dediticii (ded-i-tish-ee-Ior dee-di-tI-shee-I), n. pl.[Latin “those who have surrendered”] Roman law. The lowest class of freemen whose members were ineligible for Roman citizenship, including enemies granted freedom in exchange for surrender, or, under the Lex Aelia Sentia, manumitted slaves convicted of a crime in a court, or branded or put in chains by their former […]
A warning that reasonably alerts a product’s average user to a potential hazard, and the nature and extent of the danger. • Four elements have been articulated as comprising an adequate warning: (1) notice that a severe hazard exists, (2) a description of the hazard’s nature, (3) a description of the hazard’s possible conse-quences, and
caregiver. Family law. A person, usu. not a parent, who has and exercises custodial responsibility for a child or for an elderly or disabled person. — Also termed caretaker; custodian. See RESIDENTIAL RESPONSIBILITY.
nulla persona (n[schwa]l-[schwa] p[schwa]r-soh-n[schwa]). [Latin] Hist. No person. • The phrase appeared in reference to the status of one who essentially has no legal rights usu. because of that person’s actions, such as committing a crime, or that person’s status, such as being a minor.
cardinal-change doctrine. Contracts. The principle that if the government makes a fundamental, unilateral change to a contract beyond the scope of what was originally contemplated, the other party (usu. a contractor) will be released from the obligation to continue work under the contract. • A contractor’s allegation of cardinal change is essentially an assertion that
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Chace Act. Hist. Copyright. An 1891 statute giving U.S. copyright protection to the citizens of other nations that in turn gave a similar degree of reciprocal protection to U.S. citizens. • The Act was invoked by presidential order or by treaty, primarily with European countries. Under the Act’s manufacturing clause, English-language books and other printed
police power. 1. The inherent and plenary power of a sovereign to make all laws necessary and proper to preserve the public security, order, health, morality, and justice. • It is a fundamental power essential to government, and it cannot be surrendered by the legislature or irrevocably transferred away from government. [Cases: Constitutional Law 81.
mutilation, n. 1. The act or an instance of rendering a document legally ineffective by subtracting or altering — but not completely destroying — an essential part through cutting, tearing, burning, or erasing. [Cases: Alteration of Instruments 1. C.J.S. Alteration of Instruments §§ 2–4.] 2. Criminal law. The act of cutting off or permanently damaging
dulocracy (d[y]oo-lok-r[schwa]-see), n. [fr. Greek doulos “servant” + kratein “to rule”] A government in which servants or slaves have so many privileges that they essentially rule. — Also spelled doulocracy.