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general court- The name of the legislatures of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. General Court" was a common colonial-era term for a body that exercised judicial and legislative functions. Cf. COURT OF ASSISTANTS.

general court-martial A proceeding that is preSided over by a military judge, and no fewer than five members (who serve as jurors), and that has jurisdiction over all the members of the armed forces. It is the highest military trial court.

general court-martial- See COURT-MARTIAL.

general couut See COUNT.

general covenant against encumbrances See covenant against encumbrances under COVENANT (4).

general covenant against encumbrances- See covenant against encumbrances.

general creditor See unsecured creditor.

general creditor- See unsecured creditor under CREDITOR.

general criminal intent See general intent under INTENT(1).

general custom 1. A custom that prevails throughout a country and constitutes one of the sources of the law of the land. 2. A custom that businesses recognize and follow. See trade usage under USAGE.

general custom- See CUSTOM.

general damages Damages that the law presumes follow from the type of wrong complained of; specif., compensatory damages for harm that so frequently results from the tort for which a party has sued that the harm is reasonably expected and need not be alleged or proved. General damages do not need to be specifically claimed. Also termed direct damages; necessary damages.

general damages- See DAMAGES.

general debt A governmental body's debt that is legally payable from general revenues and is backed by the full faith and credit of the governmental body.

general debt- See DEBT.

general deficiency bill See deficiency bill under BILL (3).

general demurrer See general exception (1) under EXCEPTION (1).

general demurrer- See general exception (1) under EXCEPTION (1).

general denial A response that puts in issue all the material assertions of a complaint or petition. Also termed general plea.

general deposit 1. A bank deposit of money that is commingled with other depositors' money. 2. A bank deposit that is to the depositor's credit, thus giving the depositor a right to the money and creating a debtor-creditor relationship between the bank and the depositor. A bank is not required to return the actual money deposited as a general deposit, as it must with a special deposit; the bank need return only an equivalent sum.

general deposit- See DEPOSIT (2).

general deputy 1. A deputy appointed to act in another officer's place and execute all ordinary functions of the office. 2. See deputy sheriff under SHERIFF.

general deputy- 1.See DEPUTY (2). 2. See deputy sheriff under SHERIFF.

general deterrence A goal of criminal law generally, or of a specific conviction and sentence, to discourage people from committing crimes.

general deterrence- See DETERRENCE.

general devise 1. A devise, usu. of a specific amount of money or quantity of property, that is payable from the estate's general assets. See Restatement (Third) of Property: Wills and Other Donative Transfers § 5.1 (1999). 2. A devise that passes the testator's lands without specifically enumerating or describing them.

general devise- See DEVISE.

general discharge One of the administrative discharges given to a member of the military who does not qualify for an honorable discharge.

general discharge- See DISCHARGE (8).

general election 1. An election that occurs at a regular interval of time. - Also termed regular election. 2. An election for all seats, as contrasted with a by-election. Cf. by-election.

general election- See ELECTION (3).

general employer An employer who transfers an employee to another employer for a limited period. See borrowed employee under EMPLOYEE.

general employer- See EMPLOYER.

general exception 1. An objection pointing out a substantive defect in an opponent's pleading, such as the insufficiency of the claim or the court's lack of subject-matter jurisdiction; an objection to a pleading for want of substance. Also termed general demurrer. Cf. SPECIAL EXCEPTION (1). 2. An objection in which the excepting party does not specify the grounds of the objection.

general exception- See EXCEPTION (1).

general execution See EXECUTION (4).

general executor An executor who has the power to administer a decedent's entire estate until its final settlement.

general executor- See EXECUTOR.

general expense See general administrative expense under EXPENSE.

general federal common law See COMMON LAW (1).

general fee conditional See fee simple conditional under FEE SIMPLE.

general finding An undifferentiated finding in favor of one party.

general finding- See FINDING OF FACT.

general franchise A corporation's charter.

