GLOSSARY OF LEGAL TERMS

This section includes difficult or uncommon legal terms (bolded in the essays) and their definitions from West's Encyclopedia of American Law (WEAL). Simple or common legal terms such as "lawsuit" and "plaintiff" are not bolded in the text and do not appear in this glossary; they do, however, have full entries in WEAL. Furthermore, terms that appear in SMALL CAPS within the essays—such as acts, cases, events, organizations, and persons—also appear in WEAL.

A

Abeyance:: A lapse in succession during which there is no person in whom title is vested. In the law of estates, the condition of a freehold when there is no person in whom it is vested. In such cases the freehold has been said to be in nubibus (in the clouds), in pendenti (in suspension), and in gremio legis (in the bosom of the law). Where there is a tenant of the freehold, the remainder or reversion in fee may exist for a time without any particular owner, in which case it is said to be in abeyance. A condition of being undetermined or in a state of suspension or inactivity. In regard to sales to third parties of property acquired by county at tax sale, being held in abeyance means that certain rights or conditions are in expectancy.
Accord and Satisfaction:: A method of discharging a claim whereby the parties agree to give and accept something in settlement of the claim and perform the agreement, the accord being the agreement and the satisfaction its execution or performance, and it is a new contract substituted for an old contract which is thereby discharged, or for an obligation or cause of action which settled, and must have all of the elements of a valid contract.
Acquiescence:: Conduct recognizing the existence of a transaction and intended to permit the transaction to be carried into effect; a tacit agreement; consent inferred from silence.
Actual Notice:: Conveying facts to a person with the intention to apprise that person of a proceeding in which his or her interests are involved, or informing a person of some fact that he or she has a right to know and which the informer has a legal duty to communicate.
Adjudication:: The legal process of resolving a dispute. The formal giving or pronouncing of a judgment or decree in a court proceeding; also the judgment or decision given. The entry of a decree by a court in respect to the parties in a case. It implies a hearing by a court, after notice, of legal evidence on the factual issue(s) involved. The equivalent of a determination. It indicates that the claims of all the parties thereto have been considered and set at rest.
Adjusted gross income:: The term used for income tax purposes to describe gross income less certain allowable deductions such as trade and business deductions, moving expenses, alimony paid, and penalties for premature withdrawals from term savings accounts, in order to determine a person's taxable income.

Advance:

To pay money or give something of value before the date designated to do so; to provide capital to help a planned enterprise, expecting a return from it; to give someone an item before payment has been made for it.

Advancement:

A gift of money or property made by a person while alive to his or her child or other legally recognized heir, the value of which the person intends to be deducted from the child's or heir's eventual share in the estate after the giver's death.

Affirmative Action:

Employment programs required by federal statutes and regulations designed to remedy discriminatory practices in hiring minority group members; i.e., positive steps designed to eliminate existing and continuing discrimination, to remedy lingering effects of past discrimination, and to create systems and procedures to prevent future discrimination; commonly based on population percentages of minority groups in a particular area. Factors considered are race, color, sex, creed, and age.

Aggravation:

Any circumstances surrounding the commission of a crime that increase its seriousness or add to its injurious consequences.

Alienate:

To voluntarily convey or transfer title to real property by gift, disposition by will or the laws of DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION, or by sale.

Amicus Curiae:

[Latin, Friend of the court.] A person with strong interest in or views on the subject matter of an action, but not a party to the action, may petition the court for permission to file a brief, ostensibly on behalf of a party but actually to suggest a rationale consistent with its own views. Such amicus curiae briefs are commonly filed in appeals concerning matters of a broad public interest; e.g., civil rights cases. They may be filed by private persons or the government. In appeals to the U.S. courts of appeals, an amicus brief may be filed only if accompanied by written consent of all parties, or by leave of court granted on motion or at the request of the court, except that consent or leave shall not be required when the brief is presented by the United States or an officer or agency thereof.

Amount in controversy:

The value of the relief demanded or the amount of monetary damages claimed in a lawsuit.

Ancillary:

Subordinate; aiding. A legal proceeding that is not the primary dispute but which aids the judgment rendered in or the outcome of the main action. A descriptive term that denotes a legal claim, the existence of which is dependent upon or reasonably linked to a main claim.

Annuity:

A right to receive periodic payments, usually fixed in size, for life or a term of years that is created by a contract or other legal document.

Appellate Court:

A court having jurisdiction to review decisions of a trial-level or other lower court.

