Here
are some vocabulary words and phrases used by Legal Professionals:
acquittal
A
finding of innocence; the legal and formal certification of the
innocence of a person charged with a crime.
ad
hoc
Only
applicable to the specific case.
adjudication
Giving
or pronouncing a judgment or decree; also the judgment given.
adversary
system
A
judicial system in which opposing parties present their arguments in
a case before a trial court; the person who best presents the case
wins; the adversary system is used in the United States.
affirmative
defense
A
defense affirmatively asserted by the defendant in response to a
civil complaint or criminal charge that, if proved true, exonerates
the defendant from civil liability or criminal guilt even if the
defendant committed the act alleged in the complaint or charge
allegation
An
assertion made by a party in a court proceeding that must be proved
or supported with evidence during the trial.
alleged
Identified
but not proven.
amicus
brief
People
besides the people directly involved in a case, with an interest in
the outcome, may file an amicus brief—a legal paper supporting one
position or another—with the court.
appeal
A
request by the losing party in a lawsuit that the judgment be
reviewed by a higher court because of error or injustice
arraignment
The
court appearance of a person accused of criminal behavior to hear the
charges against him or her and to enter a plea of guilty or not
guilty.
bail
Security,
usually in the form of money or property, exchanged for the release
of a jailed person to insure his or her appearance in court.
breach
of contract
Failure
to observe the terms of a written offer or agreement.
brief
A
written document prepared by an attorney to file in court, usually
setting forth both facts and law in support of his or her case.
burden
of proof
In
the law of evidence, the necessity or duty of affirmatively proving a
fact or facts in dispute. This burden may shift from the plaintiff to
the defendant during a trial.
burglary/burglary
with intent
Trespassing
with the intent of committing a crime (including theft, bodily harm,
criminal damage, rape).
charge
to the jury
A
judge’s instructions to the jury regarding the laws pertaining to a
case.
circumstantial
evidence
Evidence
that may strongly suggest something but does not provide direct proof
claim
The
assertion of a right to money or property; an assertion that the
suing party has been injured by the action of another.
class-action
suit
A
lawsuit filed on behalf of many persons with a common legal interest
at stake.
clear
and convincing evidence
A
level of proof requiring the truth of the facts asserted to be highly
probable.
closing
argument
A
summary of evidence presented to the jury by attorneys involved in a
trial.
commute
a sentence
The
judge’s ability to reduce the recommended sentence of a jury.
compensatory
damages
A
form of money payment awarded at the end of a case to pay a person
for the actual losses he or she has already suffered or will suffer
because of wrong done to him or her.
complainant
The
individual who initiates a lawsuit; synonymous with plaintiff.
complaint
(civil)
The
first or initiatory pleading on the part of the plaintiff in a civil
action; statements by the plaintiff making claims against the
defendant.
complaint
(criminal)
Statements
charging an individual with a criminal violation.
concurrent
sentences
Sentences
for multiple crimes that are served at the same time, or concurrently
contempt
of court
Disregard
or disobedience for the authority of a court of law.
corporation
A
legal entity established for the primary purpose of maximizing profit
for its shareholders, the corporation’s owners.
copyright
The
right belonging to the creator of an intellectual property to control
the copying, distributing, performing, displaying and adapting of the
work.
counterclaim
A
claim filed by a defendant against the plaintiff in a civil action.
cross-examination
The
questioning of a witness in a trial, or in the taking of a
deposition, by the party opposed to the one who produced the witness
decree
A
decision or order of the court. A final decree is one that finally
disposes of the litigation; an interlocutory decrees is a provisional
or preliminary decree that is not final.
defendant
A
person who is sued or accused by another in a law court; the person
against whom a civil lawsuit is started, or a crime if charged
deposition
Sworn
testimony of a witness, taken under oath and outside the courtroom
direct
evidence
Evidence
intended to conclusively establish a specific fact.
direct
examination
Questioning
of a witness by counsel who introduced the witness
dissent
A
term commonly used to denote the disagreement of one or more judges
of a court with the decision of the majority
due
process
This
basic legal principle, which appears in the Fifth and Fourteenth
Amendments, requires the government to be fair in its dealings with
people. The Amendments forbid federal state, and local governments
from depriving people of “life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law.” A constitutional provision guaranteeing an accused
person a fair and impartial trial.
en
banc
All
judges of a given court.
evidence
Any
legally presented proof by witnesses, records, documents, etc. during
the course of a trial.
ex
parte meeting
Meeting
with the members of only one party to a legal dispute and no
representatives from the opposing party.
exhibit
Papers,
documents or other material objects received by the court and offered
as evidence during a trial or hearing.
expunge
Destroy
or erase a person’s criminal record. Expungement is also called
erasure, destruction, sealing, setting aside, expunction or purging.
extortion
Obtaining
something from a person through intimidation, force or otherwise
unfair or unlawful methods.
fiduciary
duty
A
fiduciary is
someone who has agreed to act in the best interests of another, often
through the management of another’s money or property. Corporate
officers and members of the corporation’s board of directors, for
example, act as fiduciaries to the corporation’s shareholders.
Duties of a fiduciary include duties of trust, confidence, and fair
dealing.
first-degree
murder
Premeditated
murder committed deliberately with malice aforethought, with extreme
cruelty, or in connection with another crime or attempted crime, and
punishable by death or life imprisonment.
gag
orders
Limits
judges impose on attorney comments.
garnished
wages
Money
legally withheld from a paycheck by an employer as payment of the
employee’s debt to another party.
habeas
corpus petition
In
federal court, a means by which a state prisoner may challenge the
constitutionality of his or her conviction and imprisonment
hung
jury
A
jury unable to reach consensus or verdict; with no verdict entered,
the trial has not reached its normal conclusion, and the trial judge
may declare a mistrial, in which the prohibition against double
jeopardy does not apply and the state may choose to commence a new
trial against the defendant.
indictment
A
grand jury’s written accusation charging that a person or business
allegedly committed a crime.
insider
trading
At
its most neutral, this term can simply describe trading in a
corporation’s shares by individuals who are “inside” a
corporation—for example, its officers, directors, and employees. If
such insiders trade in the corporation’s shares on the basis of
information that has not been made publicly available to other,
“outside” investors, insider trading runs afoul of the rules of
the Securities and Exchange Commission and may be punished with both
civil and criminal sanctions.
intellectual
property
Property
generated through the creation of discoveries, inventions, and works
of art.
judgment
A
formal order of the court.
