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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contempt | Willful act which disobeys court order; also, obstructing a court's functions or lessening its dignity. | disrespect | defiance, disrespect | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Contempt of court | An act to embarrass, obstruct, or lessen the authority or dignity of the court. | disobey a court order | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | ||
| Contest | To oppose, dispute, or challenge using a formal or legal procedure. For example, a defendant in a divorce may contest the plaintiff's requests. | challenge | oppose, dispute, challenge | General Terms | |
| Contested | A case is contested when the parties disagree with each other about what should happen. | challenged | debated, challenged | General Terms | |
| Contested hearing | If there is no agreement between the people in the case, there may be a trial, called a contested hearing. | General Terms | |||
| Contiguous to | Next to, connected. In close proximity; in actual close contact. Touching; bounded or traversed by. | next to | next to, touching | General Terms | |
| Contingency | A condition in a contract that says the contract can be cancelled if a specific condition is not met. For example, if an inspection of a property shows there is significant damage, the buyer does not have to complete the purchase. | depending on | General Terms | ||
| Contingent | Dependent on something else. | conditional | conditional, subject to | General Terms | |
| Contingent annuity | When the amount or the payee of an annuity is not certain and depends on a specific future event. | General Terms | |||
| Contingent beneficiary | An alternate beneficiary named in a will, trust, or other document or a person entitled to property in a will if certain conditions are met. For example, if Fred is entitled to property from a will only if he's married at the time of the will maker's death, Fred is a contingent beneficiary. | alternate beneficiary | alternate beneficiary, second in line, back-up beneficiary | General Terms | |
| Contingent claim | A claim that may be owed by the debtor under certain circumstances, e.g., where the debtor is a cosigner on another person's loan and that person fails to pay. | General Terms | |||
| Contingent fee | 1. A method of paying a lawyer by which the lawyer receives a percentage of the money his/her client obtains after settling or winning the case. Contingency fee agreements are most commonly used in personal injury cases; the lawyer may charge between 20% and 50% of the award. Lawyers representing criminal defendants may not charge contingency fees. In most states, contingency fee agreements must be in writing. 2. A fee to a lawyer that you pay only if there is a successful result. | payment if you win | General Terms | ||
| Contingent interest | A right to some assets that depends on a specified condition. For example, Mama leaves her "interest in business to Son, only if he is still living in Dallas when she dies." | conditional interest | General Terms | ||
| Contingent remainder | A right to some asset in the future where either the future owner is not yet determined or ownership of the property is dependent on certain conditions. | General Terms | |||
| Contingent trust | A trust that is not operational now, but will become operational when some specified thing happens, such as the birth of a child. | General Terms | |||
| Contingent will | A will that only takes effect if specific conditions occur. | General Terms | |||
| Continuance | Postponement of a hearing to a later date. | postpone | postponement, continuation, postpone, put off (these would be for "continue", a verb) | General Terms, Small Claims, District Court Civil, County Court Civil | |
| Continuing exclusive jurisdiction | A court's power to adjudicate an action to the exclusion of all other courts. (Black's Law Dictionary, 8th Ed.) | General Terms, Domestic Relations | |||
| Continuing objection | An objection to certain questions or testimony in a trial that a judge has overruled, but the objecting lawyer wants his/her objection to all similar questions on the topic to be noted in the record. | General Terms | |||
| Continuing trespass | A repeated or ongoing trespass (unlawful entry or possession), especially on real property. For example, building a road or structure that extends onto a neighbor's property, or piling up rocks or garbage there, would be a continuing trespass. | General Terms | |||
| Contraband | Property that is illegal to produce, distribute, or transport. | banned | illegal, prohibited, banned, forbidden | General Terms | |
| Contract | An agreement between 2 or more people or organizations to do or not to do a particular thing. | agreement | commitment, agreement, bargain, promise, treaty, pledge | General Terms | |
| Contrary to the Welfare Findings | A court finding that ëcontinuation in the home is contrary to the welfare of the child' MUST be made in the first court order on the child's removal, even if temporary. If it is not made at this time, the child's stay in foster care is ineligible for Title IV-E funding. In other words, it cannot be remedied by a finding at a later hearing, unless the child has returned home and a new placement in foster care is necessary. Contrary to welfare findings must be ëdetailed' and be in the court order or hearing transcript. Affidavits, nunc pro tunc orders, or orders simply referring to a state law requiring such findings for removal do not meet this requirement. The finding does not have to follow the exact wording of the federal statute. For example, a finding that placement is in the child's best interests is sufficient. American Bar Association, National Child Welfare Resource Center on Legal Judicial Issues. | General Terms, Juvenile | |||
| Contribution | A payment to a common fund, or a donation to a charitable organization given without expecting anything in return. | donation | donation | General Terms | |
| Contributory negligence | When a person is harmed by his/her own negligence, s/he may not be able to collect money for his/her injury if the negligence was significant (varies with jurisdiction). | responsible for own injury | responsible for own injury | General Terms | |
