Daniel Oran - Oran's Dictionary of the Law

248 Informal agreement

Informal agreement 1. An agreement that is not fully formalized, but is valid; for example, some types of oral contract. But see no. 2. 2. Not fully formalized, so not valid; for example, a gentleman’s agreement. But see no. 1.

Informant A person who gives information to law enforcement officers. For certain legal purposes, however, only persons who come forward with information on their own, rather than witnesses and persons questioned in the course of an investigation, are considered to be informants.

Information 1. A formal accusation of a crime made by a proper public official such as a prosecuting attorney. 2. A sworn, written accusation of a crime that leads to an indictment. 3. Personal knowledge of something. (But “information and belief ” may mean no more than a person’s good faith opinion.)

Informed consent A person’s agreement to allow something to happen (such as surgery) that is based on a full disclosure or full knowledge of the facts needed to make the decision intelligently.

Informed intermediary In product liability law, a person in the chain of distribution (between manufacturer and user) who has been informed of product risks. In some cases (particularly those involving prescribing doctors) the manufacturer may not be liable for harm to the ultimate user (such as a patient) when the product is obtained from an informed intermediary.

Informer’s privilege The government’s right in some situations to withhold the identity of persons who give information about illegal activity.

Infra (Latin) 1. Below or under. 2. Within. 3. Later in this book. For example, “infra p. 236 ” means “look at page 236, which is further on.” Infraction 1. A violation of a minor law. 2. A violation or breach of a

contract or a duty.

Infringement 1. A breach or violation of a right. 2. The unauthorized making, using, selling, or distributing of something protected by a patent, copyright, or trademark.

Infuedation See infeudation. Ingross See engrossment.

Inherent Derived from and inseparable from the thing itself. For example, “inherent danger” is the danger some objects have by merely existing. A bomb is probably inherently dangerous, while a hammer is probably not.

Inherent powers The powers a government must have to govern, even if not explicitly stated in its governing documents; for example, the

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constitutional power of the federal government to conduct foreign affairs or the power of the federal courts to protect constitutional rights.

Inherent vice A basic defect that exists in an item no matter how it is used, or exists in a law no matter how it is applied.

Inherit To legally receive ownership of property from the estate of a person who has died. Property can be inherited by will or, if the person died without a valid will, by intestate succession.

Inheritance Property inherited by a person (or property that the person assumes will be inherited.) An inheritance tax is the tax that the person who inherits pays. This is not an estate tax (see that word).

Initial disclosure The information that each party to a lawsuit must make available to all other parties without the need for a discovery request by those parties. In federal courts, this includes such things as a copy or description of relevant documents.

Initiative The power of the people to directly enact laws by voting, without the need for passage by the legislature. Initiative also describes the process of direct enactment and the proposed law to be enacted.

Injunction A judge’s order to a person to do or to refrain from doing a particular thing. For example, a court might issue an injunction to “enjoin” (prevent) a company from dumping wastes into a river. An injunction may be preliminary or temporary (until the issue can be fully tried in court) or it may be final or permanent.

Injure 1. Hurt or harm. 2. Violate the legal rights of another person. See injury.

Injuria (Latin) A wrong or injury. Injuria absque damno means “a wrong done that does not result in harm or damage.” The phrase describes a wrong that cannot support a lawsuit because no harm exists for the law to compensate. Damnum absque injuria means “a harm without legal injury.” The phrase describes damage that cannot support a lawsuit because the damage was not caused by actions that the law forbids. Injuria non excusat injuriam means “one wrong does not excuse another.” [pronounce: in-joo-ree-a]

Injury 1. Broadly, any wrong, hurt, or damage done to another person’s rights, body, reputation, or property. 2. As a technical legal word, a violation of another person’s rights. In this sense, the injury causes damage (the loss or harm commonly called an “injury”) and results in damages (payment for the damage suffered). For example, wrongfully hitting a person is an injury, the wound is the damage, and the court-ordered payment is the damages.

250 Innocent

Innocent 1. Not guilty. 2. Not responsible for an action or event. For example, a person who does not know or suspect that the package he or she has been asked to deliver contains illegal drugs may be an innocent agent. 3. Honestly; without knowledge. 4. The innocent construction rule is the principle that if allegedly libelous words can be interpreted innocently, they should be read that way, especially if reading the statement as a whole makes the words less defamatory. Compare with innuendo. 5. For innocent purchaser, see bona fide purchaser.

Inns of court Associations that govern the education and admission to the bar of prospective trial lawyers (called “barristers”) in England.

Innuendo (Latin) “Meaning.” The clause in some complaints for defamation that states the defamatory meaning given by the plaintiff to the words that were written or spoken by the defendant. Compare with innocent construction rule.

Inoperative Not now in effect.

