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Legal Issues Midterm > Glossary of Legal Terms > Flashcards

Glossary of Legal Terms Flashcards

1
Q

a charge against a person or corporation

A

accusation

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2
Q

to directly and formally institute legal proceedings against a person

A

accuse

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3
Q

person against whom a criminal proceeding is initiated

A

accused

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4
Q

evidence which has been received by a trial court to aid the trier of fact (judge or jury) in deciding the merits of a controversy

A

admissible evidence

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5
Q

voluntary acknowledgement that certain facts do exist or are true

A

admission

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6
Q

a person who has reached the age of majority

A

adult

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7
Q

a written, ex parte, statement made or taken under oath before an officer of the court or a notary public

A

affidavit

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8
Q

the act of an appellate court that the judgement of the lower court is correct

A

affirm

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9
Q

in pleading, as assertion of fact

A

allegation

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10
Q

a resort to a higher court, seeking a reversal of a court decision

A

appeal

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11
Q

an attempt or threat, with unlawful force, to inflict bodily injury

A

assault

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12
Q

the unlawful application of force to the person of another unauthorized touching of another, no physical harm need result

A

battery

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13
Q

a party’s failure to perform some contracted - for or agreed - upon act, or failure to comply with a duty imposed by law

A

breech of contract

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14
Q

the obligation of one party in a lawsuit to prove all the requirements necessary to show entitlement to recovery

A

burden of proof

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15
Q

a warning, caution or qualification

A

caveat

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16
Q

indirect evidence, secondary evidence by which a principal fact may be inferred

A

circumstantial evidence

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17
Q

the branch of law that pertains to suits outside of criminal practice, pertaining to the rights and duties of persons in contract, tort, etc.

A

civil

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18
Q

as a standard of proof, it is that amount of evidence beyond a mere preponderance, but below that of beyond a reasonable doubt

A

clear and convincing

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19
Q

a set of laws or rules

A

code

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20
Q

a system of jurisprudence which originated in England and passed on to the U.S., based on judicial precedent, common law is changing reflecting the desires of society

A

common law

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21
Q

a doctrine in some states which allows apportionment between plaintiff and defendant of responsibility for injuries or damages, in some states the plaintiff may still recover even thought they were negligent, but the amount they can recover will be reduced by the percentage by which they caused their own injuries

A

comparative negligence

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22
Q

damages awarded in order to “make the plaintiff whole” to put the plaintiff in the position they would have been in had no tort or breech of contract occurred.

A

Compensatory damages

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23
Q

the first pleading of the plaintiff setting out the facts on which the claim for relief is based

A

complaint

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24
Q

an admission of guilt or other incriminating statement made by the accused.

A

confession

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25
Q

something of value received or promised to persuade someone to enter into a contract

A

consideration

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26
Q

an agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law

A

contract

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27
Q

a doctrine recognized in some states which precluded any recovery by a plaintiff if they were guilty of negligence which contributed to cause their injury

A

contributory negligence

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28
Q

an agreement or promise to do or not to do a particular thing

A

convenant

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29
Q

monetary compensation which the law awards to one who has been injured by the actions of another

A

damages

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30
Q

the person who is being sued

A

defendant

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31
Q

a contract in which mutual assent has been destroyed, by fraud, coercion or otherwise

A

defective contract

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32
Q

a pre-trial discovery procedure whereby parties or witnesses are examined under oath, a court reporter is present and records questions and answers

A

deposition

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33
Q

a pre-trial procedure by which one party gains information held by another party

A

discovery

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34
Q

action by one party that forces another to do what need not otherwise be done

A

duress

35
Q

obligatory conduct owed by a person to another person

A

duty

36
Q

the freeing of someone from the control of another, a parent’s express or implied relinquishing of rights over a minor child

A

emancipation

37
Q

a bar which precludes a person from denying the truth of a fact, a doctrine preventing a person from taking a position inconsistent with their previous conduct

A

estoppel

38
Q

refers to evidence and or statements which tend to be clear; justify or exclude the defendant from alleged guilt or fault

A

exculpatory

39
Q

to sign a legal instrument so that it is legally enforceable

A

execution of instrument

40
Q

a contract not fully accomplished or completed

A

executory

41
Q

a contract fully performed by both parties

A

executed contracted

42
Q

a witness achieving “special knowledge” of the subject about which they will testify

