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A
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X Y Z #
Click on the first letter of the
word from the list above to go to the appropriate section of the glossary.
- S -
Search Warrant:
A written order issued by a judge that directs a law
enforcement officer to search a specific area for a
particular piece of evidence.
Secured Debt:
In bankruptcy proceedings, a debt is secured if the
debtor gave the creditor a right to repossess the
property or goods used as collateral.
Self-Defense:
Claim that an act otherwise criminal was legally
justifiable because it was necessary to protect a
person or property from the threat or action of
another.
Self-Incrimination,
Privilege Against: The constitutional right of
people to refuse to give testimony against
themselves that could subject them to criminal
prosecution. The right is guaranteed in the Fifth
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Asserting the
right is often referred to as taking the Fifth.
Self-Proving Will:
A will whose validity does not have to be testified
to in court by the witnesses to it, since the
witnesses executed an affidavit reflecting proper
execution of the will prior to the maker's death.
Sentence: The
punishment ordered by a court for a defendant
convicted of a crime. A concurrent sentence means
that two or more sentences would run at the same
time. A consecutive sentence means that two or more
sentences would run one after another.
Sentence Report:
A document containing background material on a
convicted person. It is prepared to guide the judge
in the imposition of a sentence. Sometimes called a
presentence report.
Sequester: To
separate. Sometimes juries are separated from
outside influences during their deliberations. For
example, this may occur during a highly publicized
trial.
Sequestration of
Witnesses: Keeping all witnesses (except
plaintiff and defendant) out of the courtroom except
for their time on the stand, and cautioning them not
to discuss their testimony with other witnesses.
Also called separation of witnesses. This prevents a
witness from being influenced by the testimony of a
prior witness.
Service: The
delivery of a legal document, such as a complaint,
summons, or subpoena, notifying a person of a
lawsuit or other legal action taken against him or
her. Service, which constitutes formal legal notice,
must be made by an officially authorized person in
accordance with the formal requirements of the
applicable laws.
Settlement: An
agreement between the parties disposing of a
lawsuit.
Settlor: The
person who sets up a trust. Also called the grantor.
Several Liability:
Liability separate and distinct from the liability
of another which is sufficient to support a lawsuit
without reference to anyone else's liability.
Severance of
Actions: Judicial proceeding separating the
claims of multiple parties and permitting separate
actions on each one or some combination of them.
Service of
Process: Providing a formal notice to the
defendant that orders him to appear in court to
answer plaintiff’s allegations.
Show Cause Order:
Judicial direction to appear in court and present
reasons why the court should not take a proposed
action.
Sidebar: A
conference between the judge and lawyers, usually in
the courtroom, out of earshot of the jury and
spectators.
Slander: False
and defamatory spoken words tending to harm
another's reputation, business, or means of
livelihood. Slander is spoken defamation; libel is
published.
Small Claims
Court: A court that handles civil claims for
small amounts of money. People often represent
themselves rather than hire an attorney.
Social Host
Liability: The liability of a person (the
"social host") who furnishes free
alcoholic beverages to another (the
"guest"), when the guest subsequently
sustains injuries or causes injury to a third person
because of his intoxication.
Sovereign
Immunity: The doctrine that the government,
state or federal, is immune to lawsuit unless it
gives its consent.
Special
Jurisdiction: Power of a court to deal with only
a limited type of case.
Specific Loss:
In a workers' compensation case, this is the
compensation payable for loss (amputation) or
permanent loss of use of members of the body,
complete loss of hearing in one or both ears, loss
of vision in one or both eyes, and disfigurement.
Specific
Performance: A remedy requiring a person who has
breached a contract to perform specifically what he
or she has agreed to do. Specific performance is
ordered when damages would be inadequate
compensation.
Spendthrift Trust:
A trust set up for the benefit of someone who the
grantor believes would be incapable of managing his
or her own financial affairs.
Spoliation:
Generally, the destruction of evidence.
Stack or Stacking:
In Pennsylvania automobile insurance law, purchasers
of insurance have the option to "stack"
uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. If you
choose "stacking," this means that you can
add the coverage together for each vehicle you have
insured, at least under the policy. (An issue
presently exists as to whether you can
"stack" coverages under separate policies
of insurance.) For example, if you have two
vehicles, with $100,000/$300,000 (meaning $100,000
available per person, and $300,000 available per
accident) in uninsured or underinsured motorist
coverage, you can "stack" the coverages
and have available $200,000/$600,000 in coverage.
Standard of Care:
In the law of negligence, the degree of care which a
reasonable, prudent or careful person should
exercise under the same or similar circumstances. If
the standard falls below that established by law for
the protection of others against unreasonable risk
of harm, the person may be liable for damages
resulting from such conduct.
