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English legal glossary 3 страница




IMPEACHMENT OF WITNESS - To call into question the truthfulness of a witness.

IMPLIED CONTRACT - A contract in which the promise made by the obligor is not expressed, but inferred by one's conduct or implied in law.

INADMISSIBLE - That which, under the rules of evidence, cannot be admitted as evidence in a trial or hearing.

INCAPACITY - The lack of power or the legal ability to act.

INCARCERATE - To confine in jail.

INCEST - Sexual intercourse between persons so closely related that marriage between them would be unlawful.

INCOMPETENCY - Lack of capacity to understand the nature and object of the proceedings, to consult with counsel, and to assist in preparing a defense.

INCRIMINATE - To make it appear that one is guilty of a crime.

INDECENT EXPOSURE - Exposure to sight of the private parts of the body in a lewd or indecent manner in a public place.

INDEMNIFY - The term pertains to liability for loss shifted from one person held legally responsible to another.

INDEPENDENT EXECUTOR - A special kind of executor, permitted by the laws of certain states, who performs the duties of an executor without intervention by the court.

INDETERMINATE SENTENCE - A sentence of imprisonment to a specified minimum and maximum period of time, specifically authorized by statute, subject to termination by a parole board or other authorized agency after the prisoner has

served the minimum term.

INDICTMENT - A formal written accusation, issued by a grand jury, charging a party with a crime.

INDIGENT - Needy and poor. A defendant who can demonstrate his or her indigence to the court may be assigned a courtappointed attorney at public expense.

INFORMANT - An undisclosed person who confidentially discloses material information of a crime to the police, which is usually done in exchange for a reward or special treatment.

INFORMATION - A formal written document filed by the prosecutor detailing the criminal charges against the defendant. An alternative to an indictment, it serves to bring a defendant to trial.

INFRACTION - A violation of law, not punishable by imprisonment. Minor traffic offenses are generally considered infractions.

INHERITANCE TAX - A state tax on property that an heir or beneficiary under a will receives from a deceased person's estate. The heir or beneficiary pays this tax.

INITIAL APPEARANCE - In criminal law, the hearing at which a judge determines whether there is sufficient evidence against a person charged with a crime to hold him or her for trial. The Constitution bans secret accusations, so initial appearances are public unless the defendant asks otherwise; the accused must be present, though he or she usually does not offer evidence. Also called first appearance.

INJUNCTION - Writ or order by a court prohibiting a specific action from being carried out by a person or group.

INMATE - A person confined to a prison, penitentiary, or jail.

INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY - A belief in the American legal system which states that all people accused of a criminal act are considered not to have committed the crime until the evidence leaves no doubt in the mind of the court or the jury that the accused did or did not commit the crime.

INSANITY PLEA - A claim by a defendant that he or she lacks the soundness of mind required by law to accept responsibility for a criminal act.

INSTRUCTIONS - Judge's explanation to the jury before it begins deliberations of the questions it must answer and the applicable law governing the case. Also called charge.

INTANGIBLE ASSETS - Nonphysical items such as stock certificates, bonds, bank accounts, and pension benefits that have value and must be taken into account in estate planning.

INTENT - The purpose to use a particular means to bring about a certain result.

INTERLOCUTORY - Provisional; not final. An interlocutory order or an interlocutory appeal concerns only a part of the issues raised in a lawsuit. Compare to decree.

INTERROGATORIES - Written questions asked by one party in a lawsuit for which the opposing party must provide written answers.

INTERVENTION - An action by which a third person who may be affected by a lawsuit is permitted to become a party to the suit. Differs from the process of becoming an amicus curiae.

INTESTACY LAWS - See DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION STATUTES.

INTESTATE - Dying without a will.

INTESTATE SUCCESSION - The process by which the property of a person who has died without a will passes on to others according to the state's descent and distribution statutes. If someone dies without a will, and the court uses the state’s

interstate succession laws, an heir who receives some of the deceased's property is an intestate heir.