A

expert witness

43
Q

an occurrence which may result in liability

A

exposure event

44
Q

placing a document into the possession of the court inclusion in the file of a case

A

filing

45
Q

intentional deception resulting in injury to another

A

fraud

46
Q

the process in which money or goods in the hands of a third person which are due a defendant are attached by the plaintiff

A

garnishment

47
Q

ignorance of the law is no excuse

A

ignorantia legis non excusat

48
Q

where one is held liable for the conduct of another because the other person is the agent or employee of the person of the person who is held ultimately responsible

A

imputed liability

49
Q

that which tends to incriminate

A

inculpatory

50
Q

the obligation or duty resting on one person to make good any loss or damage another has incurred or may incur

A

indemnity

51
Q

a pre-trial discovery tool in which written questions asked to an opponent in a lawsuit answered in writing under oath

A

interrogatory

52
Q

by the fact itself, in and of itself

A

ipso facto

53
Q

the determination of a court of competent jurisdiction upon matters submitted to it

A

judgment

54
Q

having legal responsibility to pay another for damages

A

liability

55
Q

a controversy in court

A

litigation

56
Q

party in a lawsuit

A

litigant

57
Q

a doctrine under which a doctor’s compliance with the appropriate standard of care is judged by the practices of doctors in their same geographic locality, doctrine has been abandoned in many jurisdictions

A

locality rule

58
Q

a professional’s improper or immoral conduct in the performance of duties, done intentionally or through carelessness or ignorance

A

malpractice

59
Q

the duty of the victim of a wrong to do whatever is reasonably possible to reduce or limit their own damages

A

mitigation of damages

60
Q

failure to exercise that degree of care which a person of ordinary prudence would exercise under the same circumstance

A

negligence

61
Q

the reason given for a court’s judgment

A

opinion

62
Q

in contract law, the situation that exists when the parties to a contract have done what they had agreed to do

A

performance

63
Q

the one who initially brings the suit, the one seeking a remedy

A

plaintiff

64
Q

a previously decided case which is recognized as authority for the disposition of future cases

A

precendent

65
Q

standard of proof in civil cases, evidence more convincing to the trier of fact than the opposing evidence

A

preponderance of evidence

66
Q

the act which was the necessary immediate cause for someone suffering an injury

A

proximate cause

67
Q

damages given for the purpose of punishing the defendant without regard to the plaintiffs’s actual damages

A

punitive damages

68
Q

the act of voiding, annulling or canceling a contract

A

recission

69
Q

rules made by administrative agencies

A

regulation

70
Q

a written document by which one party gives up a legal claim against another

A

release

71
Q

what a party in a lawsuit is asking for, most commonly it is for monetary damages

A

remedy

72
Q

literally, the thing speaks for itself, a doctrine which shifts the burden of proof to the defendant who must prove that their negligence was not the cause of the plaintiff’s injury

A

res ipsa loquitor

73
Q

the thing has been decided, the matter has been adjudged

A

res judicata

74
Q

literally, let the master answer, the legal doctrine that imposes liability on employers and makes them pay for torts committed by their employees within the scope of the employer’s business

A

respondeat superior

75
Q

the order of an appellate court overturning a lower court decision

A

reversal

76
Q

cancellation of an instrument previously made

A

revocation

77
Q

a penalty or punishment that may be imposed by a court for violation accepted norms of social conduct

A

sanction

78
Q

the agreement of parties to a lawsuit or potential lawsuit to amicably resolve their differences

A

settlement

79
Q

liability without fault, engaged in activity with inherent risk of injury

A

strict liability

80
Q

when no essential facts in a case are disputed, no trial is held and the case is decided by the judge alone on the basics of law involved

A

summary judgement

81
Q

a wrong, resulting form the breech of a legal duty that exists by virtue of society’s expectations regarding interpersonal conduct, does not involved a contract

A

tort

82
Q

the person that commits a tort, a wrongdoer

A

tortfeasor

83
Q

the imputation of liability upon one person for the actions of another

A

vicarious liability

84
Q

to speak the truth, usually refers to the examination by the court or by the attorney’s of prospective jurors, to determine their qualifications or jury service

A

voir dire

Legal Issues Midterm (5 decks)

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