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chill To inhibit or discourage <chill one's free-speech rights>.

chilling a sale The act of bidders or others who combine or conspire to discourage others from attempting to buy an item so that they might buy the item themselves for a lower price.

chilling effect 1. Constitutional law. The result of a law or practice that seriously discourages the exercise of a constitutional right, such as the right to appeal or the right of free speech. 2. Broadly, the result when any practice is discouraged. Also termed chilling bidding; chilling the bidding.

chilling the bidding See CHILLING EFFECT. 2. See CHILLING A SALE.

chimel search See protective search under SEARCH.

Chimel search See protective search.

chimney money See HEARTH MONEY (1).

chinese wall See ETHICAL WALL.

chirograph (kI-ra-graf), 1. Civil law. A handwritten instrument. 2. A written deed, subscribed and witnessed. Also termed cyrographum. 3. Such a deed in two parts from a single original document separated by an indented line through the word "chirographum," each party retaining one part. 4. Hist. FOOT OF TUE FINE. Also termed (in sense 4) cyrographarius. chirographic, adj. "Formerly, when deeds were more concise than at present, it was usual to write both parts on the same piece of parchment, with some word or letters of the alphabet written between them; through which the parchment was cut, either in a straight or indented line, in such a manner as to leave half the word on one part and half on the other. Deeds thus made were denominated svngrapha by the canonists; and with us chirographa, or hand·writings." 2 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England. 295-96 (1766).

chirographer of fines (kh -rahg-ra-far). A Court of Common Pleas officer who engrossed court-ordered fines and delivered indentures of the fines to the parties. See INDENTURE OF A FINE. "Chirographer of fynes signifieth in our common lawe, him in the common bench office, that ingrosseth fines in that court acknowledged, into a perpetuall record, after they be acknowledged, and fully passed by those officers, by whome they are formerly examined; and that writeth and delivereth the indentures of them unto the party. This officer also maketh two indentures, one for the buier, another for the seller;and maketh one other indented peece, containing also the effect of the fine, which he deliv-ereth over to the custos brevium, that is called the foote of the fine." John Cowell, The Interpreter (1607).

chirographum (kh-rog-ra-fam). [Latin fro Greek] Roman law. A handwritten document, usu. an undertaking or acknowledgment of debt written in the debtor's own hand. Pl chirographa.

chit 1. A signed voucher for money received or owed, usu. for food, drink, or the like. 2. A slip of paper with writing on it.

chivage See CHEVAGE.

chivalry (shiv-al-ree). Tenure held by knightservice; tenure in which a person held land in exchange for military service of the highest order. See KNIGHT SERVICE. "Chivalry is a tenure of land by knight's service: for the better understanding whereof it is to be known, that there is no land but is held mediately or immediately of the crown by some service or other; and therefore all our free·holds that are to us and our heirs are called fees, as proceeding from the bounty of the king for some small yearly rent, and the performance of such services as originally were imposed upon the land at the giving thereof .... And these services are all by Littleton divided into two sorts, chivalry and soccage: the one martial and military; the other clownish and rustical." Termes de la Ley 83-84 (1 st Am. ed. 1812).

chlns See child in need of supervision under CHILD.

choate (koh-it or -ayt), 1. Complete in and of it self. 2. Having ripened or become perfected. Cf. INCHOATE. choateness, n.

choate lien See LIEN.

choice See FREEDOM OF CHOICE.

choice of evils See NECESSITY (1).

choice of jurisdiction The choice of the state (or country) that should exercise jurisdiction over a case.

choice of law The question of which jurisdiction's law should apply in a given case. Cf. CONFLICT OF LAWS.

choice voting See single transferable vote under VOTE (1).

choice-of-evils defense See lesser-evils defense under DEFENSE (1).

choice-of-evils defense- See lesser-evils defense.

choice-of-exclusive-forum clause See FORUM-SELECTION CLAUSE.

