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civil-commitment statute A law that provides for the confinement of a person who is mentally ill, incompetent, drug-addicted, or the like . Unlike criminal incarceration, civil commitment is for an indefinite period.

civil-damage law See DRAM-SHOP ACT.

civilfraud 1. FRAUD (J). 2. Tax. An intentionalbut not willful evasion of taxes. The distinction between an intentional (i.e., civil) and willful (i.e., criminal) fraud is not always clear, but civil fraud carries only a monetary, noncriminal penalty. Cf. criminal fraud; TAX EVASION.

civilian 1. A person not serving in the military. 2. A lawyer practicing in a civil-law jurisdiction. Also termed civilista. 3. A scholar in civil or Roman law. civilian, adj.

civilis (sar-VI-lis), [Latin] Of or according to civil law.

civilista (siv-a-lis-ta). [Latin]. See CIVILIAN (2).

civiliter (sa-vil-a-tar), [Latin "civilly"].1. Bya civil, as distinguished from a criminal, proceeding. Cf. CRIMINALITER. 2. Civilly; as a citizen.

civiliter mortuus (sa-vil-a-tar mor-choo-as). [Latin] Civilly dead <the wife of a man civiliter mortuus had similar rights>. See civil death (1) under DEATH.

civilization The transformation of a criminal matter to a civil one by law or judgment. Cf. CRIMINALIZATION (1).

civil-liability act See DRAM-SHOP ACT.

civil-rights act One of several federal statutes enacted after the Civil War (1861-1865) and, much later, during and after the civil-rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, for the purpose of implementing and giving further force to the basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution, and esp. prohibiting discrimination in employment and education on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, or age.

civil-rights removal Removal of a case from state to federal court because a person: (1) has been denied or cannot enforce a civil right in the state court, (2) is being sued for performing an act under color of authority derived from a law providing for equal rights, or (3) is being sued for refUSing to perform an act that would be inconsistent with equal rights.

civil-rights removal See REMOVAL.

civil-service reform 'The use of business principles and methods instead of the spoils system in the conduct of the civil service, esp. in awarding contracts and appointing officials.

civis (siv-is). [Latin) Roman law. A Roman citizen; a person entitled to the public and private rights associated with Roman citizenship. Female citizens had only private rights. Also termed civis Romanus; civis Romana.

civitas (siv-a-tas), [Latin) Roman law. 1. A state. 2. An organized community; a territorial unit.

civitatis amissio (siv-i-tay-tis a-mish-ee-oh). [Latin]. Loss of citizenship.

cjc CODE OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT.

cje CONTINUING JUDICIAL EDUCATION.

cl CIVIL LAW.

Cl. Ct Court of Claims. See UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS.

claflin trust See indestructible trust under TRUST.

Claflin-trust principle The doctrine that a trust cannot be terminated by the beneficiaries if the termination would defeat one of the settlor's material purposes in establishing the trust. even if all the beneficiaries seek its termination. The Claflin principle, which derives from Claflin v. Claflin, 20 N.E. 454 (Mass. 1889), is often cited as the purest illustration of"deadhand control," in which the wishes of the now dead settlor prevail over the wishes and needs ofliving beneficiaries. If the settlor is alive and consents to the modification or termination of the trust, the trust may usu. be terminated, unless it is irrevocable. Trusts in the Claflin category are spendthrift trusts, support trusts, trusts in which the trustee has discretion to make distributions, and trusts in which the beneficiary is entitled to income until a certain age, at which point the beneficiary will receive the principal.

claim 1. The aggregate of operative facts giving rise to a right enforceable by a court <the plaintiff's short, plain statement about the crash established the claim>. Also termed claim for relief (1808). 2. The assertion of an existing right; any right to payment or to an equitable remedy, even if contingent or provisional <the spouse's claim to half of the lottery winnings>, 3. A demand for money, property, or a legal remedy to which one asserts a right; esp" the part of a complaint in a civil action specifying what relief the plaintiff asks for,

claim and delivery A claim for the recovery of specific personal property wrongfully taken or detained, as well as for any damages caused by the taking or detention .This claim derives from the common-law action of replevin. Sometimes written claim-and-delivery. See REPtEVIN.

