MIDTERM Flashcards
Substantive laws
Laws that determine parties’ rights and obligations as opposed to the procedures used to enforce those rights
Criminal laws
laws that prohibit conduct that society deems harmful and punishment can include jail time.
Civil procedure
rules that apply in a civil case and determine how a civil case proceeds through our legal system
Petition
A formal written request to a court for an order of the court.
Answer
in law, a written pleading filed by a defendant to respond to a complaint in a lawsuit filed and served upon that defendant.
Judgment
verdict when lawsuit is presented in front of a judge not a jury; also the official jury verdict published with the court to help winning party collect settlement money
Motions
a formal request made to a judge for an order or judgment.
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
the use of methods such as mediation and arbitration to resolve a dispute instead of litigation
Arbitrator
an independent person or body officially appointed to settle a dispute
Arbitration
the use of an arbitrator to settle a dispute:
Secondary sources
treatises: Summaries and analysis specific areas of law; Legal Encyclopedias; form books
Trial court
a court of law where cases are tried in the first place, as opposed to an appeals court
Jurisdiction
the official power to make legal decisions and judgments:
Court of appeals
any court (state or federal) which hears appeals from judgments and rulings of trial courts or lower appeals courts.
Legal error
a mistake by a judge in procedure or in substantive law, during a hearing, upon petitions or motions, denial of rights, during the conduct of a trial (either granting or denying objections), on approving or denying jury instructions, on a judgment not supported by facts or applicable law
Reverse
Appeals court reverses the judgment, decree, or sentence of a lower court either by substituting its own decision or by returning the case to the lower court with instructions for a new trial.
Supreme court
highest appeal court in the state or federal jurisdiction. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases.
Stare decisis
Latin for “to stand by a decision,” the doctrine that a trial court is bound by appellate court decisions (precedents) on a legal question which is raised in the lower court.
Personal jurisdiction
a court’s jurisdiction over the parties, as determined by the facts in evidence, which bind the parties to a lawsuit, as opposed to subject-matter jurisdiction, which is jurisdiction over the law involved in the suit
Quasi in rem jurisdiction
type of Personal Jurisdiction exercised by a court over a party who owns property within the jurisdictional boundaries of the court.
Concurrent jurisdiction
the ability to exercise judicial review by different courts at the same time, within the same territory, and over the same subject matter.
Long arm statute
is a statute that allows for a court to obtain personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant on the basis of certain acts committed by an out-of-state defendant, provided that the defendant has a sufficient connection with the state.
Venue
location where a trial will be heard, and is most commonly the most convenient court location to where the crime was committed, or where the civil legal action began.
Statute of limitations
a statute prescribing a period of limitation for the bringing of certain kinds of legal action
Conflict of interest
A situation in which the concerns or aims of two different parties are incompatible
Retainer
a fee paid in advance to someone, especially an attorney, in order to secure or keep their services when required
Agent for service of process
a person who receives lawsuits and other documents on behalf of your business
Leading questions
a question that either suggests the answer expected or that assumes the existence of disputed facts to which the witness is to testify.
Circumstantial evidence
indirect evidence. It is distinguished from direct evidence, which, if believed, proves the existence of a particular fact without any inference or presumption required. Circumstantial evidence relates to a series of facts other than the particular fact sought to be proved.
Relevant evidence
evidence that has any tendency to make a fact more or less probable than it would be without the evidence and the fact is of consequence in determining the action
Hearsay
second-hand evidence in which the witness is not telling what he/she knows personally, but what others have said to him/her. 2) a common objection made by the opposing lawyer to testimony when it appears the witness has violated the hearsay rule. 3) scuttlebutt or gossip.
Expert witness
a person who is a specialist in a subject, often technical, who may present his/her expert opinion without having been a witness to any occurrence relating to the lawsuit or criminal case.
Allegations
a claim or assertion that someone has done something illegal or wrong, typically one made without proof
Real party in interest
The person or entity who will benefit from a lawsuit or petition even though the plaintiff (the person filing the suit) is someone else, often called a “nominal” plaintiff.
Class action
a lawsuit filed by one or more people on behalf of themselves and a larger group of people “who are similarly situated.
Compensatory damages
damages recovered in payment for actual injury or economic loss, which does not include punitive damages (as added damages due to malicious or grossly negligent action)
Equitable relief
Equitable relief is a court-granted remedy that requires a party to act or refrain from performing a particular act in cases where legal remedies are not considered to provide sufficient restitution.
Injunction
Injunction - a writ (order) issued by a court ordering someone to do something or prohibiting some act after a court hearing.
Proof of services
delivering a summons, complaint, notice to quit tenancy or other legal document which must be served by handing it directly to the person named in the document.
Affirmative defense
part of an answer to a charge or complaint in which a defendant takes the offense and responds to the allegations with his/her own charges, which are called “affirmative defenses.”
Motion to dismiss
Formal request for a court to dismiss a case
Interrogatories
a set of written questions to a party to a lawsuit asked by the opposing party as part of the pre-trial discovery process.
Subpoena
a writ ordering a person to attend a court:
Request for production of documents
the right to examine and copy the opposing party’s papers in a lawsuit which are relevant to the case.
Certiorari
A writ (order) of a higher court to a lower court to send all the documents in a case to it so the higher court can review the lower court’s decision.
