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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stay | 1. A stopping or arresting of a judicial proceeding by order of the court. 2. A stopping of a proceeding by court order. | pause, stop | hold, pause, stop order | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | |
| Stay order | An order that stops or suspends a current order from being enforced. | order to stop | stop order, hold order | General Terms | |
| Stipulated judgment | An agreement between the parties to a case that settles a case. Once the stipulated judgment is signed by the judge, it becomes the judgment in the case. | settlement agreement | General Terms | ||
| Stipulation | An agreement by attorneys on opposite sides of a case as to any matter pertaining to the proceedings or trial? not binding unless assented to by the parties? most stipulations must be in writing. | agreement | agreement, arrangement, deal | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Stricken | To remove a portion of the record from consideration by a factfinder; the materiel stricken remains physically in existence, however, in the event the ruling to strike is found to be in error upon appeal. | removed | removed, eliminated, erased | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Strike | To remove a portion of the record from consideration by a factfinder; the materiel stricken remains physically in existence, however, in the event the ruling to strike is found to be in error upon appeal. | erase | remove, erase | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Study Circles | Democratic, small-group conversations that offer the chance to get to know other participants, consider different points of view, explore disagreements, and find common ground. | General Terms, Office of Dispute Resolution | |||
| Sua sponte | By his own will; without prompting, voluntarily, used to refer to a court Acting on its own motion. | acting on its own | voluntarily, willingly, on its own | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Sub nom. (sub nomine) | Under the name; in the name of, under the title of. | under the name | named, title of | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Sub rosa | Under the rose; confidential, secret, unpublished. | confidential, secret | confidential, closed, secret, sealed | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Subject matter jurisdiction | Questions a court is permitted to hear. | court allowed to hear | court jurisdiction, court authority | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Sublease | When you allow someone else to take over your lease for a certain period of time, after which you agree to take responsibility for the lease again. | rent to third person | underlease, subtenant, sublet | General Terms | |
| Subordination | The act or process by which a person's rights or claims are ranked below those of others. | below another | subservient, inferior, below another, secondary | General Terms | |
| Suborn | To induce commission of an unlawful act, particularly to encourage perjured testimony. | encourage one to commit a crime | encouraging, inducing, bribing | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Subpoena | A process to cause a witness to appear and give testimony before a court. | order to appear | order to appear, notification of court | General Terms, Domestic Relations, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | |
| Subpoena ad testificandum | Under penalty of law; formal order to appear in court to come prepared to testify. | appear and testify | order to testify, participation order | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Subpoena duces tecum | An official court order to bring documents or records to a stated place at a stated time. "Under penalty you shall take it with you." | appear and bring documents | order to bring, order to produce | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Subsequent to | After | after | later, following, after that | General Terms | |
| Subsidy | Money given to help another. | financial contribution | aid, allowance, assistance, contribution, grant, support | General Terms | |
| Substance abuse treatment | A special condition the court imposes that requires an individual to undergo testing and treatment for abuse of illegal drugs, prescription drugs, or alcohol. | drug/alcohol counseling | Drug/Alcohol Counseling, Substance use monitoring | General Terms | |
| Substantive consolidation | Putting the assets and liabilities of two or more related debtors into a single pool to pay creditors. | debt consolidation | debt consolidation | General Terms | |
| Substantive law | The law dealing with rights, duties and liabilities? as distinguished from adjective law, which is the law regulating procedure. | laws of rights and duties | common law, statutes, rights | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Substituted service | Service of process on a party by leaving the court papers with someone other than a party to the lawsuit; valid only if certain specified procedures are followed. | served in another way | third-party service, non-personal service | General Terms | |
| Summa cum laude | With high praise; highest honor granted with a college degree. | university's highest honor | university's highest honor | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Summary judgement | 1. A procedure in civil cases where a party is entitled to prevail as a matter of law, there being no genuine issue of material fact in dispute; the court's decision is rendered before completion of a full trial. 2. The termination of a lawsuit, usually before trial, upon the judgment showing that there is no issue of fact in the case, and that one party or another is entitled to prevail as a matter of law. | final decision without trial | final decision without trial, finding pre-trial, case closure before trial | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Summons | A writ or order directing the sheriff or other officer to notify the named person that an action has been commenced against him or her in court, and that he or she is required to appear, on the day named, and answer the petition or complaint in such action. | order to appear | order to appear, notification of court | General Terms, Domestic Relations, News Reporter Guide, Juvenile, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | |
