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NALS 11-875730
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Affidavit | A written or printed declaration of facts made voluntarily and confirmed by oath of the maker to a person with authority to administer the oath |
| Affirmative Defense | A defense to the plaintiff's defense raised in the defendant's answer. |
| Allegations | Numbered paragraphs setting forth the background and reasons for filing suit. |
| Amendment to Pleading | An amended pleading is one that is corrected in regard to fats that existed at the time original pleading was filed, Contrast to supplemental pleading. |
| Answer | a formal, written statement by the defendant in a lawsuit that answers each allegation contained in the complaint. |
| Answers to interrogatories | a formal, written statement by a party to a lawsuit that answers each question or interrogatory served upon him or her by the other party. |
| Appeal | A proceeding brought to a high court to review a lower court's decision. |
| Appeal Bond | a guaranty by the appealing party insuring that court costs will be paid. |
| Appearance | coming into court as a party to a suit, either in person or through a lawyer |
| Appellant | the party who takes a appeal from one court or jurisdiction to another |
| Appellee | the party in a cause against whom an appeal is taken |
| Assumption of Risk | the legal rule under which a person may not recover for an injury he or she receives when voluntarily exposing himself or herself to a known danger. |
| At issue | the term used to describe the status of litigation when the complaint and a responsive pleading have been filed. |
| Attorney-Client Privilege | the privilege that protects confidential communications, oral or written between the attorney and a client in the course of the professional relationship that cannot be disclosed with out the consent of the client. |
| Bench Trial | trial by a judge, rather than a jury |
| Bill of Laws | is to provide specific freedoms to citizens and limit the power of the government. |
| Bill of Costs | a certified, itemized statement of the amount of costs in an action or suit |
| Brief | Memorandum of material facts, points of law, precedents, etc. prepared to familiarize the court with the facts and the law of a particular case. |
| Caption or style | the title of the case, which usually includes the names of the court, the names of the parties, and the court number |
| Cause of action | the incidents or facts that give a person a right to relief in court. |
| Challenge for cause | a request by a plaintiff or defendant to a judge that prospective juror not be allowed to be a member of the jury because of specified causes or reasons,. |
| Civil cover sheet | a cover sheet required by many court listing the parties, the type of action, and other information related to the case that may be administratively useful to the court. |
| Closing Arguments | a summary presented by each party to a case that gives the jury reasons to find in the party's favor. |
| Claimant | one who claims or asserts a right |
| Comparative Negligence | is a partial legal defense that reduces the amount of damages that a plaintiff can recover in a negligence-based claim based upon the degree to which the plaintiff's own negligence contributed to cause the injury. |
| Civil cover sheet | a document which is filed with a court clerk at the commencement of a civil lawsuit in many of the court systems of the United States. |
| Closing Arguments | summation, or summing up is the concluding statement of each party's counsel reiterating the important arguments for the trier of fact, often the jury, in a court case. |
| Contingency Fee | the fee that is a percentage of the amount obtained in negotiation or litigation with another party |
| Contributory Negligence | an affirmative defense that asserts the injuries and damages complained of by the plaintiff were caused in whole or in part by the plaintiff's own negligence |
| Counterclaim | a claim presented by a defendant in opposition to or for deduction from the claim of plaintiff |
| Court of Last Resort | the highest court in a state that has intermediate courts of appeal, usually called a supreme court |
| Cross-Claim | a pleading filed by a defendant that asserts a claim against another defendant arising out of the same action as the original complaint |
| Cross-Examination | questioning of a party by opposing counsel |
| Default | (1) Failure of the defendant to appear or respond to a petitioner or complaint in litigation (2) failure to comply with the terms of a contract |
| Default Judgement | when a party fails to appear or respond to a petition or complaint, judgment can be granted to be opposing party by default. |
| Defendant | the person or entity defending or denying a suit. the party against whom recovery is sought or accuse in a criminal case. |
| Deposition | testimony of a witness or a party taken under oath outside the courtroom. |
| Direct Examination | questioning of a party to litigation conducted by the party's counsel |
| Discovery | the process by which a party to a lawsuit is entitled to obtain facts, documents, ad information about the case. |
| Dismissal | an order or judgment finally disposing of an action, suit motion etc. without trial of the issues involved. |
| Entry of Appearance | formal entry of an attorney into a case, presented to the court in pleading form. |
| Equity Relief | relief other than monetary damages, such as a request for performance of a contract or a request that a threatened action be stopped by the court. |
| Evidence | testimony, writing or material objects offered in proof of an alleged fact or proposition |
| Ex Parte | referring to an action taken without the participation of both parties to litigation. in due course, the other party must be notified of the action. In some instances, ex parte actions are impermissible and disciplinable |
| Exhibit | a paper or document produced and exhibited in court during a trial or hearing or deposition, or to auditors, arbiters, etc., as a proof of facts that , upon being accepted, is marked for identification and annexed to the deposition, report, document , or |
