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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ward of the state | Juvenile under the care and supervision of the Department of Health and Human Services. | under DHHS care | General Terms, Juvenile | ||
| Warrant | A written order issued and signed by a judge or judicial officer directing a peace officer to take specific action. | order for action | General Terms | ||
| Warrant of arrest | A writ or order issued by a judge or other competent authority, to a sheriff or other officer, requiring him or her to arrest a person therein named and bring that person before the court to answer to a specified charge. | order to arrest | order to arrest, detaining order | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Warrant of restitution | An order of the court requiring that a specific person be restored to his original position. Order allowing an order of eviction to be enforced. | enforce eviction order | order to restore, enforce eviction order | General Terms | |
| Warranty of habitability | A promise that goes with the rental of residential property that it will be fit for people to live in (habitable), including functional utilities and otherwise functional, clean, safe, and orderly living conditions. This promise is part of the law, even if the landlord does not include it in the lease or rental agreement. | promise a place can be safely lived in | promise of livability, promise a place can be safely lived in | General Terms | |
| Weight of evidence | The balance of preponderance of evidence? the inclination of the greater amount of credible evidence offered by a trial to support one side of the issue rather than the other. | probability | believability, credibility, probability | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Whereas | It being the case that, or considering that. Because. | because | because, inasmuch as, considering that, since | General Terms | |
| Will | 1. A legal paper that lists a person's wishes about what will happen to his or her personal property after death. 2. A document by which a person directs his or her estate to be distributed upon death to provide for the orderly disposition of assets, in accord with the individual's wishes to provide for family security and protection, and to immunize death taxes. HOLOGRAPHIC WILL: a will that is hand-written by the testator. SELF-PROVED WILL: a will proved by a self-proving affidavit (see affidavit). | last wishes | after-death wishes, statement of intentions, device, directions, last wishes | General Terms, Guardian and Conservator, Estates, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Willful | Intentional, conscious, and intended to achieve a particular result. | stubborn | intentional, stubborn, headstrong, persistent, | General Terms | |
| With prejudice | 1. A party may not refile. 2. The term as applied to judgment of dismissal, is as conclusive of rights of parties as if action had been prosecuted to final adjudication adverse to the plaintiff. | dismissed and may not refile | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | ||
| With reference to | Also, with regard or respect to. | about | for, about, regarding | General Terms | |
| Withholding | The practice of holding back a portion of money from an employee's paycheck to pay some obligation, such as child support, taxes, etc. | hold back | hold back, retain, keep | General Terms | |
| Within the four corners | The actual contents of documents which require no special interpretation. | General Terms, Court Reporting | |||
| Without prejudice | 1. A party may refile. 2. A dismissal "without prejudice" allows a new suit to be brought on the same cause of action. | dismissed but can be refiled | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | ||
| Witness | One who testifies to what he or she has seen, heard or otherwise observed or concluded from observations. | one who testifies | observer, viewer, bystander, one who testifies | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Writ | A written court order directing a person or official to take, or refrain from taking, certain action. | court order | order to _____, order for action, command, decree, mandate | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | |
| Writ of attachment | A court order directing a sheriff (or other law enforcement officer) to seize property of a defendant to satisfy a judgment. | order to seize | order to take, order to seize | General Terms | |
| Writ of certiorari | Appellate court order(especially from the Supreme Court) granting a hearing to an appellant; if hearing is denied, the prior ruling stands; if hearing is granted, the lower court is ordered to provide a certified record for the appellate court to consider. | General Terms, Court Reporting | |||
| Writ of execution | An order issued by a court requiring the performance of a specified act, or giving authority to have it done. It is used to allow the levying officer the power to take the judgment debtor's property. | order to _____, order to take, order to act | General Terms | ||
| Writ of Habeas Corpus | A writ of habeas corpus is a court order. It demands that a public official (such as a warden) deliver an imprisoned person to the court and show good cause for their detention. The writ allows a prisoner to challenge the legality of their confinement. | challenge unlawful imprisonment | General Terms | ||
| Writ of Possession | An order of the court directed to the sheriff, requiring him to enter the property and give possession of it to the person entitled to it by judgment of the court. Court order that allows landlord to retake possession of a property. | order of eviction | order to obtain, possession order, order to seize, order to evict | General Terms | |
| Writ of Replevin | Court order to return property that belongs to someone else | return of personal property | General Terms | ||
| Writ of summons | A form issued by the court directing a party to respond to a complaint, motion, or petition. | order to respond | summons, order to respond, order to reply | General Terms | |
| Written consent | Written permission. | General Terms | |||
| Wrongful death | A death caused by the intentional or accidental act of another for which a family member can ask for compensation. | death caused by negligence | unjust death, unjust passing, death caused by negligence | General Terms | |
| Wrongful termination | A legal claim that an employee has been illegally fired. | illegally fired | unfair dismissal, unlawful dismissal, wrongful discharge, illegally fired | General Terms | |
| Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center (YRTC) | State facilities at Geneva and Kearney where certain juveniles may be sent for evaluations and commitment (formerly known as the Youth Development Centers). | General Terms, Juvenile | |||
| Youth Truancy Mediation | A facilitated process between youth who are at risk for court involvement and involves the parents/guardians and school staff, with the goal of developing a plan to ameliorate the factors that led to truant behavior. | truancy intervention meeting | truancy intervention meeting | General Terms, Office of Dispute Resolution |