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Law Library - American Law and Legal Information

Unauthorized Practice

The performance of professional services, such as the rendering of medical treatment or legal assistance, by a person who is not licensed by the state to do so. The professions have sought the enactment of unauthorized practice statutes in part to protect the public from persons who are not trained to give professional assistance and who may give substandard treatment. The elements of a profession…

2 minute read

Unconscionable

Unusually harsh and shocking to the conscience; that which is so grossly unfair that a court will proscribe it. When a court uses the word unconscionable to describe conduct, it means that the conduct does not conform to the dictates of conscience. In addition, when something is judged unconscionable, a court will refuse to allow the perpetrator of the conduct to benefit. In contract law an uncons…

2 minute read

Underinclusiveness

An underinclusive law is not necessarily unconstitutional or invalid. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that all laws are underinclusive and selective to some extent. If a law is substantially underinclusive, however, it may be unconstitutional. The case of Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520, 113 S. Ct. 2217, 124 L. Ed. 2d 472 (1993), illustrates unconstitutiona…

2 minute read

Underwrite

To insure; to sell an issue of stocks and bonds or to guarantee the purchase of unsold stocks and bonds after a public issue. The word underwrite has two meanings. To issue an insurance policy on the life of a person or on property of another is to underwrite that person or property; hence insurance companies are also referred to as underwriters. Typically, an underwriter does not under-write and …

1 minute read

Undue Influence

A judicially created defense to transactions that have been imposed upon weak and vulnerable persons that allows the transactions to be set aside. Nevertheless, courts will examine the facts closely before finding that a transaction has been tainted by undue influence. Mere suspicion, surmise, or conjecture of overreaching is insufficient. The law permits loved ones and confidants to advise and co…

2 minute read

Unemployment Compensation - Further Readings

Insurance benefits paid by the state or federal government to individuals who are involuntarily out of work in order to provide them with necessities, such as food, clothing, and shelter. The mass unemployment during the Great Depression of the 1930s led to the enactment of the federal unemployment compensation law. States had resisted establishing their own unemployment compensation plans because…

6 minute read

Unenumerated Rights - Further Readings

Rights that are not expressly mentioned in the written text of a constitution but instead are inferred from the language, history, and structure of the constitution, or cases interpreting it. Typically, the term unenumerated rights describes certain fundamental rights that have been recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court under the U.S. Constitution. In addition, state courts have recognized unenumer…

3 minute read

Unfair Competition - General Principles, Interference With Business Relations, Trade Name, Trademark, Service Mark, And Trade Dress Infringement

The law of unfair competition serves five purposes. First, the law seeks to protect the economic, intellectual, and creative investments made by businesses in distinguishing themselves and their products. Second, the law seeks to preserve the good will that businesses have established with consumers. Third, the law seeks to deter businesses from appropriating the good will of their competitors. Fo…

1 minute read

Unfair Labor Practice - Banning The Permanent Replacement Of Economic Strikers: Fair Or Unfair?

Conduct prohibited by federal law regulating relations between employers, employees, and labor organizations. Section 158 (a)(3) outlaws employer-formed or -dominated "company unions." Section 158 (a)(3) forbids employers to discriminate in hiring, firing, and other aspects of employment on the basis of union activity. Section 158 (a)(4) prohibits firing or discriminating against any…

2 minute read

Uniform Code of Military Justice - Further Readings

Until the enactment of the UCMJ, the Army and Navy each had its own system of military justice, known as the Articles of War in the Army and the Articles for the Government of the Navy. The UCMJ ensures that any accused member of the armed services will be subject to the same substantive charges and procedural rules and that he or she will be guaranteed identical procedural safeguards. Absence off…

6 minute read

Uniform Commercial Code - Further Readings

A general and inclusive group of laws adopted, at least partially, by all the states to further uniformity and fair dealing in business and commercial transactions. In September 1951 a final draft of the UCC was completed and approved by the American Law Institute (ALI) and the NCCUSL, and then by the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association. After some additional amendments and changes,…

3 minute read

Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act - Further Readings

The Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) was promulgated to fill a void in existing contract law in the treatment of computer information. In a preface to UCITA, its creators wrote, "Our economy has experienced fundamental change … legal rules that are not relevant to commercial practice or that are uncertain in application inhibit contracting or raise transaction co…

3 minute read

Uniform Consumer Credit Code

Other provisions protect consumers against unfair practices by certain consumer credit sup-pliers by limiting the ability of creditors to use state court systems to execute on a consumer debtor's assets or to garnish a consumer debtor's wages. In addition, confession of judgment clauses are barred from consumer credit contracts. Such clauses require a person who borrows money or buys…

2 minute read

Uniform Crime Reports

Critics of the Uniform Crime Reports have argued that local police departments may shape their record-keeping practices to produce results that will lend support to departmental positions on issues relating to crime and crime control. Most observers generally acknowledge, however, that the potential for manipulation in recordkeeping is not so great as to detract from the essential accuracy of the …

less than 1 minute read

Uniform Probate Code - Further Readings

The UPC contains seven substantive articles. Article I contains general provisions, definitions, and jurisdictional topics. Article II governs wills and intestate succession, which occurs when a person dies without leaving a will. Article III deals with the probate of wills and the administration of estates, article IV concerns the probating of estates in states other than the domicile of the dece…