Appellate:

Relating to appeals; reviews by superior courts of decisions of inferior courts or administrative agencies and other proceedings.

Apportionment:

The process by which legislative seats are distributed among units entitled to representation. Determination of the number of representatives that a state, county, or other subdivision may send to a legislative body. The U.S. Constitution provides for a census every ten years, on the basis of which Congress apportions representatives according to population; but each state must have at least one representative. Districting is the establishment of the precise geographical boundaries of each such unit or constituency. Apportionment by state statute that denies the rule of one-person, one-vote is violative of equal protection of laws.

Also, the allocation of a charge or cost such as real estate taxes between two parties, often in the same ratio as the respective times that the parties are in possession or ownership of property during the fiscal period for which the charge is made or assessed.

Arbiter:: [Latin, One who attends something to view it as a spectator or witness.] Any person who is given an absolute power to judge and rule on a matter in dispute.
Arrest warrant:: A written order issued by authority of the state and commanding the seizure of the person named.
Assault and Battery:: Two separate offenses against the person that when used in one expression may be defined as any unlawful and unpermitted touching of another. Assault is an act that creates an apprehension in another of an imminent, harmful, or offensive contact. The act consists of a threat of harm accompanied by an apparent, present ability to carry out the threat. Battery is a harmful or offensive touching of another.

B

Bad faith:: The fraudulent deception of another person; the intentional or malicious refusal to perform some duty or contractual obligation.
Balance sheet:: A comprehensive financial statement that is a summarized assessment of a company's accounts specifying its assets and liabilities. A report, usually prepared by independent auditors or accountants, which includes a full and complete statement of all receipts and disbursements of a particular business. A review that shows a general balance or summation of all accounts without showing the particular items that make up the several accounts.
Battery:: At common law, an intentional unpermitted act causing harmful or offensive contact with the person of another.
Bench Trial:: A trial conducted before a judge presiding without a jury.
Beneficial use:: A right to utilize real property, including light, air, and access to it, in any lawful manner to gain a profit, advantage, or enjoyment from it. A right to enjoy real or personal property held by a person who has equitable title to it while legal title is held by another.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt:: The standard that must be met by the prosecution's evidence in a criminal prosecution: that no other logical explanation can be derived from the facts except that the defendant committed the crime, thereby over-coming the presumption that a person is innocent until proven guilty.
Bill of lading:: A document signed by a carrier (a transporter of goods) or the carrier's representative and issued to a consignor (the shipper of goods) that evidences the receipt of goods for shipment to a specified designation and person.
Burglary:: The criminal offense of breaking and entering a building illegally for the purpose of committing a crime therein.

C

Carriers:: Individuals or businesses that are employed to deliver people or property to an agreed destination.

Case Law:

Legal principles enunciated and embodied in judicial decisions that are derived from the application of particular areas of law to the facts of individual cases.

Case or Controversy:

A term used in Article III, Section 2, of the Constitution to describe the structure by which actual, conflicting claims of individuals must be brought before a federal court for resolution if the court is to exercise its jurisdiction to consider the questions and provide relief.

Cause of Action:

The fact or combination of facts that gives a person the right to seek judicial redress or relief against another. Also, the legal theory forming the basis of a lawsuit.

Certiorari:

[Latin, To be informed of.] At common law, an original writ or order issued by the Chancery of King's Bench, commanding officers of inferior courts to submit the record of a cause pending before them to give the party more certain and speedy justice.

A writ that a superior appellate court issues on its discretion to an inferior court, ordering it to produce a certified record of a particular case it has tried, in order to determine whether any irregularities or errors occurred that justify review of the case.

A device by which the Supreme Court of the United States exercises its discretion in selecting the cases it will review.

Chose:

[French, Thing.] Chattel; item of personal property.

Circuit Court:

A specific tribunal that possesses the legal authority to hear cases within its own geographical territory.

Civil Action:

A lawsuit brought to enforce, redress, or protect rights of private litigants (the plaintiffs and the defendants); not a criminal proceeding.

Civil Procedure:

The methods, procedures, and practices used in civil cases.

Claim for Relief:

The section of a modern complaint that states the redress sought from a court by a person who initiates a lawsuit.

Class Action:

A lawsuit that allows a large number of people with a common interest in a matter to sue or be sued as a group.

Clear and convincing proof:

A standard applied by a jury or by a judge in a nonjury trial to measure the probability of the truthfulness of particular facts alleged during a civil lawsuit.

