBENTURE. "Typically debt securities are notes, debentures, and bonds. Technically a 'debenture' is an unsecured corporate obligation while a 'bond' is secured by a lien or mortgage on corporate property. However, the word 'bond' is often used indiscriminately to cover both bonds and debentures . A 'bond' is a long term debt security while a 'note' is usually a shorter term obligation. Bonds are historically bearer instruments, negotiable by delivery, issued in multiples of $1,000 with interest payments represented by coupons that are periodically clipped and submitted for payment." Robert W. Hamilton, The Law of Corporations in a Nutshell 128 (3d ed. 1991).

unsecured bond See DEBENTURE (3).

unsecured claim 1. A claim by a creditor who does not have a lien or a right of setoff against the debtor's property. 2. A claim by a creditor to the extent that its lien on or right of setoff against the debtor's property is worth less than the amount of the debt.

unsecured creditor A creditor who, upon giving credit, takes no rights against specific property of the debtor, Also termed general creditor. See creditor at large.

unsecured debt A debt not supported by collateral or other security.

unvalued policy A policy that does not state a value of the insured property but that, upon loss, requires proof of the propertys worth. Also termed open policy.

unwritten constitution 1. The customs and values, some of which are expressed in statutes, that provide the organic and fundamental law of a state or country that does not have a Single written document functioning as a constitution. In British constitutional law, the constitution is a collection of historical documents, statutes, decrees, conventions, traditions, and royal prerogatives. Documents and statutes include Magna Carta (1215), the Bill of Rights (1689), and the European Communities Act (1972). 2. The implied parts of a written constitution, encompassing the rights, freedoms, and processes considered to be essential, but not explicitly defined in the written document. Many aspects of an unwritten constitution are based on custom and precedent. The U.S. Constitution does not, for example, give the Supreme Court the power to declare laws unconstitutional but the Court does so without question. Nor does the Constitution expressly guarantee a right of privacy, but the Supreme Court has declared that the right exists and is protected. See PENUMBRA; RIGHT OF PRIVACY. 3. A nation's history of government and institutional development. This was the standard definition before the United States produced the first written constitution. It remains current in Great Britain and other nations that have unwritten constitutions. 4. Parliamentary law. A governing document adopted by an organization for its internal governance and its external dealings. The constitution may be an organization's most authoritative governing document, but if the organization has also received a charter or adopted articles of incorporation or association, then the constitution is subordinate to them. If the organization has also adopted bylaws, then the bylaws are subordinate to (and usu. more easily amended than) the constitution. The constitution and bylaws are sometimes contained in a single document. See governing document under DOCUMENT.CF. BYLAW (1).

unwritten evidence Evidence given orally, in court or by deposition.

unwritten law A rule, custom, or practice that has not been enacted in the form of a statute or ordinance. The term traditionally includes caselaw. Also termed jus non scriptum; jus ex non scripta; lex non scripta; jus moribus constitutum. See CASELAW. Cf. written law. "[T]he very words of the court promulgating the opinion and making the decision do not determine absolutely the rule of law but. . the rule of law is ascertained by discovering what general proposition was essential to the result reached, and by using the words of the opinion as a mere aid in the ascertaining of that rule, so that, although opinions are written, the authoritative rules derived from them are sometimes not written, but are ascertained by the use of reason, causing case law to be classed as unwritten law lex non scripta, to use the Latin phrase." William M. Lile et aI., Brief Making and the Use of Law Books 335 (3d ed.1914). "In the common law it is not too much to say that the judges are always ready to look behind the words of a precedent to what the previous court was trying to say, or to what it would have said if it could have foreseen the nature of the cases that were later to arise, or if its perception of the relevant factors in the case before it had been more acute. There is, then, a real sense in which the written words of the reported decisions are merely the gateway to something lying behind them that may be called, without any excess of poetic license, "unwritten law." Lon L. Fuller, Anatomy of the Law 145 (1968).

up-front performance bond A performance bond given before the issuance of the buyer s letter of credit or other financing.

upper chamber In a bicameral legislature, the smaller of the two legislative bodies, such as the Senate or the House of Lords. Before passage of the House of Lords Act in 1999, the House of Lords traditionally had more members than the House of Commons.

upper estate See dominant estate.

upset bid A bid in a judicial sale made for more than the purchaser's bid so that the sale will be set aside (Le., upset). 2. A submitted price at which one will perform work or supply goods <the subcontractor's bid>. See BIDSHOPPING. bid, vb. - bidder, n.

upset price The lowest amount that a seller is willing to accept for property or goods sold at auction.

upstream guaranty A guaranty made by a corporate subsidiary for the parent corporation's obligations. 2. GUARANTEE (1).

upward departure In the federal sentencing guidelines, a court's imposition of a sentence harsher than the standard guidelines propose, as when the court concludes that a criminal's history did not take into account additional offenses commUted the prisoner. 2. A variance between a pleading and a later pleading or proof <the departure between the plaintiff's pleadings and the actual evidence was significant>. 3. A party's desertion of the ground (either legal or factual) taken in the immediately preceding pleading and resort to another ground <the defendant's departure from the asserted alibi necessitated a guilty plea>. - depart, vb.

ura rerum (reer-am). Rights of things. See JUS RERUM.

urban servitude 1. A servitude appertaining to the building and construction of houses in a city, such as the right to light and air. 2. Roman law. A servitude that primarily affects buildings or urban land With the exception of oneris ferendi, urban servitudes were passive. They could be affected by planning legislation. - Also termed (in sense 2) praedium urbanum;jus urbanorurn praediorum. 3. The condition of being a servant or slave <under the 15th Amendment, an American citizens right to vote cannot be denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude>. 4. The condition of a prisoner who has been sentenced to forced labor <penal servitude>.

use immunity Immunity from the use of the compelled testimony (or any information derived from that testimony) in a future prosecution against the witness.o After granting use immunity, the government can still prosecute if it shows that its evidence comes from a legitimate independent source. - Also termed use/derivative-use immunity; derivative-use immunity. 4. Freedom of a person against having a given legal relation altered by someone else's act or omission.

use plaintiff See USE PLAINTIFF.

use tax A tax imposed on the use of certain goods that are bought outside the taxing authoritys jurisdiction. Use taxes are designed to discourage the purchase of products that are not subject to the sales tax.

uterine brother (yoo-tar-in). A brother who has the same mother, but a different father.

uterine sister (yoo-tar-in). Civil law. A sister who has the same mother, but a different father.

utility patent A patent granted for one ofthe following types of inventions: a process, a machine, a manufacture, or a composition of matter (such as a new chemical).• Utility patents are the most commonly issued patents. 35 USCA § 101.

utility-model patent See UTILITY MODEL.

utmost care See great care. 3. Family law. The provision of physical or psychological comfort to another. esp. an ailing spouse, child, or parent.

vacant succession 1. A succession that fails either because there are no known heirs or because the heirs have renounced the estate. 2. An estate that has suffered such a failure. See ESCHEAT. 3. The right by which one group, in replacing another group, acquires all the goods, movables, and other chattels of a corporation. 4. The continuation of a corporations legal status despite changes in ownership or management. Also termed artificial succession.

vacantia bona See bona vacantia.

vacation barrister A barrister who, being newly called to the bar, for at least three years must attend inn of court functions that are held during the long vacation.

vague-and-indefinite rejection Rejection of a patent claim on the ground that a person of ordinary skill in the art could not clearly understand it. For example, terms used in more than one sense could make the meaning unclear. Also termed Section 112 rejection.

valid agreement See valid contract under CONTRACT.