Glossary
This glossary may be used to find the definitions of many legal terms.
In many instances, there are synonyms and plain language options provided for the terms.
You may search within this glossary:
- by entering a term in the “Keyword Search” field.
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A combination of these search options can be used to provide a more defined result.
Note that this glossary may not contain all legal terms.
| Term | Definition | Plain Language | Synonyms | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cum laude | With praise; an honor granted with a college degree. | honors | with praise, with honors | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Cumis counsel | A lawyer hired by a defendant in a case where an insurance policy supposedly covers the claim, but the insurance company is denying full or partial coverage because of a conflict of interest between the insurance company and the defendant. | independent counsel | General Terms | ||
| Cure | To correct a violation or defect. For example, a landlord's cure or quit notice gives the tenant a certain amount of time to cure a lease violation before the landlord starts an eviction case. | correct | remedy, correct | General Terms | |
| Curriculum vitae | Course of life; a short resume of one's career, summarizing education, professional history, and job qualifications. Full account of your work and accomplishments, academic or career history. | life history | life history; resume | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Custodial interference | Taking a child from a parent as a way of interfering with that parent's physical custody of the child. This is a crime in most states, even if the taker also has custody rights. | parental child abduction | custodial intrusion, obstruction, parental child abduction | General Terms | |
| Custodial parent | The parent who has sole or primary care, custody, and control of a child. | primary care parent | General Terms, Juvenile | ||
| Custody | Detaining a person by lawful process and authority to assure his or her appearance at any hearing? the jailing or imprisonment of a person convicted of a crime. | detention; care | care, guardianship; detainment, imprisonment, jailed, incarceration | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Custody mediation | A meeting with a trained, neutral third party who helps parents try to agree on a parenting plan for their children. | negotiation | custody negotiation/intervention | General Terms | |
| Custody order | A court order that says who a child will live with, who should make decisions about the child's welfare and whether anyone else has the right to visit with the child. | General Terms | |||
| Cybersquatting | Acquiring a business name, trademark, or celebrity name as a domain name with the hope of selling it. Bad-faith registering of a domain name. | General Terms | |||
| Damages | Financial compensation claimed by or ordered paid to a person who has suffered injury or loss through the unlawful act or negligence of another. | reimbursement | Cost for problem, reimbursement, compensation | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Date rape | Forced sexual intercourse during a social engagement in which one of the two resisted the sexual activity. The fact that the two people knew each other or were together willingly are not legal defenses to a charge of rape. | rape on a date | acquaintance rape, indecent assault | General Terms | |
| De facto | Latin for "in fact" or "actually." Something that exists in fact but not as a matter of law. | Actually | in fact, actually, in reality | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| De jure | Latin, meaning "in law." Something that exists by operation of law. | according to law | General Terms, Court Reporting | ||
| De juris | Of the law. | of the law | General Terms, Court Reporting | ||
| De minimis | Of little importance. Usually refers to something so small, whether in dollar terms or importance that the law will not consider it. | Unimportant | slight, trivial, insignificant | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| De novo | Latin for "anew." A trial de novo is a completely new trial. Over again; a second time. Start again from the beginning, do over. | new, new trial | new, new trial | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | |
| Deadlock | a jury is unable to agree on a verdict. | unable to agree | stalemate, unable to agree | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Deadly weapon | A gun or other instrument or object that is used or intended to be used in a way that is likely to kill. A prosecutor who charges a defendant with "assault with a deadly weapon" must prove not only that the defendant assaulted the victim, but did so with an object that was capable of killing. | lethal weapon | weapon capable of killing | General Terms | |
| Dealer | Anyone who buys goods or property for the purpose of selling those goods or property as a business. | vendor | trader, trafficker, vendor | General Terms | |
| Death benefit | Insurance or pension money payable to the dead person's designated beneficiary. | life insurance payment, survivor benefit | life insurance payment, survivor benefit | General Terms | |
| Death penalty | The sentence of execution for murder and some other capital crimes. | General Terms | |||
| Death row | The part of a prison that houses prisoners who have been sentenced to death. | General Terms | |||
