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| Legal Terms |
Arbitration - The submission by
two contesting parties of their disagreement to an impartial
arbitrator, usually agreeing that his ruling in the dispute
will be binding and final.
Attorney - A person who has been
qualified by a state or federal court to provide legal services,
including appearing in court.
Damages - Compensation that the
law awards to someone who has been injured or suffers a loss
because of the action of another.
Defendant - The party sued in
a civil lawsuit or the party charged with a crime in a criminal
prosecution.
Evidence - Something that
furnishes proof: something legally submitted to a tribunal to
ascertain the truth of a matter.
Immediate cause - The final,
determining cause of an outcome or event. An immediate cause
may be preceded
by many contributory causes, none of which actually produced
the ultimate event.
Judge - An official with the authority
and responsibility to preside in a court, try lawsuits and
make
legal rulings.
Lawsuit - A common term for a
legal action by one person or entity against another person
or entity,
to be decided in a court of law, sometimes just called a "suit."
The legal claims within a lawsuit are called "causes of action."
Legal cause - The real cause of
an injury or accident; the immediate cause; the proximate cause.
Limitation - A limit; a restriction;
a specified period of time during which a litigation can take
place and after that period, the statute of limitations has
expired; a time limit.
Malpractice - Professional misconduct;
immoral behavior in the performance of one's professional
duties;
neglect of one's duties toward a client by an attorney, or
toward a patient by a physician; unusual lack of skill in
the performance
of one's professional activities.
Misrepresentation - The
crime of misstating facts to obtain money, goods or benefits
of another to which the accused is not entitled. Examples:
a person a) falsely claims to represent a charity to obtain
a
donation which he/she keeps; b) says a painting is a genuine
Jackson Pollock when it is a fake and thus is able to sell
it
for a price much greater than its true value. Misrepresentation
is also called "false pretenses."
Mediation - The settlement of
disputes between two parties by the intervention of a third
party, who acts impartially and attempts to reconcile differences.
This third party is known as a mediator.
Medical evidence - Testimony given
by physicians, usually as expert witnesses, in a suit.
Negligence - Failure to do what
a reasonable, careful, conscientious person is expected to do;
doing something that a reasonable, careful conscientious person
would not do.
Objection - A lawyer's protest
about the legal propriety of a question which has been asked
of a witness by the opposing attorney, with the purpose of making
the trial judge decide if the question can be asked. A proper
objection must be based on a specific reason for not allowing
a question.
Overruled - Judge allows something
after it has been objected.
Plaintiff - The party who is bringing
a lawsuit against a defendant; the person or persons who are
suing.
Prejudicial - Leading to premature
judgment or unwarranted opinion
Prima facie case - A case or action
that will win unless the other side produces strong evidence
to contradict it; a case with sufficient positive evidence
to convince a judge and/or jury.
Proximate cause - The immediate
cause of an injury or accident; the legal cause; the real cause;
a direct cause.
Res ipsa loquitur - (Latin) "The thing
speaks for itself." A legal phrase meaning that the facts, testimony,
and circumstances are so clear that one can conclude, without
doubt, that a certain act, or omission of an act, caused a particular
damage or injury.
Small claims court - Courts set up
for the express purpose of settling small claims. Decisions
in such litigations are made by a judge within a short period
of time, thereby avoiding a prolonged trial.
Standard of care - The type of
care that is usually given by prudent, sensible people; the
opposite of substandard or negligent care.
Subpoenaed - A writ commanding
the person designated in it to appear in court under a penalty
for failure.
Testimony - Oral evidence given
under oath by a witness in answer to questions posed by attorneys
at trial or at a deposition (A deposition involves questioning
under oath outside of court).
Tort - A wrong committed by one person
against another; a civil, not a criminal wrong; a wrong not
arising out of a contract; a violation of a legal duty that
one person has toward another. Negligence and libel are torts.
Every tort is composed of a legal obligation, a breach of that
obligation, and damage as the result of the breach of the obligation.
Video deposition - Testimony on
video.
Verdict - The decision of a jury
after a trial, which must be accepted by the trial judge to
be final.
Witness - A person who testifies
under oath in a trial (or a deposition which may be used in
a trial if the witness is not available) with first-hand or
expert evidence useful in a lawsuit.
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