2 minute read

Unilateral Contract

A contract in which only one party makes an express promise, or undertakes a performance without first securing a reciprocal agreement from the other party. In a unilateral, or one-sided, contract, one party, known as the offeror, makes a promise in exchange for an act (or abstention from acting) by another party, known as the offeree. If the offeree acts on the offeror's promise, the offer…

less than 1 minute read

United Farm Workers of America - Further Readings

Chávez and his family labored with the other migrant workers traveling from field to field. In 1952 Chávez became involved with the Community Service Organization (CSO) that helped Mexicans and other Latinos to become citizens, register to vote, and to improve their living conditions. After 10 years of doing organization work for the CSO, Chávez resigned in 1962 to become a fu…

4 minute read

United Nations - Further Readings

The main deliberative body of the United Nations, the General Assembly, somewhat resembles a parliament; each nation has one vote. The General Assembly has no power to compel any action by a member state, however. It only has the right to discuss and make recommendations on matters within the scope of the UN Charter. Headed by a president elected at each session, the assembly ordinarily meets from…

7 minute read

United Steelworkers v. Weber - Further Readings

Brian Weber, a white production worker at a Kaiser Aluminum plant in Gramercy, Louisiana, claimed that the company's efforts to increase the number of African Americans in historically segregated categories of employment unfairly prejudiced white workers like himself. In 1974 Kaiser and the United Steelworkers signed a collective bargaining agreement that contained an affirmative action pla…

2 minute read

Unitrust

A right of property, real or personal, held by one person, the trustee, for the benefit of another, the beneficiary, from which a fixed percentage of the net fair market value of the assets, valued annually, is paid each year to the beneficiary. A unitrust, also known as a charitable remainder trust, is a legal device defined by federal tax laws that is frequently used by wealthy individuals who w…

1 minute read

Unjust Enrichment - Further Readings

A general equitable principle that no person should be allowed to profit at another's expense without making restitution for the reasonable value of any property, services, or other benefits that have been unfairly received and retained. Although the unjust enrichment doctrine is sometimes referred to as a quasi-contractual remedy, unjust enrichment is not based on an express contract. Inst…

3 minute read

Unlawful Assembly

A meeting of three or more individuals to commit a crime or carry out a lawful or unlawful purpose in a manner likely to imperil the peace and tranquillity of the neighborhood. The basis of the offense of unlawful assembly is the intent with which the individuals assemble. The members of the assembled group must have in mind a fixed purpose to perform an illegal act. The time when the intent is fo…

3 minute read

Unlawful Communications

Spoken or written words tending to intimidate, menace, or harm others. Nineteen states have laws against terrorizing or making terroristic threats. Terrorizing usually means threatening to commit a crime of violence or unlawfully causing the evacuation of a building or facility. Terroristic threat is generally defined as threatening to kill another with the intent of putting that person in fear of…

2 minute read

Unlawful Detainer

The act of retaining possession of property without legal right. The term unlawful detainer ordinarily refers to the conduct of a tenant who is in possession of an apartment or leased property and refuses to leave the premises upon the expiration or termination of the lease. Typically, the landlord wishes to evict the tenant for not paying the rent or for endangering the safety of the other tenant…

3 minute read

Unwritten Law

Unwritten rules, principles, and norms that have the effect and force of law though they have not been formally enacted by the government. Unwritten law is most commonly found in primitive societies where illiteracy is prevalent. Because many residents in such societies cannot read or write, there is little point in publishing written laws to govern their conduct. Instead, societal disputes in pri…

2 minute read

USA PATRIOT Act of (2001) - Further Readings

The act sets out the following purposes: "to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and … other purposes." It is divided into ten main categories called titles. They include enhancing domestic security against terrorism; enhancing surveillance procedures; abating money laundering; protecting th…

6 minute read

Usage

A reasonable and legal practice in a particular location, or among persons in a specific business or trade, that is either known to the individuals involved or is well established, general, and uniform to such an extent that a presumption may properly be made that the parties acted with reference to it in their transactions. The term usage refers to a uniform practice or course of conduct followed…

1 minute read

Use Tax

Governments employ use taxes to accomplish two purposes. A use tax may be imposed to prevent someone from evading a sales tax by buying goods in a nontaxing state and shipping them into the state that imposes the sales tax. Use taxes are also used to help defray the cost of public services associated with particular types of personal property. States and municipalities impose use taxes on purchase…

1 minute read

Usury

The crime of charging higher interest on a loan than the law permits. State laws set the maximum amount of interest that can be charged for a loan of money. A lender that charges higher than the maximum amount of interest is guilty of the crime of usury. In addition, courts may modify contracts that contain usurious rates of interest by reducing the interest to the legal maximum. The charging of e…