| Death taxes | Taxes charged at death that are based on the value of property left behind. The two main types of death taxes in the U.S. are estate taxes and inheritance taxes. | inheritance tax | inheritance tax or estate tax | General Terms | |
| Debenture | A type of bond that does not require a specific property as security. Its repayment is guaranteed only by the general credit of the issuer. | promise to pay | unsecured bond, voucher, promise to pay | General Terms | |
| Debt | The amount a person owes to others. | General Terms | |||
| Debt collector | A company or person who tracks down debtors and tries to get them to pay what they owe. | General Terms | |||
| Debtor | A person or business that owes a debt (usually money). | borrower | borrower | General Terms | |
| Debtor's exam | The process by which the judgment debtor is ordered into court to answer questions put to him/her by the judgment creditor in an attempt to discover facts which would aid the judgment creditor's attempt to satisfy the judgment. | lender questioning the borrower | General Terms, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | ||
| Debtor's plan | A detailed description of how a debtor intends to pay creditors' claims over a certain period of time. | borrower's repayment plan | plan for payment of debt | General Terms | |
| Decedent | In criminal law, it means a murder victim; in probate law, it means a dead person. | person who died | a person who has died | General Terms | |
| Deceit | A misrepresentation made by someone on purpose and with the intent to deceive another. Deceit is a civil wrong (tort). | lie | lie, fraud | General Terms | |
| Decide | To make a decision about who is right and wrong in a legal matter after looking at the facts and the law. Judges, magistrates, and arbitrators all may decide the outcome of cases that come before them. | rule | rule, judge, determine, settle an issue | General Terms | |
| Decision | A court's judgment or decree that settles a dispute. | judgment | General Terms | ||
| Declarant | One having an interest in a matter who makes an unsworn statement | person who makes a statement | General Terms, Court Reporting | ||
| Declaration | Unsworn statement of one having an interest in a matter; written statement of facts, generally not made under oath. | statement | statement | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Declaratory judgment | 1. A judge's statement about someone's rights. For example, a plaintiff may seek a declaratory judgment that a particular statute, as written, violates some constitutional right. 2. A court's judgment that declares the rights of the parties or expresses the opinion of the court on a question of law without ordering anything to be done. | judge's statement about rights | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Decree | A decision or order of the court. A final decree is one which fully and finally disposes of the litigation? an interlocutory decree is a provisional or preliminary decree which is not final. | order | judgment, order, decision | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Decree of dissolution | A final judgment in a divorce or dissolution case that dissolves the marriage of the parties and resolves all matters concerning custody, support and division of property and debts. | Divorce judgment | Divorce judgment | General Terms, Domestic Relations | |
| Decriminalization | To change or void laws that made certain acts criminal, so that they no longer are crimes subject to prosecution. | make legal | General Terms | ||
| Deductible | An amount of money that the insured person must pay before an insurance company will make payment. | General Terms | |||
| Deduction | In tax law, an amount of money that a person or business can subtract from its gross income. | something subtracted | write-off, discount, reduction | General Terms | |
| Deed | A legal paper that transfers ownership of real estate and is recorded in the local land records. | title | document, record, title | General Terms | |
| Deem | To consider, think or judge. | consider | consider, believe, suppose, understand | General Terms | |
| Defalcation | When someone who manages funds for another does not account for or release those funds to the fund owner. | embezzlement | embezzlement, fraud, larceny, fraud, theft, misuse | General Terms | |
| Defamation | A false statement that harms a person's reputation. If the statement is published, it is libel; if spoken, it is slander. | slander | libel, slander | General Terms | |
| Default | The failure of a party to respond in a timely manner to a pleading? a failure to appear for trial. | miss | failing, oversight, miss | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Default judgment | A court decision in favor of the plaintiff that happens because the defendant does not answer or go to the court hearing s/he was told about. | General Terms | |||
| Defeasance | To cancel or undo a part of a legal document because the condition required by the document is not fulfilled. For example: a will may say that a gift is defeasible (cancelled) if the beneficiary does not marry by a certain time. | cancellation | abrogation, cancellation, invalidation, nullification | General Terms | |
| Defect | An imperfection in a product, process, or document that makes it unusable or harmful. For example, a defect in a deed or title may invalidate the document, making it impossible to sell the property. | mistake | imperfection, error, fault, flaw, mistake | General Terms |