commercial unit. A unit of goods that by commercial usage is a single whole for purposes of lease and whose division materially impairs its character or value in the relevant market or in use. UCC § 2-105(6). • Under the UCC, “a commercial unit may be a single article (as a machine) or a set […]
Rage, terror, or furious hatred suddenly aroused by some immediate provocation, usu. another person’s words or actions. • At common law, the heat of passion could serve as a mitigating circumstance that would reduce a murder charge to manslaughter. — Also termed sudden heat of passion; sudden heat; sudden passion; hot blood; sudden heat and
A party’s expenditures to reduce an existing harm so that further damage might be halted, slowed, or diminished.
cleanup clause. In a loan agreement, a clause that calls for a loan to be repaid in full within a given period, after which no further loans will be afforded the debtor for a specified “cleanup” period.
chilling effect doctrine 〈美〉寒蝉原则；抑制原则 指某一法律或行为〔practice〕抑制宪法性权利〔constitutional rights〕，尤其是为美国宪法第一条修正案所保护的权利行使的倾向或后果。在美国不必然产生此种效果的制定法通常被认定并不违宪。美国最高法院大法官弗利克斯·法兰克福特〔Felix Frankfurter〕于1952年首次使用该隐喻，他在附和否决一项教师效忠宣誓〔teacher loyalty oath〕的判决意见中称，一部有关颠覆组织成员资格的法律具有「抑制」〔chill〕思想和行为自由〔freedom of thought and action〕倾向；而确切的「chilling effect」一词首先出现在美国最高法院1961年的一份判决中，由首席大法官厄尔·沃伦〔Earl Warren〕从哈佛大学法学院教授保罗·弗罗因德〔Paul Freund〕的一篇文章援引而来。此后，美国最高法院在近百起案件中运用此隐喻认定这些法律对言论自由具有「寒蝉」效果。例如，一部禁止参加某一「知名颠覆分子」〔known Subversives〕所属组织的法律，其用语太过宽泛，使得人们心存被不正当归类或因之遭受惩罚的疑虑，而怯于加入所有合法组织。换言之，为避免触犯法律，倾向于自责而不敢行使权利。
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crime-fraud exception. The doctrine that neither the attorney–client privilege nor the attorney-work-product privilege protects attorney–client communications that are in furtherance of a current or planned crime or fraud. Clark v. United States, 289 U.S. 1, 53 S.Ct. 465 (1933); In re Grand Jury Subpoena Duces Tecum, 731 F.2d 1032 (2d Cir. 1984). [Cases: Federal Civil
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account for. 1. To furnish a good reason or convincing explanation for; to explain the cause of. 2. To render a reckoning of (funds held, esp. in trust). 3. To answer for (conduct).
thief. One who steals, esp. without force or violence; one who commits theft or larceny. See THEFT. common thief. A thief who has been convicted of theft or larceny more than once. — Also termed common and notorious thief. manifest thief. See FUR MANIFESTUS.
grange (graynj). 1. Hist. A farm furnished with all the necessities for husbandry, such as a barn, granary, and stables; esp., an outlying farm that belonged to a religious establishment or a feudal lord. 2. (cap.) A social, educational, and political organization, formally called the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, that informs its
To dispose of a main motion without taking a view on its merits while preventing its further consideration during the same session. • This motion’s ancient form in the English Parliament was to postpone consideration until “this day six months” (or “three months”) — that is, some time beyond the current session, sufficiently remote that
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