Action - Proceeding taken in a court of law. Synonymous
with case, suit lawsuit.
Adjudication - A judgment or decree
Adversary system - Basic U.S. trial system
in which each of the opposing parties has opportunity
to state his viewpoints before the court. Plaintiff
argues for defendant's guilt (criminal) or liability
(civil). Defense argues for defendant's innocence
(criminal) or against liability civil)
Affidavit - A written or printed declaration
or statement under oath
Affirm - The assertion of an appellate
court that the judgment of the lower court is
correct and should stand.
Allegation - An assertion, declaration
or statement of a party to an action made in a
pleading, stating what he expects to prove.
Alleged - (allegation) Stated; recited;
claimed; asserted; charged.
Answer - A formal response to a claim,
admitting or denying the allegations in the claim.
Appeal - Review of a case by a higher court.
Appearance - 1. The formal proceeding by
which a defendant submits to the jurisdiction
of the court. 2. A written notification to the
plaintiff by an attorney stating the he is representing
the defendant.
Arbitration - the hearing and settlement
of a dispute between opposing parties by a third
party whose decision the parties have agreed to
accept.
At issue - The time in a lawsuit when the
complaining party has stated his claim and the
other side has responded with denial and the matter
is ready to be tried,
Attorney at law - A lawyer; one who is
licensed to act as a representative for another
in a legal matter or proceeding.
Attorney of record - An attorney , named
in the records of a case, who is responsible for
handling the cause on behalf of the party he represents.
Bankruptcy - A legal proceeding where a
person or business is relieved of paying certain
debts.
Best evidence - Primary evidence; the best
evidence which is available; any evidence falling
short of this standard is secondary.
Brief - A legal document, prepared by an
attorney which presents the law and facts supporting
his client's case
Burden of proof - Measure of proof required
to prove a fact. Obligation of a party to probe
facts at issue in the trial of a case.
Calendar - List of cases arranged for hearing
in court.
Caption - The caption of a pleading, or
other papers connected with a case in court, is
the heading or introductory clause which shows
the names of the parties, name of the court, number
of the case, etc.
Case - Any proceeding, action, cause, lawsuit
or controversy initiated through the court system
by filing a complaint, petition, indictment or
information.
Caseload - The number of cases a judge
handles in a specific time period.
Cause of action - A legal claim.
Certificate under penalty of perjury -
A written statement, certified by the maker as
being under penalty of perjury. In many circumstances,
it may be used in lieu of an affidavit.
Certiorari - Procedure for removing a case
from a lower court or administrative agency to
a higher court for review.
Challenge for cause - A request by a party
that the court excuse a specific juror on the
basis that the juror is biased.
Citation - Summons to appear in court.
2. Reference to authorities in support of a legal
argument.
Civil law - All law that is not criminal
law. Usually pertains to the settlement of disputes
between individuals, organizations or groups and
having to do with the establishment, recovery
or redress of private and civil rights.
Claim - The assertion of a right to money
or property.
Clerk of the court - An officer of a court
whose principal duty is to maintain court records
and preserve evidence presented during a trial.
Closing argument - The closing statement,
by counsel, to the trier of facts after all parties
have concluded their presentation of evidence.
Code - A collection, compendium or revision
of laws systematically arranged into chapters,
table of contents and index and promulgated by
legislative authority.
Commit - To lawfully send a person to prison,
a reformatory or an asylum
Common law - Law which derives its authority
solely from usage and customs of immemorial antiquity
or from the judgments and decrees of courts. also
called "case law."
Comparative negligence - Negligence of
a plaintiff in a civil suit which decreases his
recovery by his percentage of negligence compared
to a defendant's negligence.
Competency - In the law of evidence, the
presence of those characteristics which render
a witness legally fit and qualified to give testimony.
Complaint - 1. (criminal) Formal written
charge that a person has committed a criminal
offense. 2. (civil) Initial document entered by
the plaintiff which states the claims against
the defendant.
Contempt of court - Any act that is meant
to embarrass, hinder or obstruct a court in the
administration of justice. Direct contempt is
committed in the presence of the court; indirect
contempt is when a lawful order is not carried
out or refused.
Continuance - Adjournment of the proceedings
in a case from one day to another.
Corroborating evidence - Evidence supplementary
to that already given and tending to strengthen
or confirm it.
Costs - An allowance for expenses in prosecuting
or defending a suit. Ordinarily does not include
attorney's fees.
Counter claim - Claim presented by a defendant
in opposition to, or deduction from, the claim
of the plaintiff.
Court - 1. Place where justice is administered.
2. Judge or judges sitting on the court administering
justice.
Court administrator - Manager of administrative,
non judicial affairs of the court.
Court commissioner - A judicial officer
at both trial and appellate court levels who performs
many of the same duties as judges and justices.
