primary authority
Authority that issues directly from a law-making body; legislation and the reports of litigated cases.
Search Results for: primary authority
abstractions test
Copyright. A means of comparing copyrighted material with material that allegedly infringes the copyright by examining whether the actual substance has been copied or whether the two works merely share the same abstract ideas. • The primary authority for the abstractions test is Judge Learned Hand’s opinion in Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corp., 45 F.2d
abstraction filtration comparison test
abstraction-filtration-comparison test. Copyright. A judicially created test for determining whether substantial similarity exists between two works in an action for infringement. • In the first step, the court dissects the copy-righted work’s structure and isolates each level of abstraction or generality (abstraction test). In the second step, the court examines each level of abstraction and
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grand jury
grand jury. A body of (often 23) people who are chosen to sit permanently for at least a month — and sometimes a year — and who, in ex parte proceedings, decide whether to issue indictments. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 6. • If the grand jury decides that evidence is strong enough to hold
conservator
conservator (k[schwa]n-s[schwa]r-v[schwa]-t[schwa]r orkon-s[schwa]r-vay-t[schwa]r), n. A guardian, protector, or preserver. • Conservator is the modern equivalent of the common-law guardian. Judicial appointment and supervision are still required, but a conservator has far more flexible authority than a guardian, including the same investment powers that a trustee enjoys. The Uniform Probate Code uses the term conservator, and
joint custody
An arrangement by which both parents share the responsibility for and authority over the child at all times, although one parent may exercise primary physical custody. • In most jurisdictions, there is a rebuttable presumption that joint custody is in the child’s best interests. Joint-custody arrangements are favored unless there is so much animosity between
corpus juris canonici
Corpus Juris Canonici (kor-p[schwa]s joor-is k[schwa]-non-[schwa]-sI). [Latin] Hist. The body of the canon law, compiled from the decrees and canons of the Roman Catholic Church. • The Corpus Juris Canonici emerged during the 12th century, beginning with the publication of Gratian’s Decretum (c. 1140). In addition to the Decretum, it includes Raymond of Peñaforte’s Liber
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penal
penal (pee-n[schwa]l), adj. Of, relating to, or being a penalty or punishment, esp. for a crime. “The general rule is that penal statutes are to be construed strictly. By the word ‘penal’ in this connection is meant not only such statutes as in terms impose a fine, or corporal punishment, or forfeiture as a consequence