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valid contract A contract that is fully operative in accordance with the parties' intent. Also termed valid agreement.

valid judgment 1. A judgment that will be recognized by common-law states as long as it is in force in the state where the judgment was rendered. 2. A judicial act rendered by a court having jurisdiction over the parties and over the subject matter in a proceeding in which the parties have had a reasonable opportunity to be heard.

validating statute A law that is amended either to remove errors or to add provisions to conform to constitutional requirements. - Also termed validation statute. Cf. curative statute.

validity opinion A patent attorney s opinion about the likelihood that a patent or patent claim will be invalidated in light of evidence suggesting obviousness, lack of invention, unenforceability, etc. 3. A person s thought, belief, or inference, esp. a witness s view about a facts in dispute, as opposed to personal knowledge of the facts themselves. Also termed (in sense 3) conclusion. See opinion evidence under EVIDENCE.

valuable consideration Consideration that is valid under the law; consideration that either confers a pecuniarily measurable benefit on one party or imposes a pecuniarily measurable detriment on the other. Also termed good and valuable consideration; legal consideration. "By a valuable consideration is meant something of value given or promised by one party in exchange for the promise of the other. ... The thing thus given by way of consideration must be of some value. That is to say, it must be material to the interests of one or the other or both of the parties. It must either involve some gain or benefit to the promisor by way of recompense for the burden of his promise, or it must involve some loss or disadvantage to the promisee for which the benefit of the promise is a recompense." John Salmond, jurisprudence 360 (Glanville L. Williams ed., 10th ed. 1947). 2. Parliamentary law. The process by which a deliberative assembly disposes of a motion; DELIBERATION.o Consideration begins with a member making a motion and the chair stating the question on the motion; it ends with the chair putting the question on the motion (or on a subsidiary motion that disposes of the first motion). It also includes debate and may also include (among other things) amendment and referral to a committee.

valuable improvement An improvement that adds permanent value to the freehold. Because of its nature, a valuable improvement would not typically be made by anyone other than the owner. A valuable improvement may be slight and of small value, as long as it is both permanent and beneficial to the property. Also termed beneficial improvement.

valuable-papers insurance Insurance covering the cost of research, labor, and materials necessary to reconstruct damaged or lost documents and records written, printed, or otherwise inscribed including books, maps, manuscripts, legal documents, drawings, and films. This insurance does not cover cash or securities.

value-added tax A tax assessed at each step in the production of a commodity, based on the value added at each step by the difFerence between the commoditys production cost and its selling price. A value-added tax - which is levied in several European countries effectively acts as a sales tax on the ultimate consumer. - Abbr. VAT.

valued policy An insurance policy in which the sum to be paid when a loss occurs is fixed by the terms of the contract. The value agreed on is conclusive for a total loss and provides a basis for determining recovery in cases of partial loss. This value is in the nature ofliquidated damages.

variable annuity An annuity that makes payments in varying amounts depending on the success of the underlying investment strategy. See variable annuity contract under CONTRACT. Cf. straight annuity.

variable annuity contract Securities. An annuity whose payments vary according to how well the fund (usu. made up of common stocks) that backs it is performing. SEC Rule O-l(e)(l) (17 CFR § 270.0-1(e)(1"). See variable annuity under ANNUITY.

variable cost The cost that varies in the short run in dose relationship with changes in output. 2. (pl.) The charges or fees taxed by the court, such as filing fees, jury fees, courthouse fees, and reporter fees. Also termed court costs. 3. (pl.) The expenses of litigation, prosecution, or other legal transaction, esp. those allowed in favor of one party against the other. Some but not all states allow parties to claim attorney's fees as a litigation cost. - Also termed (in sense 3) litigation costs.

variable life insurance See LIFE INSURANCE.

variable rate An interest rate that varies at preset intervals in relation to the current market rate (usu. the prime rate).

vehicular homicide The killing of a person as a result of the unlawful or negligent operation of a motor vehicle. Also termed automobile homicide.

venire facias de novo (va-ni-ree fay-shee-as dee noh-voh). See VENIRE FACIAS.

venture capital Funds invested in a new enterprise that has high risk and the potential for a high return. Also termed risk capital. See SEED MONEY.

