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English legal glossary 1 страница




ABANDONMENT - A parent's or custodian's act of leaving a child without adequate care, supervision, support, or parental contact for an excessive period of time. Also, the desertion of one spouse by the other with the intent to terminate the

marriage relationship.

ABATEMENT OF ACTION - A suit which has been quashed and ended.

ABSTRACT - A summary of a larger work, wherein the principal ideas of the larger work are contained.

ABSTRACT OF RECORD - A short, abbreviated form of the case as found in the record.

ABSTRACT OF TITLE - A chronological summary of all official records and recorded documents affecting the title to a parcel of real property.

ACCESSORY - A person who aids or contributes in the commission of a crime.

ACCOMPLICE (соучастник преступления) - One who knowingly, voluntarily, and intentionally unites with the principal offender in the commission of a crime. A partner in a crime.

ACCORD - A satisfaction agreed upon between the parties in a lawsuit which bars subsequent actions on the claim.

ACCORD AND SATISFACTION - A method of discharging a claim upon agreement by the parties to give and accept something in settlement of the claim.

ACCUSATION - A formal charge against a person, to the effect that he has engaged in a punishable offense.

ACCUSED - The generic name for the defendant in a criminal case.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT - 1. A statement of acceptance of responsibility. 2. The short declaration at the end of a legal paper showing that the paper was duly executed and acknowledged.

ACQUIT - To legally certify the innocence of one charged with a crime. To set free, release or discharge from an obligation, burden or accusation. To find a defendant not guilty in a criminal trial.

ACQUITTAL - In criminal law, a finding of not guilty. In contract law, a release, absolution, or discharge from an obligation, liability, or engagement.

ACTION - Case, cause, suit, or controversy disputed or contested before a court of justice.

ADJUDICATE - To determine finally.

ADJUDICATION - Giving or pronouncing a judgment or decree. Also the judgment given.

ADMINISTRATOR - 1. One who administers the estate of a person who dies without a will. 2. A court official.

ADMISSIBLE - Pertinent and proper to be considered in reaching a decision.

ADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE - Evidence that can be legally and properly introduced in a civil or criminal trial.

ADMISSION - Voluntary acknowledgment of the existence of certain facts relevant to the adversary's case.

ADMONISH - To advise or caution. For example the Court may caution or admonish counsel for wrong practices.

ADOPTION - To take into one's family the child of another and give him or her the rights, privileges, and duties of a child and heir.

ADVERSARY SYSTEM - The trial method used in the U.S. and some other countries. This system is based on the belief that truth can best be determined by giving opposing parties full opportunity to present and establish their evidence, and to test by cross-examination the evidence presented by their adversaries. All this is done under the established rules of procedure before an impartial judge and/or jury.

AFFIANT - A person who makes and signs an affidavit.

AFFIDAVIT - A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths. For example, in criminal cases, affidavits are often used by police officers seeking to convince courts to grant a warrant to make an arrest or a search. In civil cases, affidavits of witnesses are often used to support motions for summary judgment.

AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE - Without denying the charge, the defendant raises circumstances such as insanity, self-defense, or entrapment to avoid civil or criminal responsibility.

AFFIRMED - In the practice of appellate courts, the word means that the decision of the trial court is correct.

AGENT - One who has authority to act for another.

AGGRAVATED ASSAULT - An attempt to cause serious bodily injury to another or purposely, knowingly or recklessly causing such injury, or an attempt to cause or purposely or knowingly cause bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon.

AGGRAVATED BATTERY - The unlawful use of force against another with unusual or serious consequences such as the use of a dangerous weapon.

AGGRAVATING FACTORS - Any factors associated with the commission of a crime which increase the seriousness of the offense or add to its injurious consequences.

AGREED STATEMENT OF FACTS - A statement of all important facts, which all the parties agree is true and correct, which is submitted to a court for ruling.

AGREEMENT - A mutual understanding and intention between two or more parties. The writing or instrument which is evidence of an agreement. (Although often used as synonymous with contract, agreement is a broader term.)

AID AND ABET - Help, assist, or facilitate the commission of a crime.

ALFORD PLEA - A special type of guilty plea by which a defendant does not admit guilt but concedes that the State has sufficient evidence to convict; normally made to avoid the threat of greater punishment. Source: Black's Law Dictionary

(1996); North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25 (1970).

ALIBI - A defense claim that the accused was somewhere else at the time a crime was committed.

ALIMONY - A court-ordered allowance that one spouse pays the other spouse for maintenance and support while they are either separated, pending suit for divorce, or after they are divorced.

ALLEGATION - The assertion of a party to an action, setting out what he expects to prove.

