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commercialized obscenity Obscenity produced and marketed for sale to the public.

commercial-law notice See NOTICE.

commercially reasonable (Of a property sale) conducted in good faith and in accordance with commonly accepted commercial practice. Under the UCC, a sale of collateral by a secured party must be done in a commercially reasonable manner, or the obligor's liability for any deficiency may be reduced or eliminated. See DCC § 9-61O(b), 9-626.

commercially significant noninfringing use The routine use of a product in a way that does not infringe intellectual-property rights; the judicial test for determining whether the sale of a product amounts to contributory infringement. If the product (such as a video recorder) can be used in a way that does not infringe those rights (such as recording a program in order to watch it at a later time), then its sale cannot be enjOined, or its manufacturer subjected to a court-imposed royalty. See Sony Corp. of Am. v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417, 442, 104 S.Ct. 774 (1984) (Stevens, J.). Also termed Sony doctrine; substantial noninfringinguse. Cf. PRIMARY PL'RPOSE OR EFFECT.

commercial-traveler rule The principle that an accident will be treated as occurring during the course of employment if it was caused by an employee whose job requires travel, and the employee was not on a personal errand. The commercial-traveler rule is an exception to the gOing-and-coming rule.Cf. GOING-ANDCOMING RULE.

commettant (kom-a-tant), 1. An employer. 2. The principal in an agency relationship.

comminatorium (ka-min-a-tor-ee-am). [Latin comminari "threaten"]. A clause often included at the end of a writ, admonishing the sheriff to be faithful in the writ's execution.

commingle (ka-ming-gal). 1. To put together (as funds or property) into one mass, as by mixing together a spouse's separate property with marital or community property, or mixing together the separate property of both spouses. 2. (Of a fidUciary) to mix personal funds with those of a beneficiary or client. Also spelled comingle. See COMMINGLING. Cf. TRACING.

commingling (ka-ming-gling), A mixing together; esp., a fiduciary's mixing of personal funds with those of a beneficiary or client. Commingling is usu. considered a breach of the fiduciary relationship. Under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, a lawyer is prohibited from commingling personal funds with those of a client. Commingling also occurs when a spouse has mixed his or her separate property with community property to such an extent that they cannot be separated. Also spelled comingling.

commissary (kom-i-ser-ee), 1. A person who is delegated or commissioned to perform some duty, usu. as a representative of a superior. 2. A general store, esp. on a military base. 3. A lunchroom. commissary, adj.

commissary court See COURT.

commissary court- 1. A court of general ecclesiastical jurisdiction presided over by four commissioners appointed by the Crown from the Faculty of Advocates. 2. Scots law. A sheriff or county court that appoints and confirms the executors of decedents who have personal property in Scotland. 3. Hist. Scots law. A supreme court in which matters of probate and divorce were decided. This court was established in Edinburgh in 1563 to hear cases that had previously come under the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical commissary court. It was absorbed by the Court of Session in 1836.

commissio rebellionis See COMMISSION OF REBELLION.

commission 1. A warrant or authority, from the government or a court, that empowers the person named to execute official acts <the student received his commission to the U.S. Navy after graduation>. 2. The authority under which a person transacts business for another <the client gave her attorney express commission to sign the contract>. 3. A body of persons acting under lawful authority to perform certain public services <the Federal Communications Commission>.

commission broker A member of a stock or commod-ity exchange who executes buy and sell orders.

commission broker- See BROKER.

commission day The opening day of the assizes. On this day the commission that authorizes the judge to act is publicly read. Also written commission-day.

commission del credere (del kred-ar-ay). The commission received by the seller's agent for guaranteeing a buyer's debt.

commission government A type of municipal government in which the legislative power is in the hands of a few people.

commission merchant See FACTOR (2).

commission of appraisement and sale A court order requiring the sale of property in an in-rem admiralty action.