general franchise- See FRANCHISE (2).

general fund 1. A government's primary operating fund; a state's assets furnishing the means for the support of government and for defraying the legislature's discretionary appropriations. A general fund is distinguished from assets ofa special character, such as trust, escrow, and special-purpose funds. 2. A nonprofit entity's assets that are not earmarked for a specific purpose.

general fund- See FUND (1).

general good and welfare See GOOD OF THE ORDER.

general guaranty See GUARANTY.

general guaranty- 1. A guaranty addressed to no specific person, so that anyone who acts on it can enforce it. 2. A guaranty for the principal's default on obligations that the principal undertakes with anyone.

general guardian See GUARDIAN.

general guardian- A guardian who has general care and control of the ward's person and estate.

general hypothecation See HYPOTHECATION.

general hypothecation- 1. A debtor's pledge to allow all the property named in the security instrument to serve as collateral and to be used to satisfy the out· standing debt. 2. See tacit hypothecation (I), (2).

general imparlance See IMPARLANCE.

general imparlance- The allowance of time until the court's next term, without reserving to the defendant the benefit of any exception. With this type of imparlance, the requesting defendant cannot later object to the jurisdiction of the court or plead any matter in abatement.

general improvement See IMPROVEMENT.

general improvement- An improvement whose primary purpose or effect is to benefit the public generally, though it may incidentally benefit property owners in its vicinity.

general indorsement See blank indorsement under INDORSEMENT.

general indorsement- See blank indorsement.

general instruction See JURY INSTRUCTlON.

general instruction Any jury instruction that does not present a question or issue to be answered.

general intangible Any personal property other than goods, accounts, chattel paper, documents, instruments, investment property, rights to proceeds of written letters of credit, and money. Some examples are goodwill, things in action, and literary rights. DCC § 9-102(a)(42). See intangible property under PROPERTY.

general intangible See INTANGIBLE.

general intent See INTENT (1).

general intent The intent to perform an act even though the actor does not desire the consequences that result. This is the state of mind required for the commission of certain common-law crimes not requiring a specific intent or not imposing strict liability. General intent usu. takes the form of recklessness (involving actual awareness of a risk and the culpable taking of that risk) or negligence (involving blameworthy inadvertence). - Also termed general criminal intent; general mens rea.

general issue 1. A plea (often a general denial) by which a party denies the truth of every material allegation in an opposing partys pleading. 2. The issue arising from such a plea. "The general issue is a denial of the legal conclusion sought to be drawn from the declaration. It denies by a general form of expression the defendants liability, and enables the defendant to contest, without specific averments of the defense to be asserted, most of the allegations which the plaintiff may be required to prove to sustain his action, and in some actions to raise also various affirmative defenses. It fails to perform the functions of pleading, either in giving notice or in reducing the case to specific issues." Benjamin J. Shipman, Handbook of Common- Law Pleading § 169, at 304 (Henry Winthrop Ballantine ed., 3d ed. 1923).

general issue See ISSUE (1).

general jail delivery See JAIL DELIVERY.

general jail delivery Collectively, acquittals in high numbers as a result of either lax or reckless administration of the law or defects in the law. 3. Archaic. The commission issued to judges of assize, directing them to clear a jail by trying - and either acquitting or condemning - all the inmates. 4. Archaic. The court charged with the trial of all ordinary criminal cases. - Also written gaol delivery. See COMMISSION OF GAOL DELIVERY.

general jurisdiction 1. A courts authority to hear a wide range of cases, civil or criminal, that arise within its geographic area. 2. A courts authority to hear all claims against a defendant, at the place of the defendants domicile or the place of service, without any showing that a connection exists between the claims and the forum state. Cf. limited jurisdiction; specific jurisdiction.

general jurisdiction See JURISDICTION.

general jurisprudence See JURISPRl:DENCE.

