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compassing (kam-pa-sing). The act of contriving or plotting, esp. of something underhanded, The Treason Act of 1351 criminalized the act of compassing the sovereign's death. Also termed imagining.

compel 1. To cause or bring about by force, threats, or overwhelming pressure <a lawyer cannot be compelled to testify about a privileged communication>, 2. (Of a legislative mandate or judicial precedent) to convince (a court) that there is only one possible resolution ofa legal dispute <the wording of the statute compels us to affirm>,

compellable Capable of or subject to being compelled, esp. to testify <an accused person's spouse is not a compellable witness for the prosecution>.

compellativus (kam-pel-a-tI-vas). [fr. Latin compellare "to accuse"]. An adversary or accuser.

compelling need A need so great that irreparable harm or injustice would result if it is not met. Generally, courts decide whether a compelling need is present based on the unique facts of each case, In some jurisdictions, however, statutes define "compelling need" or provide gUidelines for determining whether one exists. See, e,g" 5 USCA § 552(a)(6)(E)(v) (defining "compelling need" for an expedited response to a Freedom of Information Act request).

compelling-state-interest test A method for determining the constitutional validity of a law, whereby the government's interest in the law and its purpose is balanced against an individual's constitutional right that is affected by the law . Only if the government's interest is strong enough will the law be upheld. The compelling-state-interest test is used, e.g., in equal-protection analysis when the disputed law requires strict scrutiny. See STRICT SCRUTINY.

compensable (kam-pen-sa-baI), Able or entitled to be compensated for <a compensable injury>. Also termed recompensable.

compensable death See DEATH.

compensable death- Workers' compensation. A death that, because it occurred in the course of employment, entitles the employee's heirs to compensation.

compensable injury See INJURY,

compensable injury (kdm-pen-sa-bal). Workers compensation. An injury caused by an accident arising from the employment and in the course of the employees work, and for which the employee is statutorily entitled to receive compensation.

compensate (kom-pan-sayt), 1. To pay (another) for services rendered <the lawyer was fairly compensated for her time and effort>, 2. To make an amendatory payment to; to recompense (for an injury) <the court ordered the defendant to compensate the injured plaintiff>.

compensated surety See SURETY,

compensated surety A surety who is paid for becoming obliged to the creditor; esp., one that engages in the business of executing suretyship contracts in exchange for premiums, which are determined by an actuarial computation of risks. A bonding company is a typical example ofa compensated surety. Also termed commercial surety.

compensating balance The amount ofmoney a borrower from a bank is reqUired to keep on deposit as a condition for a loan or a line of credit.

compensatio (kom-pen-say-shee-oh), [Latin "weighing; balancing"] Roman law. A defendant's claim to have the plaintiff's demand reduced by the amount that the plaintiff owes the defendant. See SETOFF (2).

compensatio criminis (kom-pen-say-shee-oh krim-a-nis). [Latin) Eccles. law. A defendant's plea in a divorce action, alleging that the complainant is guilty of the same conduct that the defendant is charged with, esp. adultery. See RECRIMINATION (1). "The compensatio criminis is the standard canon law of England in questions of divorce, and it is founded on the principle that a man cannot be permitted to complain of the breach of a contract which he had first Violated; and the same prinCiple, it is to be presumed, prevails in the United States, So, if the injured party, subsequently to the adultery, cohabits with the other, or is otherwise reconciled to the other, after just grounds of belief in the fact, it is, in judgment of law, a remission of the offense, and a bar to the divorce." 4 James Kent, Commentaries on American Law *100-01 (George Comstock ed., 11th ed, 1866).

compensatio injuriarum (kom-pen-say-shee-oh in-juur-ee-air-am). [Latin "the compensation of wrongs"] Scots law. The setoff in a defamation action.