Inquest 1. A coroner’s hearing (see those words) into the cause of a person’s death, when that death was either violent or suspicious. 2. Any formal inquiry; for example, into a person’s sanity or into the validity of a title.

Inquisitorial system A method of trial in which the judge actively participates in fact-finding and in prosecution for the government. The inquisitorial system is different from the adversary system that exists in the U.S.

Insane See insanity.

Insanity 1. Insanity is a legal, not a medical word, but it is no more precise than “crazy.” It has different meanings in different situations: 2. In various state proceedings to put a person into a mental hospital against his or her will because of insanity, the person may have to be “a danger to self or others,” “incapable of caring for self and property,” or “a fit subject for treatment.” The definitions are often circular, allowing the locking up of “insane persons” and defining “insane persons” as those who need locking up. 3. In a test of capacity to stand trial on a criminal charge, the definition of insanity is usually “an inability to understand the charge or to help in the defense.” 4. There are several different definitions of insanity when deciding whether a person is “not guilty (of a crime) by reason of insanity” (at the time it was committed). These include M’Naghten’s rule and the Durham Rule (see those words). The A.L.I. Model Penal Code says, “A person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct, as a result of mental disease or defect, he lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality (wrongfulness) of his

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conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law.” 5. When deciding the capacity of a person to make a valid will, some of the signs of insanity are “inability to understand the property being given away, the purpose and manner of its distribution, and the persons who are to receive it.” 6. Other areas of law that may involve definitions of insanity include: defenses to a contract, annulment of a marriage, divorce, appointment of a guardian, etc.

Inscription 1. Formally placing (“recording”) a document, such as a mortgage, into the public record. 2. Anything written on a durable surface such as on a ring, a tombstone, etc.

Insecurity clause A section of a note or contract that gives a creditor the right to make an entire debt come due if there is a good reason to think that the debtor cannot or will not pay. Compare with acceleration clause.

Insider 1. A person who is an officer or director of a corporation or who owns over 10 percent of it. Insider trading is the illegal act of buying or selling a corporation’s securities by an insider (or by a tippee “tipped off” by an insider) using insider information not available to the general public. 2. Anyone who has information not available to the general public.

Insolvency The condition of being insolvent (see that word). Insolvent 1. Unable to pay debts as they come due. 2. Having liabilities

far greater than assets.

Inspection 1. Looking at things, documents, land, etc., often during the discovery process. 2. Inspection laws allow site visits to determine such things as the cleanliness of serving food, the safety of work conditions or buildings, etc. See also administrative search.

Inspector General The title of an official in various government agencies who supervises investigations and audits.

Installment 1. A separate delivery or payment. For example, an installment contract usually involves the delivery of goods in separate lots with payment made for each. 2. A regular, partial payment of a debt. Installment credit is an arrangement in which a buyer pays the price (and, usually, interest and other finance charges) in regular (usually monthly) payments. Installment sales, loans, etc., are usually subject to usury laws (which set interest rate maximums) and truth-in-lending laws (which set disclosure requirements).

Instance 1. A forceful request. 2. A situation or occurrence.

Instant Present or current. The “instant case” means the current lawsuit. Instanter (Latin) Immediately.

252 Instigate

Instigate Push into action (especially illegal action); abet.

Institutes An old word for various textbooks about the law.

Institution 1. A public organization such as a college or a prison. 2. The start of anything; for example, the commencement of a lawsuit. 3. A basic system of laws.

Instructions Directions given by a judge during a trial, especially directions telling the jury how they should go about deciding the case. The jury instructions may include a summary of the questions to be decided and the laws that apply, plus an explanation of the burden of proof. These instructions may be general (applying to the whole case) or special (applying to part or to one legal point). For instructed verdict, see directed verdict.

Instrument 1. A written document; a formal or legal document such as a contract or a will. 2. Short for “negotiable instrument” (see that word). 3. A tool, especially one with a definite purpose.

Instrumental trust A ministerial trust.

Instrumentality 1. An organization that is totally controlled by another organization. 2. See instrument no. 3.

Insubordination A willful failure or refusal to obey the reasonable orders of a superior who has the right to give such orders.

Insurable interest A person’s real financial interest in another person or in an object. The “interest” is the fact that a person will suffer financially if the insured person dies or the insured object is lost. An insurance contract must involve an insurable interest, or it may be a form of gambling and unenforceable.