| Expert Witness | one who by reason of education or specialized experience possesses superior knowledge respecting a subject about which persons having no particular training are incapable of forming an accurate opnion |
| Failure to State a Claim | affirmative defense that alleges that the plaintiff failed to state a claim that the court can require the defendant to satisfy |
| Fiduciary | a person or institution that manages money or property of another and must exercise a standard of care imposed by a law, the personal representative or executor of an estate, a trustee |
| Filing Fee | the fee required for filing various documents or actions in court |
| Flat Fee | a set fee based on specific type of legal work |
| Hourly Billing | billing base on the time the attorney works and billed at the attorney's hourly rate for such work |
| Hung Jury | a jury that cannot reach a verdict, a hung jury results in a mistrial |
| Impeach | discredit , as a witness for an opposing party |
| Interrogatories | a set or series of written questions served upon a party, witness, or other person having information about or interest in a case, a discovery device |
| Judgement | the written decision of a court to an action or sui submitted to the court for determination |
| Judgement Creditor | one who is owed money as a result of a judgment in his or her favor |
| Judgement Debtor | one who owes money as a result of a judgment in favor of a creditor |
| Judgement-Proof | a judgment debtor that has no assets to seize in satisfaction of a judgment is considered judgment proof |
| Jury | a group of men and women selected according to law and sworn to try a question of fact or indict a person for public offense |
| Jury Trial | trial before a jury, as opposed to trial before a judge |
| Laches | an affirmative defense that alleges an inappropriate delay in filing suit that resulted in prejudice to the defendant |
| Leave of Court | permission of court to take some action |
| Legal Capacity | refers to whether a person may sue in his or her own right without being represented by someone else |
| Legal File | a transcript of court proceedings submitted as part of an appeal |
| Litigation | a law suit - a legal action |
| Majority | age at which a person is legally no longer a minor |
| Mediation | nonbinding settlement discussions between the parties |
| Memorandum Opinion | a judgment in which the judge sets out the factual and legal reasons that the judge used to reach the conclusions given in his of her opinion |
| Mistrial | declared when an event occur that undoes the ability to conduct a fair trial, one cause might be the revelation of excluded information, either deliberately or accidentally, another cause would be the inability of the jury to determine a verdict |
| Money Damages | damages in a case that can be reduced to financial claims |
| Motion | an application made to a court or judge that requests specific |
| Motion for Continuance | a motion that seeks to postpone a trial or hearing date |
| Motion for instructed or directed verdict | a motion typically made by the defendant's lawyer at the close of evidence presented by the plaintiff, based on the premise that the plaintiff has failed to prove his or her case |
| Motion for judgement non obstante veredicto or notwithstanding the verdict | a post trial motion that asks the judge to disregard a jury's verdict |
| Motion for mistrial | a motion that requires immediate dismissal of a case because inadmissible evidence has been presented that irreparably damages one of the parties cases |
| Motion for New Trial | a post trial motion that is filed prior to requesting an appeal |
| Motion for Nonsuit | a motion requesting the court to dismiss the cause for lack of action on the part of the opposing party. in various courts, the action is referred to as a voluntary dismissal or motion for dismissal |
| Motion for order to show cause | A motion is the means by which a party to an action requests a court order. Written motions are filed either as an order to show cause or as a notice of motion. |
| Motion for protective order | a motion filed to protect one party from requests by the opposing party, such as a request to take depositions at too great a distance from the witness. |
| Motion for Sanctions | a motion filed when discovery responses are not delivered timely to request disciplinary action |
| Motion for Summary Judgment | a pleading that requests the court to grant judgment against the opposing party, where the party filing believes there is no real issue of fact to be decided at trial |
| Motion in Limine | a motion that seeks to suppress revelation of certain information during litigation |
| Motion to Change Venue | a pleading filed before answering a petition or complaint that requests the case be transferred to another county or parish |
| Motion to Compel | a motion seeking an order compelling the opposing party to perform some action relative to the litigation often used to compel production of overdue discovery |
| Motion to quash service | a motion seeking to have service declared invalid on the basis that service was improperly made, that the wrong party was served, or that the summons does not show the date of service |
| Objections | objections can be filed when discovery requests are unreasonable rather than answering requests that are burdensome, seek to reveal privileged documents or seek information that may not be relevant to the case |
| Opening Statement | statement given at the beginning of litigation by each party, detailing what the elements of the case are what evidence will be presented. |
| Oral Argument | verbal presentation before a court of the merits and law relating to a case or an aspect of a case. in appellate court a time limit is usually set, in other courts the judge has discretion to set or waive time limits |
| Order | direction of a court or judge made in writing |
| Party or Person | a legal person or entity engaged in litigation with another |