verbal abuse Emotional abuse inflicted by one person on another by means of words, esp. spoken words, in a way that causes distress, fear, or similar emotions. Verbal abuse may include name-calling, insults, threatening gestures, excessive and unfounded criticism, humiliation, and denigration. Also sometimes termed vulgar abuse.

verbal act 1. An act performed through the medium of words, either spoken or written. 2. Evidence. A statement offered to prove the words themselves because of their legal effect (e.g., the terms of a will) . For this purpose, the statement is not considered hearsay. 3. The formal product of a legislature or other deliberative body; esp., STATUTE. For the various types of acts, see the subentries under STATUTE.

verbal contract See parol contract (1).

verified copy See certified copy. 2. Copyright. The physical form in which a creative work is fixed and from which the work can be reproduced or perceived, with or without the aid of a special device. 17 USCA § 101. 3. Copyright. An expressive work that is substantially similar to a copyrighted work and not produced COincidentally and independently from the same source as the copyrighted work .o Proof of copying in an infringement action requires evidence of the defendant's access to the original work and substantial Similarity of the defendant's work to the originaL See substantial similarity under SIMILARITY. "The noun 'copy' ordinarily connotes a tangible object that is a reproduction of the original work; the courts have generally found no reason to depart from this usage in the law of copyright." 1 Melville B. Nimmer & David Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright § 4.08[B], at 4·47 (Supp. 1995).

vertical competition Competition between participants at different levels of distribution, such as manufacturer and distributor. Also termed secondary-line competition.

vertical price-fixing Price-fixing among parties in the same chain of distribution, such as manufacturers and retailers attempting to control an item s resale price.

vertical privity 1. Commercial law. The legal relationship between parties in a product s chain of distribution as a manufacturer and a seller). 2. Privity between one who signs a contract containing a restrictive covenant and one who acquires the property burdened by it. 2. Joint knowledge or awareness of something private or secret, esp. as implying concurrence or consent <privity to a crime>.

vertical restraint A restraint of trade imposed by agreement between firms at different levels of distribution (as between manufacturer and retailer).

vertical stare decisis The doctrine that a court must strictly follow the decisions handed down by higher courts within the same jurisdiction.

vested estate An estate with a present right of enjoyment or a present fixed right of future enjoyment. 2. All that a person or entity owns, including both real and personal property.

vested gift An absolute gift, being neither conditional nor contingent, though its use or enjoyment might not occur until sometime in the future.

vested interest An interest for which the right to its enjoyment, either present or future, is not subject to the happening of a condition precedent.

vested ownership Ownership in which title is perfect; absolute ownership.

vested pension A pension in which an employee (or employee s estate) has rights to benefits purchased with the employer s contributions to the plan, even if the employee is no longer employed by this employer at the time of retirement. The vesting of qualified pension plans is governed by ERISA. See EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY ACT.

vested remainder A remainder that is given to an ascertained person and that is not subject to a condition precedent. An example is to A for life, and then to B." Also termed executed remainder. 2. The property in a decedent s estate that is not otherwise specifically devised or bequeathed in a will. See residuary estate under ESTATE (3).

vested right A right that so completely and definitely belongs to a person that it cannot be impaired or taken away without the persons consent.

vestitive fact See dispositive fact (1).

viatical settlement (vi-at-a-kal). [fro Latin viaticus "relating to a road or journey"] A transaction in which a terminally or chronically ill person sells the benefits of a life-insurance policy to a third party in return for a lump-sum cash payment equal to a percentage of the policys face value. Viatical settlements are common with AIDS patients, many of whom sell their policies at a 20% to 40% discount, depending on life expectancy. When the insured (called the "viator") dies, the investor receives the insurance benefit. Also termed life settlement. 4. CLOSING <the settlement on their first home is next Friday>. 5. Wills & estates. The complete execution of an estate by the executor <the settlement of the estate was long and complex>. 6. The establishment of a legal residence. This sense was frequently used in poor-Seventh Amendment relief contexts. Cf. (in sense 6) STATUS OF IRREMOVABILITY. settle, vb.

viatorial privilege (vi-a-tor-ee-al). A privilege that overrides a person s duty to attend court in person and to testify.

