Daniel Oran - Oran's Dictionary of the Law

218 Goldbricking

Goldbricking 1. An organized work slowdown. 2. Shirking work; “goofing off” while pretending to work.

Golden parachute An employment contract or termination agreement that gives a top executive a big bonus or other major benefits if the executive loses his or her job (usually due to a change in corporate control).

Golden rule 1. Plain meaning rule. 2. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” A moral, not legal rule. 3. The golden rule argument is a request by a lawyer (or instructions by a judge) that jurors imagine themselves or their family members in the place of the person hurt (who is suing), and then make a decision. This request is no longer permitted in any trial.

Good Valid; legally sufficient. For good consideration, see consideration. Good behavior A vague term, applied differently to the conduct required for public officials to keep their jobs, for criminals to get out of

jail early, etc.

Good cause Legally sufficient; not arbitrary.

Good faith 1. Honest; honesty in fact. 2. For a merchant, good faith also means “the observance of reasonable commercial standards of fair dealing in the trade” according to the Uniform Commercial Code. 3. Good faith bargaining is the obligation of an employer to hold honest negotiations about wages, hours, and employment conditions with a union that has been certified to represent its employees. 4. A good faith purchaser in commercial law is a person who buys something honestly, pays good value, and knows of no other person’s claim to the thing bought. 5. There is a good faith exception to the exclusionary rule.

Good Samaritan doctrine 1. The principle that a person who helps another in great danger cannot be held liable for that person’s injuries unless the help was negligent and definitely worsened the person’s condition. 2. See also emergency doctrine and rescue doctrine.

Good title Marketable title (see also marketable title acts).

Goods A general word that can have a meaning as broad as “all property excluding land” or as narrow as “items for sale by a merchant.” Durable goods, such as refrigerators, have a long life; fungible goods, such as pounds of rice, are interchangeable; hard goods are durable goods sold to consumers; and soft goods are nondurable goods, such as clothing, sold to consumers.

Goodtime The amount of time that may be credited against a prison sentence for the early release of a prisoner who has behaved well.

Grandfather clause 219

Goodwill The reputation and patronage of a company. The monetary worth of a company’s goodwill is roughly what a company would sell for over the value of its physical property, money owed to it, and other assets.

Government instrumentality doctrine The rule that an organization run by a branch of government may not be taxed. See also sovereign immunity.

Governmental function An action performed for the general public good by a government agency (such as an arrest by a police officer) or by a private organization closely tied to government (such as a primary election by a political party). These functions are state action subject to the due process of law and equal protection clauses of the Constitution. If performed by a government agency, they are usually free from tort lawsuits unless the suits involve constitutional issues or are otherwise authorized by statute.

Governmental trust A charitable trust for things like maintenance of historic government buildings and city playgrounds.

Grab law See aggressive collection.

Grace 1. A favor. 2. A holding off on demanding payment of a debt or enforcing some other right. Often called “grace days” or a “grace period,” such as the short period of time an insurance policy stays in effect after the premium is due, but unpaid. 3. A permission to do something in a lawsuit is “of grace” if it is not automatic, but is given because the judge thinks it is the fair thing to do.

Graded offense A criminal offense divided into degrees (see that word).

Graduated lease A commercial lease with rent payments that vary according to the money made by the renter or by some other standard such as the number of people who enter the store.

Graduated payment mortgage A mortgage in which payments go up by a set formula over the years. Compare with variable rate mortgage.

Graduated tax See tax rate. Grand jury See jury.

Grand larceny A theft of money or property worth above a certain amount set by law.

Grandfather clause An exception to a restriction or requirement that allows all those already doing something to continue doing it even if they otherwise would be stopped by the new restriction or obligated to meet the new requirement.

220 Grant

Grant 1. Give or confer. 2. A transfer of land, usually by deed. 3. A gift or subsidy. 4. A transfer of any property or right.

Grantee A person to whom a grant is made or land is deeded.

Grant-in-aid A sum of money given for a particular purpose and with some “strings attached.”

Grantor A person making a grant or deeding over land.

Grantor trust A trust with income that is taxed to the person who created it because he or she kept certain rights to the assets.