commission of assize A royal authorization empowering a person to hold court and try cases arising while the justices in eyre held court elsewhere. Cf. EYRE. "[Bloth the presentment of crimes and the conduct of trials by assize or jury which rapidly became a common feature of royal justice required the presence of twelve or more men from the vicinity where the matter in question occurred The means of achieving this reconciliation was the frequent issue of commissions to perform judicial functions in the country. [A)ssize commissioners had original jurisdiction to hear a case from beginning to end. But the assizes. though moulded into a regular routine, never became a distinct 'court' in the permanent sense. The jurisdiction of the judges rested entirely on the commissions which issued for each circuit: the judges could therefore be regularly interchanged, and after 1340 it was quite normal for a Common Plea case to be tried at nisi prius by a King's Bench judge, and vice versa." J.H. Baker, An Introduction to English Legal History 67 (3d ed. 1990).

commission of charitable uses An authorization issuing out of the Court of Chancery to a bishop or other person authorizing the appointee to investigate allegations of fraud or other disputed matters concerning charitable land grants.

commission of delegates A commission appointing a person (usu. a lord, bishop, or judge) to sit with several other appointees to hear an appeal of an ecclesiastical judgment in the Court of Chancery. This commission was abolished in 1832, and its functions transferred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

commission of fine arts An independent federal commission that advises the President, Congress, and governmental agencies on the design of public buildings, memorials, and parks in the nation's capital so as to complement historic structures and districts. The commission was created in 19l0.

commission of gaol delivery A royal appointment authorizing a judge to go on the assize circuit and hear all criminal cases of those held in county jails. See JAIL DELIVERY. Cf. COMMISSION OF OYER AND TERMINER.

commission of lieutenancy A commission issued to send officers into every county to establish military order over the inhabitants. This commission superseded the former commission of array, which provided the same powers. The commissions became obsolete with the establishment of the militia system.

commission of lunacy See DE LUNATICO INQUIRENDO.

commission of oyer and terminer (oy-ar an[d] tar-man-nar). [Law French oyer et terminer "to hear and determine"]. A royal appointment authorizing a judge (often a serjeant-at-law) to go on the assize circuit and hear felony and treason cases. Cf. COMMISSION OF GAOL DELIVERY; COURT OF OYER AND TERMINER. "[U]nder the commission of Oyer and Terminer, as the judges are directed to inquire as well as to hear and determine the same, they can only proceed upon an indict· ment found at the same assize, and before themselves; for they must first inquire by means of the grand jury or inquest, before they are empowered to hear and determine by the intervention of the petit jury." 1 Joseph Chitty, A Practical Treatise on the Criminal Law 142 (2d ed. 1826).

commission of partition An authorization appointing a person to sit with several other appointees for the purpose of dividing land held by tenants in common who desire a partition.

commission of rebellion An attaching process that empowered a layperson to arrest and bring a defendant to Chancery to enforce obedience to a writ of subpoena or decree .The commission of rebellion was abolished in 1841. Also termed writ of rebellion; commissio rebellionis; breve rebellionis. "Commission of rebellion (Commissio rebellionis) is other· wise called a writte of rebellion, (breve reiJellionis) and it hath use, when a man after proclamation made by the Shyreeve upon an order of the channcerie, or court of Starre chamber, under penaltie of his allegance, to present himselfe to the court by a certaine day, appeareth not. And this commission is directed by way of command to certain persons, to this end, that they ... apprehend, or cause to be apprehended, the party as a rebell and contemner of the kings lawes." John Cowell, The Interpreter (1607).

commission of review In England, an authorization sometimes granted in an extraordinary case to review a judgment of the Court of Delegates. The commission of review is no longer used because the Privy Council was substituted for the Court of Delegates as the appellate court in ecclesiastical cases in 1832. See COURT OF DELEGATES.

commission of the peace An appointment of a person to keep the peace (i.e., provide police protection) on a local leveI. Over time the recipients of these commissions began to acquire judicial responsibilities, and became known as justices of the peace.

commission of unlivery (an-liv-ar-ee). A court order requiring the unloading of goods from a ship so that they may be appraised.

commission on civil rights See UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS.

commission plan A form of municipal government whereby both legislative and executive power is vested in a small group of elected officials . Today, commission plans are used in a few cities.

commission to examine a witness A judicial commission directing that a witness beyond the court's territorial jurisdiction be deposed.The commission usu. identifies the person to be deposed, when and where the deposition will be taken, and any other information that will help the commissioner to perform. Also termed commission to take a deposition; commission to take testimony. Cf. LETTER OF REQUEST.

