Acceptance ā An unambiguous communication that the offer has been accepted. For contracts controlled by the UCC, contracts involving the sales of goods need not mirror the offerās terms. For other contracts, the acceptance must mirror the offerās terms without omitting, adding, or altering terms.
A way to discharge a claim whereby the parties agree to give and accept something in settlement of the claim that will replace the terms of the partiesā original agreement. Accord is the new agreement; satisfaction is performance of the new agreement.
Adjudication - Judgment rendered by the court after a determination of the issues. Ad Litem - A Latin term meaning āfor the purpose of the lawsuit.ā. For example, a guardian āad litemā is a person appointed by the court to protect the interests of a minor or legally incompetent person in a lawsuit.
Ad Litem - A Latin term meaning āfor the purpose of the lawsuit.ā. For example, a guardian āad litemā is a person appointed by the court to protect the interests of a minor or legally incompetent person in a lawsuit. Administrator - (1) One who administers the estate of a person who dies without a will.
Appeal - An application to a higher court for review of an order of conviction or of a civil judgment against a party.
Appeal Bond - A sum of money posted by a person appealing a judicial decision (appellant). Appearance ā (1) The formal proceeding by which a defendant submits to the jurisdiction of the court. (2) A written notification to the plaintiff by an attorney stating that s/he is representing the defendant.
Arrest Warrant ā An order by a judge that gives permission for a police officer to arrest a person for allegedly committing a crime. Assault - Threat to inflict injury with an apparent ability to do so. Also, any intentional display of force that would give the victim reason to fear or expect immediate bodily harm.
In grammar, agreement refers to the fact or state of elements in a sentence or clause being alikeāthat is, agreeingāin gender, number, or person.
In U.S. law, bond specifically refers to a formal written agreement by which a person undertakes to perform a certain act ( e.g., appearing in court or fulfilling the obligations of a contract). The failure to perform the act obligates the person to pay a sum of money or to forfeit money on deposit.
Accord. Accord appears in Old English with the meaning "to reconcile" or "to bring into agreement," which was borrowed from its Anglo-French etymon, acorder, a word related to Latin concordÄre, meaning "to agree.". This original sense of accord is transitive, and in modern English it still occurs but infrequently.
Assent descends from Latin assentire, a combination of the prefix ad- (meaning "to" or "toward") and sentire ("to feel" or "to think"). The meanings of the Latin roots imply having a feeling or thought toward something, and that suggestion carries over to English's assent, which denotes freely agreeing with or approving something that has been proposed or presented after thoughtful consideration. Assent is used as a noun or a verb with the meaning "to agree or approve."
Assent is used as a noun or a verb with the meaning "to agree or approve.". The patient gave her assent to be part of the medical study. Many at the meeting nodded in assent. Both parties assented to the terms of the contract.
Bargain, as a noun and verb, began being exchanged in English during the 14th century. We know that it developed from Anglo-French bargaigner, meaning "to haggle," but its history thereafter is unclear. The first known use is as a noun referring to a discussion between two parties on the terms of agreement.
Early recorded evidence of bond goes back to the 12th century and ties the word to things that bind, constrict, or confine (such as a fetter ). The word is believed to be a phonetic variant of band, which had the same meaning.
Adversary proceeding. A lawsuit arising in or related to a bankruptcy case that begins by filing a complaint with the court, that is , a "trial" that takes place within the context of a bankruptcy case. Affidavit. A written or printed statement made under oath.
Latin for "friend of the court.". It is advice formally offered to the court in a brief filed by an entity interested in, but not a party to, the case. Answer. The formal written statement by a defendant in a civil case that responds to a complaint, articulating the grounds for defense. Appeal.
Acquittal. A jury verdict that a criminal defendant is not guilty, or the finding of a judge that the evidence is insufficient to support a conviction. Active judge. A judge in the full-time service of the court. Compare to senior judge.
A jury verdict that a criminal defendant is not guilty, or the finding of a judge that the evidence is insufficient to support a conviction. A judge in the full-time service of the court.
Active judge. A judge in the full-time service of the court. Compare to senior judge.
Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO) The federal agency responsible for collecting court statistics, administering the federal courts' budget, and performing many other administrative and programmatic functions, under the direction and supervision of the Judicial Conference of the United States.