general jurisprudence 1. The scholarly study of the fundamental elements of a given legal system. Also termed jurisprudentia generalis. "The term "general jurisprudence" involves the misleading suggestion that this branch of legal science is that which relates not to any single system of law, but to those conceptions and principles that are to be found in ali developed legal systems, and which are therefore in this sense general. It is true that a great part of the matter with which it is concerned is common to all mature systems of law. All of these have the same essential nature and purposes, and therefore agree to a large extent in their first principles. But it is not because of universal reception that any principles pertain to the theory or philosophy of law. For this purpose such reception is neither sufficient nor necessary. Even if no system in the world save that of England ecognised the legislative efficacy of judicial precedents, the theory of case-law would none the less be a fit and proper subject of general jurisprudence. Jurisprudentia generalis is not the study of legal systems in general, but the study of the general or fundamental elements of a particular legal system." John Salmond, Jurisprudence 3 n.(b) (Glanville L. Williams ed., 10th ed. 1947). 2. The scholarly study of the law, legal theory, and legal systems generally. - Also termed jurisprudentia universalis;philosophy of law; legal philosophy. "According to Austin (1790-1859), general jurisprudence is the study of the "principles, notions and distinctions" common to the maturer systems of law." Rupert Cross & JW Harris, Precedent in English Law 2 (4th ed. 1991).

general land office A former U.S. Interior Department division that exercised executive power relating to the public lands, including their survey, patenting, and sale or other disposition. The General Land Office and the U.S. Grazing Service were consolidated into the Bureau of Land Management in 1946. See BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT.

general law See LAW.

general law 1. Law that is neither local nor confined in application to particular persons. Even if there is only one person or entity to which a given law applies when enacted, it is general law ifit purports to apply to all persons or places of a specified class throughout the jurisdiction. Also termed general statute; law of a general nature. Cf. special law. 2. A statute that relates to a subject of a broad nature.

general ledger See LEDGER (1).

general legacy See LEGACY.

general legal principle See GENERAL PRINCIPLE OF LAW.

general legatee See LEGATEE.

general legislation See LEGISLATION.

general letter of credit See LETTER OF CREDIT.

general lien See LIEN.

general listing See open listing under LISTING (1).

general malice See MALICE.

general manager See MANAGER.

general maritime law The body of U.S. legal precedents and doctrines developed through caselaw in maritime and admiralty litigation. General maritime law is a branch of federal common law. It is distinguished from statutory law. Cf. MARITIME LAW; LAW OF THE SEA. "The general maritime law is characterized by the expansive and dominant role played by federal courts in fashioning and applying its precepts to new situations. Large areas of maritime tort law have not been touched by legislation; these are left to the federal courts to define and fill. In areas preempted by legislation, federal courts may not establish principles in derogation of the congressional mandate. However, in the framework of admiralty jurisdiction, federal courts may still play an active role in inter preting statutes, filling gaps, and coordinating legislation with the general maritime law." Thomas J. Schoenbaum, Admiralty and Maritime Law 122 (1987).

general mens rea See general intent under r",TENT (1).

general mortgage See MORTGAGE.

general non est factum See NON EST FACTUM.

general objection See OBJECTION.

general objection An objection made without specifying any grounds in support of the objection. A general objection preserves only the issue of relevancy. Also termed broadside objection.

general occupan A person who occupies land in the interim arising after the death of a pur autre vie tenant but before the death of the person who serves as the measuring life for the estate. The pur autre vie tenant does not state who may occupy the land after the death of the first tenant; the land can be occupied by the first possessor of the land. - Also termed common occupant. Cf. CESTUI QUE VIE.

general occupant See OCCUPANT.

general officer See OFFICER (2).

general officer A military officer whose command extends to a body of forces composed of several regiments. Examples are generals, lieutenant-generals, major-generals, and brigadiers.

general order See ORDER (4).

general owner See OWNER.

general owner One who has the primary or residuary title to property; one who has the ultimate ownership of property. Cf. special owner.