Court of appeals - Intermediate appellate
court to which most appeals are taken from superior
court.
Court superior - State trial court of general
jurisdiction.
Court supreme - "Court of last resort."
Highest court in the state and final appellate
court.
Courts of limited jurisdiction - Includes
district, municipal and police courts.
Crime - Conduct declared unlawful by a
legislative body and for which there is a punishment
of a jail or prison term, a fine or both.
Criminal law - Body of law pertaining to
crimes against the state or conduct detrimental
to society as a whole. Violation of criminal statues
are punishable by law.
Cross examination - The questioning of
a witness by the party opposed to the one who
produced the witness.
Damages - Compensation recovered in the
courts by a person who has suffered loss, detriment
or injury to his/her person, property or rights,
through the unlawful act or negligence of another.
De novo - "Anew." A trial de novo is a
completely new trial held in a higher or appellate
court as if the original trial had never taken
place.
Declamatory judgment - A judgment that
declares the rights of the parties on a question
of law.
Decree - Decision or order of the court.
A final decree completes the suit; an interlocutory
decree is a provisional or preliminary decree
which is not final.
Default - A failure of a party to respond
in a timely manner to a pleading; a failure to
appear for trial.
Defendant - 1 (criminal) Person charged
with a crime. 2. (civil) Person against whom a
civil action is brought.
Defense attorney - The attorney who represents
the defendant.
Deposition - Sworn testimony taken and
recorded in an authorized place outside of the
courtroom, according to the rules of the court.
Direct examination - The questioning of
a witness by the party who produced the witness.
Discovery - A pretrial proceeding where
a party to an action may be informed about (or
"discover") the facts known by other parties or
witnesses.
Dismissal with prejudice - Dismissal of
a case by a judge which bars the losing losing
party from raising the issue again in another
lawsuit.
Dismissal without prejudice - The losing
party is permitted to sue again with the same
cause of action.
Disposition - 1. Determination of a charge;
termination of any legal action; 2. A sentence
of a juvenile offender.
Dissent - The disagreement of one or more
judges of a court with the decision of the majority.
Docket - Book containing entries of all
proceedings in a court.
Due process - Constitutional guarantee
that an accused person receive a fair and impartial
trial.
En banc "On the bench." All judges of a court
sitting together to hear a case.
Enjoin - To require a person to perform,
or abstain or desist from some act.
Evidence - Any form of proof legally presented
at a trial through witnesses, records, documents,
etc.
Exception - A formal objection of an action
of the court, during the trial of a case, in refusing
a request or overruling an objection; implying
that the party excepting does not acquiesce in
the decision of the court and will seek to obtain
its reversal.
Exhibit - Paper, document or other object
received by the court as evidence during a trial
or hearing.
Expert evidence - Testimony given by those
qualified to speak with authority regarding scientific,
technical or professional matters.
Fact-findinq hearing - A proceeding where
facts relevant to deciding a controversy are determined.
Fair Preponderance-- Evidence sufficient
to create in the minds of the triers of fact the
belief that the party which bears the burden of
proof has established its case.
Felony - A crime of grave nature than a
misdemeanor.
Fine - A sum of money imposed upon a convicted
person as punishment for a criminal offense.
File - 1. The complete court record of
a case. 2. "To file" a paper is to give it to
the court clerk for inclusion in the case record.
3. A folder in a law office (of a case, a client,
business records, etc.)
Fraud - An intentional perversion of truth;
deceitful practice or device resorted to with
intent to deprive another of property or other
right or in some manner do him/her injury.
General jurisdiction - Refers to courts
that have no limit on the types of criminal and
civil cases they may hear. Superior courts are
courts of general jurisdiction.
Grand Jury - A body of persons sworn to
inquire into crime and, if appropriate, bring
accusations (indictments) against the suspected
criminals.
Guardian ad litem - A person appointed
by a court to manage the interests of a minor
or incompetent person whose property is involved
in litigation.
Hearing - An in-court proceeding before
a judge, generally open to the public.
Hearsay - Evidence based on what the witness
has heard someone else say, rather than what the
witness has personally experienced or observed.
Hung Jury - A jury whose members cannot
agree on a verdict.
Hypothetical question - A combination of
facts and circumstances, assumed or proved, stated
in such a form as to constitute a coherent state
of facts upon which the opinion of an expert can
be asked by way of evidence in a trial.
Immunity - Freedom from duty or penalty.
Impeachment of a witness - An attack on
the credibility of a witness by the testimony
of other witnesses.
Inadmissible - That which, under the established
rules of evidence, cannot be admitted or received.
Induction - Writ or
order by a court prohibiting a specific action
from being carried out by a person or group.
Informed consent - A person's agreement
to allow something to happen (such as surgery)
that is based on a full disclosure of facts needed
to make the decision intelligently.