choice-of-law clause A contractual provision by which the parties deSignate the jurisdiction whose law will govern any disputes that may arise between the parties. Cf. FORUM-SELECTION CLAUSE.

chop-shop A garage where stolen automobiles are dismantled so that their parts can be sold separately.

chorepiscopi See SUFFRAGAN.

chose (shohz), [French]. A thing, whether tangible or intangible; a personal article; a chattel See THING.

chose in action 1. A proprietary right in person am such as a debt owed by another person, a share in a joint-stock company, or a claim for damages in tort. 2. The right to bring an action to recover a debt, money. or thing. 3. Personal property that one person owns but another person possesses, the owner being able to regain possession through a lawsuit. - Also termed thing in action. "Chose, or, thing in action is, when a man hath cause. or may bring an action for some duty due to him: as an action of debt and because they are things whereof a man is not possessed, but for recovery of them is driven to his action, they are called things in action." Termes de la Ley 85 (1st Am. ed. 1812). "The term chose in action has been in common use for a long time, but some doubts have been recently raised as to its precise meaning. (See Law Quarterly Review for 1893. 1894, 1895.) A Divisional Court, however, has now given us the following definition: "'chose in action" IS a known legal expression used to describe all personal rights of property which can only be claimed or enforced by action, and not by taking physical possession.' Torking· ton v. Magee, [1902] 2 K.B. p. 430. The phrase 'rights of property' does not seem a very happy one, but it is quite clear that the court meant to include under the term chose in action rights under a contract and rights of action arising from breach of contract." William R. Anson, Principles of the Law of Contract 362 n.(b) (Arthur L. Corbin ed., 3d Am. ed. 1919).

chose in possession Personal property for which title and possession unite in the same person. Also termed thing in possession.

chose local A fixed chattel.

chose transitory A movable chattel.

christian name See personal name under NAME.

christianitatis curia (kris-tee-an-a-tay-tis kyoor-ee-a). [Latin "Christian court"] See ecclesiastical court (2) under COURT.

church court See ecclesiastical court under COURT.

church court- See ecclesiastical court.

church law See CANON LAW (2).

church rates A tax levied on parishioners by churchwardens and other representatives of the parish to raise funds for the repair and maintenance of the parish church . The power to set and collect such taxes was abolished in England in 1868.

churl (charl). See CEORL.

churn, burn, and bury (Of a stockbroker) to make numerous risky trades in (an account) and, as a result, squander the customer's money . The term denotes the action involved in particularly reckless churning.

churning 1. A stockbroker's excessive trading of a customer's account to earn more commissions rather than to further the customer's interests; an abuse of a customer's confidence for personal gain by frequent and numerous transactions, disproportionate to the size and nature of the customer's account . Under securities laws, the practice is illegal a violation of § lO(b) of the Exchange Act (15 USCA § 78j(b". But because the fraud is the activity as a whole and there is no communication between the broker and the customer about a specific sale of securities, there is not normally a right of action for fraud based on churning. 2. Tax. A transfer of property that does not result in a significant change of ownership or use of the property, usu. to make the property eligible for amortization or a more favorable method of depreciation. See ANTICHURNING RULE. churn, vb.

CIA CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY.

cid CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMAND.

cif COST, INSURANCE, AND FREIGHT.

cif destination See COST, INSURANCE, AND FREIGHT.

cif place of destination. See ClF destination under COST, INSURANCE, AND FREIGHT.

cinque ports (singk ports). [Fr. "five ports"] The five English ports - Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich - that were important defenses against French invasion . They received special privileges and were obliged to furnish a certain number of ships for use in war. See COURT OF SHEPWAY. "Cinque ports ... are those special havens that lie towards France, and therefore have been thought by out kings to be such as ought most vigilantly to be proserved [sic] against invasion. In which respect they have a special Governor or Keeper, called by his office, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports." Thomas Blount, Nomo·Lexicon [n.p.] (1670). "[M]ost of the seaport towns, or at least the more important ones, had local, as distinguished from national or centrally controlled, courts with jurisdiction over the administration of the local sea law. Among these ports was one group which was particularly notable, called the Cinque Ports, or Five Ports~'cinque' being the French word for five. These five ports were of particular importance as naval bases because of their nearness to the continent. In exchange for special naval assistance to the king in time of war, they were not only permitted to acquire but also to keep a position of special importance in the field of maritime law, and with it a considerable measure of local, independent jurisdiction, which served as a reminder in later centuries of the original local character of English admiralty jurisdiction." Charles Herman Kinnane, A First Book on Anglo-American Law 362 (2d ed. 1952).