| Supervised administration | A single proceeding to secure complete administration and settlement of a decedent's estate under the continuing authority of the court. | General Terms, Guardian and Conservator, Estates | |||
| Supervised release | A term of supervision served outside of prison after a person completed the sentence and is released from prison. | Post-release supervision | Post-release supervision | General Terms | |
| Supervised visitation | Visitation between a parent and a child in the presence of another specified adult. It is usually ordered by a court when there has been domestic violence, child abuse, or a threat to take the child out of state. | monitored visitation, watched by another person | General Terms | ||
| Supplemental pleadings | Pleadings that present subsequent matter related to the claim or defense presented in the original pleading. A supplemental proceeding can modify the amount or nature of the relief prayed for in the original pleading. | additional pleadings | pleadings added to the original one, adding to | General Terms, District Court Civil, County Court Civil | |
| Support order | Any order, decree or judgment for child, spousal, or medical support or for payment of any arrearage for such support issued by a court or agency of competent jurisdiction. | Court Order requiring payment | Court order, administrative order | General Terms, Domestic Relations | |
| Suppress | To stop or put an end to someone's activities. To suppress evidence is to withhold it from disclosure or publication. | discontinue, to not allow | subdue, quash, discontinue, put an end to | General Terms | |
| Supra | Above; referring to material coming earlier, particularly in a document. | before | above, before, aforementioned | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Surebuttal | A defendant may present surrebuttal evidence to counteract the plaintiff's rebuttal. | reply to a rebuttal | act of replying, responding, counter-acting | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Surplusage | Irrelevant matter in a proceeding; excessive verbiage. | excess | fluff, extra, nonsense, non-essential, excess, overkill | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Surrebut | A defendant may present surrebuttal evidence to counteract the plaintiff's rebuttal. | reply | reply, response | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Surrender | To give oneself up, as into the power of another; submit or yield. | give up | give up, give in, waive, yield, | General Terms | |
| Surrogate | In place of someone else; acting for someone else; take the place of another. | substitute | substitute, proxy, stand-in, fill in, replacement, sub | General Terms | |
| Surrogate parent | A surrogate parent is someone who takes care of a child as if they were their own. This can be a woman who carries a baby for someone else, or someone who becomes a parent to a child who is not biologically theirs. A surrogate parent loves and cares for the child just like a real parent would. May include surrogate mother, foster parent, de facto parent. | substitute parent | General Terms | ||
| Suspend | To postpone, stay, or withhold certain conditions of a judicial sentence for a temporary period of time. | postpone | defer, postpone, put off, temporary stop | General Terms | |
| Suspended sentence | In criminal law, this means the defendant doesn't have to serve the sentence at the time the sentence is imposed. | deferred sentence | deferred sentence, postponed judgement | General Terms | |
| TANF | Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. | General Terms, Domestic Relations | |||
| Temporary restraining order | A court order, sometimes called a "TRO," that says a person must not do certain things that are likely to cause harm that can't be fixed. It lasts until a hearing is held. | General Terms, Court Reporting | |||
| Tenancy | A right that a tenant has to temporarily occupy or possess a real estate that belongs to a landlord, commonly under a lease. There are different types of tenancies, like periodic tenancy, tenancy at will, and a month-to-month tenancy. | right to occupy | right to occupy, lease a property, rent a property | General Terms | |
| Tenancy in common | Ownership of real property by two or more persons, each of whom has an undivided interest with rights of survivorship. | co-owners | joint ownership, co-owners | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Tenant | A person who has the legal right to live in or use a property. | resident | renter, occupant, inhabitant, resident | General Terms | |
| Terminal | A machine connected to a computer system that lets the user enter, see, or print information. | computer | computer, electronic system | General Terms | |
| Terminate | To bring to an end; put an end to. | end | end, finish, conclude | General Terms | |
| Territorial jurisdiction | Area within which a Court may exercise its authority to hear cases. | area of authority | General Terms, Court Reporting | ||
| Testamentary trust | Trust that comes into being only as a result of the death of a person whose will provides for the creation of a trust after his or her death. | Trust created upon death | Trust created upon death, Posthumous trust formation | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting |