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A
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H I
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Click on the first letter of the
word from the list above to go to the appropriate section of the glossary.
- D -
Damages: Money
payment recovered in the courts for an injury or
loss caused by an unlawful act or omission or
negligence of another.
Decedent: A
deceased person.
Decision: The
judgment reached or given by a court of law.
Declaratory
Judgment: Judicial adjudication of the rights of
the parties in a lawsuit made to clarify the
parties' legal positions.
Decree: An
order of the court. A final decree is one that fully
and finally disposes of the litigation. An
interlocutory decree is a preliminary order that
often disposes of only part of a lawsuit.
Defamation:
That which tends to injure a persons reputation.
Libel is published defamation, whereas slander is
spoken.
Default: A
failure to respond to a lawsuit within the specified
time.
Default Judgment:
A judgment entered against a party who fails to
appear in court or respond to the charges.
Defendant: In
civil law, the party defending a lawsuit ; the party
against whom the plaintiff seeks to recover damages
from.
Demurrer:
Defendant's claim that even if the allegations in a
complaint are true, they are not sufficient to
impose any liability on the defendant.
De Novo: A
new. A trial de novo is a new trial of a case.
Deposition:
Testimony of a witness taken under oath, but not in
a courtroom. May be used to discover evidence prior
to trial or to preserve testimony for use in court
at a later time.
Deponent: The
person who testifies at a deposition.
Descent and
Distribution Statutes: State laws that provide
for the distribution of estate property of a person
who dies without a will. Same as intestacy laws.
Dicta: Plural
of "obiter dictum." A remark made by a
judge in a legal opinion that is irrelevant to the
decision and does not establish a precedent.
Directed Verdict:
Now called Judgment as a matter of Law. An
instruction by the judge to the jury to return a
specific verdict.
Direct Evidence:
Generally, eyewitness evidence. Compare with
circumstantial evidence.
Direct
Examination: The first questioning of witnesses
by the party on whose behalf they are called.
Disability: In
the legal sense, lack of legal capacity to perform
some act. Used in a physical sense in connection
with workers' compensation acts and is a composite
of (a) actual incapacity to perform employment tasks
and the wage loss resulting therefrom and (b)
physical bodily impairment which may or may not be
incapacitating.
Disbarment:
Form of discipline of a lawyer resulting in the loss
(often permanently) of that lawyer's right to
practice law. It differs from censure (an official
reprimand or condemnation) and from suspension (a
temporary loss of the right to practice law).
Disclaim: To
refuse a gift made in a will.
Discovery: The
pretrial process by which one party discovers the
evidence that will be relied upon in the trial by
the opposing party.
Disfigurement:
A technical term in workers' compensation cases for
a serious and permanent scar to the head, neck, or
face.
Dismissal with
Prejudice: Final judgment against the plaintiff
which prohibits bringing an action on the same cause
of action in the future. In contrast,
"dismissal without prejudice" allows the
plaintiff to sue again for the same cause of action.
Dismissal: The
termination of a lawsuit. A dismissal without
prejudice allows a lawsuit to be brought before the
court again at a later time. In contrast, a
dismissal with prejudice prevents the lawsuit from
being brought before a court in the future.
Dissent: To
disagree. An appellate court opinion setting forth
the minority view and outlining the disagreement of
one or more judges with the decision of the
majority.
Diversion: The
process of removing some minor criminal, traffic, or
juvenile cases from the full judicial process, on
the condition that the accused undergo some sort of
rehabilitation or make restitution for damages.
Docket: A list
of cases to be heard by a court or a log containing
brief entries of court proceedings.
Doctrine of
avoidable consequences or mitigation of damages:
Imposes a duty on victims of a tort to take
reasonable steps to minimize their damages after an
injury has been inflicted.
Domicile: The
place where a person has his or her permanent legal
home. A person may have several residences, but only
one domicile.
Double Jeopardy:
Putting a person on trial more than once for the
same crime. It is forbidden by the Fifth Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution.
Dram shop: A
drinking establishment where alcoholic beverages are
served to be drunk on the premises.
Dram Shop Act:
In Pennsylvania, this statute imposes liability on
drinking establishments, like bars and restaurants,
for harm resulting from the establishment's service
of alcohol to visibly intoxicated persons.
Due Process of
Law: The right of all persons to receive the
guarantees and safeguards of the law and the
judicial process. It includes such constitutional
requirements as adequate notice, assistance of
counsel. and the rights to remain silent, to a
speedy and public trial, to an impartial jury, and
to confront and secure witnesses.
Duty: In
negligence cases, a "duty" is an
obligation to conform to a particular standard of
care. A failure to so conform places the actor at
risk of being liable to another to whom a duty is
owed for an injury sustained by the other of which
the actor's conduct is a legal cause. See reasonable
man doctrine.
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