Affidavit. A written or printed statement made under oath. Affirmed. In the practice of the court of appeals, it means that the court of appeals has concluded that the lower court decision is correct and will stand as rendered by the lower court.
Abatement. cancelling a writ or action; stopping a nuisance; reducing the payments to creditors in proportion, if there is not enough money to pay them in full; or reducing the bequests in a will, in proportion, when there is not enough money to pay them in full. Abduction.
Abduction. taking someone away by force. Ab initio. from the start of something. (This phrase is Latin.)
Absolute privilege. a defence which can be used in a case of defamation if the statement from which the defamation arose was : made in Parliament; in fair and accurate news reporting of court proceedings; or. made during court proceedings.
a defence which can be used in a case of defamation if the statement from which the defamation arose was: made in Parliament; in fair and accurate news reporting of court proceedings; or. made during court proceedings. Abstract of title.
Admissibility of evidence. which evidence can be presented in court. Evidence must be relevant to the case but even some relevant evidence cannot be presented, such as hearsay or evidence of little value. The judge decides whether or not evidence can be used in the case.
Annual accounts. the summary of an organisation's financial transactions during the year covered by their accounts, and a 'snapshot' of the assets and liabilities at the end of the year. Annual general meeting. the yearly meeting of the members of an organisation which must be held to meet legal conditions.
Annual general meeting. the yearly meeting of the members of an organisation which must be held to meet legal conditions.
Put another way, the purpose of a law suit is to prove that one party is liable for the injuries and damages suffered by the other. 8. Malpractice. Malpractice is a complicated term. In order for us to prove that a doctor to committed malpractice, we need to prove four things:
Lawyers and law suits have their own language. Unfortunately, lawyers often forget that while we deal with this language every day, our clients and others involved in the legal system are often hearing strange words for the first time. At Ury & Moskow, we give a welcome package to each of our new personal injury and medical malpractice clients that explains what a law suit is and how the court system works. But we have never shared this information with our other litigation clients, or with the public. That changes now.
A Default is a process where the court bars a party (plaintiff or defendant) from advancing claims or defenses because that party failed to do something required by the rules of court or statutes (law).
Defendant. The Defendant is the person defending himself/herself in a law suit, or the person who is being sued. Although Defendants can bring their own claims against the person suing in the same case, called counterclaims, we generally think of a Defendant as the person accused of wrongdoing. 5.
Discovery (discovery process) Various statutes and court rules permit both sides of a lawsuit to file certain papers in court requesting the other side to furnish information about the case. This is what we call Discovery ā we discover information that the other side has about the case.
Docket. A Docket is the way the court keeps track of a case, and can be either singular (the docket for your particular case) or plural (the courtās entire docket of cases ā sometimes in the hundreds). You may hear that your case is āon the docket,ā meaning that it is scheduled for some type of hearing.
Trial List. This is where the case is ready for trial and the pleadings are closed, meaning that all papers that need to be filed have been filed. A case can be on either the jury list (where the case will be decided by a jury) or a courtside list (where the case will be decided by a judge. 6 (c).
Cause of action: The cause of action refers to the reason for which a plaintiff has filed a complaint or suit against someone. Deposition: A deposition is the testimony of a witness other than in open courtāoften in the form of an oral statement made before an officer who is authorized to administer oaths.
Grand jury: A grand jury consists of 16ā23 citizens who, upon listening to evidence presented by prosecutors, determine whether there is probable cause to believe the accused party committed an offense. The decision of a grand jury will determine if a case will be brought to trial.
Mens rea: A term that literally means āguilty mindā in Latin, mens rea is used to describe the criminal intent of an individual when committing a crime, otherwise known as criminal responsibility. Pretrial hearing: After an arraignment has been completed, the defendant will return to court for a pretrial hearing.
Recusal: A recusal is the voluntary action by a judge or prosecutor to remove themselves from presiding in a case. Recusals are often based on things like bias, conflict of interest or prejudiceāfor example, a state prosecutor may choose to recuse from a proceeding if the case is against their former employer.
summons: While both entail a requirement for the recipient to appear in court, a subpoena is a process that directs a witness to give testimony or submit evidence, while a summons is a document that orders a person to appear before the court in response to a complaint.