vicarious disqualification Disqualification of all the lawyers in a firm or in an office because one of the lawyers is ethically disqualified from representing the client at issue. - Also termed imputed disqualification. "In general, disqualification of a lawyer from representation, at least in multiple client·conflict scenarios, means disqualification of that lawyer's entire firm from the same representation. When a lawyer has been exclusively or chiefly responsible for the representation of a client and that lawyer changes jobs, there is little question but that the imputed-disqualification rule will apply to disqualify the new firm from representing the opponent of the first client. But because lawyers often work for large organizations, ... a question may arise about the application of the imputation rule when a lawyer has left employment .... If the lawyer had little or no responsibility in the first organization for the representation or if the lawyer can be effectively shielded from the representation in the new organization, or both, there may be no useful purpose served by imputing the lawyer's disqualification to the new organization ...." James E. Moliterno &John M. Levy, Ethics of the Lawyer's Work 151 (1993). 2. The act of making ineligible; the fact or condition of being ineligible. Cf. RECUSAL. disqualify, vb.

vicarious exhaustion of remedies The rule that if one member of a class satisfies a requirement to exhaust administrative remedies, that is enough for all others similarly situated to be considered as having exhausted the remedies. Often shortened to vicarious exhaustion.

vicarious infringement A persons liability for an infringing act of someone else, even though the person has not directly committed an act of infringement. For example, a concert theater can be vicariously liable for an infringing performance of a hired band.

vicarious performance Performance carried by an employee, agent, or other nominee. It is necessary to distinguish between assignment of a contractual liability and vicarious performance of a contract. Normally a person who contracts to do something must do it himself. But in the case of a duty of performance which involves no personal element, so that it does not matter to the other party who does the promised act, so long as it is done in accordance with the contract, the party liable may do it by a servant or agent or other nominee. This is not an assignment of the contractual liability, for the original contractor remains liable and if the deputy has done the work badly it is not the deputy but the contractor himself who is answerable to the other party." 2 Stephen s Commentaries on the Laws of England 76-77 (L. Crispin Warmington ed., 21st ed. 1950). 2. The equitable doctrine by which acts consistent with an intention to fulfill an obligation are construed to be in fulfillment of that obligation, even if the party was silent on the point. 3. A company s earnings. 4. The ability of a corporation to maintain or increase earnings.

vicarious reduction to practice A doctrine that treats one party s actual reduction to practice of an invention as the opposing (usu. complaining) party s actual reduction to practice. In a two-party interference, proof of derivation is usu. sufficient; showing an actual reduction to practice is unnecessary. The doctrine is more important in a three-party interference.

vice crime A crime of immoral conduct, such as gambling or prostitution.

vice-admiralty court See VICE-ADMIRALTY COURT.

vice-commercial agent In the consular service of the United States, a consular officer who was substituted temporarily to fill the place of a commercial agent who was absent or had been relieved from duty. 3. Patents. A person who is not an attorney but who has fulfilled the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office requirements as a lay representative and is registered to prepare and prosecute patent applications before the PTO . To be registered to practice before the PTO, a candidate must establish mastery of the relevant technology (by holding a specified technical degree or equivalent training) in order to advise and assist patent applicants. The candidate must also pass a written examination (the "Patent Bar") that tests knowledge of patent law and PTO procedure. - Also termed patent agent. Cf. PATENT ATTORNEY.

vicious animal An animal that has shown itself to be dangerous to humans. 2. Loosely, one belonging to a breed or species that is known or reputed to be dangerous. A vicious animal may be domestic, feral, or wild. See VICIOUS PROPENSITY.

victim allocution A crime victim's address to the court before sentencing, usu. urging a harsher punishment.

victimless crime A crime that is considered to have no' direct victim, usu. because only consenting adults are involved. Examples are possession of illicit drugs and deviant sexual intercourse between consenting adults. Also termed consensual crime; crime without victims; complainantless crime. "When a man's house has been robbed or his brother murdered, he is likely to take this complaint vigorously to the police and demand action. His presence on the scene dramatizes the need for law enforcement and gives sense and purpose to the work of the police and district attorney. In contrast, the absence of a prosecuting witness surrounds 'crimes without victims' with an entirely different atmosphere. Here it is the police who must assume the initiative. If they attempt to work without the aid of informers, they must resort to spying, and this spying is rendered all the more distasteful because what is spied upon 15 sordid and pitiable." Lon L. Fuller, Anatomy of the Law44 (1968).