INVESTIGATION - A legal inquiry to discover and collect facts concerning a certain matter.

IRRELEVANT - Evidence not sufficiently related to the matter in issue.

IRREVOCABLE TRUST - A trust that, once set up, the grantor may not revoke.

ISSUE - 1) The disputed point in a disagreement between parties in a lawsuit. 2) To send out officially, as in to issue an order.

JAIL - A place of confinement that is more than a police station and less than a prison. It is usually used to hold persons

convicted of misdemeanors or persons awaiting trial.

JEOPARDY - The peril in which an accused is placed when he is properly charged with a crime before a court. Jeopardy normally attaches when the petit jury is impaneled. After such time, the accused may not be released and tried at a later date for the same offense. Subject to exception. See DOUBLE JEOPARDY.

JOIN - To unite, to combine, to enter into an alliance.

JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY - A legal doctrine that makes each of the parties who are responsible for an injury liable for all the damages awarded in a lawsuit if the other parties responsible cannot pay.

JOINT TENANCY - A form of legal co-ownership of property (also known as survivorship). At the death of one co-owner, the surviving co-owner becomes sole owner of the property. Tenancy by the entirety is a special form of joint tenancy

between a husband and wife.

JOINT VENTURE - An association of persons jointly undertaking some commercial enterprise. Unlike a partnership, a joint venture does not entail a continuing relationship among the parties.

JOYRIDING - The illegal taking of an automobile without intent to deprive the owner permanently of the vehicle, often involving reckless driving.

JUDGE - An elected or appointed public official with authority to hear and decide cases in a court of law.

JUDGMENT (JUDGMENT) - The final decision of the court, resolving the dispute; an opinion; an award.

JUDICIAL NOTICE - A court's recognition of the truth of basic facts without formal evidence.

JUDICIAL REVIEW - The authority of a court to review the official actions of other branches of government. Also, the authority to declare unconstitutional the actions of other branches.

JURISDICTION - 1. The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. 2. The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.

JURISPRUDENCE - The study of law and the structure of the legal system.

JUROR - Member of the jury.

JUROR, ALTERNATE - Additional juror impaneled in case of sickness or disability of another juror.

JURY BOX - The specific place in the courtroom where the jury sits during the trial.

JURY COMMISSIONER - The court officer responsible for choosing the panel of persons to serve as potential jurors for a

particular court term.

JURY FOREMAN - The juror who chairs the jury during deliberations and speaks for the jury in court when announcing the verdict.

JURY TRIAL - Trial in which a jury decides issues of fact as opposed to trial only before a judge.

JURY, HUNG - A jury which is unable to agree on a verdict after a suitable period of deliberation.

JUSTICIABLE - Issues and claims capable of being properly examined in court.

JUVENILE - A young person who has not yet attained the age at which he or she should be treated as an adult for purposes of criminal law and other legal matters.

JUVENILE HALL - The facility where juvenile offenders are held in custody.

JUVENILE WAIVER - A procedure by which a charge(s) against a minor is transferred from a juvenile to circuit court.

KIDNAPPING - The taking or detaining of a person against his or her will and without lawful authority.

KNOWINGLY - With knowledge, willfully or intentionally with respect to a material element of an offense.

LARCENY - Stealing or theft.

LAW - The combination of those rules and principles of conduct promulgated by legislative authority, derived from court

decisions, and established by local custom.

LAW AND MOTION - A setting before a judge at which time a variety of motions, pleas, sentencing, orders to show cause or procedural requests may be presented. Normally, evidence is not taken. Defendants must be present.

LAW CLERKS - Persons trained in the law who assist judges in researching legal opinions.

LAWSUIT - An action between two or more persons in the courts of law, not a criminal matter.

LAY PERSON - One not trained in law.

LEADING QUESTION - One which instructs the witness how to answer or puts words in his mouth to be echoed back. One which suggests to the witness the answer desired.