commission to take a deposition See COMMISSION TO EXAMINE A WITNESS.

commission to take testimony See COMMISSION TO EXAMINE A WITNESS.

commissionaire See AGENT.

commissioned officer See OFFICER (2).

commissioned officer An officer in the armed forces who holds grade and office under a presidential commission.

commissioner 1. A person who directs a commission; a member of a commission. 2. The administrative head of an organization, such as a professional sport. 3. See judicial officer (3) under OFFICER.

commissioner of patents and trademarks See DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE.

commissioner for trademarks The chief operating officer ofthe trademarks section of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The commissioner is appointed by the Secretary of Commerce.

commissioner in bankruptcy A commissioner who is appointed by the Lord Chancellor and empowered to proceed in corporate-bankruptcy cases.

commissioner of bail See BAIL COMMISSIONER.

commissioner of circuit court A court-appointed officer who helps the circuit and district courts by performing judicial and ministerial functions.

commissioner of highways A public officer responsible for overseeing the construction, alteration, and repair of highways.

commissioner of partition An equity-court-appointed officer who is empowered to examine a request for partition and recommend an action to the court, or to make the partition and report the act to the court.

commissioner of woods and forests An officer who, by an 1817 Act ofPariiament, assumed the jurisdiction of the Chief Justice of the Forest.

commissionerfor patents The chief operating officer of the patents section of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The commissioner is appointed by the Secretary of Commerce.

commissioner's court See COURT.

commissioner's court- In certain states, a court having jurisdiction over county affairs and often functioning more as a managerial group than as a judicial tribunal.

commissiotler of deeds An officer authorized by a state to take acknowledgments of deeds and other papers while residing in another state. The acknowledgments are recognized in the state that licensed the commissioner. Cf. NOTARY PUBLlC.

commissive waste See WASTE (1).

commissoria lex See LEX COMMISSORIA.

commit 1. To perpetrate (a crime). 2. To send (a person) to prison or to a mental health facility, esp. by court order. 3. Parliamentary law. REFER.

commitment 1. An agreement to do something in the future. esp. to assume a financial obligation <the shipper made a firm commitment to deliver the goods>. 2. The act of entrusting or giving in charge <commitment of money to the bank>. 3. The act of confining a person in a prison, mental hospital, or other institution <commitment of the felon to prison>. 4. The order directing an officer to take a person to a penal or mental institution; MITTIMUS (1) <the judge signed the commitment after ruling that it was in the best interest of the troubled teen>.

commitment document An order remanding a defendant to prison in order to carry out a judgment and sentence.

commitment fee An amount paid to a lender by a potential borrower for the lender's promise to lend money at a stipulated rate and within a speCified time .Commitment fees are common in real estate transactions. See LOAN COMMITMENT.

commitment letter- 1. A lender's written offer to grant a mortgage loan. The letter generally outlines the loan amount, the interest rate, and other terms. Also termed letter of commitment. 2. LETTER OF INTENT.

commitment warrant See warrant of commitment under WARRANT (1).

committee 1. (ka-mit-ee). A subordinate group to which a deliberative assembly or other organization refers business for consideration, investigation, oversight, or action <the bill was sent to legislative committee>. "One of the outstanding characteristics of membership organizations the world over is the powerful role played by committees in setting policy and in carrying out their objectives. The Congress, state legislatures, business associations, and countless clubs and societies have traditionally conducted their work through committees of their members." Lewis Deschler, Deschler's Rules of Order § 103, at 189 (1976).

committee of one A committee with only one member.

committee amendment An amendment to a motion reported by a committee to which the motion was referred.

committee amendment- See AMENDMENT (3).

committee jurisdiction See CHARGE (8).

committee of the whole A special committee that comprises all the deliberative assembly's members who are present. A deliberative assembly may resolve itself into a committee of the whole so that it can take advantage of the greater procedural flexibility that a committee enjoys, usu. presided over by some chair other than the assembly's regular chair. Cf. quasi committee of the whole.

committee on conference See conference committee.

