ratio decidendi (ray-shee-oh des-[schwa]-den-dI), n. [Latin “the reason for deciding”] 1. The principle or rule of law on which a court’s decision is founded (many poorly written judicial opinions do not contain a clearly ascertainable ratio decidendi). 2. The rule of law on which a later court thinks that a previous court founded its decision; […]
severability clause. A provision that keeps the remaining provisions of a contract or statute in force if any portion of that contract or statute is judicially declared void or unconstitutional. — Also termed saving clause; separability clause. See severable contract under CONTRACT; severable statute under STATUTE. [Cases: Contracts 137; Statutes 64. C.J.S. Contracts § 297;
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A patent claim that describes by steps what is done to the subject matter, usu. a substance, in order to achieve a useful result. • A process claim is the same thing as a method claim, but “process” is used more often in applications for chemical patents. [Cases: Patents 101(11).]
posting. 1. Accounting. The act of transferring an original entry to a ledger. 2. The act of mailing a letter. 3. A method of substituted service of process by displaying the process in a prominent place (such as the courthouse door) when other forms of service have failed. See SERVICE(1). [Cases: Process 81. C.J.S. Process
conductor (k[schwa]n-d[schwa]k-t[schwa]r or -tor), n. [Latin “one who hires”] Roman law. 1. A lessee or a person who hires the services of another; a hirer. 2. A person hired to make a specific work; a contractor. • A contractor, esp. for the provision of public services, was also called manceps or redemptor. See MANCEPS; LOCATOR(1).
coparcener (koh-pahr-s[schwa]-n[schwa]r). A person to whom an estate descends jointly, and who holds it as an entire estate; a person who has become a concurrent owner as a result of descent. — Also termed parcener; (archaically) coparticeps. “Coparceners constitute a single heir, and they occupy a position intermediate between joint tenants and tenants in common.
champertor (cham-p[schwa]r-t[schwa]r), n. A person who engages in champerty; one who supports and promotes another person’s lawsuit for pecuniary gain. — Also termed (archaically) campiparticeps.
An officer who keeps the records, issues calls for town meetings, and performs the duties of a secretary to the town’s political organization. [Cases: Towns 30. C.J.S. Towns §§ 120–125.]
A wrong for which the community as a whole takes steps to punish the offender. Cf. public tort under TORT.
art and part 〈苏格兰〉同案犯 刑法中对于主犯和从犯的刑事责任未作区分，所有的参与者无论其参与程度如何，都视为同样的犯罪。以前的刑事指控对主犯与从犯不作区分，笼统地称之为同案犯〔art and part〕，但现在刑事指控对主犯或从犯〔actor or art and part〕加以区分，实际上这一短语已演变为「参与」之意，即「教唆及参与犯」〔artifex et particeps〕。