Grantor-grantee index A reference list to the recorded documents, such as deeds, in a county’s land records, organized by both the names of the person transferring the property and the person to whom it was transferred. See also tract index.

Gratis (Latin) Free; for example, a gratis dictum is a free (voluntary) statement to which a person may not be strictly held. [pronounce: grah-tis]

Gratuitous 1. Without payment or other consideration. 2. Without being requested; without being wanted.

Gratuitous licensee A nonbusiness visitor; a social guest. Gravamen The basis, gist, “heart,” or material part of a charge, com-

plaint, etc.

Gray market goods Goods made lawfully outside the U.S. that are imported into the U.S. and that by importation are an infringement of a copyright, trademark, or patent.

Great Writ Habeas Corpus.

Green card Popular name for the permanent resident visa that is a requirement for noncitizens to hold many jobs in the U.S. The card is no longer green.

Green river ordinance A local law that protects residents against peddlers and door-to-door salespersons.

Greenmail Payment by a corporation of a price above market value for stock held by someone threatening a hostile takeover.

Grievance procedure An orderly, regular way of handling problems between workers and employers, prisoners and guards, etc.

Griswold v. Connecticut (381 U.S. 479) The 1965 Supreme Court decision that invalidated state anti-contraceptive laws as applied to married persons. See zone of privacy and penumbra.

Gross 1. Great or large. 2. Flagrant or shameful. 3. Whole or total. Gross estate The total value of a dead person’s property from which de-

ductions are subtracted (and to which certain gifts made during life

Guaranty 221

are added) to determine the amount on which federal estate and gift taxes will be paid.

Gross income 1. Money taken in (as opposed to “net income,” which is money taken in minus money paid out). 2. Under the federal tax laws, gross income is all money taken in minus exclusions (such as interest on tax-free bonds).

Gross lease A lease in which the landlord pays all ownership and maintenance expenses, and the tenant pays rent. Compare with net lease.

Gross receipts The total amount of money received (or the monetary value of anything received) from running a business, selling property, performing services, etc.

Gross up Add back into the value of property or income the amount that has already been deducted or paid out (usually for taxes).

Ground rent Rent paid for raw land, usually under a long-term lease, by a tenant who puts up a building (usually a commercial building).

Grounds Basis, foundation, or points relied on. For example, “grounds” for a divorce may include adultery, cruelty, etc.

Group insurance 1. Insurance for employees paid by or through the employer. 2. Any insurance bought through an organization, rather than directly from the insurance company, with the organization holding the “master policy.”

Group legal services Legal help given to members of an organization or employees of a company. It is paid for in advance on a group basis, often similar to group health insurance.

Growth rate The rate at which a company increases its revenues and its earnings per share.

Growth stock A stock invested in primarily for an increase in value (capital gains) rather than for income payments (dividends).

Guarantee Same as guaranty.

Guarantee clause The provision of the U.S. Constitution (Article 4,

Section 4) promising the states a republican (see republic) form of government and protection from invasion and domestic violence.

Guaranteed mortgage 1. A mortgage made by a mortgage company that then sells the mortgage to an investor, guarantees payments to the investor, and manages the mortgage for a fee. 2. A mortgage with payments guaranteed by the government.

Guaranty 1. The same as a merchant’s warranty (promise) that goods are of a certain quality, will be fixed if broken, will last a certain time, etc. 2. A promise to fulfill an obligation (or pay a debt) if the person

222 Guardian

who has the obligation fails to fulfill it. For example, John contracts with Ron that if Ron lends Don five dollars and Don fails to pay it back in a week, John will pay it. 3. Any promise.

Guardian A person who has the legal right and duty to take care of another person or that person’s property because that other person (for example, a child) cannot. The arrangement is called “guardianship.” Guardian ad litem A guardian (see that word), usually a lawyer, who is appointed by a court to take care of the interests of a person who cannot legally take care of himself or herself in a lawsuit involving that

person.

Guest statute Laws in a few states that do not permit a person who rides in another person’s car as a guest (without payment or other business purpose) to sue that person if there is an accident, unless the accident involves more than ordinary negligence.