compensation (kom-pan-say-shan), 1. Remuneration and other benefits received in return for services rendered; esp., salary or wages. "Compensation consists of wages and benefits in return for services. It is payment for work. If the work contracted for is not done, there is no obligation to pay. [Compensation] includes wages, stock option plans, profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, golden parachutes, vacation, sick pay, medical benefits, disability, leaves of absence, and expense reimbursement." Kurt H. Decker & H. Thomas Felix II, Drafting and Revising Employment Contracts § 3.17, at 68 (1991). 2. Payment of damages, or any other act that a court orders to be done by a person who has caused injury to another. In theory, compensation makes the injured person whole. 3. SETOFF (2).compensatory, (kam-pen-sa-tor-ee), compensational (kom-pam-say-sha-nal), adj.

compensation clause The clause of the U.S. Constitution providing for federal judges to be paid. U.S. Const. art. III, § 1, d. 2.

compensation period The time fixed by unemployment or workers' -compensation law during which an unemployed or injured worker is entitled to receive compensation.

compensatories See compensatory damages (1) under DAMAGES.

compensatory damages See DAMAGES.

compensatory damages- (kam-pen-sa-tor-ee). 1. Damages sufficient in amount to indemnify the injured person for the loss suffered. Often shortened to 2. See actual damages.

compensatory payment A postmarital spousal payment made by the richer ex-spouse to the poorer one and treated as an entitlement rather than as a discretionary award . Compensatory payments are set by statute and are based on a formula using the length of the marriage, differences in postdivorce income, role as primary caregiver, and other factors. The purpose is to compensate somewhat for disparate income levels after a failed marriage. Cf. ALIMONY.

compensatory time See COMP TIME.

comperendinatio (kom-par-en-da-nay-shee-oh), [Latin "to remand to the next day but one") Roman law. An adjournment of an action, particularly one of the actiones legis, to hear the parties or their advocates a second time; a second hearing of the parties to a case. The judge (judex) would decide the case at the conclusion of the second hearing. See LEGIS ACTIO.

competence 1. A basic or minimal ability to do something; qualification, esp. to testify <competence of a witness>. 2. The capacity of an official body to do something <the court's competence to enter a valid judgment>. 3. Authenticity <the documents were supported by a business-records affidavit, leaVing their competence as evidence beyond doubt>. Cf. COMPETENCY. - competent, adj.

competency 1. The mental ability to understand problems and make decisions. 2. A criminal defendant's ability to stand trial, measured by the capacity to understand the proceedings, to consult meaningfully with counsel, and to assist in the defense. - Also termed competency to stand trial. Cf. COMPETENCE. competent, adj.

competency hearing See PATE HEARING.

competency proceeding See PROCEEDING.

competency proceeding A proceeding to assess a person s mental capacity. A competency hearing may be held either in a criminal context to determine a defendant s competency to stand trial or as a civil proceeding to assess whether a person should be committed to a mental-health facility or should have a guardian appointed to manage the person s affairs.

competency to stand trial See COMPETENCY.

competent contractor See CONTRACTOR.

competent contractor- A contractor who has the knowledge, skill, experience, and available equipment to do the work that he or she is employed to do without creating an unreasonable risk of injury to others and who has the personal characteristics necessary to carry out the work.

competent court See court of competent jurisdiction under COURT.

competent court- See court of competent jurisdiction.

competent evidence See EVIDENCE.

competent evidence- 1. See admissible evidence. 2. See relevant evidence.

competent jurisdiction See rURISDICTION (2).

competent witness See WITNESS.

competition The struggle for commercial advantage; the effort or action of two or more commercial interests to obtain the same business from third parties.

competitive advantage The potential benefit from information, ideas, or devices that, if kept secret by a business, might be economically exploited to improve the business's market share or to increase its income.

competitive advertising AdvertiSing that contains little information about the advertised product, and that is used only to help a producer maintain a share of the market for that product.

competitive advertising- See ADVERTISING.

competitive bid A bid submitted in response to public notice of an intended sale or purchase.

competitive bid, See BID (2).

competitive civil-service examination A test designed to evaluate a person's qualifications for a civil-service position.'This type of examination may be open to all those seeking civil-service employment, or it may be restricted to those civil servants seeking a promotion. See CIVIL SERVICE.