Standard of Proof
or Burden of Proof: Degree of proof required in
a specific kind of case to prevail. In the majority
of civil cases, it is proof by a preponderance of
the evidence.
Standing: The
legal right to bring a lawsuit. Only a person with
something at stake has standing to bring a lawsuit.
Stare Decisis:
Policy of the courts to not overturn precedents;
adherence to precedents.
Status Offenders:
Youths charged with the status of being beyond the
control of their legal guardian or are habitually
disobedient, truant from school, or having committed
other acts that would not be a crime if committed by
an adult. They are not delinquents (in that they
have committed no crime), but rather are persons in
need of supervision, minors in need of supervision,
or children in need of supervision, depending on the
state in which they live. Status offenders are
placed under the supervision of the juvenile court.
Statute:
Generally, a law created by a legislature.
Statute of
Limitations: The time prescribed by statute in
which a plaintiff can bring a lawsuit.
Statutory
Construction: Process by which a court seeks to
interpret the meaning and scope of legislation.
Statutory Law:
Law enacted by the legislative branch of government,
as distinguished from case law or common law.
Stay:
Court-ordered suspension of a judicial proceeding.
Strict
Construction: Judicial interpretation of the law
whereby the judge adheres to the literal meaning of
the words. Compare with liberal construction which
expands the literal meaning of the statute to meet
cases that are clearly within the spirit or reason
of the law.
Strict Liability:
Doctrine that holds defendants liable for harm
caused by their actions regardless of their
intentions or lack of negligence. Often applied to
manufacturers or sellers of defective products in
products liability cases.
Stroke: Damage
to a part of the brain when its blood supply is
suddenly reduced or stopped. This stoppage in blood
flow can occur as the result of a blood vessel
becoming blocked or bursting inside the brain. The
part of the brain deprived of blood dies and can no
longer function.
Stipulation:
An agreement by attorneys on both sides of a civil
or criminal case about some aspect of the case;
e.g., to extend the time to answer, to adjourn the
trial date, or to admit certain facts at the trial.
Strike:
Highlighting in the record of a case, evidence that
has been improperly offered and will not be relied
upon.
Sua Sponte: A
Latin phrase which means on one's own behalf.
Voluntary, without prompting or suggestion.
Subject Matter
Jurisdiction: The court's power to deal with the
general subject matter involved in a case. For
example, a bankruptcy court judge has no subject
matter jurisdiction to hear a divorce case.
Subornation of
Perjury: Procuring someone to make a false
statement under oath.
Subpoena:
Command to appear at a certain place and time to
give testimony on a matter.
Subpoena Duces
Tecum: Command to produce some document or
paper.
Subrogation:
Substitution of one person for another, giving the
substitute the same legal rights as the original
party. For example, an insurance company may have a
right of subrogation to sue anyone whom the person
it compensated had a right to sue.
Substantive law. The
body of law that creates, defines and regulates
right. Compare with procedural law which prescribes
the manner to enforce rights or obtaining redress
for invasion of rights.
Sue: The act
of bringing a lawsuit.
Suit or Lawsuit: Generally,
a court action brought by one person, the plaintiff,
against another, the defendant , seeking
compensation for some injury or enforcement of a
right.
Summary Judgment:
A decision made on the basis of statements and
evidence presented for the record without a trial.
It is used when there is no dispute as to the facts
of the case, and one party is entitled to judgment
as a matter of law.
Summons:
Formal document beginning a civil action or special
proceeding which is a means to gain jurisdiction
over a party. Also, a document directed to a sheriff
or other authorized person ordering him to serve the
person named on the summons who must appear at a
certain place and time to respond to the action.
Supplier of Goods:
In products liability law, all parties in the chain
of supply of a product for profit, including
manufacturers, sellers, and dealers.
Supplemental
Agreement: In a workers' compensation case, this
is the form signed by the injured employee when
there has been a change in disability status.
Support Trust: A
trust that instructs the trustee to spend only as
much income and principal (the assets held in the
trust) as needed for the beneficiary's support.
Suppress: To
forbid the use of evidence at a trial because it is
improper or was improperly obtained. See also
exclusionary rule.
Surety Bond: A
bond purchased at the expense of the estate to
insure the executor's proper performance. Often
called a fidelity bond.
Survival Action:
A survival action is brought by the administrator of
a deceased person's estate in order to recover loss
to the estate resulting from a tort. A survival
action continues in the decedent's personal
representative a right of action which accrued to
the decedent at common law because of a tort. A
survival action, unlike a wrongful death action, is
not a new cause of action. Where death is caused by
negligence, both a survival action and a wrongful
death action may be brought.
Survival Statutes:
Statutory law that provides for a legal action to
continue after the death of a person involved in the
action.
Survivorship:
Another name for joint tenancy.
Sustain: A
court ruling upholding an objection or a motion.
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