Guilt by association Being penalized (by loss of job, prosecution for a crime, etc.) merely for belonging to a particular group or by being personally associated with certain people. Except in cases of a conspiracy, criminal prosecutions of this type are not permitted.

Guilty 1. Responsible for a crime. 2. Convicted of a crime. 3. Responsible for a civil wrong (tort or breach of contract).

224 Habitual

Habitual Regular, common, and customary; more than just frequent. Some states have “habitual criminal” laws that may apply to a person who has been convicted of as few as two prior crimes (often violent or drug-related crimes) and that greatly increase the penalties for each succeeding crime.

Habitual intemperance Regular drunkenness that is serious enough to interfere with a normal home or job. This is grounds for a divorce in many states. Some states consider drug addiction to be habitual intemperance.

Haeres/haereditas (Latin) Heir/inheritance. Also, haeredes proximi are “nearest heirs” or next of kin; haereditas testimentaria is inheritance by will; and haereditas legitima is intestate (by law) inheritance.

Hague Convention Any of the many international treaties that begin with these words may be called “the” Hague Convention by specialists. Many Conventions standardize legal procedures in areas such as service of process in a foreign country or taking evidence there.

Hague Tribunal See International Court of Justice.

Hallmark A stamp put on gold, silver, and other items to prove their genuineness. The word is used in a legal sense to mean any official mark of genuineness.

Hammer A forced sale; any sale by auction.

Hammurabi, Code of One of the oldest sets of laws, prepared in Babylonia almost four thousand years ago.

Hand down Decide. A judge hands down an opinion or a decision (usually in a case that has been appealed or one in which the judge has delayed a decision) by announcing it or filing it.

Handicap 1. See disability. 2. An impairment that substantially limits performance of an important life function. 3. Handicap is defined differently in different statutes.

Harassment 1. Words and actions that unlawfully annoy or alarm another. Harassment may include anonymous, repeated, offensively coarse, or late-night phone calls; insulting, taunting, or physically challenging approaches; words or actions by a debt collector that serve no legitimate purpose; etc. 2. See also sexual harassment.

Harbor 1. Shelter, house, keep, or feed. 2. Shelter or conceal a person for an illegal purpose, such as to hide a criminal from police arrest.

Hard cases Cases where fairness requires being loose with legal principles. The phrase “hard cases make bad law” comes from this idea.

Harmless error See error.

Healthcare proxy 225

Harmonize Reconcile differences between points of view to reach a good result; for example, interpret two statutes that seem in conflict in a way that eliminates the conflict.

Harter Act (46 U.S.C. 190) An 1893 federal law prohibiting bills of lading that relieve negligent or otherwise at-fault shipowners from liability for lost or damaged cargo. The law also protects from liability shipowners whose crews act responsibly.

Hatch Act (5 U.S.C. 1501) A 1939 federal law to prevent certain types of political activity (such as holding public office) by federal employees and by certain state employees who are paid with federal funds. States have similar laws.

Hate A hate crime is a crime that violates a person’s civil rights and is motivated by hatred for a particular group, such as the person’s race or national origin. And hate speech expresses hatred for one of these groups, expresses nothing protected by the First Amendment, and is likely to provoke violence.

Have and hold A common formal phrase in a deed that is no longer necessary to make the deed effective. To have and to hold is the first phrase of a typical habendum clause.

Hazard Any risk or danger of loss or injury. In insurance law, hazard is the probability that something may happen, and moral hazard is the risk of fire or similar destruction as measured by the carefulness, integrity, etc., of the person whose property is insured plus the person’s possible loss or gain from the destruction of the insured property.

Head money 1. A tax based on each person counted. A “head tax,” “capitation tax,” poll tax, immigration tax, etc. 2. A bounty or reward for enemies or outlaws killed or brought in alive.

Head of family A person who financially supports a group of related persons living together.

Head of household A special category of federal taxpayer. To be taxed at head of household rates, you must meet several tests; for example, unmarried or legally separated, pay over half the support of your dependents, etc.

Head tax Capitation tax.

Headnote A summary of a case, or of an important legal point made in the case, placed at the beginning of the case when it is published. A case may have several headnotes.

