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.
- by choosing a “Type” from the drop-down list such as “Estate” or “Small Claims.”
- by choosing the beginning letter in the “Filter by Letter” drop-down list to display only the terms that start with that letter.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annulment | 1. A legal action that says your marriage was never legally valid because of unsound mind, incest, bigamy, being too young to consent, fraud, force, or physical incapacity. 2. An order declaring that the marriage is void. An annulment establishes that the marital status never existed. (Black's Law Dictionary, 8th Ed.) | cancellation | cancellation, reversal, voiding | General Terms, Domestic Relations | |
| Anonymous | When someone's name is kept secret. | unidentified | unsigned, secret, unidentified | General Terms | |
| Answer | 1. A pleading by which defendant endeavors to resist the plaintiff's allegation of facts. 2. An official response to claims made in a lawsuit. | response | response | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil | |
| Answer to complaint | Response by defendant denying plaintiff's complaint. | written response | response to accusations | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Antitransfer laws | Laws that penalize people who are eligible for benefits, such as SSI and Medicaid, and who give their benefits to others who are not eligible; and laws that penalize individuals who obtain eligibility for public benefits, such as Medicaid or SSI, by disposing of assets for less than fair market value. | General Terms | |||
| Antitrust laws | Laws intended to promote healthy market conditions and fair competition by penalizing unlawful restraints, price fixing, and monopolies. | General Terms | |||
| Appeal | 1. A request to take a case to a higher court for review. 2. When someone that loses at least part of a case asks a higher court (called an "appellate court") to review the decision and say if it was right. | request review | question, contest | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Appearance | 1. A scheduled time when parties in a case or their attorneys are formally heard in court. 2. The formal proceeding by which a defendant submits himself or herself to the jurisdiction of the court. | presence, showing up | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Appellant | The party appealing a decision or judgment to a higher court. | the person who files an appeal | petitioner, aggrieved party, appealer | General Terms, Domestic Relations, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | |
| Appellate | Having to do with appeals. An appellate court can review a lower court's decision. | about an appeal. | General Terms | ||
| Appellate court | 1. A higher court that reviews the decision of a lower court when a losing party files an appeal. 2. A court that can review how the law was used to decide a case in a lower court. | Higher court | Court that decides an appeal. | General Terms | |
| Appellate jurisdiction | The power of a court to review a case that has already been tried by a lower court. | authority to review | authority to review | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Appellee | The party against whom an appeal is taken. | other party in an appeal | defendant or respondent | General Terms, Domestic Relations, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | |
| Appraisal | An expert's estimate of what something is worth or its value. | assessment | evaluation, opinion, pricing, survey | General Terms | |
| Appreciation | When an asset, usually real property, increases in value over time, and not because of any improvements or additions made. | increase in value | gain, growth, rise, improvement, inflation | General Terms | |
| Approach | When a lawyer moves towards a judge in a courtroom to speak with the judge and lawyer from the other side off the record or so the jury cannot hear. | go toward | go toward | General Terms | |
| Arbiter | Someone with the legal authority to decide out-of-court disputes. | mediator | mediator, referee | General Terms | |
| Arbitrary | Based on individual opinion or wish, not supported by fair cause or reason. | irrational | random, irrational, without reason | General Terms | |
| Arbitration | A process by which a neutral third party with authority to render a binding or non- binding decision, assists two or more people to resolve a dispute or controversy. The hearing and settlement of a dispute between opposing parties by a third party whose decision the parties have agreed to accept. | mediation | mediation | General Terms, Office of Dispute Resolution, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Arguendo | Arguing for the sake of argument "Assuming arguendo that my learned friend is correct, that means. . ." | for the sake of arguing | General Terms, Court Reporting | ||
| Argument | A presentation that summarizes the law and facts regarding an issue. | give reasons | case, reasoning | General Terms | |
| Arraignment | When a person that is accused of committing a crime is (a) taken to court, (b) told about the charges, and (c) asked to plead "guilty" or "not guilty". | indictment, charge, citation | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Arrears | Child support that is overdue or unpaid. A parent that has arrearages is "in arrears." | back payment | back payment, unpaid bill, balance due, behind. | General Terms | |