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Injure - 1. Hurt or harm 2. Violate the
legal rights of another person.
Instruction - Direction given by a judge
regarding the applicable law in a given case.
Interrogatories - Written questions developed
by one party's attorney for the opposing party.
Interrogatories must be answered under oath within
a specific period of time.
Intervention - Proceeding in a suit where
a third person is allowed, with the court's permission,
to join the suit as a party.
Judge - An elected or appointed public
official with authority to hear and decide cases
in a court of law.
Judgment - Final determination by a court
of the rights and claims of the parties in an
action.
Judge pro tem - Temporary judge.
Jurisdiction-- Authority of a court to
exercise judicial power.
Jurisprudence - The science of law.
Juror - Member of a jury.
Jury - Specific number of people (usually
6 or 12), selected as prescribed by law to render
a decision (verdict) in a trial.
Law - The combination of those rules and
principles of conduct promulgated by legislative
authority, derived from court decisions and established
by local custom.
Law clerks - Persons trained in the law
who assist the judges in researching legal opinions.
Lawsuit - A civil action; a court proceeding
to enforce a right (rather than to convict a criminal).
Lawyer - A person licensed to practice
law; other words for "lawyer" include: attorney,
counsel, solicitor and barrister
Lay - non-professional; for example: a
lawyer would call a non-lawyer a lay person and
a doctor would call a non-doctor a lay person.
Lay advocate - a paralegal who specializes
in representing persons in administrative hearings
Leading question - One which suggests to
a witness the answer desired. Prohibited on direct
examination.
Limited jurisdiction - Refers to courts
that are limited in the types of criminal and
civil cases they may hear. District, municipal
and police courts are courts of limited jurisdiction.
Litigant - One who is engaged in a lawsuit.
Litigation - Contest in court; a law suit.
Magistrate - Court official with limited
authority.
Malpractice. Professional misconduct or
unreasonable lack of skill. A claim of malpractice
must prove two things. One, you must prove that
you could have won your case were it not for your
lawyer's negligence. And, secondly, you must prove
that your lawyer's actions were negligent.
Mandate - Command from a court directing
the enforcement of a judgment, sentence or decree.
Misdemeanor - Criminal offenses less than
felonies; generally those punishable by fine or
imprisonment of less than 90 days in a local facility.
A gross misdemeanor is a criminal offense for
which an adult could be sent to jail for up to
one year, pay a fine up to $5,000 or both.
Mistrial - Erroneous or invalid trial.
Usually declared because of prejudicial error
in the proceedings or when there was a hung jury.
Mitigating circumstances - Those which
do not constitute a justification or excuse for
an offense but which may be considered as reasons
for reducing the degree of blame.
Motion - Oral or written request made by
a party to an action before, during or after a
trial upon which a court issues a ruling or order.
Moot - Unsettled; undecided. A moot point
is one not settled by judicial decisions.
Negligence - The absence of ordinary care.
Oath - Written or oral pledge by a person
to keep a promise or speak the truth.
Objection - Statement by an attorney taking
exception to testimony or the attempted admission
of evidence and opposing its consideration as
evidence.
Of counsel - Phrase used to identify attorneys
that are employed by a party to assist in the
preparation and management of a case but who are
not the principal attorneys of record in the case.
Offender - 1. A person who has committed
a felony, as established by state law and is eighteen
years of age or older. 2. A person who is less
than eighteen but whose felony case has been transferred
by the juvenile court to a criminal court.
Offer - 1. To make a proposal ; to present
for acceptance or rejection. 2. To attempt to
have something admitted into evidence in a trial;
to introduce evidence 3. An "offer" in contract
law is a proposal to make a deal. It must be communicated
successfully from the person making it to the
person to whom it is made and it must be the person
to whom it is made and it must be definite and
reasonably certain in its terms.
Omnibus hearing - A pretrial hearing normally
scheduled at the same time the trial date is established.
Purpose of the hearing is to ensure each party
receives (or "discovers") vital information concerning
the case held by the other. In addition, the judge
may rule on the scope of discovery or on the admissibility
of challenged evidence.
Opening statement - The initial statement
made by attorneys for each side, outlining the
facts each intends to establish during the trial.
Opinion - statement of decision by a judge
or court regarding a case tried before it. Published
opinions are printed because they contain new
legal interpretations. Unpublished opinions, based
on legal precedent, are not printed.
Opinion, per curiam - Phrase used to distinguish
an opinion of the whole court from an opinion
written by only one judge.
Overrule - 1. Court's denial of any motion
or point raised to the court. 2. To overturn or
void a decision made in a prior case.
Parties - Persons, corporations, or associations,
who have commenced a law suit or who are defendants.
Peremptory challenge - Procedure which
parties in an action may use to reject prospective
jurors without giving reason. Each side is allowed
a limited number of such challenges.
