right

Adjective: Correct; fitting. In accord with law, morality, and justice. The opposite of left. Conservative. Noun: That to which a person has a just and valid claim, whether it be land, a thing, or the privilege of doing something or saying something, such as the right of free speech. Property, interest, power, prerogative, immunity, and privilege. Shaw v Proffitt, 57 Or 192, 109 P 584. In the broad sense, inclusive of remedy. UCC § 1-201(36). "The word is one of the most deceptive of pitfalls it is so easy to slip from a qualified meaning in the premise to an unqualified one in the conclusion. Most rights are qualified. A man has at least as absolute a right to give his own money as he has to demand money from a party that has made no promise to him; yet if he gives it to induce another to steal or murder, the purpose of the act makes it a crime." American Bank & Trust Co. v Federal Reserve Bank, 256 US 350, 65 L Ed 983, 41 S Ct 499, 25 ALR 971, 977. When we speak of a person having a right, we must necessarily refer to a civil right as distinguished from the elemental idea of rights absolute. We must have in mind a right given and protected by law, and a person's enjoyment thereof is regulated entirely by the law which creates it. If we were to consider these rights as absolute, nothing but chaos could result. See Nickell v Rosenfield, 82 Cal App 369, 255 P 760. See equitable right; legal right.