claim check A receipt obtained for bailed or checked property and surrendered by the holder when the bailee returns the property.

claim differentiation A canon ofconstruction presuming that each claim in a patent is different in scope and meaning from all other claims; the presumption that different terms in separate claims must have different meanings ifone of the claims would otherwise be rendered superfluous. The presumption cannot be used by the patentee to broaden claims, and a court will ignore it when convinced that its own interpretation of the claims is correct. The presumption is strongest when a different interpretation would be the only way to make a dependent claim more limiting than the independent claim it refers to. Also termed doctrine of claim differentiation.

claim dilution The reduction in the likelihood that a debtor's claimants will be fully repaid, including considerations of the time value of money.

claim for relief See CLAIM (1).

claim in equity A summary proceeding created to eliminate protracted pleading procedure in simple cases. The claim in equity was established in England in 1850 and abolished in 1860.

claim limitation In a patent application, a statement that describes the means for performing a specified function without reciting the structure, materials, or acts that support that function. Claim limitations define the invention by distinguishing it from prior art.

claim of appeal See NOTICE OF APPEAL.

claim of cognizance An intervention seeking the return of a case to the claimant's own court. Cognizance may be claimed by a person, city, or public corporation granted the right to hold court. Also termed claim ofconusance. See COGNIZANCE; CONUSANCE.

claim of conusance See CLAIM OF COGNIZANCE.

claim of liberty A petition to the Crown, filed in the Court of Exchequer, seeking the Attorney General's confirmation ofliberties and franchises.

claim of ownership 1. The possession of a piece of property with the intention of claiming it in hostility to the true owner. 2. A party's manifest intention to take over land, regardless of title or right. Also termed claim ofright; claim of title.

claim of priority See BENEFIT OF AN EARLIER FILING DATE.

claim of right 1. A criminal defendant's plea that the defendant committed the act in question under the mistaken but honest belief that it was legal Defendants accused of theft often raised this plea, asserting an honest belief in a superior right to the property taken. The claim of right could also be raised as a defense against bigamy if the defendant honestly believed that an earlier marriage had been legally dissolved. The usual phrase today is honesty defense. Cf. honesty defense under DEFENSE (1). 2. Hist. An owner's action to recover unjustly taken land in fee simple by employing a writ of course. See WRIT OF COURSE. 3. CLAIM OF OWNERSHIP.

claim of title See CLAIM OF OWNERSHIP.

claim preclusion See RES JUDICATA."[T)he prinCipal distinction between claim preclusion and issue preclusion is that the former forecloses litigation of matters that have never been litigated. This makes it important to know the dimensions of the 'claim' that is foreclosed by bringing the first action, but unfortunately no precise definition is possible." Charles Alan Wright, The Law of Federal Courts § 100A, at 723 (5th ed. 1994).

claim the floor To address the chair for the purpose of being recognized as entitled to speak. See FLOOR (1).

claimant One who asserts a right or demand, esp, formally; esp., one who asserts a property interest in land, chattels, or tangible things,

claim-jumping 1. The extension of the borders of a mining claim to infringe on other areas or claims. 2. The filing of a duplicate claim to take advantage of a flaw in the original claim.

claim-of-right doctrine The rule that any income constructively received must be reported as income, whether or not the taxpayer has an unrestricted claim to it.

claim-property bon See replevin bond.

claim-property bond See repleVin bond under BOND (2).

claims adjuster See ADJUSTER.

claims court See court ofclaims under COURT.

claims court- See court of claims.

claims court, u.s See UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS.

claims-consciousness The quality characterizing a legal culture in which people have firm expectations of justice and are willing to take concrete steps to see that justice is done <claims-consciousness in the United States has resulted from certain social changes, not from any character deficiency>. Also termed rights-consciousness. claim-sconscious, adj.

claims-made policy An agreement to indemnify against all claims made during a specified period, regardless of when the incidents that gave rise to the claims occurred. Also termed discovery policy.

claims-made policy See INSURANCE POLICY.

clam (klam), [Latin] Roman & civil law. Secretly; covertly. Under Roman law, an act (such as occupying or altering the condition of someone else's property) was committed clam when it was done with the intent to conceal it in an effort to avoid liability. See INTERDICTUM QUOD VI AUT CLAM.

