Glossary of Terms Flashcards

1
Q

A charge against a person or corporation

A

Accusation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

To directly and formally institute legal proceedings against a person

A

Accuse

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Person against whom a criminal proceeding is initiated

A

Accused

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Voluntary acknowledgement that certain facts do exist or are true

A

Admission

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

A person who has reached the age of majority

A

Adult

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

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

A

Affidavit

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

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

A

Affirm

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

In pleading, an assertion of fact

A

Allegation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

A resort to a higher court seeking a reversal of the court decision

A

Appeal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

An attempt or threat, with lawful force, to inflict bodily injury

A

Assault

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

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

A

Battery

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

A warning, caution, or qualification

A

Caveat

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

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

A

Circumstantial evidence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

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

A

Civil

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
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

Civil

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

As a standard of proof, it is that amount of evidenc ebeyound a mere preponderance, but below that of beyond a reasonable doubt

A

Clear and convincing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

A set of laws or rules

A

Code

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

A doctrine in some states which allows appoitionment between plantiff and defendant of responsibility for injuries of damages, in some states the plantiff may still recover even through 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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Damages awarded in order to “make the plantiff whole”, to put the plantiff in the position they would have been in had no tort or breech of contract occured

A

Compensatory damages

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

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

A

Complaint

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

An admission of guilt or other incriminating statement made by the accused

A

Confession

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

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

A

Consideration

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

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

A

Contract

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

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

A

Contributory negligence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

An agreement or promised to do or not to do a particular thing

A

Convenant

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

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

A

Damages

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

The person who is being sued

A

Defendant

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

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

A

Deflective contract

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

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

A

Discovery

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

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

A

Duress

36
Q

Obligatory conduct owed by a person to another person

A

Duty

37
Q

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

A

Emancipation

38
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

39
Q

Refers to evidence and or statements which tend to clear, justify, or exclude the defendant from alleged guilt or fault

A

Exculpatory

40
Q

To sign a legal instrument so that it is legally enforceable

A

Execution of instrument

41
Q

A contract not fully accomplished or completed

A

Executory

42
Q

A contract fully performed by both parties

A

Executed contracted

43
Q

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

A

Expert witness

44
Q

An occurence which may result in liability

A

Exposure event

45
Q

Placing a document into the possession of the court for inclusion in the file of a case

A

Filing

46
Q

Intentional deception resulting in injury to another

A

Fraud

47
Q

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

A

Garnishment

48
Q

Ignorantia legis non excusat

A

Ignorance of the law is no excuse

49
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

50
Q

That which tends to incriminate

A

Inculpatory

51
Q

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

A

Indemnity

52
Q

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

A

Interrogatory

53
Q

Ipso facto

A

By the fact itself, in and of itself

54
Q

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

A

Judgement

55
Q

Having legal responsibility to pay another for damages

A

Liability

56
Q

A controvery in court

A

Litigation

57
Q

Party in a lawsuit

A

Litigant

58
Q

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

A

Locality rule

59
Q

A professionals improper or immoral conduct in the performance of duties, done intentionally or through carelessness or ignorance

A

Malpractice

60
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

61
Q

Failure to exercise that degree of care which is reasonably possible to reduce or limit their own damages

A

Mitigation of damages

62
Q

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

A

Negligence

63
Q

The reason given for a court’s judgement

A

Opinion

64
Q

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

A

Performance

65
Q

The one who initally brings the suit, the one seeking a remedy

A

Plantiff

66
Q

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

A

Precedent

67
Q

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

A

Preponderance of evidence

68
Q

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

A

Proximate cause

69
Q

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

A

Punitive damages

70
Q

The act of voiding, annulling or canceling a contract

A

Recission

71
Q

Rules made by administrative agencies

A

Regulation

72
Q

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

A

Release

73
Q

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

A

Remedy

74
Q

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

A

Res ipsa loquitor

75
Q

res judicta

A

The thing has been decided, the matter has been adjudged

76
Q

Respondeat superior

A

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

77
Q

The order of an appellate court overturning a lower court decision

A

Reversal

78
Q

Cancellation of an instrument previously made

A

Revocation

79
Q

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

A

Sanction

80
Q

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

A

Settlement

81
Q

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

A

Strict liability

82
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

83
Q

A wrong resulting from a breech of a legal duty that exists by virtue of society’s expectations regarding interpersonal conduct, does not involve a contract

A

Tort

84
Q

The person that commits a tort, a wrongdoer

A

Tortfeasor

85
Q

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

A

Vicarious liability

86
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 of jury service.

A

Voir dire