Law Dictionary Definitions

scandalous matter.Civil procedure. A matter that is both grossly disgraceful (or defamatory) and irrelevant to the action or defense. • A federal court — upon a party’s motion or on its own — can order a scandalous matter struck from a pleading. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(f). Cf. IMPERTINENT MATTER. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure 1127;…

scandal. 1. Disgraceful, shameful, or degrading acts or conduct. 2. Defamatory reports or rumors; esp., slander. See SCANDALOUS MATTER. “Scandal consists in the allegation of anything which is unbecoming the dignity of the court to hear, or is contrary to decency or good manners, or which charges some person with a crime not necessary to…

scalping,n.1. The practice of selling something (esp. a ticket) at a price above face value once it becomes scarce (usu. just before a high-demand event begins).2. The purchase of a security by an investment adviser before the adviser recommends that a customer buy the same security. • This practice is usu. considered unethical because the…

scalper. 1. A seller who buys something (esp. a ticket) at face value (or less) and then tries to resell it for a higher price. — Also termed ticket speculator. 2. An investment adviser who buys a security before recommending it to clients. 3. A market-maker who puts an excessive markup or markdown on a…

scaling law.Hist. A statute establishing a process for adjusting value differences between depreciated paper money and specie. • Statutes of this type were necessary when paper depreciated after both the American Revolution and the Civil War. [Blacks Law 8th]

scale tolerance.The nominal variation of the mass or weight of the same goods on different scales. [Blacks Law 8th]

scale order.See ORDER(8). [Blacks Law 8th]

scale,n.1. A progression of degrees; esp., a range of wage rates. 2. A wage according to a range of rates. 3. An instrument for weighing. 4.Hist. In the practice of the English Supreme Court of Judicature, the fee charged by a solicitor for a particular type of case. • Unless the court ordered otherwise, the…

scalam (skay-l<<schwa>>m), n.[Latin] Hist. Scale. • Ad scalam was the method of paying money to the Exchequer, in which sixpence was added to each 20 shillings to compensate for a deficiency in weight, although no scales were actually used. [Blacks Law 8th]

scabini (sk<<schwa>>-bI-nI). [Law Latin] Hist. Judges or the judge’s assessors in the court held by the count; magistrates. • The term was found in a charter from the wardens of Lynn in Norfolk, during the reign of Henry VIII. But even earlier than that, the title was used in Charlemagne’s empire (the French equivalent being…