clamea admittenda in itinere per attornatum (klay-mee-a ad-ma-ten-da in I-tin-a-ree par a-tor-nay-tam). [Latin "claim to be admitted at the eyre by an attorney"]. A writ from the king commanding the justices in eyre to permit by attorney the claim of a person employed in the king's service who cannot attend court in person.

clameur de haro (klah-mar dah-roh). [French] An outcry recognized in the Channel Islands as a protest against trespass to land. The clameur de haro is a legal remnant of when the Duchy of Normandy held the islands before England took control in the 13th century. The victim's cry of haro (repeated 3 times) is popularly supposed to be an abbreviation of Ha Rollo, the first Duke of Normandy. The full cry, Haro, Haro, Haro, a I'aide, man prince, on me fait tort, when registered at the local records office, enjoins the offender from possessing the land. See HARROW; HUE AND CRY; GRAND COUTUMIER DE PAYS ET DUCHE DE NORMANDIE.

clamor 1. A lawsuit; a claim. 2. HUE AND CRY (1). 3. Civil law. A claimant. 4. Civil law. The thing claimed from another.

clandestine (klan-des-tin), Secret or concealed, esp. for illegal or unauthorized purposes.

clandestine marriage See MARRIAGE (1).

clare constat (klair-ee kon-stat). [Law Latin] Scots law. It clearly appears . The phrase referred to a precept, later a writ, for the grant of seisin to a vassal's heir, so called because the opening lines in the declaration stated that it clearly appeared that the grantee was the proper heir. "A Precept of Clare Constat is a deed executed by a subject-superior, for the purpose of completing the title of his vassal's heir to the lands held by the deceased vassal, under the g ranter of the precept .... The precept of clare constat proceeded on any evidence, whether judicial or not, which satisfies the superior that the person claiming the entry is heir of the last vassal." William Bell, Bell's Dictionary and Digest of the Law ofScotland 185 (George Watson ed., 7th ed. 1890).

clarity An international association of lawyers and other professionals who advocate plain language in legal and official documents . Founded in 1983, it has members in more than 25 countries and a system of country representatives. It publishes a journal called Clarity.

class 1. A group of people, things, qualities, or activities that have common characteristics or attributes <a class of common-stock shares> <the uppermiddle class>.

class action See CLASS ACTION.

class action- A lawsuit in which the court authorizes a Single person or a small group of people to represent the interests of a larger group; specif., a lawsuit in which the convenience either of the public or of the interested parties requires that the case be settled through litigation by or against only a part of the group of similarly situated persons and in which a person whose interests are or may be affected does not have an opportunity to protect his or her interests by appearing personally or through a personally selected representative, or through a person specially appointed to act as a trustee or guardian.o Federal procedure has several prerequisites for maintaining a class action: (1) the class must be so large that individual suits would be impracticable, (2) there must be legal or factual questions common to the class, (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties must be typical of those of the class, and (4) the representative parties must adequately protect the interests of the class. Fed. R. Civ. P. 23. Also termed class suit; representative action. "The class action was an invention of equity mothered by the practical necessity of providing a procedural device so that mere numbers would not disable large groups of individuals, United in interest, from enforcing their equitable rights nor grant them immunity from their equitable wrongs. By rule 23 the Supreme Court has extended the use of the class action device to the entire field of federal civil litigation by making it applicable to all civil actions." Montgomery Ward & Co. v. Langer; 168 F.2d 182, 187 (8th Or. 1948).

class director See DIRECTOR.

class director- 1. A director whose term on a corporate board is staggered with those of the other directors to make a hostile takeover more difficult. 2. A director elected or appointed to a corporate board to represent a special interest group, e.g., the preferred stockholders.

class gift See GIFT.