Insurance 1. A contract in which one person pays money and the other person promises to reimburse the first person for specified types of losses if they occur. The person agreeing to compensate for losses is usually called the “insurer ” or “underwriter ”; the person who pays for this protection is the “insured ”; the payment to the insurer is a “premium”; the written contract is a “policy ”; the insured’s financial interest in another person or in an object is the insurable interest; and the types of harm protected against are “risks ” or “perils.” 2. A few of the more common types of insurance (and the situations they cover) are as follows: automobile liability (injury to other persons or their property from an accident involving a car you own or drive); casualty (accidents and injuries); credit life (to pay off a car or other major purchase in case of death while installments are still owed); group (insurance provided at lower rates through an employer or other defined group of persons); homeowners (a set of different types of in-

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surance that usually include fire, theft, and liability); self (putting aside money into an account that will be used to pay claims if they come up or merely being prepared to pay for possible losses or claims); straight life (life insurance with continuing payments); term (insurance that ends at the end of a certain time period); title (protection against claims disputing the title to land you own); unemployment (a government program through your job) and workers’ compensation. 3. There are hundreds of types of insurance and dozens of ways of arranging it. Some of these are defined under their own words, but many are too technical or too little used to be included.

Insured 1. A person who buys insurance on property or life. 2. A person whose life is insured.

Insurer The person or company that provides insurance. Insurrection A violent rebellion against the government. Participating

in an insurrection is a federal crime.

Intangibles Property that is really a right, rather than a physical object; for example, bank accounts, stocks, copyrights, “goodwill” of a business, etc.

Integrated 1. Made whole or complete. 2. See integration. Integrated agreement A written contract in which the persons making

the contract state that it is their full, complete, and final agreement. All the persons’ previous discussions, promises, writings, and statements are said to be merged into the agreement, sometimes called an “integration.” See parol evidence rule.

Integrated bar A system in which all lawyers who practice before the courts of a geographical area must belong to one organization (the “bar”), which is supervised by the highest court of that area.

Integration 1. The process of making something whole or complete. See integrated and the words following it. 2. Bringing together different groups (such as races) as equals. 3. Combining different businesses.

Intellectual property 1. A copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, or similar intangible right in an original tangible or perceivable work. See also property. 2. The works themselves in no. 1. 3. The right to obtain a copyright, patent, etc. for the works in no. 1.

Intelligible Clear; easily understood.

Intemperance See habitual intemperance.

Intended use doctrine The principle that the manufacturer of a product is responsible for any harm caused by the product when it is used as intended by the manufacturer, especially if used as shown or implied in the manufacturer’s advertising. A manufacturer is also liable for harm caused by foreseeable, unintended uses.

254 Intendment

Intendment 1. True, correct meaning. 2. Intention.

Intent 1. The resolve or purpose to use a particular means to reach a particular result. “Intent ” usually explains how a person wants to do something and what that person wants done, while “motive” explains why. These words often get confused. 2. In criminal law, intent is divided into two types: general (intent to do something that the law prohibits); and specific (intent to do the exact thing charged). Also, if a person does something knowing that a certain result is likely, there is an intent to cause that result whether or not the person desires it.

Intention Determination to do a certain thing (see intent). Inter Among or between. Compare with intra.

Inter alia (Latin) “Among other things.” The phrase is usually used when what is being mentioned is only part of what there is; for example, “In the box was, inter alia, a book.”

Inter se (Latin) Among or between themselves only. [pronounce: in-ter say] Inter vivos (Latin) “Between the living.” An inter vivos gift is an ordinary gift, as opposed to a gift made shortly before dying. An inter vivos trust is an ordinary trust as opposed to one created under a will upon

death.

Interdict (or interdiction) 1. A prohibition; a decree prohibiting something. 2. A guardianship.

Interesse (Latin) A legal interest or right. For example, an interesse termini is a lease held by a tenant who has not yet taken possession of the property.

Interest 1. A broad term for any right in property. For example, both an owner who mortgages land and the person who lends the owner money on the mortgage have an interest in the land. 2. The extra money a person receives back for lending money to another person; money paid for the use of money. 3. A basic right, especially the constitutional rights of (“interests in”) liberty and property that require due process for their deprivation. 4. For the various types of interest, such as: compound, future, public, or security interest, see those words.

Interested Having a stake in the outcome of a decision or a dispute.

Interference In patent law, a hearing between two (or more) persons, each claiming the same invention or discovery, to determine who has priority of invention.

Interim Temporary; meanwhile. For example, interim financing may be a short-term construction loan, with final financing provided later by a mortgage.

International law 255

Interior Short for Department of the Interior. The U.S. cabinet department that manages public lands, Native American affairs, natural resources, etc.

Interlineation Writing between the lines.

Interlocking directorates Boards of directors that have some of the same directors.

Interlocutory 1. Provisional; temporary; while a lawsuit is still going on. An interlocutory order is an intermediate order (see that word). The Interlocutory Appeals Act (28 U.S.C. 1292 (1948)) is a federal law that provides for an appeal while a trial is going on if the trial judge states in writing: 1) A legal question has come up that directly affects the trial. 2) There are major questions as to how that point of law should be resolved. 3) The case would proceed better if the appeals court answers the question.

Intermediate court An appellate court that is subject to judicial review by a higher appellate court.

