Maritime law. The obsolete principle that when two parties are jointly liable to a third party for a tort, each party is liable for only half the damages. • The courts now apply a comparative-negligence standard. [Cases: Collision 143. C.J.S. Collision §§ 242, 245, 259, 261–262.]
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Duren test. Constitutional law. A test to determine whether a jury’s composition violates the fair-cross-section requirement and a criminal defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury. • Under the test, a constitutional violation occurs if (1) a distinctive group is not fairly and reasonably represented in the jury pool in relation to its population
rusticum judicium (r[schwa]s-ti-k[schwa]m joo-dish-ee-[schwa]m). 1. The division of liability so that one party (usu. a defendant) must pay only part (usu. half) of another party’s (usu. the plaintiff’s) loss. • Rusticum judicium originated in 17th century maritime law as a means of efficiently resolving collision cases in which both ships were at fault. In maritime
fair-cross-section requirement. Constitutional law. The principle that a person’s right to an impartial jury, guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, includes a requirement that the pool of potential jurors fairly represent the composition of the jurisdiction’s population. • The pool of potential jurors need not precisely match the composition of the jurisdiction. But the representation of
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promoter. 1. A person who encourages or incites. 2. A founder or organizer of a corporation or business venture; one who takes the entrepreneurial initiative in founding or organizing a business or enterprise. — Formerly also termed projector. [Cases: Corporations 30. C.J.S. Corporations § 67.] “The complete judicial acceptance of the term ‘promoter’ is a
Fifty Decisions. Justinian’s rulings that settled controversies and eliminated obsolete rules in the law. • The decisions were made in preparation for Justinian’s Digest. — Also termed (in Latin) Quinquaginta Decisiones. 50 PERCENT PLUS ONE 50 percent plus one. See HALF PLUS ONE. 50-PERCENT RULE 50-percent rule. The principle that liability for negligence is apportioned
nephew. 1. The son of a person’s brother or sister; sometimes understood to include the son of a person’s brother-in-law or sister-in-law. • This term is extended in some wills to include a grandnephew. Cf. NIECE. [Cases: Descent and Distribution 32. C.J.S. Descent and Distribution §§ 40–41.] half nephew. The son of one’s half brother
trespasser. One who commits a trespass; one who intentionally and without consent or privilege enters another’s property. • In tort law, a landholder owes no duty to unforeseeable trespassers. Cf. INVITEE; LICENSEE(2). [Cases: Trespass 9. C.J.S. Trespass § 12.] “The word ‘trespasser’ has an ugly sound, but it covers the wicked and the innocent. The