victim-precipitated homicide 1. See suicide-by-cop under SUICIDE. 2. A killing provoked by the victim who consciously intended to die at the hands of another person. This term applies loosely to any assisted suicide. Unlike most types of homicide, the victim bears some of the responsibility for causing his or her own death.

video piracy The illegal copying and sale or rental of copyrighted motion pictures.

viewpoint discrimination Content-based discrimination in which the government targets not a particular subject, but instead certain views that speakers might express on the subject; discrimination based on the content of a communication. If restrictions on the content of speech are reasonable and not calculated to suppress a particular set of views or ideas, a governmental body may limit speech in a nonpublic forum to expressions that serve a specific purpose. For example, an agency holding a workshop to inform state employees of laws related to the agency's functions may reasonably prohibit the expression of opinions regarding the motives of the legislators. But if speech favorable to the legislators' intent is allowed and opponents are denied the opportunity to respond, the restriction would constitute viewpoint discrimination. Also termed viewpoint-based discrimination. 3. The effect of state laws that favor local interests over out-of-state interests. Such a discriminatory state law may still be upheld if it is narrowly tailored to achieve an important state interest. Cf. FAVORITISM. - discriminate, vb. discriminatory, adj.

villein socage (vil-an). Socage in which the services, though certain, were of a baser nature than those provided under free socage.

vindictive damages- See punitive damages.

vindictive prosecution A prosecution in which a person is singled out under a law or regulation because the person has exercised a constitutionally protected right. Cf. SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT. 3. The government attorneys who initiate and maintain a criminal action against an accused defendant <the rosecution rests>. 4. Patents. The process of applying for a patent through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and negotiating with the patent examiner. Also termed patent-prosecution process.

violent crime A crime that has as an element the use, attempted use, threatened use, or substantial risk of use of physical force against the person or property of another. 18 USCA § 16; USSG § 2El.3. Also termed crime of violence.

violent death Death accelerated by human intervention and resulting from a sharp blow, explosion, gunfire, or the like. Cf. natural death.

violent felony See violent offense under OFFENSE (1). 2. At common law, an offense for which conviction results in forfeiture of the defendant's lands or goods (or both) to the Crown, regardless of whether any capital or other punishment is mandated. - At early common law, the term felony included any offense for which a defendant who fled before trial could be summarily convicted, attainted, and outlawed, or that carried a right of appeal after conviction. Although treason carried the same penalties as a common-law felony, it was usu. defined as a separate class of crime. 3. Feudal law. A grave act that resulted in the forfeiture ofland granted by a superior.

violent offense A crime characterized by extreme physical force, such as murder, forcible rape, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Also termed violent felony. 2. Civil law. An intentional unlawful act that causes injury or loss to another and that gives rise to a claim for damages. La. Civ. Code art. 2315. This sense of offense is essentially the same as the common-law intentional tort. [

virtual adoption See adoption by estoppel.

virtual child pornography Material that includes a computer-generated image that appears to be a minor engaged in sexual activity but that in reality does not involve a person under the age of 18.

virtual representation A party s maintenance of an action on behalf of others with a similar interest, as a class representative does in a class action, See VIRTUAL-REPRESENTATION DOCTRINE. 4. The assumption by an heir of the rights of his or her predecessor <each child takes a share by representation>, See PER STIRPES. 5. (usu, pi,) InCllaw, A friendly but firm statement of a perceived wrong. This is the mildest form of complaint that one nation can make to another. - Also termed diplomatic representation. - represent, vb. "Representations are in the nature of vigorous arguments employed in the hope of securing a modification of the action complained of withom implying necessarily or expressly an intention ultimately to seek redress by more vigorous means," Ellery C. Stowell, International Law: A Restatement of Principles in Conformity with Actual Practice 427 (1931).

visible crime See street crime.

visitation order See VISITATION ORDER. 3. Parliamentary law. lhe principles and practices of parliamentary law; the conduct of business according to those principles and practices; DECORUM. See IN ORDER; OUT OF ORDER. 4. Parliamentary law. An item of business, or an agenda or series of such items call for the orders of the day. See AGENDA.

