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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opinion | A formal statement by a judge or justice of the law bearing on a case. | conclusion | judicial decision, authoritative statement, conclusion, decree, final judgment, order, ruling | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Oral argument | The part of a trial when lawyers summarize their position in court and also answer the judge's questions. | General Terms | |||
| Oral contract | A contract that is not in writing. | verbal contract | verbal contract, spoken out loud | General Terms | |
| Order | A direction of the court or judge, in writing. | ruling | judicial directive, award, decision, ruling, judgment | General Terms, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | |
| Order to show cause; contemnor | Court orders a person to explain if they are or are not following a court order. | order to explain | General Terms | ||
| Ordinance | 1. A law passed by a city or town lawmaking body. 2. The local legislation of a city, town, village, or county written by the local legislative body. | local laws | local code, local laws | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Original jurisdiction | No court other than the specific one holding jurisdiction may initially consider the matter in question. | court's authority | General Terms, Court Reporting | ||
| Overrule | A trial judge's decision to reject a party's objection. | reject | cancel, reject, void, override | General Terms | |
| Own recognizance (OR) | When a person is released from custody and not required to pay bail because of his or her promise to come to court to answer a criminal charge. | released without bail | General Terms, Court Reporting | ||
| Panel | The list of people selected to appear for jury duty. | group | group, jury, tribunal | General Terms | |
| Parameters | Limits or boundaries. | limits | area, extent, limits | General Terms | |
| Pardon | When the chief executive of a state or country releases a convicted person from the punishment given him or her by a court sentence. | forgive | discharge, excuse, release, forgive | General Terms | |
| Parent | The legal or natural father or mother of a person. | ancestor | ancestor, origin, source | General Terms | |
| Parentage (parental relationship) | A legal relationship between a child and a legal parent of the child. | ancestor, family, ancestry, bloodline | General Terms | ||
| Parental | § 43-247(5)-Parental jurisdiction § 43-247(6)-Termination of parental rights § 43-247(7)-Termination/divorce § 43-247(8)-Voluntary relinquishment § 43-247(9)-Guardianship disrupted/Terminated § 43-247(11)-Paternity determination |
General Terms, Juvenile | |||
| Parental neglect | A parent's crime of acting or not acting in a way that endangers the health and life of a child. Failure to provide basic needs. | neglect | General Terms | ||
| Parenting Mediation | A process for parents to develop a mutually agreed plan addressing parenting functions provided for under the Parenting Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2929. |
General Terms, Office of Dispute Resolution | |||
| Parenting plan | Plan which takes into account the parenting functions of a child, parenting time, custody and provisions for safety to meet the best interests of the child/ren. May be required in cases where child custody is to be ordered. May be developed by parents or with assistance of mediation. | visitation time agreement | General Terms, Domestic Relations, Office of Dispute Resolution | ||
| Parenting time | Communication or time spent between the child and parent, the child and a court-appointed guardian, or the child and another family member or members. (§§ 43-2929 & 43-2921) |
Visitation | Domestic Relations, General Terms | ||
| Parity | Relative equality, as in status, amount, or value. | equal | equality, balance, equivalence, similarity | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Parol | A word; expressed by speech only, as opposed to evidenced by documents (distinguish this from the word parole). | spoken word | speech, orally, spoken communication | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Parole | The conditional release of a convict from prison before the expiration of his or her sentence. If he or she meets the conditions, the parolee does not have to serve the remainder of the sentence. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide | |||
| Parties | The persons who are actively concerned in the prosecution or defense of a legal proceeding. | participants | litigants, agents, participants, actor, agent, people | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Party | The person, people, or entity named in a legal action. | participant | people, litigant, participant, person, actor, agent | General Terms | |
| Paternity | A court proceeding to determine whether a person is the father of a child, especially one born out of wedlock. Usually this type of case is initiated by the mother or the State in an effort to obtain child support. (Black's Law Dictionary, 8th Ed.) | origin | origin, ancestry, parentage, father | General Terms, Domestic Relations | |
| Payee | Person or organization in whose name child support or other money is paid. | receiver | receiver, beneficiary, collector, casher | General Terms | |
| Payor | Person that makes a payment. | person who pays | General Terms | ||
| Pecuniary damages | A money award in compensation for damages sustained. Can be compensated by money. | money award | General Terms, Court Reporting | ||