ALLEGE - To state, recite, assert, claim, maintain, charge or set forth. To make an allegation.

ALLEGED - Asserted to be true as depicted or a person who is accused but has not yet been tried in court.

ALLOCUTION - A defendant's statement in mitigation of punishment.

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (ADR) - Settling a dispute without a full, formal trial. Methods include mediation, conciliation, arbitration, and settlement, among others.

AMEND - To change, correct, revise, improve, modify, or alter.

AMENDMENT - The correction of an error admitted in any process.

ANNOTATION - A case summary or commentary on the law cases, statutes, and rules illustrating its interpretation.

ANNUAL REVIEW - Yearly judicial review, usually in juvenile dependency cases, to determine whether the child requires continued court supervision or placement.

ANSWER - The defendant's response to the plaintiff's allegations as stated in a complaint. An item-by-item, paragraph-by paragraph response to points made in a complaint; part of the pleadings.

APPEAL - A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal."

APPEARANCE - A coming into court as party or interested person or as a lawyer on behalf of party or interested person.

APPELLANT - The party appealing a final decision or judgment.

APPELLATE COURT - A court having jurisdiction to hear appeals and review a trial court's procedure.

APPELLATE JURISDICTION - The appellate court has the right to review and revise the lower court decision.

APPELLEE - The party against whom an appeal is taken. Sometimes called a respondent.

ARBITRATION - The referral of a dispute to an impartial third person chosen by the parties to the dispute who agree in advance to abide by the arbitrator's award issued after a hearing at which both parties have an opportunity to be heard.

ARGUMENT - Remarks addressed by attorney to judge or jury on the merits of case or on points of law.

ARRAIGN - The procedure where the accused is brought before the court to hear the criminal charge(s) against him or her and to enter a plea of either guilty, not guilty or no contest.

ARRAIGNMENT - A proceeding in which the accused is brought before the court to plead to the criminal charge in the indictment or information. The charge is read to him or her and he or she is asked to plead guilty or not guilty or, where permitted, nolo contendere (no contest). Another term for preliminary hearing.

ARREST - To deprive a person of his liberty by legal authority.

ARREST OF JUDGMENT - Postponing the effect of a judgment already entered.

ARSON - The malicious burning of someone else's or one's own dwelling or of anyone's commercial or industrial property.

ASSAULT - Any willful attempt or threat to inflict injury upon the person of another, when coupled with the present ability to do so, and any intentional display of force such as would give victim reason to fear or expect immediate bodily harm.

ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON - An aggravated unlawful assault in which there is threat to do bodily harm without justification or excuse by use of any instrument calculated to do serious bodily harm or cause death.

ASSAULT, AGGRAVATED - An assault committed with the intention of committing some additional crime.

ASSIGNEE - The person to whom property rights or power are transferred by another, a grantee.

ASSUMPTION OF RISK - In tort law, a defense to a personal injury suit. The essence of an affirmative defense is that the plaintiff assumed the known risk of whatever dangerous condition caused the injury.

AT ISSUE - The time in a lawsuit when the complaining party has stated his or her claim and the other side has responded with a denial and the matter is ready to be tried.

ATTACHMENT - Taking a person's property to satisfy a court-ordered debt.

ATTEMPT - An endeavor or effort to do an act or accomplish a crime, carries beyond preparation, but lacking execution.

ATTEST - To bear witness to, to affirm to be true or genuine, to certify.

ATTORNEY - Attorney at law, lawyer, counselor at law.

ATTORNEY OF RECORD - The lawyer who represents a client and is entitled to receive all formal documents from the court or from other parties. Also known as counsel of record.

ATTORNEY-AT-LAW - An advocate, counsel, or official agent employed in preparing, managing, and trying cases in the courts.

ATTORNEY-IN-FACT - A private person (who is not necessarily a lawyer) authorized by another to act in his or her place, either for some particular purpose, as to do a specific act, or for the transaction of business in general, not of legal character. This authority is conferred by an instrument in writing, called a letter of attorney, or more commonly, a power of attorney.

AUTHENTICATE - To give authority or legal authenticity to a statute, record, or other written instrument.

AUTO TAMPERING - The manipulation of an automobile and its parts for a specific purpose.

BAIL - Money or other security (such as a bail bond) provided to the court to temporarily allow a person's release from jail and assure his or her appearance in court. Bail and Bond are often used interchangeably.

BAIL BOND - An obligation signed by the accused to secure his or her presence at the trial. This obligation means that the accused may lose money by not properly appearing for the trial. Often referred to simply as bond.

BAIL BONDSMAN - A person who is the liable party in paying the bond for the defendant's release from jail.