committee report See REPORT (1).

committee report Parliamentary law. A report from a committee to a deliberative assembly on business referred to the committee or on a matter otherwise under its charge.

committee substitute See clean bill under BILL (3).

committee with full power See committee with power.

committee with power A committee to whom the referring body has delegated the necessary authority for acting on the business referred, usu. without need for a prior report to the referring body. Also termed committee with full power.

committing magistrate See MAGISTRATE.

committitur (ka-mit-a-tar). [Latin "he is committed"] Archaic. An order or minute stating that the person named in it is to be committed to the custody of the sheriff.

committitur piece An instrument used to civilly charge a debtor already in prison, esp. by the plaintiff who had brought about the debtor's imprisonment . The committitur piece was rendered obsolete by the 1869 Debtors Act, which abolished imprisonment for debt.

commixtio (ka-miks-tee-oh), [Latin "mixture"] Roman law. A mixture of separable (i.e. dry or solid) items belonging to different owners, the resulting mixture being held in common or divided in proportion to the shares contributed. See CONFUSION OF GOODS. Cf. CONFUSIO (1).

commodatary (ka-mohd-a-tair-ee). [fr. Latin commodatarius] Roman & civil law. A bailee in a commodatum; borrower.

commodate (kom-a-dayt), See COMMODATUM.

commodati actio (kom-a-day-tI ak-shee-oh). See actio commodati under ACTIO.

commodator (kom-a-day-tar), Roman & civil law. A lender or bailor.

commodatum (kom-a-day-tam), [Latin commodare "to lend"] Roman & civil law. The gratuitous lending of goods to be used by the borrower and then returned undamaged to the lender . This arrangement is for the sole benefit of the borrower. It is one of three types of contracts for permissive use, the other two being locatio conductio and mutuum. Also termed accommodatum; commodate. PI. commodata. "Commodatum was loan for use, the borrower being required to return the identical res. This contract was gratuitous, being usually for a limited time and a specific purpose. The borrower must use the greatest care in looking after the res but has not to answer for loss occa· sioned by fire or accident beyond his control, provided that there was no fault. If, however, the res was put to a use foreign to the terms of the agreement, strict liability might follow, e.g., if the res was wrongfully taken on a journey and lost through attack by enemies or shipwreck." G.w. Paton, Bailment in the Common Law 49-50 (1952).

commodity 1. An article of trade or commerce . The term embraces only tangible goods, such as products or merchandise, as distinguished from services. 2. An economic good, esp. a raw material or an agricultural product.

commodity credit corporation A federally chartered corporation responsible for extending credit in order to stabilize farm income and prices . Incorporated in Delaware in 1933 and operated in affiliation with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, it was transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1939 and chartered in 1948 as a federal corporation. 15 USCA § 714. Abbr. CCc.

commodity futures trading commission A fivemember federal commission that regulates trading in futures and options contracts and monitors the activities of commodity-exchange members, brokerage houses, commission-registered salespeople, and others associated with the industry . The commission began operating in April 1975. 7 USCA § 2(a)(2). Abbr. CFTC.

commodity loan See LOAN.

commodity option See OPTION.

commodity option An option to buy or sell a commodity.

commodity paper An instrument representing a loan secured by a bill oflading or warehouse receipt.

commodity paper See PAPER.

commodity-backed bond A bond with interest payments or principal repayment tied to the price of a specific commodity, such as gold This type of bond, which has a low interest rate but provides a hedge against inflation because the commodity price will usu. rise, is often issued by a firm with a stake in the commodity.

commodity-backed bond- See BOND (3).

common 1. A legal right to use another person's property, such as an easement. See PROFIT A PRENDRE.

common assumpsit See general assumpsit under ASSUMPSIT.

common mistake See mutual mistake (2) under MISTAKE.

common order See conditional judgment under JUDGMENT.

common tenancy See tenancy in common under TENANCY.

common adventure A maritime enterprise, characterized as an undertaking in which all participants. including the carrier, everyone with an interest in the cargo. and the insurers of all share the risks of the perils of the sea. The principle of shared risk is fundamental to maritime law. Also termed joint adventure; common venture.