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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severance pay | Money paid or benefits provided to an employee who is fired, laid off, or agrees to leave. | dismissal wages | dismissal wage, redundancy pay, termination pay | General Terms | |
| Sex offender | A generic term for someone convicted of a crime involving sex, such as rape, molestation, sexual harassment, or making pornography. | person convicted of a sex crime | sexual perpetrator, sexual delinquent | General Terms | |
| Sexual harassment | Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. | unwelcome sexual advances | inappropriate behavior, sexual misconduct | General Terms | |
| Shall | Must. Is obligated to. | must | is required to, has to, needs to, must | General Terms | |
| Shared custody | The sharing of parenting responsibilities after a divorce or separation. | joint custody | joint custody, shared parenting, partnered parenting | General Terms | |
| Shepardizing | Legal research into the ultimate outcome of a case after appeals. | tracing the history | post-appeals research, tracing the history | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Sheriff | An officer of a county, chosen by popular election, whose principal duties are aid of criminal and civil courts? chief preserver of peace? serves processes, summons juries, executes judgments, and holds judicial sales. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |||
| Show cause | A court order telling a person to appear in court and present any evidence why the orders requested by the other side should not be granted or executed. | explain | justify, explain, prove something | General Terms | |
| Sic | Thus; a word used, usually parenthetically, to indicate that what appears on the record actually was said, even though it is obviously a blatant error. A misspelled or incorrect word in a quotation followed by "[sic]" indicates that the error appeared in the original source. | literally, verbatim, precisely, really | General Terms, Court Reporting | ||
| Sidebar | Counsel and judges discuss matters outside the hearing of the jury. | discussion not heard by jury | closed meeting, extra conversation | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Sine die | Without a day; adjournment of a meeting or group without a specified time to reconvene. | no set time to resume | no set time to resume, no firm time commitment | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Sine qua non | Without which, not (there is nothing); essential ingredient or condition "a ripe banana is the sine qua non of a banana split." | essential, required | essential, non-negotiable, crucial part, required | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Situs | Place; location, particularly in determining jurisdiction, but also of a crime. | location | location, jurisdiction, place of occurrence | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Slander | 1. Base and defamatory spoken words tending to harm another's reputation, business or means of livelihood. Both "libel" and "slander" are methods of defamation, libel being expressed by print, broadcast, writings, pictures, signs or other forms of side publication, while slander is expressed orally. 2. Defamation of a person's character or reputation through false or malicious oral statements. | say something untrue about someone | defamation, disparagement, smear, besmirch, tarnish, vilify | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Small claims case | A civil case for a monetary judgment of $3,900.00 or less. | minor claims, small matters, case to sue for a small amount | General Terms | ||
| Small claims court | The division of the trial court that handles civil cases asking for $3,900.00 or less and is designed to be simple, quick, and less costly than a regular civil lawsuit. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |||
| Sole legal custody | A court order that says one parent has the legal authority to make major and final decisions affecting the child, like health care, education, and religion. | one parent makes decisions | sole legal responsibility, exclusive responsibility | General Terms | |
| Sotto voce | Under voice, in soft tones, whispered, not to be overhead, as at a sidebar. | whispered | softly, quietly, hushed, in a very quiet voice, under the breath, whispered | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Special Administrator | A person appointed to administer only a specific part of an estate. | General Terms, Guardian and Conservator, Estates | |||
| Special appearance | An answer in a legal proceeding with the sole purpose of testing the court's jurisdiction. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | |||
| Special Education | Process in which mediators work to resolve disagreements between parents and school administrators. | IEP | Individualized Educational Plan (IEP), Family School team meetings | General Terms, Office of Dispute Resolution | |
| Special needs | The individualized care that a person with a disability - whether physical, mental, behavioral, emotional, or learning difficulties - requires to ensure their safety, access to public amenities, or ability to succeed in certain contexts. | assistance | assistance, aid | General Terms | |
| Special performance | A mandatory order in equity? where damages would be inadequate compensation for the breach of a contract, the contractor will be compelled to perform specifically what he or she has agreed to do. | legal enforcement of a contract | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Specialized Alternative Dispute Resolution (SADR) | A process to ensure the developed parenting plan addresses safety measures, transition planning, communication restrictions regarding the amount and type of contact between parents, or other provisions for ensuring the safety and well-being of their children. | General Terms, Office of Dispute Resolution | |||