LEASE - A contract by which owner of property grants to another the right to possess, use, and enjoy it for a specified

period of time in exchange for payment of an agreed price (rent).

LEGAL AID - Professional legal services available usually to persons or organizations unable to afford such services.

LENIENCY - Recommendation for a sentence less than the maximum allowed.

LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSE - A crime composed of some, but not all, of the elements of a greater crime; commission

of the greater crime automatically includes commission of the lesser included offense.

LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION - Legal document issued by a court that shows an administrator's legal right to take

control of assets in the deceased person's name.

LETTERS TESTAMENTARY - Legal document issued by a court that shows an executor's legal right to take control of

assets in the deceased person's name.

LEVY - A seizure; the obtaining of money by legal process through seizure and sale of property.

LEWD CONDUCT - Behavior that is obscene, lustful, indecent, vulgar.

LIABILITY - Legal debts and obligations.

LIABLE - Legally responsible.

LIBEL - Published words or pictures that falsely and maliciously harm the reputation of a person. See DEFAMATION.

LIE DETECTOR - A machine which records by a needle on a graph varying emotional disturbances when answering questions truly or falsely, as indicated by fluctuations in blood pressure, respiration, or perspiration.

LIEN - A legal claim against another person's property as security for a debt. A lien does not convey ownership of the property, but gives the lien holder a right to have his or her debt satisfied out of the proceeds of the property if the debt is not

otherwise paid.

LIFE IMPRISONMENT - A type of sentence where the convicted criminal is ordered to spend the rest of his or her life in prison.

LIMITED ACTION - A civil action in which recovery of less than a certain amount (as specified by statute) is sought. Simplified rules of procedure are used in such actions.

LIMITED JURISDICTION - Refers to courts that are limited in the types of criminal and civil cases they may hear. For example, traffic violations generally are heard by limited jurisdiction courts.

LINEUP - A police identification procedure by which the suspect to a crime is exhibited, along with others, before the victim or witness to determine if the victim or witness can identify the suspect as the person who committed the crime.

LITIGANT - A party to a lawsuit. Litigation refers to a case, controversy, or lawsuit.

LITIGATION - A lawsuit.

LIVING TRUST - A trust set up and in effect during the lifetime of the grantor. Also called inter vivos trust.

LOITERING - To stand idly around, particularly in a public place.

LYNCHING - Putting a person to death, usually by hanging, without legal authority.

MAGISTRATE - Judicial officer exercising some of the functions of a judge. It also refers in a general way to a judge.

MALFEASANCE - Evil doing, ill conduct; the commission of some act which is positively prohibited by law.

MALICE - Ill will, hatred, or hostility by one person toward another which may prompt the intentional doing of a wrongful act without legal justification or excuse.

MALICIOUS MISCHIEF - Willful destruction of property, from actual ill will or resentment toward its owner or possessor.

MALICIOUS PROSECUTION - An action instituted with intention of injuring the defendant and without probable cause, and which terminates in favor of the person prosecuted.

MALPRACTICE - Violation of a professional duty to act with reasonable care and in good faith without fraud or collusion. This term is usually applied to such conduct by doctors, lawyers, or accountants.

MANDATE - A judicial command or order proceeding from a court or judicial officer, directing the proper officer to enforce a judgment, sentence, or decree.

MANSLAUGHTER, INVOLUNTARY - Unlawful killing of another, without malice, when the death is caused by some other unlawful act not usually expected to result in great bodily harm.

MANSLAUGHTER, VOLUNTARY - Unlawful killing of another, without malice, when the act is committed with a sudden extreme emotional impulse.

MASTER - An attorney who is appointed by the judges of a circuit court with the approval of the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, to conduct hearings and to make finding of facts, conclusions of law, and recommendations as to an appropriate order.

MATERIAL EVIDENCE - That quality of evidence which tends to influence the trier of fact because of its logical connection with the issue.

MATERIAL WITNESS - In criminal trial, a witness whose testimony is crucial to either the defense or prosecution.