7 minute read

Utilitarianism - Further Readings

Bentham believed that all human behavior is motivated by a desire to maximize pleasure and avoid pain. Yet he observed that law is often written in vague terms of rights and obligations. For example, a law might say that a person has a right to take action under one set of circumstances but an obligation to refrain from action under different circumstances. Bentham thought that law could be simpli…

3 minute read

Vacate

To annul, set aside, or render void; to surrender possession or occupancy. The term vacate has two common usages in the law. With respect to real property, to vacate the premises means to give up possession of the property and leave the area totally devoid of contents. To vacate a court order or judgment means to cancel it or render it null and void. Courts are generally reluctant to grant a motio…

2 minute read

Vagrancy

The condition of an individual who is idle, has no visible means of support, and travels from place to place without working. Traditionally, communities tended to regard vagrants with suspicion and view them either as beggars or as persons likely to commit crimes. In England vagrants were whipped, branded, conscripted into military service, or exiled to penal colonies. In colonial America vagrancy…

2 minute read

Valuable Consideration

In the formation of a valid and binding contract, something of worth or value that is either a detriment incurred by the person making the promise or a benefit received by the other person. In contract law consideration is required as an inducement to enter into a contract that is enforceable in the courts. It is an essential element for the formation of a contract. What constitutes sufficient con…

1 minute read

Value

The estimated or appraised worth of any object or property, calculated in money. The word value has many meanings and may be used in different senses. Because value is usually a relative term, its true meaning must be determined by the context in which it appears. Value sometimes expresses the inherent usefulness of an object and sometimes the power of purchasing other goods with it. The first is …

2 minute read

Martin Van Buren - Further Readings

Born in Kinderhook, New York, on December 5, 1782, Van Buren was the third of five children born to Dutch working-class parents. He began to study law at the early age of fourteen and gained admission to the New York bar four years later in 1803. He was elected to the New York legislature in 1812 and continued to be reelected until 1820. From 1816 until 1819, he also served as the state attorney g…

3 minute read

Willis Van Devanter

Born on April 17, 1859, in Marion, Indiana, Van Devanter was the first of eight children born to Violetta Spencer and Isaac Van Devanter, a lawyer and abolitionist. He excelled in academics, graduating in 1878 from Indiana Asbury University (now DePauw University) with a near perfect record in history, math, Greek, and Latin. In 1881 he earned a bachelor of laws degree from the Cincinnati Law Scho…

4 minute read

Vandalism

The intentional and malicious destruction of or damage to the property of another. The intentional destruction of property is popularly referred to as vandalism. It includes behavior such as breaking windows, slashing tires, spray painting a wall with graffiti, and destroying a computer system through the use of a computer virus. Vandalism is a malicious act and may reflect personal ill will, alth…

2 minute read

Arthur T. Vanderbilt

Arthur T. Vanderbilt was chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and a nationally renowned champion of judicial reform in the 1950s. Though he never became a U.S. Supreme Court justice, Vanderbilt's philosophy and personal energy paved the way for the modernization of state judicial systems. He used the New Jersey courts as his laboratory for judicial change. Vanderbilt was born in Ne…

3 minute read

Variance

The discrepancy between what a party to a lawsuit alleges will be proved in pleadings and what the party actually proves at trial. The term variance is used both in litigation and in zoning law. In both instances it has the general meaning of a difference or divergence. Most U.S. communities have zoning laws that control and direct the development of property within their borders according to its …

2 minute read

George L. Vaughn

That same year Vaughn played a prominent role in the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. As a Missouri delegate, Vaughn proposed a resolution that would bar the seating of the Mississippi delegation because of the white supremacy provisions contained in the Mississippi state constitution. His resolution fell just 115 votes short of prevailing. Vaughn died in St. Louis in 1950. …

2 minute read

Vendor and Purchaser

The legal relationship between the buyer and the seller of land during the interim period between the execution of the contract and the date of its consummation. A contract for the sale of real property is executed when the vendor and the purchaser sign an agreement in which the vendor promises to convey ownership of the property to the purchaser, who promises to pay an agreed sum. The contract is…

4 minute read

Venue - Venue And The Oklahoma City Bombing Case, Further Readings

A place, such as the territory from which residents are selected to serve as jurors. A proper place, such as the correct court to hear a case because it has authority over events that have occurred within a certain geographical area. State and federal venue statutes govern where a case will be tried. State venue statutes list a variety of factors that determine in which county and in which court a…

3 minute read

Verdict

The formal decision or finding made by a jury concerning the questions submitted to it during a trial. The jury reports the verdict to the court, which generally accepts it. The decision of a jury is called a verdict. A jury is charged with hearing the evidence presented by both sides in a trial, determining the facts of the case, applying the relevant law to the facts, and voting on a final verdi…

2 minute read

Vertical Merger

A merger between two business firms that have a buyer-seller relationship. The U.S. Supreme Court has decided only three vertical merger cases under section 7 of the Clayton Act since 1950. In the first case, United States v. E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., 353 U.S. 586, 77 S. Ct. 872, 1 L. Ed. 2d 1057 (1957), the Court upset the general assumption that section 7 did not apply to vertical m…

3 minute read