BAIL FORFEITURE - Bail that is kept by the court as a result of not following a court order.

BAIL REVIEW - A hearing established to re-evaluate the bail amount that was originally set for the accused.

BAILIFF - A court officer who has charge of a court session in the matter of keeping order and has custody of the jury.

BANKRUPT - The state or condition of a person who is unable to pay his or her debts as they are or become due.

BANKRUPTCY - Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may be released

from or “discharged” from their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings. The person with the debts is called the debtor and the people or companies to whom the debtor owes money to

are called creditors.

BAR - 1. Historically, the partition separating the general public from the space occupied by the judges, lawyers, and other participants in a trial. 2. More commonly, the term means the whole body of lawyers.

BAR EXAMINATION - A state examination taken by prospective lawyers in order to be admitted and licensed to practice law.

BATTERED CHILD SYNDROME (B.C.S.) - Physical condition of a child indicating that external or internal injuries result from acts committed by a parent or custodian.

BATTERY - An offensive touching or use of force on a person without the person's consent.

BATTERY, SPOUSAL - An offensive touching or use of force on one's spouse without the spouse's consent. See BATTERY.

BENCH - The seat occupied by judges in courts.

BENCH CONFERENCE - A meeting either on or off the record at the judge's bench between the judge, counsel, and sometimes the defendant, out of the hearing of the jury.

BENCH TRIAL - Trial without a jury in which a judge decides the facts.

BENCH WARRANT - An order issued by a judge for the arrest of a person.

BENEFICIARY - Someone named to receive property or benefits in a will. In a trust, a person who is to receive benefits from the trust.

BEQUEATH - To give a gift to someone through a will.

BEQUESTS - Gifts made in a will.

BEST EVIDENCE - Primary evidence; the best evidence available. Evidence short of this is “secondary.” That is, an original letter is “best evidence,” and a photocopy is “secondary evidence.”

BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT - The standard in a criminal case requiring that the jury be satisfied to a moral certainty that every element of a crime has been proven by the prosecution. This standard of proof does not require that the state establish absolute certainty by eliminating all doubt, but it does require that the evidence be so conclusive that all reasonable doubts are removed from the mind of the ordinary person.

BIAS - Inclination, bent, a pre-conceived opinion or a predisposition to decide a cause or an issue a certain way.

BIFURCATE - To try issues separately, such as guilt and criminal responsibility in a criminal proceeding or liability and damages in a civil action.

BILL OF PARTICULARS - A statement of the details of the charge made against the defendant.

BIND OVER - To hold a person for trial on bond (bail) or in jail. If the judicial official conducting a hearing finds probable cause to believe the accused committed a crime, the official will bind over the accused, normally by setting bail for the accused's appearance at trial.

BODY ATTACHMENT - A written order issued by a court directing a sheriff or peace officer to take custody of and bring before the court: 1) A witness who fails to comply with a subpoena, 2) a party who fails to comply with a court order in a

civil action, or 3) a material witness in a criminal case.

BOND - A certificate or evidence of a debt. Often used interchangeably with bail.

BOOKING - The process of photographing, fingerprinting, and recording identifying data of a suspect. This process follows the arrest.

BOOKING NUMBER - The number assigned to the criminal record that corresponds to the person's arrest.

BOOKMAKING - The act of collecting the bets of others or making odds on future gambling events.

BRANDISHING A WEAPON - The act of showing a weapon to another person, typically the police or the victim.

BREACH - The breaking or violating of a law, right, obligation, or duty either by doing an act or failing to do an act.

BREAKING AND ENTERING - Breaking and entering a dwelling of another in nighttime with intent to commit a felony therein.

BREATHALYZER TEST - Test to determine content of alcohol in one arrested for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor by analyzing a breath sample.

BRIBE - A gift, not necessarily of monetary value, given to influence the conduct of the receiver.

BRIEF - A written statement prepared by the counsel arguing a case in court. It contains a summary of the facts of a case, the pertinent laws, and an argument of how the law applies to the facts supporting counsel's position.

BURDEN OF PROOF - The obligation of a party to establish by evidence a requisite degree of belief concerning a fact in the mind of the trier of fact or the court.

BURGLARY - The act of entering or remaining illegally in a movable or immovable structure, vehicle or dwelling with intent to commit a felony.

CALENDAR - List of cases scheduled for hearing in court.

CALLING THE DOCKET - The public calling of the docket or list of causes at commencement of term of court, for setting a time for trial or entering orders.

CAPITAL CASE - A criminal case in which the allowable punishment includes death.

CAPITAL CRIME - A crime punishable by death.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT - Punishment by death for capital crimes. Death penalty.

CAPTION - The heading on a legal document listing the parties, the court, the case number, and related information.

CASE - A general term for an action, cause, suit, or controversy brought before the court for resolution.

CASE LAW - Law established by previous decisions of appellate courts, particularly the Supreme Court.

CASE NUMBER - See DOCKET NUMBER.

CAUSATION - The act which produces an effect.

CAUSE - A lawsuit, litigation, or action. Any question, civil or criminal, litigated or contested before a court of justice.

CAUSE OF ACTION - The facts that give rise to a lawsuit or a legal claim.

CEASE AND DESIST ORDER - An order of an administrative agency or court prohibiting a person or business from continuing a particular course of conduct.

CERTIFICATION - 1. Written attestation. 2. Authorized declaration verifying that an instrument is a true and correct copy of the original.

CERTIFIED - Attested as being true or an exact reproduction.

CHAIN OF CUSTODY - An accounting for the whereabouts of the tangible evidence from the moment it is received in custody until it is offered in evidence in court.

CHALLENGE - An objection, such as when an attorney objects at a hearing to the seating of a particular person on a civil or criminal jury.

CHALLENGE FOR CAUSE - Objection to the seating of a particular juror for a stated reason (usually bias or prejudice for or against one of the parties in the lawsuit). The judge has the discretion to deny the challenge. This differs from peremptory challenge.

CHALLENGE TO THE ARRAY - Questioning the qualifications of an entire jury panel, usually on the ground of partiality or some fault in the process of summoning the panel.

CHAMBERS - A judge's private office. A hearing in chambers takes place in the judge's office outside of the presence of the jury and the public.

CHANGE OF VENUE - Moving a lawsuit or criminal trial to another place for trial.

CHARACTER EVIDENCE - The testimony of witnesses who know the general character and reputation of a person in the community in which he or she lives. It may be considered by the jury in a dual respect: 1) as substantive evidence upon the theory that a person of good character and reputation is less likely to commit a crime than one who does not have a good character and reputation, and 2) as corroborative evidence in support of a witness's testimony as bearing upon credibility.

CHARGE - A formal allegation, as a preliminary step in prosecution, that a person has committed a specific offense, which is recorded in a complaint, information or indictment. To charge; To accuse. See INSTRUCTIONS.

CHARGE TO THE JURY - The judge's instructions to the jury concerning the law that applies to the facts of the case on trial.

CHARGING DOCUMENT - A written accusation alleging a defendant has committed an offense. Includes a citation, an indictment, information, and statement of charges.

CHIEF JUDGE - Presiding or Administrative Judge in a court.

CHILD ABUSE - Any form of cruelty to a child's physical, moral, or mental well-being.

CHILD MOLESTATION - Any form of indecent or sexual activity on, involving, or surrounding a child under the state's designated age.

CHILD SUPPORT - The legal obligation of parents to contribute to the economic maintenance, including education, of their children. Money paid by one parent to another toward the expenses of the children of the marriage.

CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE - All evidence except eyewitness testimony. One example is physical evidence, such as fingerprints, from which an inference can be drawn.

CITATION - A reference to a source of legal authority. A direction to appear in court, as when a defendant is cited into court, rather than arrested.

CIVIL ACTION - Noncriminal case in which one private individual or business sues another to protect, enforce, or redress private or civil rights.

CIVIL CASE - A lawsuit brought to enforce, redress, or protect private rights or to gain payment for a wrong done to a person or party by another person or party. In general, all types of actions other than criminal proceedings.

CIVIL PROCEDURE - The rules and process by which a civil case is tried and appealed, including the preparations for trial, the rules of evidence and trial conduct, and the procedure for pursuing appeals.

CLAIM - The assertion of a right to money or property.

CLASS ACTION - A lawsuit brought by one or more persons on behalf of a larger group.

CLEAR AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE - Standard of proof commonly used in civil lawsuits and in regulatory agency cases. It governs the amount of proof that must be offered in order for the plaintiff to win the case.

CLEMENCY OR EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY - Act of grace or mercy by the president or governor to ease the consequences of a criminal act, accusation, or conviction. It may take the form of commutation or pardon.

CLERK - Officer of the court who files pleadings, motions, judgments, etc., issues process, and keeps records of court proceedings.

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, rules, and regulations enacted by legislative authority.

CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE - Body of federal or state law dealing with procedural aspects of trial for criminal cases.

CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS - The CFR is the annual listing of executive agency regulations published in the daily Federal Register, and the regulations issued previously which are still in effect. The CFR contains regulatory laws governing practice and procedure before federal administrative agencies.

CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY - The rules of conduct that govern the legal profession. The Code contains general ethical guidelines and specific rules written by the American Bar Association.

