Glossary of Common Legal Terms

 

Click on a letter below to go to words or terms that start with that letter or scroll through the list using the scroll bar.

 

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A

ACQUIT

A decision by the trial jury or judge that a person is not guilty of an offense.

 

ACTION

A legal demand for a right asserted by instituting a case in court.

 

ADJOURNMENT

To temporarily postpone or reschedule the proceedings of a case until a future time.

 

ADJUDICATION

A judgment or decree.

 

AFFIDAVIT

A sworn or affirmed statement made in writing and signed.

 

AFFIRM

(a) An appellate court’s act of upholding as correct a judgment or decision of a lower court;

(b) An act of declaring something to be true under the penalty of perjury.

 

ALLEGATION

The act of a party to a legal action of stating what he/she intends to prove.

 

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (ADR)

Ways of helping people resolve legal problems out of court. Collaborative law and mediation are types of ADR.

 

ANSWER

A pleading submitted by a defendant or respondent in response to allegations asserted by the plaintiff or petitioner.

 

APPEAL

A proceeding to have a case examined by a higher court to see if a lower court’s proceedings and decisions were made correctly.

 

APPEARANCE

When a defendant submits to the jurisdiction of the court.

 

APPELLATE

The party appealing a judgment or decision to a higher court.

 

APPELLEE

The victorious party against whom an appeal is brought.

 

ARTICLE 78

A special proceeding brought to challenge the activities of an administrative agency.

 

ARTICLE 81

A special proceeding under the Mental Hygiene Law to name a person as the guardian of another. Once appointed, the guardian is invested with the power and charged with the duty of taking care of the person and managing the property and rights of that person, who is considered incapable of administering his or her own affairs.

 

ARRAIGNMENT

Formal proceeding where a defendant appears in court and is apprized of the allegations against him or her.

 

ARREST WARRANT

A court order directing a peace officer to arrest/seize a named person to bring her or him before the court for arraignment.

 

ASSIGNED COUNSEL

An attorney assigned by the court to represent a defendant without charge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

B

BAIL

Cash, bond or other security deposited with the court in order to obtain the release of a defendant. The Surety, who is the party posting bail, undertakes an obligation to produce the defendant as required before the court.

 

BENCH WARRANT

An order issued by the court for the arrest of a defendant who has failed to appear in court as directed.

 

BRIEF

A written document submitted by a party to an action setting forth relevant facts and law.