Terminology Flashcards
Adjudication
The final decision of a court, usually made after the trial of the case; the court’s final judgment.
Civil law
Non-criminal law
Common law
#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.
Conflict of laws
An inconsistency between different jurisdictions over the same issue in a legal action.
Constitution
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.
Contract Law
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).
Criminal Law
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.
Deeming Authority
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.
Electronic Case Filing Systems
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).
Executive Branch
The branch of government responsible for enforcing and administering the laws.
Felony
A crime of a grave or serious nature punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year.
Injunction
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.
Intellectual Property
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).
Judicial Branch
The branch of government responsible for interpreting the law through adjudication and resolution of disputes.
Law
A body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by a controlling authority that has binding legal force.
Legislative Branch
The branch of government responsible for enacting laws
Misdemeanor
A crime of a less serious nature punishable by a fine or a term of imprisonment of less than a year.
Ordinances
Laws passed at the local level by legislative bodies such as city councils or boards of aldermen.
Private Law
A law that regulates conflicts between private parties (examples: contract law, tort law).
Pleadings
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.
Procedural Law
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.
Public Law
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.
Res judicata
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.
Separation of Powers
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.
Stare decisis
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.
Statutes
Laws written by federal and state legislatures. They become effective upon signature of the president (federal) or governor (state).
Substantive law
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.
Tort law
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.
Words of Authority
Verbs found in statutes, ordinances, rules, and regulations that set forth duties, rights, prohibitions, and responsibilities under law.
