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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Levying officer | Sheriff or marshal given the legal power to seize and/or sell the property of a person who owes damages. | General Terms | |||
| Lewd and lascivious | Conduct that is sexual in nature and deemed by a judge to be criminal. | obscene | obscene, offensive | General Terms | |
| LEXIS | A special computer service that helps to find legal information. | General Terms | |||
| LGBTQ | lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning. | General Terms | |||
| Liability | 1. The state of being liable, owing, or legally accountable for doing or not doing something. 2. Legal responsibility for one's acts or omissions. | responsibility | responsibility, accountability, obligation, burden debt, blame | General Terms | |
| Liability insurance coverage | Insurance that provides compensation to third parties who are injured or whose property is damaged because of something the insurance holder is responsible for. | General Terms | |||
| Liable | Legally responsible. | responsible | responsible, obligated | General Terms | |
| Libel | 1. False and malicious material that is written or spread through media that hurts a person's reputation. 2. A method of defamation expressed by print, writing, pictures or signs? in its most general sense, any publication that is injurious to the reputation of another. | harmful lies | lie, smear, defamation | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Liberty | Freedom from restraint, slavery, or imprisonment, and the power to choose for oneself within legal limits. | freedom | freedom, autonomy | General Terms | |
| License hold | Prevent someone from renewing their driver's license until a legal matter is settled. | General Terms | |||
| Licensee | 1. A person who lives in an apartment who is not a tenant and unrelated to the tenant, but is allowed to stay there because a tenant allows it. A person allowed on a premises for social or personal reasons, but is not an owner or on a lease. 2. someone who is given a license. | guest | guest | General Terms | |
| Licit | Lawful, permitted. | lawful | legal, permitted, authorized, lawful | General Terms | |
| Lien | 1. Legal right or claim on specific property usually as security for a debt or obligation. Stays until the debt or obligation is cleared. 2. An encumbrance upon property, usually as security for a debt or obligation. | claim on property | General Terms, Guardian and Conservator, Estates, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | ||
| Lienor | A person or entity that holds a lien on the funds or property of another. | one holding a lien | General Terms | ||
| Life estate | An interest in property, the term of which is measured by the life of its owner. | General Terms, Guardian and Conservator, Estates | |||
| Life insurance trust | A trust that owns a life insurance policy, so that the policy proceeds aren't subject to estate tax when the policy owner dies. | General Terms | |||
| Life tenant | An individual who has the right to property during their lifetime. | General Terms | |||
| Life without possibility of parole | A prison sentence for life, with no parole possible. | LWOP | General Terms | ||
| Limitation | A certain time allowed by statute in which litigation must be brought. | conditional, restricted | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Limited equity housing | Housing offered for sale at an extremely favorable price and with a low down payment for the benefit of low-income families. Shared ownership of a building or group of houses managed by a non-profit to keep prices favorable. | General Terms | |||
| Limited jurisdiction | 1. When a particular court has authority only over certain types of cases. 2. Courts limited in the types of criminal and civil cases they may hear. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |||
| Limited power of attorney | Authority given to someone to act as an agent, or make decisions for another but only for some things. | General Terms | |||
| Limited-scope representation | An arrangement with a lawyer to get help on some parts of a case for a set fee or limited fees. | lawyer does some parts | General Terms | ||
| Limiting instruction | A judge's instruction to a jury telling them to consider some evidence only for a particular purpose. | General Terms | |||
| Lineal consanguinity | A blood relationship where individuals are direct descendants or ascendants of each other (for example, great-grandfather and grandson). | directly related by blood | direct blood descendant, blood relationship | General Terms | |
| Lineal descendant | A person's children and their children down through the generations. | direct descendants | descendants, in direct line of an ancestor | General Terms | |
| Lineup | A procedure that places a suspect in a line with similar-looking people to ask an eyewitness to identify the suspect. | General Terms | |||
| Liquid asset | Business or personal property that can be quickly and easily converted into cash. | cash or property | cash, balance in bank account, asset that can be sold | General Terms | |
| Liquidate | To settle an obligation or debt by payment or other compensation. | sell | pay, convert into cash, sell | General Terms | |
| Lis pendens | pending lawsuit. Notice that a lawsuit is pending on a property which may impact ownership. | pending lawsuit | Pending Lawsuit on Property | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Litigant | Any party to a lawsuit. It does not include the judge, witnesses or attorneys. | party | plaintiffs and defendants, participant, party | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Litigate | To conduct or engage in a lawsuit. | bring before a court of law | prosecute, sue | General Terms | |
| Litigation | A judicial controversy. | case | action, case, suit | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Litigator | A trial lawyer; an attorney who represents plaintiffs or defendants in court. | trial lawyer | trial lawyer, courtroom lawyer | General Terms | |
| Living will | A legal document stating a person's choices about medical care if they become unable to speak for themselves. | a person's medical wishes | General Terms | ||
| Lockout | When a landlord illegally locks a tenant out of their rental unit to end their tenancy. Or a business closes temporarily to get employees to do something. | General Terms | |||
| loiter | To linger or hang around in a public place with no apparent purpose. | hang around | hang around, linger, dawdle, loaf | General Terms | |
| loitering | A crime of remaining in a certain place for no apparent reason. | hang around for no reason | General Terms | ||
| lower court | Any court that makes decisions that can be appealed or reviewed by a higher court level. | General Terms | |||
| Magna cum laude | With great praise; an honor granted with a college degree. | honors | great honor, praise, distinction | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Maiden name | A woman's last name or family name at birth. | family name | birth name, family name | General Terms | |
| Mailbox rule | The acceptance of a contract by a properly posted letter sent by the time specified, as long as acceptance in person is not required. | valid upon mailing | General Terms | ||
| Maim | To injure a person in a way that causes serious disfigurement or disability. | injure | disfigure, mutilate, injure, harm | General Terms | |
| Maintain | State as a fact. | state as fact | perpetuate, support, uphold | General Terms | |
| Major life activity | Important personal functions, such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, having regular sensory, physical, learning and working abilities; any impairment to these is considered a disability. | daily personal activities | daily functions | General Terms | |
| Make one whole | To totally compensate for the loss suffered. Damages awarded that bring property back to original state. | restore | General Terms | ||
| Maker | The person who signs a check or promissory note, which makes that person responsible for payment. | signer | signer, authorizer | General Terms | |
| Mala in se (singular,Malum in se) | Bad (wrong) by itself, acts which are morally wrong, against conscience, which may or may not be forbidden by law “telling your friend’s secret may not be a crime, but it’s mala in se”. | immoral | bad, wrong or evil in and of itself, innately wrong, immoral | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Malfeasance | Evil doing? ill conduct? the commission of some act, especially by a public official, which is positively prohibited by law. | illegal conduct, crime | illegal conduct, illegal action | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Malice aforethought | premeditated; the state of mind necessary to prove first-degree murder. | planned before | premeditated, planned, intended | General Terms |