Affidavit: A term youāve likely heard referenced often, an affidavit is simply a written or printed statement made under oath.
jury trial: While a jury trial is exactly what it sounds likeāa traditional court trial in which the caseās outcome is decided by a jury of peersāa bench trial is a trial in which the judge fulfills the role of the jury.
administrative law: The area of law that concerns government agencies. cause of action: The reason for which a plaintiff files a complaint or suit against someone. This can be negligence, breach of contract, malpractice or defamation, to name a few.
demurrer (dee-muhr-ur): A formal response to a complaint filed in a lawsuit, pleading for dismissal and saying , in effect, that even if the facts are true , there is no legal basis for a lawsuit. Examples include a missing necessary element of fact, or a complaint that is unclear.
Youāve probably heard the metaphor, āItās all Greek to me,ā when someone doesnāt understand or is totally flummoxed by a subject or situation. The law is āGreekā to many people: itās frequently misunderstood and legal terminology is misused by most people.
One simplified distinction is that robbery is a person-on-person crime. Burglary is a property crime. Other frequently confused terms are assault and battery. A man who has just been punched by another man may scream that heās been assaulted.
As a paralegal you will need to become familiar with legal terms and especially familiar with terms used in the field of law you end up working in. Should you work for a public defender, prosecutor or criminal defense attorney you will be dealing with more terms relating to criminal law.
(English common law is the basis of state legal systems in the U.S., with the exception of Louisiana.) compensatory damages: Damages that are recovered for injury or economic loss.
felony: A serious crime punishable by death or at least one year in a state or federal prison. Felonies include arson, rape, perjury and homicide. When theft is involved, the value of that which was stolen determines whether the offense is considered a misdemeanor or felony.
PETITIONER: the spouse who filed the divorce petitionāalso called the plaintiff. PLAINTIFF: the person who started the caseāalso called the plaintiff. PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT: a contract signed by the spouses before the marriage setting out each spouse's rights to property and assets in the case of a divorce.
COLLUSION: an agreement between two or more persons that one of the parties brings false charges against the other. In a divorce case, the husband and wife may agree to use adultery as a ground in order to obtain a divorce more quickly, knowing full well that adultery was not committed. Collusion is illegal.
Maryland does not recognize common law marriages. COMMUNITY PROPERTY: a method of dividing marital property between spouses, which is based on an equal or 50/50 division. Courts will generally only divide property bought or acquired by one or both spouses during the marriage.
The following states use the community property method of property division: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.
CONTEMPT: failure to follow a court order āone side can request that the court determine that the other side is in contempt and issue a punishment, which can include monetary fines, jail time, or both. CORROBORATIVE WITNESS: a person who testifies for you and backs up your story.
CUSTODIAL PARENT: the parent who has physical custody of the parents' child or children. CUSTODY-SOLE & JOINT: refers to the legal arrangements for whom a child will live with and how decisions about the child will be made. Custody has two parts: legal and physical.
Legal custody refers to a parent's right to make decisions about a child's health, safety, and welfare, and physical custody refers to where the child lives on a regular basis. Generally, the parent the child does not live with will be allowed to have regular visits with the child.
If you don't pay your lawyer on the day of trial, or however you have agreed to, then while he or she may be obligated by other ethical duties to do his/her best, they won't be motivated by sympathy for you, and it will show in court.
Tell the Truth. If your lawyer doubts you in the consultation, or doesn't think you have a case, while that may change over time, getting over an initial disbelief is very hard. You have to prove your case. Your attorney is not your witness. They are your advocate - but you are responsible for coming up with proof.
Well, truth be told, neither do I. The difference between lawyer and client is that the lawyer expects it to take a long time and understands. The client typically thinks it's unjustified. So, your hard truth is that each case takes time. Be patient.
While lawyers can certainly take your money and your time and we can file a case that will be very hard to win, if you don't care enough about your life to get a contract, the judge is not very likely to be on your side. At least, not automatically. Oral contracts are extremely hard to prove. What are the terms.
While juries usually get it right, sometimes, it's not about whether a particular matter is emotional or simple, complicated or straightforward. Sometimes people make decisions on who has the nicer suit, or who is more pleasant to deal with. So even if your case is good or even if it's not so strong.