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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States Code (USC) | The body of federal legislation enacted by Congress. | General Terms, Court Reporting | |||
| Unlawful assembly | When more than 2 people meet with the intention of doing something illegal. | illegal gathering | illegal gathering, prohibited meeting | General Terms | |
| Unlawful detainer | When a person detains or continues to hold some real property that no longer rightfully belongs to them. | illegal holding | illegal holding, unlawful holding | General Terms | |
| Unlawful detainer action | A lawsuit brought by a landlord against a tenant to evict the tenant from rental property usually for nonpayment of rent. | eviction lawsuit | General Terms | ||
| Unliquidated claim | A claim for something of undetermined value. | General Terms | |||
| Unreimbursed public assistance | Money paid in public assistance to support a child (for example, TANF or AFDC) that a noncustodial parent that was ordered to pay child support has not yet paid back. | benefits paid but not recovered | General Terms | ||
| Unsecured claim | A claim or debt for which a creditor holds no special assurance of payment. A creditor's claim which is not secured by any collateral and for which there is no priority for payment. (Westlaw) | General Terms | |||
| Uphold | When an appellate court agrees with the lower court decision and allows it to stand. | agree with the lower court | agreed, affirmed, upheld | General Terms | |
| Urine test | A medical test of a urine sample to see if it contains evidence of alcohol or some other drug. | drug test | General Terms | ||
| Use | The right to enjoy the benefits of real estate or personal property. | General Terms | |||
| Usury | The taking of more for the use of money than the law allows. | exploitation | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Utilize | Put to use. | use | to make use of, apply, use | General Terms | |
| Ux. (uxor) | Wife | General Terms, Court Reporting | |||
| v. | An abbreviation for versus, meaning against, used in case names. | General Terms | |||
| Vacate | Set aside or annul an order or judgment which the court finds to be improper. | set aside | abandon, relinquish, quit Undo, set aside, void, cancel | General Terms, Domestic Relations | |
| Vacate stipulated dismissal | Reopen a case that was settled. | General Terms | |||
| Vacate the default judgment | Getting a default judgment removed or erased. | erase default judgment | abandon default judgment, remove or undo default judgment | General Terms | |
| Vehicular manslaughter | A violation of traffic laws that results in someone's death. | death caused by illegal driving | Motor Vehicle Homicide, Unintentional Motor Vehicle Homicide | General Terms | |
| Venire | Usually describes the whole group of people called for jury duty from which the jurors are selected. From the Latin for "to come." | jury pool | summoned jurors, juror list, juror group, jury pool | General Terms | |
| Venue | 1. Come (to a place); particularly used of court jurisdiction; the place Where something occurs; place where a crime is committed; geographic area from which a jury is selected; jurisdiction in which a case is heard. 2. The particular county, city or geographic area in which a court with jurisdiction may hear and determine a case. 3. The County in which a court is vested with jurisdiction to act upon matters brought before it. Proper place for a case to be heard. | place | place, setting, site | General Terms, Guardian and Conservator, Estates, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Veracity | The truthfulness of a person or statement. | honesty | truthfulness, accuracy, correctness, credibility, honesty | General Terms | |
| Verbatim | Word for word. | word for word | General Terms, Court Reporting | ||
| Verdict | 1. The decision made by a jury in a criminal matter. 2. The final decision about the guilt or innocence of a criminal defendant made by a judge or jury. 3. In practice, the formal and unanimous decision or finding made by a jury, reported to the court and accepted by it. | jury decision | jury decision, final decision | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Verdict form | The official form presented by a jury to the court preferring its findings. | jury findings report | General Terms, Court Reporting | ||
| Verification | An oral or written statement, usually made under oath, saying that something is true. | affidavit | authentication, certification, swear to, affidavit | General Terms | |
| Verify | To prove the truth of, as by evidence or testimony; confirm; substantiate. | confirm | confirm, validate, authenticate, certify, prove | General Terms | |
| Vested ownership | Complete ownership without any conditions. | Complete ownership | General Terms | ||