CODICIL (kod'i-sil) - An amendment to a will.

COLLATERAL - 1. Property that is pledged as security against a debt. 2. A person belonging to the same ancestral stock (a relation), but not in a direct line of descent.

COLLATERAL ATTACK - An attack on a judgment other than a direct appeal to a higher court.

COMMISSIONER - A person who directs a commission; a member of a commission. The officer in charge of a department or bureau of a public service.

COMMIT - 1. To execute, perpetrate, or carry out an act. To commit a crime. 2. To send a person to prison, asylum, or reformatory by a court order.

COMMITMENT - 1. The action of sending a person to a penal or mental institution. 2. The order directing an officer to take a person to a penal or mental institution.

COMMITMENT ORDER - A court order directing that an individual be kept in custody, usually in a penal or mental facility.

COMMON LAW - The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.

COMMUNITY PROPERTY - Property owned in common by husband and wife each having an undivided one-half interest by reason of their marital status. For example, the earnings of one spouse during the marriage do not belong solely to that spouse; the earnings are community property.

COMMUTATION - The reduction of a sentence, such as from death to life imprisonment.

COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE - A legal doctrine by which acts of the opposing parties are compared to determine the liability of each party to the other, making each liable only for his or her percentage of fault. See also CONTRIBUTORY

NEGLIGENCE.

COMPETENCY - Mental capacity of a person, especially with regard to his or her ability to stand trial and to assist counsel in his or her defense.

COMPLAINANT - The party who complains or sues; one who applies to the court for legal redress. Also called the plaintiff.

COMPLAINT - The legal document that usually begins a civil lawsuit. It states the facts and identifies the action the court is asked to take. 2. Formal written charge that a person has committed a criminal offense.

COMPLY - To act in accordance with, to accept, to obey.

COMPOSITE DRAWING - A picture of an alleged criminal created by a professional police artist using verbal descriptions given by the victim or a witness.

CONCILIATION - A form of alternative dispute resolution in which the parties bring their dispute to a neutral third party, who helps lower tensions, improve communications, and explore possible solutions. Conciliation is similar to mediation, but it may be less formal.

CONCURRENT JURISDICTION - The jurisdiction of two or more courts, each authorized to deal with the same subject matter.

CONCURRENT SENTENCES - Sentences for more than one crime that are to be served at the same time, rather than one after the other. See also CUMULATIVE SENTENCES.

CONDEMNATION - The legal process by which the government takes private land for public use, paying the owners a fair price. See EMINENT DOMAIN.

CONDITIONAL RELEASE - A release from custody which imposes regulations on the activities and associations of the defendant. If a defendant fails to meet the conditions, the release is revoked.

CONFESSION - Voluntary statement made by one who is a defendant in a criminal trial, which, if true, discloses his or her guilt.

CONFISCATE - To seize or take private property for public use (the police confiscated the weapon).

CONFLICT OF INTEREST - 1. A real or seeming incompatibility between one's private interests and one's public or fiduciary duties. 2. A real or seeming incompatibility between the interests of two of a lawyer's clients, such that the lawyer is disqualified from representing both clients if the dual representation adversely affects either client or if the clients do not consent.

CONSECUTIVE SENTENCES - Successive sentences, one beginning at the expiration of another, imposed against a person convicted of two or more violations.

CONSERVATORSHIP - Legal right given to a person to manage the property and financial affairs of a person deemed incapable of doing that for himself or herself. (Conservators have somewhat less responsibility than guardians. See also guardianship.)

CONSIDERATION - The cause, price, or impelling influence which induces a party to enter into a contract.

CONSPIRACY - An agreement by two or more persons to commit an unlawful act; in criminal law, conspiracy is a separate offense from the crime that is the object of the conspiracy.

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT - A right guaranteed by the U. S. Constitution, interpreted by the federal courts; also, a right guaranteed by some other constitution (such as a state constitution).

CONTEMPT OF COURT - The finding of the court that an act was committed with the intent of embarrassing the court, disobeying its lawful orders, or obstructing the administration of justice in some way.

CONTINUANCE - The adjournment or postponement of a session, hearing, trial, or other proceeding until a future date.

CONTRACT - A legally enforceable agreement between two or more competent parties made either orally or in writing.

CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE - A legal doctrine that says if the plaintiff in a civil action for negligence also was negligent, he or she cannot recover damages from the defendant for the defendant's negligence. Most jurisdictions have abandoned the doctrine of contributory negligence in favor of comparative negligence.

CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE - Any of the drugs whose production and use are regulated by law, including narcotics, stimulants, and hallucinogens.





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