MAYHEM - A malicious injury which disables or disfigures another.

MEDIATION - A form of alternative dispute resolution in which the parties bring their dispute to a neutral third party, who helps them agree on a settlement.

MEMORIALIZED - To mark by observation in writing.

MENTAL HEALTH - The wellness of a person's state of mind.

MERITS - Strict legal rights of the parties; a decision "on the merits" is one that reaches the right(s) of a party, as distinguished from disposition of a case on a ground not reaching the right(s) raised in an action; for example, entry of nolle

prosequi before a criminal trial begins is a disposition other than on the merits, allowing trial on those charges at a later time without double jeopardy attaching; similarly, dismissal of a civil action on a preliminary motion raising a technicality, such as improper service of process, does not result in res judicata of an issue.

MIRANDA RIGHTS - Requirement that police tell a suspect in their custody of his or her constitutional rights before they question him or her: specifically, the right to remain silent; that any statement made may be used against him or her; the right to an attorney; and if the person cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed if he or she desires.

MIRANDA WARNING - See MIRANDA RIGHTS.

MISDEMEANOR - A lesser offense than a felony and generally punishable by fine or limited jail time, but not in a penitentiary.

MISTRIAL - An invalid trial caused by some legal error. When a judge declares a mistrial, the trial must start again from the beginning, including the selection of a new 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.

MITIGATING FACTORS - Facts that do not constitute a justification or excuse for an offense but which may be considered as reasons for reducing the degree of blame.

MODIFICATION - A change, alteration, or amendment which introduces new elements into the details, or cancels some of them, but leaves the general purpose and effect of the subject-matter intact.

MOOT - A moot case or a moot point is one not subject to a judicial determination because it involves an abstract question or a pretended controversy that has not yet actually arisen or has already passed. Mootness usually refers to a court's refusal

to consider a case because the issue involved has been resolved prior to the court's decision, leaving nothing that would be affected by the court's decision.

MORAL TURPITUDE - Immorality. An element of crimes inherently bad, as opposed to crimes bad merely because they are forbidden by statute.

MOTION - Oral or written request made by a party to an action before, during, or after a trial asking the judge to issue a ruling or order in that party's favor.

MOTION DENIED - Ruling or order issued by the judge denying the party's request.

MOTION GRANTED - Ruling or order issued by the judge granting the party's request.

MUGSHOT - Pictures taken after a suspect is taken into custody (booked), usually used as an official photograph by police officers.

MULTIPLICITY OF ACTIONS - Numerous and unnecessary attempts to litigate the same issue.

MURDER - The unlawful killing of a human being with deliberate intent to kill.

NEGLIGENCE - Failure to exercise the degree of care that a reasonable person would use under the same circumstances.

NEXT FRIEND - One acting without formal appointment as guardian for the benefit of an infant, a person of unsound mind not judicially declared incompetent, or other person under some disability.

NO BILL - This phrase, endorsed by a grand jury on the written indictment submitted to it for its approval, means that the evidence was found insufficient to indict.

NO-CONTEST CLAUSE - Language in a will that provides that a person who makes a legal challenge to the will's validity will be disinherited.

NO-FAULT PROCEEDINGS - A civil case in which parties may resolve their dispute without a formal finding of error or fault.

NOMINAL PARTY - One who is joined as a party or defendant merely because the technical rules of pleading require his presence in the record.

NON-CAPITAL CASE - A criminal case in which the allowable penalty does not include death.

NOT GUILTY - The form of verdict in criminal cases where the jury acquits the defendant, finds him or her not guilty.

NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY - The jury or the judge must determine that the defendant, because of mental disease or defect, could not form the intent required to commit the offense.

NOTICE - Formal notification to the party that has been sued in a civil case of the fact that the lawsuit has been filed. Also, any form of notification of a legal proceeding.

NOTICE TO PRODUCE - In practice, a notice in writing requiring the opposite party to produce a certain described paper or document at the trial, or in the course of pre-trial discovery.