| Victim Offender Conferencing | See Victim Youth Conference | General Terms, Office of Dispute Resolution | |||
| Victim Offender Mediation | See Victim Youth Conference | General Terms, Office of Dispute Resolution | |||
| Victim-Youth Conference (VYC) | An evidence-based dialogue between an offender and victim or victim surrogate, with victim safety a priority. The goal is to collaboratively address the harms and develop a reparation agreement. | General Terms, Office of Dispute Resolution | |||
| Vigilante | Someone who takes the law into his or her own hands by trying to punish a supposed criminal. | self-appointed punisher | avenger, punisher, vindicator, self-appointed punisher | General Terms | |
| Violation | A breach of a right, duty, or law. | breaking of the law | breaking of the law, misconduct, wrongdoing, misbehavior | General Terms | |
| Visa | An stamp placed in a foreign person's passport that allows him or her to enter a country. Latin origins that mean "has been seen". | travel permit | visitation permit, authorization to enter, credentials, travel permit | General Terms | |
| Visitation | A plan that says when parents will spend time with their children. | Parenting plan | General Terms | ||
| Visitation rights | The right to see a child regularly, typically awarded by the court to the parent who does not live with the child/ren most of the time. | General Terms | |||
| Viva voce | With the living voice; oral testimony, as opposed to documents evidence. | spoken testimony | oral testimony, firsthand account, spoken testimony | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Voir dire | 1. To see, to say; explanation of a witness, particularly an expert witness, as to his/her qualifications to testify on a matter; examination of prospective jurors to determine qualifications to sit on the jury panel. 2. The process by which judges and lawyers select members of the jury by questioning them to make sure they can fairly decide the case. 3. To speak the truth; the phrase denotes the preliminary examination which the court may make of one presented as a witness or juror as to their qualifications. | interview of juror | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Voluntary appearance | An appearance entered by a party's own will, without the service of process. | go to court willingly | waiver of service, go to court willingly | General Terms, Domestic Relations | |
| Voluntary separation | 1. The living apart for 12 months of a married couple who agrees to separate.2. When an employee chooses to resign. | General Terms | |||
| Wage assignment | A voluntary agreement by an employee to transfer (or assign) parts of future wage payments to pay a debt, like child support. | voluntary debt payment plan | income assignment, debt payment plan | General Terms | |
| Wage attachment | An involuntary transfer of a portion of an employee's wage payment to repay a debt. | garnishment | pay order, required withholding, garnishment | General Terms | |
| Wage garnishment | A legal procedure that requires the employer of a judgment debtor to withhold a portion of the judgment debtor's wages to satisfy a judgment. | pay order, required withholding, garnishment | General Terms | ||
| Wage withholding | A legal procedure that allows deductions to be made from wages or income on a regular schedule. The deductions are used to pay a debt, like child support. | debt payment plan | General Terms | ||
| Wages | Compensation that a worker receives in exchange for his or her work. | income | payment, salary, income, pay | General Terms | |
| Waiver | To give up a legal right voluntarily, intentionally, and with full knowledge of the consequences. | give up | surrender, relinquish, refusal, give up, let go | General Terms | |
| Waiver of immunity from self-incrimination | A means authorized by statutes by which a witness in advance of giving testimony or producing evidence, may renounce the fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution that no person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself or herself. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |||
| Waiver of rights form | A form signed by a defendant and the judge recording which, if any, legal rights are waived (or given up) by the defendant. | General Terms | |||
| Wanton | Behavior that is grossly negligent and recklessly unconcerned with the safety of people or property. | reckless | intentional disregard, careless, gross negligence, reckless, outrageous | General Terms | |
| Ward of the court | A minor that is under the care and control of the juvenile court and not his or her parent(s). Has a guardian appointed by the court. | under the protection of the court | General Terms | ||
| Ward of the state | Juvenile under the care and supervision of the Department of Health and Human Services. | under DHHS care | General Terms, Juvenile |