Closing argument:

The final factual and legal argument made by each attorney on all sides of a case in a trial prior to a verdict or judgment.

Collateral Estoppel:

A doctrine by which an earlier decision rendered by a court in a lawsuit between parties is conclusive as to the issues or controverted points so that they cannot be relitigated in subsequent proceedings involving the same parties.

Collateral:

Related; indirect; not bearing immediately upon an issue. The property pledged or given as a security interest, or a guarantee for payment of a debt, that will be taken or kept by the creditor in case of a default on the original debt.

Collective Bargaining Agreement:

The contractual agreement between an employer and a labor union that governs wages, hours, and working conditions for employees and which can be enforced against both the employer and the union for failure to comply with its terms.

Color of Law:

The appearance of a legal right.

Comity:

Courtesy; respect; a disposition to perform some official act out of goodwill and tradition rather than obligation or law. The acceptance or adoption of decisions or laws by a court of another jurisdiction, either foreign or domestic, based on public policy rather than legal mandate.

Commerce Clause:

The provision of the U.S. Constitution that gives Congress exclusive power over trade activities between the states and with foreign countries and Indian tribes.

Common Law:

The ancient law of England based upon societal customs and recognized and enforced by the judgments and decrees of the courts. The general body of statutes and case law that governed England and the American colonies prior to the American Revolution.

The principles and rules of action, embodied in case law rather than legislative enactments, applicable to the government and protection of persons and property that derive their authority from the community customs and traditions that evolved over the centuries as interpreted by judicial tribunals.

A designation used to denote the opposite of statutory, equitable, or civil; for example, a common-law action.

Compensatory Damages:

A sum of money awarded in a civil action by a court to indemnify a person for the particular loss, detriment, or injury suffered as a result of the unlawful conduct of another.

Competent evidence:

Information that proves a point at issue in a lawsuit.

Concurrent jurisdiction:

The authority of several different courts, each of which is authorized to entertain and decide cases dealing with the same subject matter.

Constitutional Law:

The written text of the state and federal constitutions. The body of judicial PRECEDENT that has gradually developed through a process in which courts interpret, apply, and explain the meaning of particular constitutional provisions and principles during a legal proceeding. Executive, legislative, and judicial actions that conform with the norms prescribed by a constitutional provision.

Consumer credit:

Short-term loans made to enable people to purchase goods or services primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.

Contingent fee:

Payment to an attorney for legal services that depends, or is contingent, upon there being some recovery or award in the case. The payment is then a percentage of the amount recovered—such as 25 percent if the matter is settled, 30 percent if it proceeds to trial.

Corpus:

[Latin, Body, aggregate, or mass.]

Correlative:

Having a reciprocal relationship in that the existence of one relationship normally implies the existence of the other.

Court of Appeal:

An intermediate federal judicial tribunal of review that is found in thirteen judicial districts, called circuits, in the United States.

A state judicial tribunal that reviews a decision rendered by an inferior tribunal to determine whether it made errors that warrant the reversal of its judgment.

Court of Claims:

A state judicial tribunal established as the forum in which to bring certain types of lawsuits against the state or its political subdivisions, such as a county. The former designation given to a federal tribunal created in 1855 by Congress with original jurisdiction—initial authority—to decide an action brought against the United States that is based upon the Constitution, federal law, any regulation of the executive department, or any express or implied contracts with the federal government.

Credit bureau:

A privately owned, profit-making establishment that—as a regular business—collects and compiles data regarding the solvency, character, responsibility, and reputation of a particular individual or business in order to furnish such information to subscribers, in the form of a report allowing them to evaluate the financial stability of the subject of the report.

Criminal Law:: A body of rules and statutes that defines conduct prohibited by the government because it threatens and harms public safety and welfare and that establishes punishment to be imposed for the commission of such acts.
Criminal Procedure:: The framework of laws and rules that govern the administration of justice in cases involving an individual who has been accused of a crime, beginning with the initial investigation of the crime and concluding either with the unconditional release of the accused by virture of acquittal (a judgment of not guilty) or by the imposition of a term of punishment pursuant to a conviction for the crime.
Cruel and Unusual Punishment:: Such punishment as would amount to torture or barbarity, and cruel and degrading punishment not known to the common law, or any fine, penalty, confinement, or treatment so disproportionate to the offense as to shock the moral sense of the community.