| Arrest/custody | 1. To take into custody; to deprive a person of liberty by legal authority. 2. The legal capture of a person that is charged with a crime (temporary holding at scene of crime for questioning is not arrest). | capture | capture, detain, jail | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Ascertain | To have found out with certainty. | confirm | confirm, verify, conclude, remove doubt | General Terms, Domestic Relations | |
| Ascertained | Proved to be true. | confirmed | confirmed, proved | General Terms | |
| Assessor | A public officer who assigns a taxable value to real estate parcels and collects those taxes. | surveyor | appraiser | General Terms | |
| Assets | Property of any kind, including cash, financial accounts, real property, and personal property. | belongings | belongings, valuables | General Terms | |
| Assignee | A person or business that is put in the place of the original creditor, such as a collection agency. You can assign your judgment to another person or business. | stand-in | representative, substitute | General Terms | |
| Assisted suicide | When someone helps another person who is terminally sick or incapacitated to commit suicide. Assisted suicide is against the law in most U.S. states. | euthanasia, mercy killing | General Terms | ||
| Associate Justice | All of the judges of the Nebraska Supreme Court, except the Chief Justice. | General Terms | |||
| Assume | To accept the rights or obligations of another person, for example, a car lease or debt. | take over | accept, take over, take on, become responsible for | General Terms | |
| Assured | n. A person or entity that is insured. Adj. Sure, certain, secure, bold, confident . | insured person, guaranteed | guaranteed, secure, insured against loss | General Terms | |
| Asylee | A foreigner who arrives in the U.S. asking for protection because it is dangerous for him/her to be in the home country. | refugee | one seeking refuge | General Terms | |
| Asylum | A legal status sometimes given foreigners arriving in the U.S. asking for protection because it is dangerous for him/her to be in the home country. | safety | shelter, safety | General Terms | |
| At-will employment | A kind of employment that allows the employee to quit at any time and the employer to fire an employee at any time, except for legally protected reasons, like race or disability. | General Terms | |||
| Attachment | A remedy by which plaintiff is enabled to acquire a lien upon property or effects of defendant for satisfaction of judgment which plaintiff may obtain in the future. | lien | lien | General Terms, News Reporter Guide | |
| Attempt | To start, but not complete a crime, such as attempted murder, robbery, or arson. Attempted crimes usually have a less severe punishment than completed crimes. | try | try, strive | General Terms | |
| Attest | To confirm, orally or in writing, that something is true, genuine, or authentic. | swear | swear, verify, certify | General Terms | |
| Attorney | Someone that is qualified to represent clients in court and to give them legal advice. | lawyer | lawyer | General Terms | |
| Attorney lien | The right of an attorney to hold or retain a client's money or property or to encumber money payable to the client until the attorney's fees have been properly determined and paid. (§ 7- 108) |
Domestic Relations, General Terms | |||
| Attorney of record | The attorney whose name appears as counsel to a party in the permanent records or files in a case. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide | |||
| Attorney-at-law | A lawyer; one who is licensed to act as a representative for another in a legal matter or proceeding. | lawyer | lawyer | General Terms, News Reporter Guide | |
| Attractive nuisance | A dangerous condition on a landowner's property that may attract and endanger children, like a swimming pool without a fence around it. | dangerous temptation | General Terms | ||
| Audit | When records or accounts are looked at to check that they are right and complete. | verify | verify, check, go over | General Terms | |
| Authenticated copy | An attestation made by a proper officer, by which he certifies that a record is in due form of law, and that the person who certified it is the officer appointed by law to do so. (3-seals-clerk certifies copy of record; judge certifies clerk's attestation of the record; clerk certifies judge is presiding/acting judge of the court.) | verified copy | endorsed, verified, sworn to | General Terms, Guardian and Conservator, Estates | |
| Authority | Power to take some action or to tell others what to do. For example, you may sign a living will that gives another person the power to speak for you. | permission | permission, the right to | General Terms | |
| Authorized attorney | An attorney (a) employed by the county subject to the approval of the county board, (b) employed by HHS, or (c) appointed by the court, who is authorized to investigate and prosecute child and spousal support cases. (§ 43-512(6)(a)) |
Domestic Relations, General Terms | |||
| Automatic stay | An injunction that automatically stops lawsuits, foreclosures, garnishments, and most collection activities against the debtor the moment a bankruptcy petition is filed. | order to stop | stall, hold off, stop | General Terms | |
| Award | The decision to give money to a person or party in a case. | reward, grant | General Terms |