cio 1. The Congress ofIndustrial Organizations, which merged with the AFL in 1955. See AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 2. CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER.

cip 1. CONTINUATION-IN-PART. 2. CARRIAGE AND INSURANCE PAID TO.

cippi (sip-I). [Law Latin]. See STOCKS.

circa (sar-ka), prep. [Latin] (1861) About or around (a date, esp. an ancient one); approximately <the book was written circa 1938-1941>. Abbr. ca.; c.

circle conspiracy See wheel conspiracy under CONSPIRACY.

circle conspiracy. See wheel conspiracy.

circuit 1. A judicial division in which hearings occur at several locations, as a result of which judges often travel to different locations. 2. A judicial division of the United States - that is, one of the 13 circuits into which the U.S. courts of appeals are organized. 28 USCA § 41.

circuit court See COURT.

circuit court- 1. A court usu. having jurisdiction over several counties, districts, or states, and holding sessions in all those areas. See CIRCUIT; CIRCUIT-RIDING. 2. UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS.

circuit executive The chief executive officer of a federal judicial circuit responsible for daily administration of the courts.The circuit executive is the highest-ranking nonjudicial officer within a circuit.

circuit judge 1. A judge who sits on a circuit court; esp., a federal judge who sits on a U.S. court of appeals. 2. A special judge added to a court for the purpose of holding trials, but without being a regular member of the court. - Abbr. C.J.

circuit judge See JUDGE.

circuit justice See JUSTICE (2).

circuit justice 1. A justice who sits on a circuit court. 2. A U.S. Supreme Court justice who has jurisdiction over one or more of the federal circuits, with power to issue injunctions, grant bail, or stay execution in those circuits.

circuit justice 1. A justice who sits on a circuit court. 2. A U.S. Supreme Court justice who has jurisdiction over one or more of the federal circuits, with power to issue injunctions, grant bail, or stay execution in those circuits.

circuit mediator An attorney-employee of a U.S. court of appeals who mediates civil cases, usu. before oral argument. Also termed preargument-conference attorney; settlement counsel.

circuit-riding The practice of a judge's traveling within a legislatively defined circuit to hear cases in one place for a time, then another, and so on.o The American practice of circuit-riding was based on the English eyre system, in which justices rode between the shire towns to hold assizes. See circuit-ridingjustice under JUSTICE (2). "The Judiciary Act of 1789 required that the justices of the Supreme Court serve also as judges of the circuit courts. Thejustices complained that circuit riding caused serious physical hardships and diverted them from more important duties in the nation's capital. ... Congress in 1801 abolished circuit riding on grounds of efficiency, but a year later a new Jeffersonian Republican majority restored the practice, obliging each justice to hold circuit court along with a district judge. Gradually, however, improved communications, increasing business in the nation's capital, and the strengthening of American nationhood following the Civil War rendered circuit riding anachronistic. Congress in the Judiciary Act of 1869 established a separate circuit court judiciary, although the justices retained nominal circuit riding duties until the Circuit Court of Appeals Act of 1891. Congress officially ended the practice in 1911." The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States 145 (Kermit L. Hall ed., 1992).

circuit-riding justice See JUSTICE (2).

circuit-riding justice A U.S. Supreme Court justice who, under the Judiciary Act of 1789, was required to travel within a circuit to preside over trials. In each of three circuits that then existed, two justices sat with one district judge. See CIRCUITRIDING. 3. Judicial cognizance of causes or offenses; jurisdiction.