| Control | The authority to direct, manage, oversee, or limit the affairs, business, or assets of a person or entity. | lead | authority, oversight, management, supervision | General Terms | |
| Controlled substance | A drug that has been declared by federal or state law to be illegal for sale or use, but may be dispensed by prescription. The basis for control and regulation may be the danger of addiction, physical or mental harm, the potential for trafficking by illegal means, or dangers posed by those who have used the substances. | illegal drug | illegal drug, narcotic drug, dangerous drug, hard drug, government regulated drug | General Terms | |
| Controlling law | The laws that are relied on in interpreting or judging disputes. For example, an agreement may include a condition that the controlling law will be the law of a particular state. | state laws | state laws | General Terms | |
| Controversy | A disagreement, argument, or dispute. | disagreement | disagreement, argument, dispute, difference | General Terms | |
| Contumacious | Stubbornly disobedient; rebellious. | rebellious, stubborn | contrary, rebellious, disobedient, insubordinate, stubborn | General Terms, Domestic Relations | |
| Contumacy | The refusal to follow a court order; contempt of court. | contempt | contempt | General Terms | |
| Contutor | A co-guardian of a ward. | co-guardian | co-guardian | General Terms | |
| Conversion | Wrongfully using, holding, or misrepresenting another person's personal property as if it were one's own. The true owner has the right to sue, and the converter may be found guilty of a crime. | steal personal property | General Terms | ||
| Convey | To give the title to property to someone else through a written document. | transfer title | transfer ownership, sell, assign | General Terms | |
| Conveyance | A document, such as a deed or will, that transfers property from one person to another. | transfer | legal transfer of ownership | General Terms | |
| Conveyee | A person or entity to whom a property is conveyed. | receiver | receiver | General Terms | |
| Convict | To find or prove someone guilty of a crime or offense after a court trial. | find guilty | find guilty, condemn, sentence | General Terms | |
| Conviction | The finding that a person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of committing a crime. | guilty sentence | guilty sentence | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Cooperative | An association of people, businesses, farmers, ranchers, or manufacturers who work together in marketing, shipping, and related activities (sometimes under a single brand name) to sell their products efficiently, and then share the combined profits. Cooperatives are democratically owned and operated. | co-op | General Terms | ||
| Cooperative housing | An arrangement in which an association or corporation owns a group of housing units as well as common areas for those units. Typically, each owner owns his or her unit and has a right to access the common areas, and to vote for members of the Board of Directors that manages the cooperative. | General Terms | |||
| Coordination of cases | When cases sharing common questions of fact or law pending in different counties are brought together before one judge so that the decisions will be consistent. The cases do not have to involve the same parties. | General Terms | |||
| Coparcenary | A type of joint ownership resulting from intestacy in which female heirs inherit property, in equal shares, from a single ancestor. | joint ownership | General Terms | ||
| Copyright | A set of exclusive rights that the author of a creative work, such as book, movie, song, painting, photograph, design, computer software, or architecture enjoys. These rights include the right to make copies, authorize others to make copies, make derivative works, sell and market the work, and perform the work. Any one of these rights can be sold or licensed. Copyright rights are acquired automatically if the first work was created after March 1, 1989. Registration of the work with the Copyright Office gives the copyright owner certain benefits. | ownership | right to make copies, exclusive right to make copies | General Terms | |
| Copyright notice | A formal notice that includes the copyright symbol ¬,© or the word copyright, the date of publication, and the author or owner's name on published copies of a copyrighted work. Works first published after March 1, 1989 can be considered copyrighted even if there is no copyright notice. A notice is still useful; it reminds others that the work is copyrighted, and steers a would-be user in the right direction to obtain permission. | copyright mark | copyright mark | General Terms | |
| Coram nobis | A legal paper that tells a court about its mistakes in the facts of the case. Comes from the Latin for "before us, in our presence." A writ to correct an injury caused by a mistake of the court. | General Terms | |||
| Coroner | A county official who determines the cause of death of anyone who dies violently (by attack or accident), suddenly, or suspiciously. | General Terms | |||
| Corporation | A legal structure that allows a business to organize as a separate legal entity from its owner(s). A corporation is sometimes called an "artificial legal person," that can make contracts, sue and be sued, and do the many other things needed to conduct business. With the exception of taxes, a corporation's owners are legally protected from personal liability for the corporation's liabilities and debts. | business | business, enterprise, company | General Terms | |
| Corporeal | A thing that has a physical existence. Also called tangible. | actual, physical | tangible, touchable, actual, material, physical | General Terms | |
| Corporeal ownership | The ownership of actual things, such as land, money, or a business. | own actual item | General Terms | ||
| Corpus | Body; a collection of any set of materials, total assets in an estate or trust. | Corpus | body; collection, compilation | General Terms, Court Reporting |