class gift- A gift to a group of persons, uncertain in number at the time of the gift but to be ascertained at a future time, who are all to take in definite proportions, the share of each being dependent on the ultimate number in the group. ''The typical class gift is to 'children,' 'issue,' 'heirs,' brothers and Sisters,' 'nieces and nephews,' 'grandchildren.' A class gift is one in which the donor intends to benefit a group or a class of persons, as distinguished from specific indiViduals; the class gift donor is said to be 'group-minded.' The class gift is one in which the donor intends that the number of donees, from the time of the delivery of the instrument of gift in the case of the inter vivos gift, or from the time of the execution of the will in the case of the testamentary gift, is subject to fluctuation by way of increase or decrease, or by way of increase only, or by way of decrease only, depending on the circumstances of the gift." Thomas F. Bergin & Paul G. Haskell, Preface to Estates in Land and Future Interests 136 (2d ed. 1984).

class legislation See local and speciallegislatiorl under LEGISLATION.

class lottery See Dutch lottery under LOTTERY.

class of stock A category of corporate shares used when more than one type of stock is issued. See preferred stock and common stock under STOCK.

class rate See RATE.

class rate A single rate applying to the transportation of several articles of the same general character.

class representative A person who sues on behalf of a group of plaintiffs in a class action. - Also termed named plaintiff. See CLASS ACTION.

class representative See REPRESENTATIVE.

class suit See CLASS ACTION.

class suit See CLASS ACTION.

class voting See VOTING.

class-based animus A prejudicial disposition toward a discernible, usu. constitutionally protected, group of persons. A class-based animus is an essential element of a civil-rights conspiracy case. 2. Intention. All the following Latin "animus" phrases have analogous adverbial forms beginning with "animo" (the definition merely needing "with" at the outset). For example, animo furandi means "with the intention to steal," animo testandi means "with testamentary intention," etc.

class-based animus- See ANIMUS (1).

classification See CHARACTERIZATION (1).

classification of patents 1. The sorting ofinventions by type into broad classes and narrow subclasses, as an aid in patent searches. 2. Anyone of the several classes into which the inventions are sorted. Also termed (in both senses) office classification; (in sense 2) field ofinvention; (in sense 2) field of search.

classified board of directors See staggered board of directors under BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

classified information Data or material that, having been designated as secret or confidential, only a limited number of authorized persons may know about.

classified risk See RISK.

classified risk In life- and health-insurance policies, the risk created by a policyholders substandard health or other peril.

classified tax A tax system in which different rates are assessed against different types of taxed property.

classified tax See TAX.

class-one insured In a motor-vehicle policy, the named insured and any relative residing with the named insured.

class-one insured See INSURED.

class-two insured In a motor-vehicle policy, a person lawfully occupying a vehicle at the time of an accident.

class-two insured See INSURED.

clausa rebus sic stantibus (klawz-a-ree-bas-sik stan-ta-bas). [Law Latin]. 1. A treaty provision stating that the treaty is binding only as long as the circumstances in existence when the treaty was signed remain substantially the same. 2. A doctrine by which the law supplies such a provision to a treaty that does not expressly contain one; REBUS SIC STANTIBUS . The doctrine may be invoked when a fundamental change in circumstances (1) alters the essential basis for the parties' consent to be bound by the treaty, and (2) radically transforms the extent of the parties' performances under the treaty. But the doctrine does not apply to treaties establishing geographic boundaries. Vienna Convention on the Law ofTreaties art. 62 (1155 U.N.T.S. 331,8 I.L.M. 679 (1969)). Often shortened to clausa. Also termed clausula rebus sic stantibus; clausula.

clause 1. A distinct section or provision of a legal document or instrument. 2. ITEM (3). clausal, adj.

clause of accrual A provision, usu. found in a gift by will or in a deed between tenants in common, that grants a predeceasing beneficiary's shares to the surviving beneficiary. Also termed clause ofaccruer.

clause paramount A provision in a charterparty that specifies what jurisdiction's law will govern the agreement, typically incorporating the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act into the charter. See CHARTERPARTY; CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY SEA ACT.

clause potestative (poh-tes-tay-tiv). French law. A contractual provision in which one party reserves the right to annul the contract.

clause rolls Sealed rolls containing royal writs (close writs) and other documents that the sovereign deemed inappropriate for the public record. Also termed close rolls. See close writ under WRIT.

claused bill of lading See unclean bill of lading.

claused bill of lading- See BILL OF LADING.