| Speedy trial | In criminal prosecutions, the right of a defendant to have a trial within a specified time frame. | tried in a reasonable time | General Terms | ||
| Split custody | When parents with multiple children each have sole physical custody of different children. | parents split the children | General Terms | ||
| Spousal support | Alimony or maintenance support for a spouse or former spouse. (§ 42-347(9)) |
alimony | alimony, spousal maintenance, financial support | Domestic Relations, General Terms | |
| Spouse | Husband, wife or partner. | legal partner | husband, wife, legal partner | General Terms | |
| Squatter | Someone who settles on the property of another, without legal authority to do so and without the consent of the person who has the right of possession of the property. | illegal occupant | illegal tenant, illegal occupant, unlawful tenant | General Terms | |
| SSD | Stands for Social Security Disability. A federal insurance program designed to provide income to people who are unable to work because of a disability. | General Terms | |||
| SSI | Stands for Supplemental Security Income. A federal program designed to help people who have little or no income and are aged, blind, or disabled. SSI provides cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. | cash assistance | cash assistance, cash aid | General Terms | |
| Stalking | Any person who willfully harasses another person or a family or household member of such person with the intent to injure, terrify, threaten, or intimidate. | harassing | harassing, following, watching | General Terms | |
| Standard of evidence | The standard of evidence is how much evidence (or what type) is required to bear that burden. | required evidence | required evidence, necessary documentation | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Standard of proof | The degree to which evidence must be convincing in order for the court to consider it as proof of a defendant's guilt. | degree of proof | degree of proof, degree of certainty | General Terms | |
| Standing | The right of a party to file a lawsuit or make a particular legal claim because the party has suffered real injury. | party's right to file a suit | legal foundation, support of statute | General Terms | |
| Standing to sue doctrine | Having sufficient interest in the outcome of an issue to permit filing a lawsuit or participating in an action. | right to file | right to file, legal standing to file | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Stare decisis | 1. Let the decision stand; principle that prior court rulings should be Followed unless there are truly significant reasons to overturn them. 2. The doctrine that when a court has once laid down a principle of law as applicable to a certain set of facts, it will adhere to the principle and apply it to future cases where the facts are substantially the same. | decision stands | decision stands, ruling unchanged, legal finding applies decision stands | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| State Disbursement Unit (SDU) | The unit established by the State of Nebraska for the collection and disbursement of support order payments. (§ 43-3341(9)) |
Domestic Relations, General Terms | |||
| State Parent Locator Services (SPLS) | A unit within each state's child support enforcement agency that locates noncustodial parents to establish and enforce child support obligations, visitation, and custody orders or to establish paternity. | General Terms | |||
| Statement | Written statements of facts, generally not made under oath. | communication | first-hand account, comment, communication, description | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Statement of facts | Any written or oral declaration of facts in a court case. | account of events | description of facts, account of events | General Terms | |
| Statement of financial affairs | A series of questions the debtor must answer in writing concerning sources of income, transfers of property, lawsuits by creditors, etc. (There is an official form a debtor must use.) | financial statement | financial statement, financial record | General Terms | |
| Status Offender | A juvenile charged with a violation that would not be a crime if committed by an adult: i.e. not going to school, curfew violation, running away from home and/or for being uncontrollable by parents. | runaway, truant juvenile, uncontrollable juvenile | General Terms, Juvenile | ||
| Status offense | An act, committed by a child, that is illegal only because of the child's age (for example, underage drinking). | Juvenile-only offenses | Juvenile-only offenses | General Terms | |
| Status quo ante | Status as it was earlier; return to a previous situation or condition, “The battle gained nothing, all boundaries remained status quo ante.” | as it was previously | return to previous, as it was previously, go back to what it was | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Statute | A law passed by Congress or a state legislature. | law | law | General Terms | |
| Statute of limitations | A law that sets the deadline for parties to file suit to enforce their rights. If the deadline passes, the "statute of limitations has run" (or the claim is "time-barred") and the injured party may not be allowed to sue. | deadline to file | time limit, deadline for a party to pursue legal action | General Terms | |
| Statutory damages | Predetermined payments established by law to compensate for certain injuries. | required award | required compensation, required award, required payment | General Terms | |
| Statutory damages for malice | A financial penalty set by law if one of the parties has acted with malice. | required award | required compensation, state law required payments, required award | General Terms | |
| Statutory law | Law enacted by a legislature. | law | law | General Terms, Court Reporting |