D

Declaratory judgment:

Statutory remedy for the determination of a justiciable controversy where the plaintiff is in doubt as to his or her legal rights. A binding adjudication of the rights and status of litigants even though no consequential relief is awarded.

Defamation:

Any intentional false communication, either written or spoken, that harms a person's reputation; decreases the respect, regard, or confidence in which a person is held; or induces disparaging, hostile, or disagreeable opinions or feelings against a person.

Default Judgment:

Judgment entered against a party who has failed to defend against a claim that has been brought by another party. Under rules of civil procedure, when a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead (i.e., answer) or otherwise defend, the party is in default and a judgment by default may be entered either by the clerk or the court.

Direct evidence:

Evidence in the form of testimony from a witness who actually saw, heard, or touched the subject of questioning. Evidence that, if believed, proves existence of the fact in issue without inference or presumption. That means of proof which tends to show the existence of a fact in question, without the intervention of the proof of any other fact, and which is distinguished from circumstantial evidence, often called indirect.

Evidence that directly proves a fact, without an inference or presumption, and which in itself, if true, conclusively establishes that fact.

Disorderly Conduct:

A broad term describing conduct that disturbs the peace or endangers the morals, health, or safety of a community.

Disposition:

Act of disposing; transferring to the care or possession of another. The parting with, alienation of, or giving up of property. The final settlement of a matter and, with reference to decisions announced by a court, a judge's ruling is commonly referred to as disposition, regardless of level of resolution. In criminal procedure, the sentencing or other final settlement of a criminal case. With respect to a mental state, denotes an attitude, prevailing tendency, or inclination.

Dissolution:

Act or process of dissolving; termination; winding up. In this sense it is frequently used in the phrase dissolution of a partnership.

District Court:

A designation of an inferior state court that exercises general jurisdiction that it has been granted by the constitution or statute which created it. A U.S. judicial tribunal with original jurisdiction to try cases or controversies that fall within its limited jurisdiction.

Diversity of citizenship:

A phrase used with reference to the jurisdiction of the federal courts which, under the U.S. Constitution, Art. III, § 2, extends to cases between citizens of different states designating the condition existing when the party on one side of a lawsuit is a citizen of one state and the party on the other side is a citizen of another state, or between a citizen of a state and an alien. The requisite jurisdictional amount must, in addition, be met.

Dominion:

Perfect control in right of ownership. The word implies both title and possession and appears to require a complete retention of control over disposition. Title to an article of property, which arises from the power of disposition and the right of claiming it. Sovereignty; as in the dominion of the seas or over a territory.

In civil law, with reference to the title to property that is transferred by a sale of it, dominion is said to be either proximate or remote, the former being the kind of title vesting in the purchaser when he or she has acquired both the ownership and the possession of the article, the latter describing the nature of the title when he or she has legitimately acquired the ownership of the property but there has been no delivery.

Double Jeopardy:

A second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal or conviction or multiple punishments for same offense. The evil sought to be avoided by prohibiting double jeopardy is double trial and double conviction, not necessarily double punishment.

Due Process of Law:

A fundamental, constitutional guarantee that all legal proceedings will be fair and that one will be given notice of the proceedings and an opportunity to be heard before the government acts to take away one's life, liberty, or property. Also, a constitutional guarantee that a law shall not be unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious.

E

Eminent Domain:

The power to take private property for public use by a state, municipality, or private person or corporation authorized to exercise functions of public character, following the payment of just compensation to the owner of that property.

En banc:

[Latin, French. In the bench.] Full bench. Refers to a session where the entire membership of the court will participate in the decision rather than the regular quorum. In other countries, it is common for a court to have more members than are usually necessary to hear an appeal. In the United States, the Circuit Courts of Appeal usually sit in panels of judges but for important cases may expand the bench to a larger number, when the judges are said to be sitting en banc. Similarly, only one of the judges of the U.S. Tax Court will typically hear and decide on a tax controversy. However, when the issues involved are unusually novel or of wide impact, the case will be heard and decided by the full court sitting en banc.

Entity:

A real being; existence. An organization or being that possesses separate existence for tax purposes. Examples would be corporations, partnerships, estates, and trusts. The accounting entity for which accounting statements are prepared may not be the same as the entity defined by law.

Entity includes corporation and foreign corporation; not-for-profit corporation; profit and notfor-profit unincorporated association; business trust, estate, partnership, trust, and two or more persons having a joint or common economic interest; and state, U.S., and foreign governments.

