|
A
B C
D E
F G
H I
J
K L M
N O
P Q
R S
T U
V W
X Y Z #
Click on the first letter of the
word from the list above to go to the appropriate section of the glossary.
- C -
Calendar: List
of cases scheduled for hearing in court.
Capacity Defense:
Broadly, describes a defendant's lack of some
fundamental ability to be held accountable. For
example, in Pennsylvania, persons under 7 years of
age are presumed incapable of negligence.
Capital crime:
A crime punishable by death.
Caption: The
heading on a legal document listing the parties, the
court, the case number, and related information.
Case Law: Law
established by previous decisions of appellate
courts, particularly the Supreme Court.
Casualty: A
loss of property due to fire, storm shipwreck or
other casualty, which is allowable as a deduction in
computing taxable income.
Cause: A
lawsuit, litigation, or action. Any question, civil
or criminal, litigated or contested before a court
of justice.
Causation: The
act by which an effect is produced. See also
"legal cause" and "proximate
cause."
Cause of Action:
Fact or facts that give someone the right to seek a
remedy through the court because the facts of the
case apply to a certain law sought to be enforced.
Caveat: A
warning; a note of caution.
Certification:
1. Written attestation. 2. Authorized declaration
verifying that an instrument is a true and correct
copy of the original.
Certiorari:
(Latin: "To be informed of.") Writ issued
by a superior or higher court to a lower court
requiring the lower court to produce a certified
record of a case tried there so that the superior
court can examine the lower court proceedings for
errors. See record.
Challenge: An
objection, such as when an attorney objects at a
hearing to the seating of a particular person on a
civil or criminal jury.
Challenge for
Cause: Objection to the seating of a particular
juror for a stated reason (usually bias or prejudice
for or against one of the parties in the lawsuit).
The judge has the discretion to deny the challenge.
This differs from peremptory challenge.
Chambers: A
judge's private office. A hearing in chambers takes
place in the judge's office outside of the presence
of the jury and the public.
Change of Venue:
Moving a lawsuit or criminal trial to another place
for trial.
Charge to the
Jury: The judge's instructions to the jury
concerning the law that applies to the facts of the
case on trial.
Chief Judge:
Presiding or Administrative Judge in a court.
Circumstantial
Evidence: Evidence not based on actual personal
knowledge or observation of the fact in dispute,
but, rather, evidence of other personal knowledge or
observation which allows a jury to infer the
existence or nonexistence of the fact in dispute. An
example of direct evidence of who was at fault for a
car accident would be a witness who actually saw the
accident. An example of circumstantial evidence in
this case, would be a witness who drove by after the
impact and saw the defendant's car in the wrong
lane.
Citation: 1. A
reference to a source of legal authority. 2. A
direction to appear in court, as when a defendant is
cited into court, rather than arrested.
Civil Actions:
Noncriminal cases in which one private individual or
business sues another to protect, enforce, or
redress private or civil rights.
Civil Action:
Action brought to enforce private rights. Generally,
all actions except criminal actions.
Civil Law:
Body of law concerned with private rights and
remedies, as contrasted with criminal law. Compare
with criminal law.
Civil Procedure:
The rules and process by which a civil case is tried
and appealed, including the preparations for trial,
the rules of evidence and trial conduct, and the
procedure for pursuing appeals.
Claim Petition:
In cases where a worker is injured on the job, the
injured employee files a claim petition to seek
initial compensation. This occurs when there has
been a Notice of Denial - no workers' compensation
payments have been made or medical benefits have not
been paid.
Class Action:
A means by which one or more individuals are able to
sue for themselves and as representatives of other
people. A class action requires: an identifiable
group of people with a well-defined interest in the
facts and law of the suit; too many people in the
group for it to be practical to bring them all
before the court; and the individuals bringing suit
are able to adequately represent the entire group.
Clear and
Convincing Evidence: Standard of proof commonly
used in civil lawsuits and in regulatory agency
cases. It governs the amount of proof that must be
offered in order for the plaintiff to win the case.
Clemency or
Executive Clemency: Act of grace or mercy by the
president or governor to ease the consequences of a
criminal act, accusation, or conviction. It may take
the form of commutation or pardon.
Closing Argument:
The closing statement, by counsel, to the trier of
facts after all parties have concluded their
presentation of evidence.
Codicil
(kod'i-sil): An amendment to a will.
Co- Defendant:
A defendant joined together with one or more other
defendants in the same case.
Collateral Source
Rule: The rule ensures that compensation awarded
to a plaintiff in a lawsuit will not be reduced if
the plaintiff receives compensation for the same
injury from another source, such as insurance. Under
the rule, a defendant tort-feasor is unable to
benefit from the fact that the plaintiff received
money from another source, such as insurance,
because of the defendant's tort.