| Penalty | Punishment for breaking a law. | punishment | cost, fine, punishment | General Terms | |
| Penalty assessment | An amount of money added to a fine. | Addition of other costs | Additional costs | General Terms | |
| Penalty clause | Part of a contract that calls for payment if a party does not keep the contract. | General Terms | |||
| Pendete lite | During suit; during litigation. Temporary order by the court while the case is ongoing. Usually relates to child support or alimony while the parties wait for the case to be resolved. | during a case | during a case, Temporary | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Pending | The status of a case that is not yet resolved by the court. | not yet decided | undecided, undetermined, unsettled | General Terms | |
| Penitentiary | A state or federal prison for convicted criminals. | prison | lockup, prison | General Terms | |
| Pension | Money that an employer pays regularly to an employee's retirement account. | retirement payments | payment, retirement account, allowance, annuity | General Terms | |
| Per capita | By the heads; according to the number of people involved, equal shares. | per person | amount for each | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Per centum (per cent) | By a hundred; a percentage. | percent | percentage, percent | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Per curiam | 1. A phrase used to distinguish an opinion of the whole court from an opinion written by any one judge. 2. By the court; brief announcement of case disposition not accompanied by a written opinion; opinion of an appellate court en banc, as opposed to an opinion written by a single judge. | agreed on by the whole court | unanimous, agreed | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Peremptory challenge | 1. The challenge which the prosecution or defense may use to reject a certain number of prospective jurors without giving reason. | reject a juror without a reason | reject for no reason | General Terms, News Reporter Guide | |
| Perform | To fulfill one's obligations under a contract. | satisfy | act, finish, fulfill, satisfy | General Terms | |
| Perjury | 1. A false statement made on purpose while under oath in a court proceeding. 2. The crime of intentionally lying after taking an oath to tell the truth by a notary public, court clerk or other official. 3. The willful assertion as to a matter of fact, opinion, belief or knowledge, made by a witness in a judicial proceeding as part of his or her evidence, whether upon oath or in any form allowed by law to be substituted for an oath, and known to such witness to be false. | lying under oath | lying under oath, dishonesty | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Permanency hearings | The permanency hearing is a state plan requirement. It is NOT a Title IV-E eligibility requirement. If the state fails to hold a permanency hearing for a child, it is out of compliance with the state plan. However, an individual child remains eligible for Title IV-E federal matching funds.1 A permanency hearing, also known as a permanency planning hearing, is held so that the court can determine what the goal of permanency should be for the child (i.e., reunification with the parent, adoption, guardianship, etc.). It does not actually grant permanency. The federal law intends for courts to hold permanency hearings and permanency review hearings only when it's truly a permanency hearing, i.e., taking a serious look at the intended permanency. Each child in foster care under the supervision of the state shall have a permanency hearing by a court, no later than twelve months after the date the child enters foster care and annually thereafter during the continuation of foster care. American Bar Association, National Child Welfare Resource Center on Legal Judicial Issues. | General Terms, Juvenile | |||
| Permanency planning | A court action that gives a dependent child a permanent place to live, like an adoption or a guardianship. | General Terms | |||
| Permanency planning hearing | A hearing to give a dependent child a permanent place to live. | General Terms | |||
| Perpetuity | Forever | forever | all time, forever | General Terms | |
| Personal jurisdiction | The power of a court over a person, their body, and their rights. | General Terms | |||
| Personal property | Movable property as contrasted with real property, which is fixed. Personal property includes furniture, automobiles and equipment. | personal belongings | personal belongings, small personal items | General Terms, Guardian and Conservator, Estates | |
| Personal representative | 1. The individual(s) or corporation appointed by the court to take care of the property and debts of a deceased person. The Nebraska Probate Code replaced the terms “Executor” and “Administrator” with the term “Personal Representative”. 2. Includes executor, administrator, special administrator, and persons who perform substantially the same functions in decedents' estates. | General Terms, Guardian and Conservator, Estates, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |||
| Personal service | Delivery of court papers by handing them in person to the individual being served. | in-person delivery | in-person delivery | General Terms | |
| Petit jury | A group of citizens who hear the evidence presented by both sides at trial and determine the facts in dispute. | trial jury | trial jury | General Terms |