visitatorial power The power to inspect or make decisions about an entity s operations. Also termed visitorial power. 4. A document granting legal authorization. See AUTHORITY. 5. An authority to affect an estate in land by (1) creating some estate independently of any estate that the holder of the authority possesses, (2) imposing a charge on the estate, or (3) revoking an existing estate. See POWER OF APPOINTMENT; PERMIT. "The word power is normally used in the sense of an authority given to a person to dispose of property which is not his. The person giving the power is called the donor and the person to whom it is given the donee." Robert E. Megarry & P.v. Baker, A Manual of the Law of Real Property 253 (4th ed. 1969).

visiting judge A judge appointed by the presiding judge of an administrative region to sit temporarily on a given court, usu. in the regular judges absence. Also termed temporary judge; judge pro tempore.

vitious intromission (vish-as). Scots law. Unauthorized dealing with the property of another person, esp. a deceased person. - Also spelled vicious intromission. The effect of vitious intromission is to render the heir who is guilty of it liable, under the passive title of vitious intromission, for the debts of the ancestor universally the severity of this passive title being intended to prevent the carrying off of moveables, which are, from their nature, so liable to embezzlement." William Bell, Bells Dictionary and Digest of the Law of Scotland 521 (George Watson ed., 1882). 3. Penile penetration into the vagina. See PENETRATION (1).

void agreement See void contract under CONTRACT.

void contract 1. A contract that is of no legal effect, so that there is really no contract in existence at all. A contract may be void because it is technically defective, contrary to public policy, or illegal. Cf. illegal contract; unenforceable contract. "Strictly speaking, a 'void contract' is a contradiction in terms; for the words describe a state of things in which, despite the intention of the parties, no contract has been made, Yet the expression, however faulty, is a compendious way of putting a case in which there has been the outward semblance without the reality of contract," William R, Anson, Principles of the Law of Contract 18 (Arthur L. Corbin ed" 3d Am, ed, 1919), "A valid contract is, of course, simply a contract of full force and effect, not vitiated in any way. A so called void contract, on the other hand, is really a contradiction in terms inasmuch as a contract has already been defined in terms applicable only to a valid contract. However, the term is convenient and is universally used, For purposes of exposition, it is convenient to treat void contracts as falling, broadly speaking, into main categories, On the one hand, are cases where one of the normal requirements for the crealion of a contract is absent, while, on the other hand, are cases where all the normal requirements are satisfied, but the contract is void because the law disapproves of its purpose or the terms by which it seeks to achieve that purpose. Typical examples of contracts which are void because one of the normal requirements is absent are contracts in which the acceptance of an offer has not been communicated or in which a promise is given gratuitously. Typical examples of contracts which are void because of their terms or objects are wagering contracts, and contracts prejudicial to family relations." P.S.

void judgment A judgment that has no legal force or effect, the invalidity of which may be asserted by any party whose rights are affected at any time and any place, whether directly or collaterally. From its inception, a void judgment continues to be absolutely null. It is incapable of being confirmed, ratified, or entorced in any manner or to any degree. One source of a void judgment is the lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.

void process Legal process that, in some material way, does not comply with the required form. 3. Patents. A method, operation, or series of actions intended to achieve some new and useful end or result by changing a material s chemical or physical characteristics. Process is a statutory category of patentable invention. Cf. MACHINE; MANUFACTURE. "A process is a way of doing something. If it is a patentable process, it must be a new, useful, and nonobvious way of doing something. If the process is patentable, the result of that process the something getting done - need not of it self be new, useful, or nonobvious. In other words, the result of an inventive process need not be an invention itself." Arthur R. Miller & Michael H. Davis, Intellectual Property in a Nutshell 24 (2d ed. 1990).

voidable agreement See voidable contract under CONTRACT.

voidable contract A contract that can be affirmed or rejected at the option of one of the parties; a contract that is void as to the wrongdoer but not void as to the party wronged, unless that party elects to treat it as void. "A voidable contract is a contract which, in its inception, is valid and capable of producing the results of a valid contract, but which may be 'avoided', I.e. rendered void at the option of one (or even, though rarely, of both) of the parties." P.S. Atiyah, An Introduction to the Law of Contract 37-38 (3d ed. 1981).

voidable judgment A judgment that, although seemingly valid, is defective in some material way; esp., a judgment that, although rendered by a court having jurisdiction, is irregular or erroneous.

voidable preference See PREFERENTIAL TRANSFER.

voidable process A defective process with a curable defect.