Petition - Written application to a court
requesting a remedy available under law.
Petition for review - A document filed
in the state Supreme Court asking for a review
of a decision made by the Court of Appeals.
Perjury - Making intentionally false statements
under oath. Perjury is a criminal offense.
Plaintiff - The party who begins an action;
the party who complains or sues in an action and
is named as such in the court's records. Also
called a petitioner.
Plea - A defendant's official statement
of "guilty" or "not guilty" to the charge(s) made
against him.
Pleadings - Formal, written allegations
by the parties of their respective claims.
Polling the jury - A practice whereby the
jurors are asked individually whether they agreed,
and still agree, with the verdict.
Power of attorney - Document authorizing
another to act as one's agent or attorney in fact
(not an attorney at law).
Precedent - Previously decided case which
is recognized as an authority for determining
future cases.
Preponderance of evidence - The general
standard of proof in civil cases. The weight of
evidence presented by one side is more convincing
to the trier of facts than the evidence presented
by the opposing side.
Presiding judge - Chief or administrative
judge of a court.
Probate - The legal process of establishing
the validity of a will and settling an estate.
Proceeding - Any hearing or court appearance
related to the adjudication of a case.
Record - 1. To preserve in writing, print
or by film, tape, etc. 2. History or a case. 3.
The word-for-word (verbatim) written or tape recorded
account of all proceedings of a trial.
Record on appeal - The portion of the record
of a court of limited jurisdiction necessary to
allow a superior court to review the case.
Reasonable doubt - An accused person is
entitled to acquittal if, in the minds of the
jury, his guilt has not been proved beyond a "reasonable
doubt". That state of mind of jurors in which
they cannot say they feel an abiding conviction
as to the truth of the charge.
Rebuttal - The introduction of contradicting
or opposing evidence showing that what witnesses
said occurred is not true, the stage of a trial
at which such evidence may be introduced.
Redirect examination - Follows cross examination
and is carried out by the party who, first examined
the witness.
Remand - To send back. A disposition by
an appellate court that results in sending the
case back to the original court from which it
came for further proceedings.
Reply - Pleading by the plaintiff in response
to the defendant's written answer.
Respondent - 1. Party against whom an appeal
is brought in an appellate court. the prevailing
party in the trial court case. 2. A juvenile offender.
Restitution - Act of giving the equivalent
for any loss, damage of injury.
Rests the case - When a party concludes
his presentation or evidence.
Reversal - Setting aside, annulling, vacating
or changing to the contrary the decision of a
lower court or other body.
Service - Delivery of a legal document
to the opposite party.
Set aside - Annul or void as in "setting
aside" a judgment.
Settlement - 1. Conclusion of a legal matter.
2. Compromise agreement by opposing parties in
a civil suit before judgment is made, eliminating
the need for the judge to resolve the controversy.
Settlement conference - A meeting between
parties of a lawsuit, their counsel and a judge
to attempt a resolution of the dispute without
trial.
Statute - A law created by the Legislature.
Statute of limitations - Law which specifies
the time within which parties must take judicial
action to enforce their rights.
Stay - Halting of a judicial proceeding
by order of the court.
Stipulation - Agreement by the attorneys
or parties on opposite sides of a case regarding
any matter in the trial proceedings.
Subpoena - Document issued by the authority
of the court to compel a witness to appear and
give testimony or produce documentary evidence
in a proceeding. Failure to appear or produce
is punishable by contempt of court.
Subpoena duces tecum - "Under penalty you
shall take it with you." A process by which the
court commands a witness to produce specific documents
or records in a trial.
Suit - Any court proceeding in which an
individual seeks a decision.
Summons - Document or writ directing the
sheriff or other officer to notify a person that
an action has been commenced against him in court
and that he is required to appear, on a certain
day, and answer the complaint in such action.
Testimony - Any statement made by a witness
under oath in a legal proceeding.
Tort - An injury or wrong committed, with
or without force, to the person or property of
another, which gives rise to a claim for damages.
Transcript - The official record or proceedings
in a trial or hearing, which is kept by the clerk.
Trial - The presentation of evidence in
court to a trier of facts who applies the applicable
law to those facts and then decides the case
Trier of facts - The jury or, in a non-jury
trial, the judge, or an administrative body.
Venue - The specific county, city or geographical
area in which a court has jurisdiction.
Verdict - Formal decision made by a judge
or jury (trier of facts).
Voir dire - (pronounced "vwar-deer") -
"To speak the truth." The process of preliminary
examination of prospective jurors, by the court
or attorneys, regarding their qualifications.
Willful act - An intentional act carried
out without justifiable cause.
Witness - Person who testifies under oath
before a court, regarding what he/she has seen,
heard or otherwise observed.
Writ - A special, written court order directing
a person to perform, or refrain from performing,
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