An existence apart, such as a corporation in relation to its stockholders.

Entity includes person, estate, trust, governmental unit.

Entry of judgment:

Formally recording the result of a lawsuit that is based upon the determination by the court of the facts and applicable law, and that makes the result effective for purposes of bringing an action to enforce it or to commence an appeal.

Equal Protection:: The constitutional guarantee that no person or class of persons shall be denied the same protection of the laws that is enjoyed by other persons or other classes in like circumstances in their lives, liberty, property, and pursuit of happiness.
Et seq.:: An abbreviation for the Latin et sequentes or et sequentia, meaning and the following.
Ex parte:: [Latin, On one side only.] Done by, for, or on the application of one party alone.
Excise:: A tax imposed on the performance of an act, the engaging in an occupation, or the enjoyment of a privilege. A tax on the manufacture, sale, or use of goods or on the carrying on of an occupation or activity, or a tax on the transfer of property. In current usage the term has been extended to include various license fees and practically every internal revenue tax except the income tax (e.g., federal alcohol and tobacco excise taxes).

F

Face Value:: A readily ascertainable amount of money determinable from the words of a written instrument alone without the aid of any other source.
False Imprisonment:: The illegal confinement of one individual against his or her will by another individual in such a manner as to violate the confined individual's right to be free from restraint of movement.
Federal Courts:: The U.S. judicial tribunals created by Article III of the Constitution, or by Congress, to hear and determine justiciable controversies.
Federal question:: An issue directly involving the U.S. Constitution, federal statutes, or treaties between the United States and a foreign country.
Felony:: A serious crime, characterized under federal law and many state statutes as any offense punishable by death or imprisonment in excess of one year.
Filibuster:: A tactic used by a LEGISLATIVE representative to hinder and delay consideration of an action to be taken on a proposed bill through prolonged, irrelevant, and procrastinating speeches on the floor of the House, Senate, or other legislative body.
Final Decision:: The resolution of a controversy by a court or series of courts from which no appeal may be taken and that precludes further action. The last act by a lower court that is required for the completion of a lawsuit, such as the handing down of a final judgment upon which an appeal to a higher court may be brought.
Finance charge:: The amount owed to a lender by a purchaser-debtor to be allowed to pay for goods purchased over a series of installments, as opposed to one lump sum at the time of the sale or billing.
First Impression:: The initial presentation to, or examination by, a court of a particular question of law.
First Instance:: The initial trial court where an action is brought.
Fiscal:: Relating to finance or financial matters, such as money, taxes, or public or private revenues.
Forensic Science:: The application of scientific knowledge and methodology to legal problems and criminal investigations.

Forensic:: Belonging to courts of justice.
Fraud:: A false representation of a matter of fact—whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading allegations, or by concealment of what should have been disclosed—that deceives and is intended to deceive another so that the individual will act upon it to her or his legal injury.
Fraudulent:: The description of a willful act commenced with the specific intent to deceive or cheat, in order to cause some financial detriment to another and to engender personal financial gain.
Freedom Of Association:: The right to associate with others for the purpose of engaging in constitutionally protected activities.
Freedom Of Speech:: The right, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, to express beliefs and ideas without unwarranted government restriction.

G

Gag Order:: A court order to gag or bind an unruly defendant or remove her or him from the courtroom in order to prevent further interruptions in a trial. In a trial with a great deal of notoriety, a court order directed to attorneys and witnesses not to discuss the case with the media—such order being felt necessary to assure the defendant of a fair trial. A court order, directed to the media, not to report certain aspects of a crime or criminal investigation prior to trial.
Good cause:: Legally adequate or substantial grounds or reason to take a certain action.
Good Faith:: Honesty; a sincere intention to deal fairly with others.
Grand Jury:: A panel of citizens that is convened by a court to decide whether it is appropriate for the government to indict (proceed with a prosecution against) someone suspected of a crime.
Gross income:: The financial gains received by an individual or a business during a fiscal year.
Guardian:: A person lawfully invested with the power, and charged with the obligation, of taking care of and managing the property and rights of a person who, because of age, understanding, or self-control, is considered incapable of administering his or her own affairs.

H

Habeas Corpus:: [Latin, You have the body.] A writ (court order) that commands an individual or a government official who has restrained another to produce the prisoner at a designated time and place so that the court can determine the legality of custody and decide whether to order the prisoner's release.
Hate Crime:: A crime motivated by racial, religious, gender, sexual orientation, or other prejudice.