voidable promise A promise that one party may, under the law, declare void by reason of that party s incapacity or mistake, or by reason of the fraud, breach, or other fault of the other party.

volatile stock Stock subject to wide and rapid fluctuations in price. Also termed yo-yo stock.

volume discount A price decrease based on a large-quantity purchase. Also termed bulk discount; quantity discount.

voluntary abandonment 1. As a ground for divorce, a final departure without the consent of the other spouse, without sufficient reason, and without the intention to return. 2. In the law of adoption, a natural parent's willful act or course of conduct that implies a conscious disregard of or indifference to a child, as if no parental obligation existed. Also termed malicious abandonment. 4. Criminal law. RENUNCIATION(3). 5. Bankruptcy. A trustee's court-approved release of property that is bur densome or of inconsequential value to the estate, or the trustee's release of nonadministered property to the debtor when the case is closed. 6. Contracts. RESCISSION(2). 7. Insurance. An insured's relinqUishing ofdamaged or lost property to the insurer as a constructive total loss. Cf. SALVAGE (2). 8. Trademarks. A mark owner's failure to maintain the mark's proper use in commerce or failure to maintain its distinctive char-actar. Abandonment is an affirmative defense to an action for trademark infringement. Also termed nonuse. 9. Hist. Copyright. An affirmative defense to a copyright. infringement claim governed by pre-1989 law, based a copyright notice. Before March 1989, authors who did not affix a copyright notice to their published works risked losing legal protection for those works.

voluntary appearance An appearance entered by a party's own will, without the service of process.

voluntary arbitration Arbitration by the agreement of the parties.

voluntary assignment See general assignment.

voluntary assumption of the risk An intentional and unreasonable exposure of oneself to danger created by another's negligence, when one knows or has reason to know of the danger.

voluntary bankruptcy A bankruptcy case com-menced by the debtor. 11 USCA § 301. 2. The field oflaw dealing with the rights of debtors who are financially unable to pay their debts and the rights of their creditors. - Also termed bankruptcy law. 3. The status of a party who has declared bankruptcy under a bankruptcy statute. - Also termed statutory insol-vency. 4. Informally, the fact of being financially unable to pay one's debts and obligations as they become due; insolvency . The roots of bankruptcy are the Latin bancus (table) and ruptus (broken). The English word bankruptcy derives from the Italian banca rotta, refer-ring to the medieval Italian custom of breaking the counter of a financially failed merchant. - Also termed (in sense 4) failure to meet obligations.

voluntary bar A bar association that lawyers need not join to practice law. 3. A particular court or system of courts <case at bar>. Originally, case at bar referred to an important case tried "at bar" at the Royal Courts ofJustice in London. 4. BAR EXAMINATION <Pendarvis passed the bar>. 5. A barrier to or the destruction of a legal action or claim; the effect of a judgment for the defendant <a bar to any new lawsuit>. Cf. MERGER (6). 6. A plea arresting a lawsuit or legal claim <the defendant filed a bar>. See PLEA IN BAR. [Cases: Pleading C=> lOS, 109.] 7. Patents. Statutory preclusion from patentability, based on pub-lication, use, sale, or other anticipatory activity that occurred before an invention's critical date and thereby negated the invention's novelty .o Under § 102 of the Patent Act, a person is not entitled to a patent if (1) before the date of invention, the same invention was publicly known or used by others in this country or was patented or described in a printed publication anywhere in the world; (2) more than one year before the U.S. filing date, the invention was patented or described in a printed publication anywhere in the world or was in public use, on sale, or offered for sale in the U.S.; (3) the invention has been abandoned by the applicant; (4) the invention was first patented by the applicant or its representatives in a foreign country before the U.S. filing date, and the foreign application was filed more than 12 months before the U.S. filing; (5) before the date of invention, the invention was described in a patent granted on an application filed by someone else in the U.S.; (6) the inventor did not invent the subject matter of the application; or (7) the invention was pre-viously made in this country by someone else who has not abandoned, suppressed, or concealed it. Also termed statutory bar. 8. Trade-marks. Statutory preclusion of certain marks from listing on the principal Register.

voluntary bond A bond not required by statute but given anyway. Also termed nonstatutory bond. Z-bond. See accrual bond.

