Terminology

Question 1

Adjudication

Answer 1

The final decision of a court, usually made after the trial of the case; the court’s final judgment.

Question 2

Civil law

Answer 2

Non-criminal law

Question 3

Common law

Answer 3

#1 — A law found in the decisions of the courts rather than in statutes; judge-made law. 
#2 — English law adopted by the early American colonists, which is part of the U.S. judicial heritage and forms the basis of much of U.S. law today.

Question 4

Conflict of laws

Answer 4

An inconsistency between different jurisdictions over the same issue in a legal action.

Question 5

Constitution

Answer 5

1 — The system of fundamental principles by which a nation, state, or corporation is governed. A nation’s constitution may be written (example: the U.S. Constitution) or unwritten (example: the British Constitution). A nation’s laws must conform to its constitution. A law that violates a nation’s constitution is unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable.

Question 6

Contract Law

Answer 6

The branch of law concerned with agreements between two or more parties that creates some type of obligation to act (do something) or refrain from acting (not do something).

Question 7

Criminal Law

Answer 7

The branch of law that declares certain conduct injurious to the public order and provides specified punishment for those found to have engaged in such conduct.

Question 8

Deeming Authority

Answer 8

The substitution of complying with the requirements and standards of an accrediting organization in lieu of complying with the Medicare Conditions of Participation issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Question 9

Electronic Case Filing Systems

Answer 9

Electronic record systems used in various court systems consisting of a component for case management (example: a database of cases and parties), plus electronic creation and storage of pleadings and testimony (example: digital images and audio recordings).

Question 10

Executive Branch

Answer 10

The branch of government responsible for enforcing and administering the laws.

Question 11

Felony

Answer 11

A crime of a grave or serious nature punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year.

Question 12

Injunction

Answer 12

A court order that commands or prohibits some act or course of conduct. It is preventive in nature and designed to protect a plaintiff from irreparable injury to his or her property or property rights by prohibiting or commanding the doing of certain acts. An injunction is a form of equitable relief.

Question 13

Intellectual Property

Answer 13

Property (examples: copyrights, patents, trade secrets) that is the physical or tangible result of original thought. Modern technology has brought about widespread infringement of intellectual property rights (examples: the unauthorized reproduction and sale of videotapes, audiotapes, and computer soft ware).

Question 14

Judicial Branch

Answer 14

The branch of government responsible for interpreting the law through adjudication and resolution of disputes.

Question 15

Law

Answer 15

A body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by a controlling authority that has binding legal force.

Question 16

Legislative Branch

Answer 16

The branch of government responsible for enacting laws

Question 17

Misdemeanor

Answer 17

A crime of a less serious nature punishable by a fine or a term of imprisonment of less than a year.

Question 18

Ordinances

Answer 18

Laws passed at the local level by legislative bodies such as city councils or boards of aldermen.

Question 19

Private Law

Answer 19

A law that regulates conflicts between private parties (examples: contract law, tort law).

Question 20

Pleadings

Answer 20

Formal statements by the parties setting forth their claims or defenses (examples: a complaint, a cross-complaint, an answer, a counterclaim). The various kinds of pleadings in civil cases, and the rules governing them, are set forth in detail in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and, with respect to pleading in state courts, by the rules of civil procedure of several states. These rules of procedure abolished common law pleading.

Question 21

Procedural Law

Answer 21

That portion of law that focuses on the steps through which a case passes. Criminal procedural law ranges from the initial investigation of a crime through trial, sentencing, and the eventual release of the criminal offender.

Question 22

Public Law

Answer 22

The body of rules and principles governing the rights and duties between government and a private party, or between two parts or agencies of government. It defines appropriate behavior between citizens, organizations, and government. Examples include criminal law, constitutional law, substantive law, and procedural law.

Question 23

Res judicata

Answer 23

Means “the thing [i.e., the matter] has been adjudicated’; the thing has been decided. The principle that a final judgment rendered on the merits by a court of competent jurisdiction is conclusive of the rights of the parties and is an absolute bar in other actions based on the same claim, demand, or cause of action.

Question 24

Separation of Powers

Answer 24

The division of powers between the three distinct branches of government—legislative, executive, and judicial—and the system of checks and balances that supports that division.

Question 25

Stare decisis

Answer 25

Means “standing by the decision.” Stare decisis is the doctrine that judicial decisions stand as precedent for cases arising in the future. It is a fundamental policy of our law that, except in unusual circumstances, a court’s determination on a point of law will be followed by courts of the same or lower rank in later cases presenting the same legal issue, even though different parties are involved and many years have elapsed.

Question 26

Statutes

Answer 26

Laws written by federal and state legislatures. They become effective upon signature of the president (federal) or governor (state).

Question 27

Substantive law

Answer 27

That portion of law that creates, defines, and regulates rights and duties. Criminal substantive law defines specific offenses, the general principles of liability, and the specific punishment.

Question 28

Tort law

Answer 28

The rights and duties that exist between parties who are independent of a contract. When one party claims that the wrongful conduct of the other party has caused harm, the aggrieved party may seek compensation.

Question 29

Words of Authority

Answer 29

Verbs found in statutes, ordinances, rules, and regulations that set forth duties, rights, prohibitions, and responsibilities under law.