Intermediate order An order, made by a judge during a trial, that is not a final decision, so you cannot appeal it.

Intermediation Investing through a bank or other financial institution.

Intermingling See commingling and confusion.

Internal financing Raising money for projects by keeping earnings, by using tax savings due to depreciation deductions, and by other methods that do not involve selling stock or borrowing.

Internal law The law of a country (or state) that applies to disputes wholly within that country; a country’s laws excluding its conflict of laws rules.

Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 1) The primary United States tax laws. Internal security acts (8 U.S.C. 1101) Federal laws controlling the subversive activities of communist organizations and others whose pur-

pose it is to overthrow or disrupt the government.

International Court of Justice A branch of the United Nations that settles voluntarily submitted disputes between countries and also gives advisory opinions to the branches of the United Nations.

International law 1. Public international law is the customary law that applies to the relationships and interactions between countries. 2. Private international law is the set of principles that determines which country’s courts should hear a dispute and which country’s laws should apply to each situation. It is sometimes called conflict of laws.

256 International Shoe doctrine

International Shoe doctrine See minimum contacts doctrine.

Internment The confining of enemy foreigners or persons suspected of disloyalty during war.

Interpellation 1. Questioning. 2. A short-term agreement. 3. Not inter- polation.

Interpleader 1. A procedure in which persons having conflicting claims against a third person may be forced to resolve the conflict before seeking relief from the third person. For example, if A is sued by B for a debt and A thinks that C might have a legitimate claim against A for the same debt, A may interplead C (bring in or “join” C as a party) to the suit. 2. Interpleader also refers to the settling or deciding of claims between defendants in order to then settle or decide claims between the plaintiff and the defendants.

Interpol An international criminal police organization that coordinates various law enforcement agencies from various countries.

Interpolation 1. The insertion of words into a completed document.

2. Not interpel lation.

Interpose 1. Intervene in a dispute. See intervention. 2. Interject or present. To interpose a defense is to present one (interject it between what the plaintiff asks for and possibly gets). 3. Interposition is the principle, now dead, that a state may reject a federal government demand if the state considers the demand unconstitutional.

Interpretation 1. The process of discovering or deciding the meaning of a written document by studying only the document itself and not the circumstances surrounding it. But see no. 2. 2. Studying the document and surrounding circumstances to decide the document’s meaning. See construction.

Interpretive rule An administrative agency’s statement about what it thinks a statute or regulation means, rather than a change of an existing regulation. (A change is a substantive rule, which is usually subject to procedural requirements such as publication and the right of interested persons to comment before the rule takes effect.)

Interrogation Questioning by police, especially of a person suspected or accused of a crime. A custodial interrogation involves a restraint of freedom, so it requires a Miranda warning. A routine investigatory interrogation involves no restraint and no accusation of a crime.

Interrogatories 1. Written questions sent from one side in a lawsuit to another, attempting to get written answers to factual questions or seeking an explanation of the other side’s legal contentions. These are a part of the formal discovery process in a lawsuit and usually take

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place before the trial. 2. In some states, written questions addressed to any witness. 3. See special interrogatories.

Interspousal immunity A prohibition against tort actions by one spouse against the other. Interspousal immunity has been abolished or greatly limited in most states. Not marital communications privilege.

Interstate Commerce Act A federal law that regulates the surface transportation of goods and persons between states; regulates rates for railroads, pipelines, etc., formerly through the Interstate Commerce Commission, now through the Surface Transportation Board of the Department of Transportation.

Interstate compact An agreement between or among states that has been passed as law by the states and has been approved by Congress.

Interval ownership Property ownership for part of each year; for example, ownership of a vacation condominium unit for two weeks each year. Also called timeshare.

Intervening cause A cause of an accident or other injury that will remove the blame from the wrongdoer who originally set events in motion. It is also called an “intervening act,” “intervening agency,” “intervening force,” “superseding cause,” “supervening negligence,” etc.

Intervenor A person who voluntarily enters (becomes a party in) a lawsuit between other persons (see intervention).

Intervention A proceeding by which a person is allowed to become a party to a lawsuit by joining the plaintiff, joining the defendant, or making separate claims. See also joinder.

Intestacy See intestate.

Intestate 1. Without a will. Dying intestate is dying without having a valid will or without having a will that covers all of the dead person’s property. 2. A person who dies without a valid will.

Intestate succession The distribution of inheritances to heirs according to a state’s laws about who should collect. This is done when there is no valid will or when the will does not cover some of a dead person’s property.

Intolerable cruelty Same as cruelty.

Intoxication A greatly lessened ability to function normally caused by alcohol or drugs. Involuntary intoxication (caused by others against your will) is a defense against criminal charges and negligence suits, while voluntary intoxication is only relevant in determining a state of mind when proving a particular state of mind as part of a criminal charge.