circuity of action A procedure allowing duplicative lawsuits, leading to unnecessarily lengthy and indirect litigation, as when a defendant fails to bring a counterclaim, but later brings a separate action to recover what could have been awarded in the original lawsuit. Civil-procedure rules have eliminated many problems associated with circuity of action. "Circuity of action is, when an action is rightfully brought for a duty, but yet about the bush, as it were, for that it might as well have been otherwise answered and determined, and the suit saved: and because the same action was more than needful, it is called circuity of action." Termes de la Ley 87 (1 st Am. ed. 1812).

circular letter of credit See LETTER OF CREDIT.

circular note See LETTER OF CREDIT.

circulating capita See floating capital under CAPITAL. circumduction (sar-kam-dak-shan). Annulment; cancellation.

circulating capital See floating capital.

circum sacra (sar-kam say-kr). [Law Latin]. Eccles. law. Concerning sacred things. The phrase appeared in reference to the church's supreme jurisdiction over questions of doctrine, as distinguished from a civil court's jurisdiction over other ecclesiastical matters.

circumduction of the term A judicial declaration that the time allowed for the parties to present evidence has expired.

Circumspecte agatis (sar-kam-spek-tee a-gay-tis). [Latin "that you act circumspectly"]. A directive from the king to his justices detailing the boundaries of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The directive, issued circa 1285, was originally in the form of a writ, but over time it acquired statutory authority. The title Circumspecte agatis derives from the first few words of the writ: "Rex talibus judicibus salutem; Circumspecte agatis ...."

circumstance (often pl.) An accompanying or accessory fact, event, or condition, such as a piece of evidence that indicates the probability of an event. circumstantial, adj.

circumstantial evidence See EVIDENCE.

circumstantial evidence- 1. Evidence based on inference and not on personal knowledge or observation. Also termed indirect evidence; oblique evidence. Cf. direct evidence (1). 2. All evidence that is not given by eyewitness testimony. "Indirect evidence (called by the civilians, oblique, and more commonly known as circumstantial evidence) is that which is applied to the principal fact, indirectly, or through the medium of other facts, by establishing certain circumstances or minor facts, already described as evidentiary, from which the principal fact is extracted and gathered by a process of special inference ...." Alexander M. Burrill, A Treatise on the Nature, Principles and Rules of Circumstantial Evidence 4 (1868). "Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk." Henry David Thoreau, Journal, 11 Nov. 1850, in 2 Journal of Henry D. Thoreau 94 (Bradford Torrey & Francis H. Allen eds., 1962). "Evidence of some collateral fact, from which the existence or non-existence of some fact in question may be inferred as a probable consequence, is termed circumstantial evidence." William P. Richardson, The Law of Evidence § 111, at 68 (3d ed. 1928). "Testimonial evidence readily defines itself by its name; it is any assertion by a human being, offered to evidence the truth of the matter asserted. Circumstantial evidence is any and all other evidence. Scientifically the term 'circumstantial' is indefensible, for it does not correlate with 'testimonial'; a more correct equivalent would be 'nontestimonial.' But no one has yet invented an acceptable substitute for circumstantial.''' John H. Wigmore, A Students' Textbook of the Law of Evidence 38 (1935).

circumvention 1. The act of bypassing, avoiding, removing, deactivating, or impairing a technological measure or device that controls access to a work protected by U.S. copyright law. Circumvention of technology that effectively controls access to a work protected by a U.S. copyright is prohibited under 17 USCA § 1201. 2. Scots law. FACILITY AND CIRCUMVENTION.

cirliscus (sar-lis-kas). See CEORL.

cit Court of International Trade. See UNITED STATES COURT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE.

citable Authorized by a court to be used as legal precedent. In general, published opinions are citable, but unpUblished ones are not. Also written citeable. Cf. NONCITABLE.

