good moral character, n. 1. A pattern of behavior that is consistent with the community’s current ethical standards and that shows an absence of deceit or morally reprehensible conduct. • An alien seeking to be naturalized must show good moral character in the five years preceding the petition for naturalization. [Cases: Aliens 62(5). C.J.S. Aliens […]
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subject-matter test. A method of determining whether an employee’s communication with a corporation’s lawyer was made at the direction of the employee’s supervisors and in the course and scope of the employee’s employment, so as to be protected under the attorney–client privilege, despite the fact that the employee is not a member of the corporation’s
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laundry list. Slang. An enumeration of items, as in a statute or court opinion (Texas’s consumer-protection law contains a laundry list of deceptive trade practices).
The doctrine by which a foreign nation’s immunity does not apply to claims arising from the nation’s private or commercial acts, but protects the nation only from claims arising from its public functions. See COMMERCIAL-ACTIVITY EXCEPTION; JURE GESTIONIS; JURE IMPERII. [Cases: International Law 10.33. C.J.S. International Law §§ 46–48.]
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Geneva Phonograms Convention. A 1971 treaty requiring signatories to protect phonorecord producers against piracy and the importation of pirated copies, by copyright protection, unfair-competition law, or criminal sanc-tions. • The treaty was drafted by representatives from WIPO and UNESCO to correct weaknesses in the Rome Convention. — Also termed Convention for the Protection of Producers
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A communication made within a certain protected relationship and legally protected from compelled disclosure in a legal proceeding. • Among confidential communications are those between hus-band and wife, attorney and client, and priest and penitent. See PRIVILEGE(3). [Cases: Witnesses 184–223. C.J.S. Witnesses §§ 297–389.]
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comity (kom-[schwa]-tee). 1. A practice among political entities (as nations, states, or courts of different jurisdictions), involving esp. mutual recognition of legislative, executive, and judicial acts. — Also termed comitas gentium; courtoisie internationale. See FEDERAL-COMITY DOCTRINE; JUDICIAL COMITY. Cf. AB-STENTION. “ ‘Comity,’ in the legal sense, is neither a matter of absolute obligation, on the
corporate-mortgage trust. A financing device in which debentures are issued and secured by property held in trust. • An independent trustee protects the interests of those who purchase the debentures. [Cases: Corporations 476(1). C.J.S. Corporations § 676.]
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constitutional-fact doctrine. 1. The rule that federal courts are not bound by an administrative agency’s findings of fact when the facts involve whether the agency has exceeded constitutional limitations on its power, esp. regarding personal rights. • The courts reviewed the facts de novo to afford protection of constitutional rights. Although it has not been
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government-contractor defense. An affirmative defense that immunizes a government contractor from civil liability under state law when the contractor complies with government specifications. • Immunization is extended when two conditions are satisfied: (1) the supplier warned the government about any dangers presented by the goods about which the supplier had knowledge but the government did
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