I

Impracticability:: Substantial difficulty or inconvenience in following a particular course of action, but not such insurmountability or hopelessness as to make performance impossible.
Interlocutory:: Provisional; interim; temporary; not final; that which intervenes between the beginning and the end of a lawsuit or proceeding to either decide a particular point or matter that is not the final issue of the entire controversy or prevent irreparable harm during the pendency of the lawsuit.
Issue preclusion:: A concept that refers to the fact that a particular question of fact or law, one that has already been fully litigated by the parties in an action for which there has been a judgment on the merits, cannot be re-litigated in any future action involving the same parties or their privies (persons who would be bound by the judgment rendered for the party).

J

Jeopardy:: Danger; hazard; peril. In a criminal action, the danger of conviction and punishment confronting the defendant.
Joint Venture:: An association of two or more individuals or companies engaged in a solitary business enterprise for profit without actual partnership or incorporation; also called a joint adventure.
Judicial Review:: A court's authority to examine an executive or legislative act and to invalidate that act if it is contrary to constitutional principles.
Jurisprudence:: From the Latin term juris prudentia, which means the study, knowledge, or science of law; in the United States, more broadly associated with the philosophy of law.
Just Compensation:: Equitable remuneration to the owner of private property that is expropriated for public use through condemnation, the implementation of the governmental power of eminent domain.

L

Laches:: A defense to an equitable action, that bars recovery by the plaintiff because of the plaintiff's undue delay in seeking relief.
Legal right:: An interest that the law protects; an enforceable claim; a privilege that is created or recognized by law, such as the constitutional right to freedom of speech.
Legal title:: Ownership of property that is cognizable or enforceable in a court of law, or one that is complete and perfect in terms of the apparent right of ownership and possession, but that, unlike equitable title, carries no beneficial interest in the property.

Lien:

A right given to another by the owner of property to secure a debt, or one created by law in favor of certain creditors.

Line of credit:

The maximum borrowing power granted to a person from a financial institution.

Liquidation:

The collection of assets belonging to a debtor to be applied to the discharge of his or her outstanding debts.

A type of proceeding pursuant to federal bankruptcy law by which certain property of a debtor is taken into custody by a trustee to be sold, the proceeds to be distributed to the debtor's creditors in satisfaction of their claims.

The settlement of the financial affairs of a business or individual through the sale of all assets and the distribution of the proceeds to creditors, heirs, or other parties with a legal claim.

Lockout:

Employer's withholding of work from employees in order to gain concession from them; it is the employers' counterpart of the employee's strike. Refusal by the employer to furnish available work to its regular employees, whether refusal is motivated by the employer's desire to protect itself against economic injury, by its desire to protect itself at the bargaining table, or by both.

M

Magistrate:: Any individual who has the power of a public civil officer or inferior judicial officer, such as a justice of the peace.
Malice:: The intentional commission of a wrongful act, absent justification, with the intent to cause harm to others; conscious violation of the law that injures another individual; a mental state indicating a disposition in disregard of social duty and a tendency toward malfeasance.
Mandamus:: [Latin, We command.] A writ or order that is issued from a court of superior jurisdiction that commands an inferior tribunal, corporation, municipal corporation, or individual to perform, or refrain from performing, a particular act, the performance or omission of which is required by law as an obligation.
Manslaughter:: The unjustifiable, inexcusable, and intentional killing of a human being without deliberation, premeditation, and malice. The unlawful killing of a human being without any deliberation, which may be involuntary, in the commission of a lawful act without due caution and circumspection.
Medicare:: A federally funded system of health and hospital insurance for persons age sixty-five and older and for disabled persons.
Misdemeanor:: Offenses lower than felonies and generally those punishable by fine, penalty, forfeiture, or imprisonment other than in a penitentiary. Under federal law, and most state laws, any offense other than a felony is classified as a misdemeanor. Certain states also have various classes of misdemeanors (e.g., Class A, B, etc.).
Mitigating Circumstances:: Circumstances that may be considered by a court in determining culpability of a defendant or the extent of damages to be awarded to a plaintiff. Mitigating circumstances do not justify or excuse an offense but may reduce the severity of a charge. Similarly, a recognition of mitigating circumstances to reduce a damage award does not imply that the damages were not suffered but that they have been partially ameliorated.
Money Laundering:: The process of taking the proceeds of criminal activity and making them appear legal.