competitive injury A wrongful economic loss caused by a commercial rival, such as the loss ofsales due to unfair competition; a disadvantage in a plaintiff's ability to compete with a defendant, caused by the defendant's unfair competition Most courts require the plaintiff to show a competitive injury as an element of a misappropriation action, or to have standing to prosecute a false-advertising action under 15 USCA § 1125(a)(l) (B). Also termed competitive harm.

competitor click fraud Click fraud committed by a business's competitor in order to increase the amount of money the advertising merchant must pay to the site hosting the ad. See click fraud.

competitor dick fraud See FRAUD.

compilation (kom-pa-Iay-shan), 1. A collection ofliterary works arranged in an original way; esp., a work formed by collecting and assembling preexisting materials or data that are selected, coordinated, or arranged in such a way that the resulting product constitutes an original work of authorship. An author who creates a compilation owns the copyright of the compilation but not of the component parts. See 17 USCA § 101. Cf. collective work, derivative work under WORK (2). 2. A collection of statutes, updated and arranged to facilitate their use. Also termed compiled statutes. A financial statement that does not have an accountant's assurance of conformity with generally accepted accounting principles . In preparing a compilation, an accountant does not gather evidence or verify the accuracy of the information provided by the client; rather, the accountant reviews the compiled reports to ensure that they are in the appropriate form and are free of obvious errors. compile, vb.

compiled statutes 1. See COMPILATION (2). 2. See STATUTE.

compiled statutes Laws that have been arranged by subject but have not been substantively changed; COMPILATION (2). Cf. revised statutes. The term compiled statutes is properly applied to a methodical arrangement, without revision or reenactment, of the existing statutes of a State, all the statutes on a given subject being collected in one place. The work is usually performed by private persons; and the former statutes, as they were before the compilation, remain the authority." Frank Hall Childs, Where and How to Find the Law 12 (1922).

complainant (kam-playn-ant). 1. The party who brings a legal complaint against another; esp., the plaintiff in a court of equity or, more modernly, a civil suit. "A suit in equity, under the procedure of the English Court of Chancery, which was generally adopted in the American States prior to the code, is instituted by the plaintiff filing a bill of complaint. The plaintiff is usually called the complainant, in the Federal courts the complainant or plain· tiff indifferently. The bill is in substance a petition to the chancellor, or judge of the court of equity, setting forth at large the grounds of the suit, and praying the process of the court, its subpoena, to bring the defendant into court and compel him to answer the plaintiff's bill, and, also, for such relief by decree or interlocutory remedy, by way of injunction. etc., as the plaintiff supposes himself entitled to." Edwin E. Bryant, The Law of Pleading Under the Codes of Civil Procedure 55 (2d ed. 1899). 2. A person who, under oath, signs a statement (called a "complaint") establishing reasonable grounds to believe that some named person has committed a crime. Also termed affiant.

complainantless crime See victimless crime under CRIME.

complainantless crime- See victimless crime.

complaint 1. The initial pleading that starts a civil action and states the basis for the court's jurisdiction, the basis for the plaintiff's claim, and the demand for relief. In some states, this pleading is called a petition. 2. Criminal law. A formal charge accusing a person of an offense. Fed. R. Crim, P. 3. Cf. INDICTMENT; INFORMATION,

complaint for modification See motion to modify under MOTION.

complementarity 1. The state or quality ofbeing complementary. 2. International law. See COMPLEMENTARITY PRINCIPLE.

complementarity principle The doctrine that a country with control of a person accused of violating international criminal law has the jurisdiction to charge and try a person. Because the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court is complementary to the criminal jurisdiction of countries, that tribunal can assert jurisdiction over the accused person only if the country is unable or unwilling to undertake a genuine investigation and prosecution. Sometimes shortened to complementarity.

complementary products See COMPLEMENTARY GOODS.

complementary goods Products that are typically used together, such as pancake syrup and pancake mix, or motion-picture projectors and film. Trademark law may prevent the use ofa similar mark on complementary goods because consumers may be confused into thinking the goods come from a common source. The patent-misuse doctrine may provide a defense in an infringement suit if the plaintiff has used its patent rights to gain market control over unpatented complementary goods. Also termed complementary products. See AUNT JEMIMA DOCTRINE; PATENT-MISUSE DOCTRINE.