Commit: To
send a person to prison, asylum, or reformatory by a
court order.
Common Law:
Law deriving its authority from usage and customs or
judgments of courts recognizing and enforcing such
usages and customs. Generally, law made by judges
rather than by legislatures.
Commutation:
The reduction of a sentence, as from death to life
imprisonment.
Comparative
Negligence: Comparing the plaintiff's
contributory negligence to the defendant's
negligence. Pennsylvania's Comparative Negligence
statute states that when a plaintiff is guilty of
contributory negligence and that negligence was not
greater than the defendant's negligence, the
plaintiff's damages will be diminished in proportion
to his negligence in causing the accident.
Compensation:
Something that makes up for a loss. In workers'
compensation cases, it refers to payment to
unemployed or injured workers or their dependents.
Complaint: In
the legal sense, the document a plaintiff files with
the court which contains allegations and damages
sought. A complaint generally starts a lawsuit.
Complainant:
The party who complains or sues; one who applies to
the court for legal redress. Also called the
plaintiff.
Compromise and
Release: In workers' compensation cases, this
occurs when a lump sum payment of money is paid by
the insurance carrier to an injured worker to
resolve the case. This lump sum is in lieu of the
weekly compensation benefits the injured worker is
receiving and may or may not include future medical
benefits.
Conciliation:
A form of alternative dispute resolution in which
the parties bring their dispute to a neutral third
party, who helps lower tensions, improve
communications, and explore possible solutions.
Conciliation is similar to mediation, but it may be
less formal.
Concurrent
Sentences: Sentences for more than one crime
that are to be served at the same time, rather than
one after the other. See also cumulative sentences.
Condemnation:
The legal process by which the government takes
private land for public use, paying the owners a
fair price.
Consecutive
Sentences: Successive sentences, one beginning
at the expiration of another, imposed against a
person convicted of two or more violations.
Conservatorship:
Legal right given to a person to manage the property
and financial affairs of a person deemed incapable
of doing that for himself or herself. (See also
guardianship. Conservators have somewhat less
responsibility than guardians.)
Contempt of Court:
Willful disobedience of a judge's command or of an
official court order.
Continuance:
Postponement of a legal proceeding to a later date.
Contract: A
legally enforceable agreement between two or more
competent parties made either orally or in writing.
Contingent Fee
Agreement: An agreement between an attorney and
his or her client whereby the attorney agrees to
represent the client for a percentage of the amount
recovered. This fee agreement is frequently used in
personal injury actions.
Contributory
Negligence: Broadly, carelessness on the
plaintiff's part. More precisely, conduct which
falls below the standard of care established by law
for the protection of one's self against
unreasonable risk of harm.
Conviction: A
judgment of guilt against a criminal defendant.
Corpus Delicti:
Body of the crime. The objective proof that a crime
has been committed. It sometimes refers to the body
of the victim of a homicide or to the charred shell
of a burned house, but the term has a broader
meaning. For the state to introduce a confession or
to convict the accused, it must prove a corpus
delicti, that is, the occurrence of a specific
injury or loss and a criminal act as the source of
that particular injury or loss.
Corroborating
Evidence: Supplementary evidence that tends to
strengthen or confirm the initial evidence.
Counsel: Legal
adviser; a term used to refer to lawyers in a case.
Counterclaim:
Claim brought by a defendant in a lawsuit against
the plaintiff.
Court
Administrator/Clerk of court: An officer
appointed by the Court or elected to oversee the
administrative, non-judicial activities of the
court.
Court: Refers
to a specific court, such as The Supreme Court of
Pennsylvania, or may also refer to a judge.
Court Costs:
The expenses of prosecuting or defending a lawsuit,
other than the attorneys' fees. An amount of money
may be awarded to the successful party (and may be
recoverable from the losing party) as reimbursement
for court costs.
Court Reporter:
The person who stenographically records and
transcribes testimony during court proceedings or
related proceedings such as depositions.
Criminal Law:
Criminal law declares what conduct is criminal and
prescribes punishment to be imposed for criminal
conduct. The purpose of criminal law is to prevent
harm to society.
Cross-Claim:
Claim brought by a defendant in a lawsuit against a
co-defendant in the lawsuit.
Cross-Examination:
The questioning of a witness produced by the other
side.
Cumulative
Sentences: Sentences for two or more crimes to
run consecutively, rather than concurrently.
Custody:
Detaining of a person by lawful process or authority
to assure his or her appearance to any hearing; the
jailing or imprisonment of a person convicted of a
crime.
|