O

Of counsel:: A term commonly applied in the practice of law to an attorney who has been employed to aid in the preparation and management of a particular case but who is not the principal attorney in the action.
Of record:: Entered on the appropriate official documents maintained by a governmental body and that are usually available for inspection by the public.
Oppression:: The offense, committed by a public official, of wrongfully inflicting injury, such as bodily harm or imprisonment, upon another individual under color of office.
Ordinance:: A law, statute, or regulation enacted by a municipal corporation.
Original intent:: The theory of interpretation by which judges attempt to ascertain the meaning of a particular provision of a state or federal constitution by determining how the provision was understood at the time it was drafted and ratified.
Original Jurisdiction:: The authority of a tribunal to entertain a lawsuit, try it, and set forth a judgment on the law and facts.

P

Pension:

A benefit, usually money, paid regularly to retired employees or their survivors by private business and federal, state, and local governments. Employers are not required to establish pension benefits but do so to attract qualified employees.

Per curiam:

[Latin, By the court.] A phrase used to distinguish an opinion of the whole court from an opinion written by any one judge.

Peremptory Challenge:

The right to challenge a juror without assigning, or being required to assign, a reason for the challenge.

Personal Service:

The actual delivery of process to the individual to whom it is directed or to someone authorized to receive it on his or her behalf.

Plurality:

The opinion of an appellate court in which more justices join than in any concurring opinion.

The excess of votes cast for one candidate over those votes cast for any other candidate.

Prayer:

The request contained in a bill in equity that the court will grant the process, aid, or relief that the complainant desires.

Preemption:

A doctrine based on the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution that holds that certain matters are of such a national, as opposed to local, character that federal laws preempt or take precedence over state laws. As such, a state may not pass a law inconsistent with the federal law.

A doctrine of state law that holds that a state law displaces a local law or regulation that is in the same field and is in conflict or inconsistent with the state law.

Preliminary Injunction:: A temporary order made by a court at the request of one party that prevents the other party from pursuing a particular course of conduct until the conclusion of a trial on the merits.
Prima Facie:: [Latin, On the first appearance.] A fact presumed to be true unless it is disproved.
Prior Restraint:: Government prohibition of speech in advance of publication.
Privity:: A close, direct, or successive relationship; having a mutual interest or right.
Pro se:: For one's own behalf; in person. Appearing for oneself, as in the case of one who does not retain a lawyer and appears for himself or herself in court.
Probable Cause:: Apparent facts discovered through logical inquiry that would lead a reasonably intelligent and prudent person to believe that an accused person has committed a crime, thereby warranting his or her prosecution, or that a cause of action has accrued, justifying a civil lawsuit.
Procedural Law:: The body of law that prescribes formal steps to be taken in enforcing legal rights.
Product Liability:: The responsibility of a manufacturer or vendor of goods to compensate for injury caused by a defective good that it has provided for sale.
Public figure:: A description applied in libel and slander actions, as well as in those alleging invasion of privacy, to anyone who has gained prominence in the community as a result of his or her name or exploits, whether willingly or unwillingly.
Punitive Damages:: Monetary compensation awarded to an injured party that goes beyond that which is necessary to compensate the individual for losses and that is intended to punish the wrongdoer.
Purview:: The part of a statute or a law that delineates its purpose and scope.
Putative:: Alleged; supposed; reputed.

Q

Quitclaim deed:: An instrument of conveyance of real property that passes any title, claim, or interest that the grantor has in the premises but does not make any representations as to the validity of such title.

R

Redress:: Compensation for injuries sustained; recovery or restitution for harm or injury; damages or equitable relief. Access to the courts to gain reparation for a wrong.
Repeal:: The annulment or abrogation of a previously existing statute by the enactment of a later law that revokes the former law.