complete conception of invention See CONCEPTION OF INVENTION.

complete conception of invention- The point at which an inventor knows every feature of the process or device to be patented, such that a person with ordinary skill in the art could reproduce it without extensive research or experimentation. Often shortened to complete conception.

complete diversity See DIVERSITY OF CITIZENSHIP.

complete diversity- In a multiparty case, diversity between both sides to the lawsuit so that all plaintiffs have different citizenship from all defendants. Complete diversity must exist for a federal court to have diversity jurisdiction over the matter. The rule of complete diversity was first laid down by Chief Justice Marshall in Strawbridge v. Curtiss, 7 U.S. (3 Cranch) 267 (1806).

complete in itself (Of a legislative act) fully covering an entire subject.

complete integration See INTEGRATION (2).

complete integration The fact or state of fully expressing the intent of the parties. Parol evidence is therefore inadmissible.

complete interdiction See full interdiction.

complete interdiction See full interdiction under INTERDICTION (3).

complete jurisdiction See JURISDICTION.

complete jurisdiction A courts power to decide matters presented to it and to enforce its decisions.

complete ownership Louisiana law. See perfect ownership.

complete ownership See perfect ownership under OWNERSHIP.

complete property The entirety of the rights, privileges, powers, and immunities that it is legally possible for a person to have with regard to land or any other thing, apart from those that all other members of society have in the land or thing.

complete property See PROPERTY.

complete voluntary trust See executed trust under TRUST.

completed gift See GIFT.

completed gift- A gift that is no longer in the donor's possession and control. Only a completed gift is taxable under the gift tax.

completed-contract accounting method A method of reporting profit or loss on certain long-term contracts by recognizing gross income and expenses in the tax year that the contract is completed.

completed-contract accounting method- See ACCOUNTING METHOD.

completed-operations policy See INSURANCE POLICY.

completed-operations policy A policy usu. purchased by a building contractor to cover accidents arising out of a job or an operation that the contractor has completed.

completely integrated contract An integrated agreement adopted by the parties as a full and exclusive statement of the terms of the agreement. The parties are therefore prohibited from varying or supplementing the contractual terms through parol (extrinsic) evidence.

completely integrated contract See INTEGRATED CONTRACT.

completeness doctrine See RULE OF OPTIONAL COMPLETENESS.

complete-operation rule The principle that goods are covered against damage at any time during the shipping process, including the loading and unloading of the goods. Under some circumstances, the rule has been extended to cover personal injuries that occur during the shipping process. See WAREHOUSE-TOWAREHOUSE COVER. Cf. COMING-TO-REST DOCTRINE.

complete-preemption doctrine The rule that a federal statute's preemptive force may be so extraordinary and all-encompassing that it converts an ordinary state-cornman-law complaint into one stating a federal claim for purposes of the well-pleaded-complaint rule. See well-pleaded complaint under COMPLAINT.

completion bond See PERFORMANCE BOND.

complex litigation See LITIGATION.

complex trust See TRUST.

compliance andit See AUDIT.

compliance audit An audit conducted by a regulatory agency, an organization, or a third party to assess compliance with one or more sets oflaws and regulations.

complicated larceny See mixed larceny under LARCENY.

complicated larceny See mixed larceny.

complice (kom-plis). An accomplice or accessory to a crime or immoral behavior.

complicity (kam-pIis-a-tee), Association or participation in a criminal act; the act or state of being an accomplice. Under the Model Penal Code, a person can be an accomplice as a result of either that person's own conduct or the conduct of another (such as an innocent agent) for which that person is legally accountable. Model Penal Code § 2.06. See ACCOMPLICE; innocent agent under AGENT. complicitous (kam-plis-a-tas), adj.

compos mentis (kom-pas men-tis), [Latin "master of one's mind"]. Of sound mind; having use of and control over one's own mental faculties. Cf. NON COMPOS MENTIS.