Definition | Term |
The initiator of the lawsuit | |
The person against whom a lawsuit is filed | |
The up front payment a client gives a lawyer to accept a case | |
A civil wrong that result in an injury to a person or property | |
A written statement made under oath | |
Exemption from a legal duty, penalty or prosecution | |
Legal proceedings to review the decision of a lower court | |
A method of alternative dispute resolution in which a neutral third party helps resolve a dispute | |
A person authorized to witness the signing of documents | |
The money a defendant pays to gain release before trial | |
Gives one party the right to go onto another party's property | |
A crime in which a person knowingly makes a false statement while under oath in court | |
Serious crime punishable by incarceration for a year or more. | |
Crime that is punishable by less than one year in jail | |
A claim against someone's property | |
A process to help those who cannot pay their debts | |
When a borrower cannot repay a loan and the lender seeks to sell the property | |
The practical authority or reach of a legal body | |
Improper or negligent behavior by a professional, such as a doctor or a lawyer | |
Previously decided case that establishes a principle in further cases | |
The publication of a statement that injures a person's reputation | |
An official order authorizing a specific act, such as an arrest or the search of someone's home | |