citatio ad reassumendam causam (sI-tay-shee-oh ad ree-as-yoo-men-dam kaw-zam). [Latin "citation to take up a cause again"]. A citation issued to revive an action that was abated upon one party's death. The citation issues against the deceased party's heir. Cf. bill of revivor under BILL (2).

citation 1. A court-issued writ that commands a person to appear at a certain time and place to do something demanded in the writ, or to show cause for not doing so. 2. A police-issued order to appear before a judge on a given date to defend against a stated charge, such as a traffic violation. Also termed appearance ticket. 3. A reference to a legal precedent or authority, such as a case, statute, or treatise, that either substantiates or contradicts a given position. Often shortened to (in sense 3) cite.

citation order The appropriate ranking of the various authorities marshaled in support of a legal proposition.

citation signa See SIGNAL (2).

citational Of or relating to a citation (esp. a reference citation) <citational analysis>.

Citations, Law of An A.D. 426 decree of Emperor Valentinian III listing Papinian, Paul, Gaius, Ulpian, and Modestinus as juristic writers who could be cited authoritatively in court. If a majority of the writers agreed on an issue, the judge was bound to follow the majority view. The Law of Citations allowed the judge to use discretion only if the writers were equally divided and Papinian (whose view prevailed in a tie) was silent on the issue. "In 426 came the famous lex de respansis prudentium - the Law of Citations This law lessened the difficulties of the courts in dealing with juristic literature. It excluded a huge mass of conflicting doctrine, the relative value of which had not been determined, and which yet had to be used by the judges as a source of principle on which to base their decisions." W.W. Buckland, A Text·Baak of Roman Law from Augustus to Justinian 33 (Peter Stein ed., 3d ed. 1963).

citator (si-tay-tar). A catalogued list of cases, statutes, and other legal sources showing the subsequent history and current precedential value of those sources.o Citators allow researchers to verify the authority of a precedent and to find additional sources relating to a given subject. Citators were originally printed on gummed paper and pasted next to the report ofa cited case. Today, citators are published in volumes and are also available online; the two most popular are Shep ard's and KeyCite. "A citator is a compilation showing where certain cases have been cited in other cases, and whether the provi· sions of constitutions and statutes have been repealed, amended, or otherwise affected, or have been judicially construed, or have been cited." Frank Hall Childs, Where and How to Find the Law 61 (1922).

citator- (si -ta-tor-ee), Of, relating to, or having the power of a citation or summons letters citatory>.

cite 1. To summon before a court oflaw <the witness was cited for contempt>. 2. To refer to or adduce as precedent or authority <counsel then cited the appropriate statutory provision>. 3. To commend or honor <the soldier was cited for bravery>.

citeable See CITABLE.

citizen 1. A person who, by either birth or naturalization, is a member of a political community, owing allegiance to the community and being entitled to enjoy all its civil rights and protections; a member of the civil state, entitled to all its privileges. Cf. RESIDENT; DOMICILIARY.

citizen by naturalization See naturalized citizen.

citizen suit An action under a statute giving citizens the right to sue violators of the law (esp. environmental law) and to seek injunctive relief and penalties.o In the 1970s, during the heyday of antipollution statutes such as the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, legislators believed that regulators sometimes become too close to the industries they oversee and, as a result, lack the aggreSSiveness that individual citizens bring to litigation. The statutes therefore authorize, among other things, "private attorneys general" (citizens) to protect the environment. This includes not only injunctions to stop pollution but also penalties to be paid to the U.S. Treasury. A federal plaintiff must sue under a statutory citizen-suit provision and also satisfy constitutional-standing requirements. See STANDING.

citizen-informant See INFORMANT.

citizen-informant- A witness who, without expecting payment and with the public good in mind, comes forward and volunteers information to the police or other authorities.

citizen's arrest An arrest of a private person by another private person on grounds that (1) a public offense was committed in the arrester's presence, or (2) the arrester has reasonable cause to believe that the arrestee has committed a felony.

citizen's arrest- See ARREST.

citizenship 1. The status of being a citizen. 2. The quality of a person's conduct as a member of a community.