NULL AND VOID - Having no force, legal power to bind, or validity.

NUNCUPATIVE WILL - An oral (unwritten) will.

OATH - Written or oral pledge by a witness to speak the truth.

OBJECT - To protest to the court against an act or omission by the opposing party.

OBJECTION - A protest to the court against an act or omission by the opposing party.

OBJECTION OVERRULED - A ruling by the court upholding the act or omission of the opposing party.

OBJECTION SUSTAINED - A ruling by the court in favor of the party making the objection.

OF COUNSEL - A phrase commonly applied to counsel employed to assist in the preparation or management of the case, or its presentation on appeal, but who is not the principal attorney for the party.

OFFENDER - One who commits a crime, such as a felony, misdemeanor, or other punishable unlawful act.

OFFENSE - A crime, such as a felony, misdemeanor, or other punishable unlawful act.

OFFER OF PROOF - Presentation of evidence to the court (out of the hearing of the jury) for the court's decision of whether the evidence is admissible.

ON A PERSON'S OWN RECOGNIZANCE - Release of a person from custody without the payment of any bail or posting of bond, upon the promise to return to court.

OPENING ARGUMENT - The initial statement made by attorneys for each side, outlining the facts each intends to establish during the trial.

OPENING STATEMENT - See OPENING ARGUMENT.

OPINION - A judge's written explanation of a decision of the court or of a majority of judges. A dissenting opinion disagrees with the majority opinion because of the reasoning and/or the principles of law on which the decision is based. A concurring opinion agrees with the decision of the court but offers further comment. A per curiam opinion is an unsigned opinion “of the court.”

OPINION EVIDENCE - Witnesses are normally required to confine their testimony to statements of fact and are not allowed to give their opinions in court. However, if a witness is qualified as an expert in a particular field, he or she may be allowed to state an opinion as an expert based on certain facts.

ORAL ARGUMENT - An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE - Court order requiring to appear and show cause why the court should not take a particular course of action. If the party fails to appear or to give sufficient reasons why the court should take no action, the court will take the action. In criminal cases, the defendant must show why probation should not be revoked.

ORDER, COURT - A written or verbal command from a court directing or forbidding an action.

ORDINANCE - An act of legislation of a local governing body such as a city, town or county.

ORIGINAL JURISDICTION - The court in which a matter must first be filed.

OVERRULE - A judge's decision not to allow an objection. A decision by a higher court finding that a lower court decision was wrong.

OVERRULED - See OVERRULE.

OVERT ACT - An open act showing the intent to commit a crime.

PANDERING - Pimping. Arranging for acts of prostitution.

PARALEGAL - A person with legal skills, but who is not an attorney, and who works under the supervision of a lawyer or who is otherwise authorized by law to use those legal skills.

PARDON - A form of executive clemency preventing criminal prosecution or removing or extinguishing a criminal conviction.

PAROLE - Supervised release of a prisoner before the expiration of his or her sentence.

PAROLE EVIDENCE - Oral or verbal evidence rather than written. The Parole Evidence Rule limits the admissibility of parole evidence which would directly contradict the clear meaning of terms of a written contract.

PARTY - A person, business, or government agency actively involved in the prosecution or defense of a legal proceeding.

PATENT - A government grant giving an inventor the exclusive right to make or sell his or her invention for a term of years.

PATERNITY - Fatherhood.

PENALTY - Punishment, civil or criminal, generally referring to payment of money.

PENDING - Begun, but not yet completed. Thus, an action is pending from its inception until the rendition of its final judgment.

PENITENTIARY - A prison or place of confinement where convicted felons are sent to serve out the term of their sentence.

PEOPLE (PROSECUTION) - A state, for example, the People of the State of New York.

PEREMPTORY CHALLENGE - The right to challenge a juror without assigning a reason for the challenge.

PERJURY - A false statement given while under oath or in a sworn affidavit.