voluntary commitment A commitment of a person who is ill, incompetent, drug-addicted, or the like, upon the request or with the consent of the person being committed.

voluntary confession A confession given freely, without any benefit or punishment promised, threatened, or expected.

voluntary consent Consent that is given freely and that has not been coerced. 2. Parliamentary law. ADOPTION (5). consent, vb. consensual, adj.

voluntary contract See gratuitous contract (2).

voluntary conveyance A conveyance made without valuable consideration, such as a deed in favor of a relative. 2. The transfer of a property right that does not pass by delivery of a thing or merely by agreement. 3. The transfer of an interest in real property from one living person to another, by means of an instrument such as a deed. 4. The document (usu. a deed) by which such a transfer occurs. 5. A means of transport; a vehicle. 6. Bankruptcy. A transfer of an interest in real or personal property, including an assignment, a release, a monetary payment, or the creation of a lien or encumbrance. - Also termed (in sense 6) bond for deed. See FRAUDULENT CONVEYANCE; PREFERENTIAL TRANSFER.

voluntary deposit A deposit made by the mutual consent of the bailor and bailee. 6. Patents. The placing of a sample of microorganisms or cell lines with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to satisfy the enablement requirement. - The practice is not statutory but has been established by regulation and caselaw. 37 CFR §§ 1.801-809. - Also termed enablement by deposit.

voluntary disclosure of offense A person's uncoerced admission to an undiscovered crime. - Under the federal sentencing gUidelines, a lighter sentence may be allowed. See USSG 5K2.16. 2. The mandatory divulging of information to a litiga tion opponent according to procedural rules. Also termed compulsory disclosure; automatic disclosure. See DISCOVERY (2). disclose, vb. disclosural, ad). "Rule 26(a) [of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure] reflects a shift away from the traditional method of obtaining discovery through the service of written demands toward requiring automatic disclosure by the parties of information that would invariably be requested. The goal of automatic disclosure is the creation of a more efficient and expeditious discovery process .... Rule 26(a)(1) provides for the initial disclosure of specified information relating to witnesses, documents, and insurance agreements. Rule 26(a)(2) provides for the disclosure of information regarding experts who may be used at trial. Rule 26(a)(3) provides for specified pretrial disclosures regarding witnesses, evidence, and objections." Jay E. Grenig & Jeffrey S. Kinsler, Handbook of Federal Civil Discovery and Disclosure § 1.15, at 65-66 (2d ed. 2002).

voluntary dismissal A plaintiff's dismissal of a lawsuit at the plaintiff's own request or by stipulation of all the parties. Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a). 2. A release or discharge from employment. See DISCHARGE (7).

voluntary dissolution A corporation's termination initiated by the board of directors and approved by the shareholders. 4. The termination of a previously existing partnership upon the occurrence of an event specified in the part nership agreement, such as a partner's withdrawal from the partnership, or as specified by law. Cf. WINDING UP. 5. The dismissal of an interference contest before a final judgment and an express award of priority. The effect of dissolving an interference is that junior parties fail to meet their burden of proof, so the senior party retains priority. 5. Parliamentary law. An adjournment sine die without any provision for reconvening the same deliberative assembly, even ifanother assembly of the same kind (such as a legislative body or a convention) will eventually convene. - dissolve, vb.

voluntary euthanasia Euthanasia performed with the terminally ill person's consent.

voluntary improvement An improvement whose only purpose is ornamental.

voluntary intoxication A willing ingestion of alcohol or drugs to the point of impairment done with the knowledge that ones physical and mental capabilities would be impaired. Voluntary intoxication is not a defense to a general-intent crime, but may be admitted to refute the existence of a particular state of mind for a specifiC-intent crime. Also termed culpable intoxication; self-induced intoxication.

voluntary jurisdiction 1. Jurisdiction exercised over unopposed matters. 2. Eccles. law. Jurisdiction that does not require a judicial proceeding, as with granting a license or installing a nominee to a benefice.

voluntary oath See nonjudicial oath (1).

voluntary petition A petition filed with a bankruptcy court by a debtor seeking protection from creditors. Also termed bankruptcy petition; debtor s petition. 2. In some states, the first pleading in a lawsuit; COMPLAINT. 3. Patents. A patent applicant s request to a patent office s administrative head for supervision of a procedural or jurisdictional matter related to the patent application. petition, vb.