Healthcare proxy A document that allows another person to make healthcare decisions for you if you cannot make them for yourself. It is a type of advance directive.

226 Hearing

Hearing 1. A court proceeding. 2. A trial-like proceeding conducted by an administrative agency or in another noncourt setting. 3. A meeting of a legislative committee to gather information. 4. A “public hearing” may involve an agency’s showing a new plan or proposed action to the public and allowing public comment and criticism.

Hearing examiner (or hearing officer) A judgelike official of an administrative agency. Also called administrative law judge.

Hearsay A statement about what someone else said (or wrote or otherwise communicated). Hearsay evidence is evidence, concerning what someone said outside of a court proceeding, that is offered in the proceeding to prove the truth of what was said. The hearsay rule bars the admission of hearsay as evidence to prove the hearsay’s truth unless allowed by a hearsay exception.

Hearsay exception An exception to the hearsay rule (see hearsay). There are hearsay exceptions for business records, declarations against interest, dying declarations, excited utterances, party admissions, present sense impressions, public records, etc.

Heart balm acts State laws that either eliminate or restrict lawsuits based on alienation of affection, breach of promise to marry, criminal conversation, and seduction of an adult.

Heat of passion A state of violent and uncontrollable provoked anger. Killing someone in the heat of passion may constitute manslaughter rather than murder.

Hedge fund An investment group (not licensed by the S.E.C. to sell shares to the general public) that makes risky investments based on the leverage of financial instruments such as derivatives that are more traditionally used to reduce risk through hedging.

Hedging Safeguarding a deal or speculation by making counterbalancing arrangements. For example, if a dealer contracts to deliver a hundred ounces of gold at a future time, then thinks that the price of gold may go up, the dealer might contract to buy fifty, or even a hundred, ounces of gold for that same future delivery date. Contrast hedge fund.

Hedonic damages Money awarded in some lawsuits for loss of the ability to enjoy life’s pleasures.

Height density controls Control of an area’s population density by limiting the maximum height of buildings through zoning laws.

Heir A person who inherits property; a person who has a right to inherit property; or a person who has a right to inherit property only if another person dies without leaving a valid, complete will. An heir ap-

Highest and best use 227

parent is a person who will inherit property if the ancestor who owns the property dies first without a valid will, and an heir presumptive is an heir apparent who will not inherit the property if a child is born with a better claim to inherit it. [pronounce: air]

Held Decided; as in “the court held that”; see definition no. 2 of hold.

Henceforth An unnecessarily formal word meaning “from now on.” Hereafter An unnecessarily formal word meaning “in the future.” Hereditaments Anything that can be inherited. Objects that can be in-

herited are called “corporeal hereditaments” and rights that can be inherited are called “incorporeal hereditaments.”

Hereditary succession Intestate succession.

Herein A vague word meaning “in this document.” (“Hereinabove” and “hereinafter” are just as vague, adding only “before this” and “after this” to the definition.)

Heresy Holding or advocating opinions contrary to established religion. This is punishable in some foreign countries, but the U.S. Constitution prohibits governmental involvement in religion.

Hereto An unnecessarily formal word meaning “to this.”

Heretofore A vague and unnecessary word meaning “before” or “in times past.”

Hereunder A vague word meaning either “in this document” or “in accordance with this document.”

Herewith An unnecessarily formal word meaning “in this” or “with this.” Hermeneutics The study of the rules and techniques used to interpret

documents.

Hidden asset An asset with a much higher value than the value stated in the company’s financial records.

Hierarchy An ordering of persons, things, or ideas by rank or level, especially with “more at the bottom than at the top.” A typical hierarchy is the army (many privates, some majors, very few generals, etc.). Most bureaucracies are hierarchies. [pronounce: hi- er-ark-ee]

High crimes and misdemeanors The basis for impeachment in the U.S. Constitution (Article 2, Section 4). Opinions differ as to the exact meaning of the phrase. It may include felonies; it may include offenses against the U.S. that have serious governmental or political consequences; or it may be whatever the U.S. Congress decides it is.

High seas International waters, beyond any one country’s control.

Highest and best use The potential use of land that would bring in the most money. For example, a real estate assessor valuing a piece of