PERMANENT INJUNCTION - A court order requiring that some action be taken, or that some party refrain from taking action. It differs from forms of temporary relief, such as a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction.

PERMANENT RESIDENT - One who lives in a location for a period of time and denotes it as their official address or residence.

PERSON IN NEED OF SUPERVISION - Juvenile found to have committed a status offense rather than a crime that would provide a basis for a finding of delinquency. Typical status offenses are habitual truancy, violating a curfew, or running away from home. These are not crimes, but they might be enough to place a child under supervision. In different states, status offenders might be called children in need of supervision or minors in need of supervision. See STATUS OFFENDERS.

PERSONAL PROPERTY - Tangible physical property (such as cars, clothing, furniture, and jewelry) and intangible personal property. This does not include real property such as land or rights in land.

PERSONAL RECOGNIZANCE - Pre-trial release based on the person's own promise that he or she will show up for trial (no bond required). Also referred to as release on own recognizance or ROR. See ON A PERSON'S OWN RECOGNIZANCE.

PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE - The person who administers an estate. If named in a will, that person's title is an executor. If there is no valid will, that person's title is an administrator.

PETIT JURY - The ordinary jury of twelve (or fewer) persons for the trial of a civil or criminal case. So called to distinguish it from the grand jury.

PETITION - A formal, written application to the court requesting judicial action on some matter.

PETITIONER - The person filing an action in a court of original jurisdiction. Also, the person who appeals the judgment of a lower court. The opposing party is called the respondent.

PETTY OFFENSE - An offense for which the authorized penalty does not exceed imprisonment for 3 months or a fine of $500.

PETTY THEFT - The act of taking and carrying away the personal property of another of a value usually below $100.00 with the intent to deprive the owner or possessor of it permanently.

PIMP - To obtain customers for a whore or prostitute. One who obtains customers for a whore or prostitute.

PLAINTIFF - A person who initiates a lawsuit against another. Also called the complainant.

PLEA - In a criminal proceeding, it is the defendant's declaration in open court that he or she is guilty or not guilty. The defendant's answer to the charges made in the indictment or information.

PLEA BARGAIN - The process whereby the accused and the prosecutor in a criminal case work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to court approval. Usually involves the defendant's pleading guilty to a lesser offense or to only one.

PLEADINGS - The written statements of fact and law filed by the parties to a lawsuit.

POLLING THE JURY - The act, after a jury verdict has been announced, of asking jurors individually whether they agree with the verdict.

POLYGRAPH - Lie detector test and the apparatus for conducting the test.

POSSESSION OF DRUGS - The presence of drugs on the accused for recreational use or for the purpose to sell.

POST CONVICTION - A procedure by which a convicted defendant challenges the conviction and/or sentence on the basis of some alleged violation or error.

POSTPONEMENT - To put off or delay a court hearing.

POUR-OVER WILL - A will that leaves some or all estate assets to a trust established before the will-maker's death.

POWER OF ATTORNEY - Formal authorization of a person to act in the interest of another person.

PRECEDENT -A previously decided case that guides the decision of future cases.

PRE-INJUNCTION - Court order requiring action or forbidding action until a decision can be made whether to issue a permanent injunction. It differs from a temporary restraining order.

PREJUDICE - A forejudgment, bias, a preconceived opinion.

PREJUDICIAL ERROR - Synonymous with reversible error; an error which warrants the appellate court in reversing the judgment before it.

PREJUDICIAL EVIDENCE - Evidence which might unfairly sway the judge or jury to one side or the other.

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION - The hearing available to a person charged with a felony to determine if there is enough evidence (probable cause) to hold him for trial.

PRELIMINARY HEARING - Another term for arraignment.

PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION - In civil cases when it is necessary to preserve the status quo prior to trial, the court may issue a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order ordering a party to carry out a specified activity.

PREMEDITATION -The planning of a crime preceding the commission of the act, rather than committing the crime on the spur of the moment.





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