| Peremptory Challenge | request by a party that a judge now allow a prospective juror to serve as a member of the jury. no reason or cause need to be given |
| Petition | first pleading filed in any lawsuits, also called complaint |
| Petition In Intervention | an additional party with an interest in the outcome of a lawsuit may file a petition in the intervention, setting out the details of the intervenor's interests and the relief the intervenor seeks |
| Petitioner | initiating party in a dissolution of marriage proceeding |
| Plaintiff | a person or entity who brings the action, the party who complains or sues in a civil action |
| Pleading | written statement made by each party in a lawsuit concerning the various claims and defense to be decided in court |
| Preserving the Record | a record is made of testimony on disputed points in litigation, typically by a court recorder |
| Pretrial Conference | conference among the lawyers and the judge called at the discretion of the court to review the issues to be tried and set discovery deadlines and hearing and trial dates |
| Pretrial Order | an order that states a variety of issues concerning a given case, including issues contested or uncontested, agreed facts, lists of witnesses to be called, exhibits to be introduced, and relevant deadlines for discovery, conference, hearing, or trial date |
| Privilege Log | a log describing discovery documents the production of which is objects to by the answering party |
| Propound | serve particularly discovery documents |
| Rebuttal | evidence given by one party in litigation to refute evidence introduced by other party |
| Redirect Examination | questioning of a party by the party's own counsel following a session of cross-examination of opposing counsel |
| Release of Claims | a document that details the release of the claims of parties who are in dispute when they have reached settlement |
| Removal to Federal Court | where the facts of a case permit either federal or state action. and the case if filed in state court, the opposing party can have the case removed to federal court for hearing under federal law and rules |
| Request for Admissions | written statements of fact concerning a case that are submitted to an adverse party which that party must admit or deny |
| Request for Production of Documents | a direction or command served upon another party, witness, or other person for production of specific documents and things for review with respect to a suit, a discovery device. |
| Res Judicata | the principle stat states that once there has been a judicial decision the matter cannot be litigated again |
| Respondent | the party against whom a dissolution of marriage proceedings is initiated |
| Service of Process | the delivery of writs, summonses, and subpoenas by handing them to the party named in the document |
| Settlement | an agreement between the parties as to terms that will avoid starting litigation or finishing litigation in progress |
| Standing | a concept requiring that the person injured is the one who must sue |
| Statue of Limitations | the time period following an occurrence within which a lawsuit must be filed |
| Stipulation | an agreement between the parties involved in a suit regulating matters incidental to the trial |
| Subpoena | a command to appear at a certain time and place to give testimony upon a certain matter |
| Subpoena Duces Tecum | a command to appear at a certain time and place to give testimony and to bring items specified in the subpoena |
| Submitted on the Record | an appeal in which no oral arguments are presented is considered submitted on the record of the case in lower court |
| Summons | instrument used to provide notice to a defendant or witness to a civil action or special proceeding |
| Supplemental Pleading | an supplemental pleading is filed to address events that were not known or did not exist at the time the original pleading was fied |
| Third-Party Complaint | a complaint filed by defendant against a third party(not presently a party to the suit) that alleges the third party is liable for all or part of the damages plaintiff may win from defendant |
| Transcript | a verbatim record of a trial, deposition, hearing or other proceeding |
| Trial | a judicial examination of issues between parties to an action |
| Trial Notebook | a notebook or series of notebooks that includes documents the attorney is likely to need while in court trying a case |
| Verdict | finding of the jury as to the guilt or innocence of a defendant in criminal trial |
| Verification | a statement that the allegations in a complaint or discovery responses are true and correct |
| Voire dire | the preliminary examination in court of a witness or jury to determine his competency or interest in a matter. Literally, voir dire means '' to speak the truth'' |
| Wherefore Paragraph | closing paragraph in a pleading in which the pleading party makes specific requests of the judge hearing the case at issue. |
| With Prejudice | a type of judgment that bars the right to bring or maintain an action on the same claim or cause |
| Without Prejudice | without detriment to any existing right or claim. |
| Witness | one who personally sees or perceives a thing and testifies to what he or she has seen, heard, or other wise observed |
| Work Produce Doctrine | a doctrine that protects the evaluations, strategy, and planning of the attorney from discovery by opposing counsel during litigation |
| Writ of Certiorari | an order by the appellate court requiring the lower or trial court to surrender jurisdiction to the appellate court for the duration of the appeal |
| Writ of Execution | a judicial order that a judgment be enforced. |
| Writ of Garnishment | an order of the court in which property, money, or credits in the possession of a third party may be seized and applied to pay a debtor's debt |
| Written Depositions | a deposition session that is conducted by way of written questions rather than live questioning |
Created by:
taylor_marie1234
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