Res judicata:: [Latin, A thing adjudged.] A rule that a final judgment on the merits by a court having jurisdiction is conclusive between the parties to a suit as to all matters that were litigated or that could have been litigated in that suit.
Rescind:: To declare a contract void—of no legal force or binding effect—from its inception and thereby restore the parties to the positions they would have occupied had no contract ever been made.
Respondent:: In equity practice, the party who answers a bill or other proceeding in equity. The party against whom an appeal or motion, an application for a court order, is instituted and who is required to answer in order to protect his or her interests.
Restitution:: In the context of criminal law, state programs under which an offender is required, as a condition of his or her sentence, to repay money or donate services to the victim or society; with respect to maritime law, the restoration of articles lost by jettison, done when the remainder of the cargo has been saved, at the general charge of the owners of the cargo; in the law of torts, or civil wrongs, a measure of damages; in regard to contract law, the restoration of a party injured by a breach of contract to the position that party occupied before she or he entered the contract.
Revised statutes:: A body of statutes that have been revised, collected, arranged in order, and reenacted as a whole. The legal title of the collection of compiled laws of the United States, as well as some of the individual states.
Right of action:: The privilege of instituting a lawsuit arising from a particular transaction or state of facts, such as a suit that is based on a contract or a tort, a civil wrong.
Ripeness:: The mandate contained in Article III of the Constitution that requires an appellate court to consider whether a case has matured into a controversy worthy of adjudication before it can hear the case.
Robbery:: The taking of money or goods in the possession of another, from his or her person or immediate presence, by force or intimidation.
Rule of law:: Rule according to law; rule under law; or rule according to a higher law.

S

Scienter:

[Latin, Knowingly.] Guilty knowledge that is sufficient to charge a person with the consequences of his or her acts.

Search and Seizure:

In international law, the right of ships of war, as regulated by treaties, to examine a merchant vessel during war in order to determine whether the ship or its cargo is liable to seizure.

A hunt by law enforcement officials for property or communications believed to be evidence of crime, and the act of taking possession of this property.

Self-determination:

The political right of the majority to the exercise of power within the boundaries of a generally accepted political unit, area, or territory.

Sodomy:

Anal or oral intercourse between human beings, or any sexual relations between a human being and an animal, the act of which may be punishable as a criminal offense.

Solicitation:: Urgent request, plea, or entreaty; enticing, asking. The criminal offense of urging someone to commit an unlawful act.
Solicitor General:: An officer of the U.S. Department of Justice who represents the U.S. government in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Sovereign Immunity:: The legal protection that prevents a sovereign state or person from being sued without consent.
Split decision:: A decision by an appellate court that is not unanimous.
Spoliation:: Any erasure, interlineation, or other alteration made to commercial paper, such as a check or promissory note, by an individual who is not acting pursuant to the consent of the parties who have an interest in such instrument.
State interest:: A broad term for any matter of public concern that is addressed by a government in law or policy.
State's Evidence:: A colloquial term for testimony given by an accomplice or joint participant in the commission of a crime, subject to an agreement that the person will be granted immunity from prosecution if she voluntarily, completely, and fairly discloses her own guilt as well as that of the other participants.
Statute of Limitations:: A type of federal or state law that restricts the time within which legal proceedings may be brought.
Statute:: An act of a legislature that declares, proscribes, or commands something; a specific law, expressed in writing.
Statutory:: Created, defined, or relating to a statute; required by statute; conforming to a statute.
Strict scrutiny:: A standard of judicial review for a challenged policy in which the court presumes the policy to be invalid unless the government can demonstrate a compelling interest to justify the policy.
Summary Judgment:: A procedural device used during civil litigation to promptly and expeditiously dispose of a case without a trial. It is used when there is no dispute as to the material facts of the case and a party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
Suspect classification:: A presumptively unconstitutional distinction made between individuals on the basis of race, national origin, alienage, or religious affiliation, in a statute, ordinance, regulation, or policy.

T

Tax Court:: A specialized federal or state court that decides cases involving tax-related controversies.
Taxable Income:: Under the federal tax law, gross income reduced by adjustments and allowable deductions. It is the income against which tax rates are applied to compute an individual or entity's tax liability. The essence of taxable income is the accrual of some gain, profit, or benefit to a taxpayer.
Tort Law:: A body of rights, obligations, and remedies that is applied by courts in civil proceedings to provide relief for persons who have suffered harm from the wrongful acts of others. The person who sustains injury or suffers pecuniary damage as the result of tortious conduct is known as the plaintiff, and the person who is responsible for inflicting the injury and incurs liability for the damage is known as the defendant or tortfeasor.

Trustee:: An individual or corporation named by an individual, who sets aside property to be used for the benefit of another person, to manage the property as provided by the terms of the document that created the arrangement.

W

Without prejudice:: Without any loss or waiver of rights or priveleges.
Writ:: An order issued by a court requiring that something be done or giving authority to do a specified act.

Z

Zoning:: The separation or division of a municipality into districts, the regulation of buildings and structures in such districts in accordance with their construction and the nature and extent of their use, and the dedication of such districts to particular uses designed to serve the general welfare.