Legal Words You Might Need to Know

The law uses words that have special meanings.

Here is a list of some common legal words and their meanings.

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• Adjudication- The judgment reached in a judicial procedure.
• Affidavit- A written statement by someone who swears it is true. It can be used in court as evidence.
• Alimony- An allowance for support made under court order to be paid from one marriage partner to the other after a divorce or legal separation.
• Allegation- A claim made by a party in a court procedure that must be proved or supported with evidence during a trial.
• Appeal- To make a request to a higher court for the re-hearing or review of a case.
• Applicant- A person who applies for a petition. For example: divorce, custody, protection order, etc. An applicant is the same as a plaintiff, petitioner or complainant.
• Attorney- lawyer.
• Battery- Hurting someone in any way. Battery is always against the law.
• Change of venue- The removal of a suit begun in one county or district to another county or district for trial. Change of venue is sometimes applied to the removal of a suit from one court to another court of the same county or district.
• (Civil) Protection Order (CPO)- Legal document to protect against an abuser. Requires the abuser to stay away from the person being abused. Sometimes called a temporary protection or restraining order.
• Cohabitation- Living together as spouses but not married.
• Complainant- The person who begins the case. Same as plaintiff or petitioner.
• Community property- Property owned jointly by a husband and wife.
• Contempt of court- Failure to obey a judge’s order.
• Continuance or continued- A delay of a court hearing to another day. “The case will be continued”.
• Counterclaim- A claim filed by a defendant against the plaintiff in a civil action.
• Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)- see court evaluator.
• Custody- Regarding children, the care and keeping of children as decided in a court procedure. There are two kinds, physical and legal: a person having full custody has both. The person with physical custody has the right to have the child live with him/her; the person with legal custody has the right to make decisions for the child welfare. And shared (or joint) custody gives each parent the right the have physical custody part of the time and decision-making authority.
• Custody evaluator- Also called a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL), Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). A person, paid professional or volunteer, assigned to evaluate and interview family members during a custody dispute to make recommendations to the court in the best interest of the child.
• Default- Failure to come to court for a hearing. An abuser who fails to appear will lose the case “by default” and the judge will issue the CPO.
• Defendant- The person against whom a charge is brought. The abuser is the defendant in a CPO hearing. A defendant is the same as the respondent.
• Deposition- Testimony taken under oath and outside the courtroom.
• Dissolution of marriage- Divorce.
• District Attorney- see prosecutor.
• Evidence- Anything shown in court to support a case. Can include testimony by you or a witness, documents, photographs, items of clothing, weapons, and police or medical records.
• Evidentiary hearing- A court process to present evidence to prove or disprove a particular charge.
• Exhibit- Papers, documents, or other material objects received by the court and offered as evidence during a trial or hearing.
• Ex Parte- In Latin, this means “from one side”. A temporary protective order issued by a judge who hears only from the victim in an ex parte order.
• Failure to protect- The neglect of a custodian to meet legal obligation to care for a minor in his/her custody. Such neglect can result in loss of custody. This often arises when a victim of domestic violence does not remove a child or children from the home and/or exposure to the abuser’s violence.
• Full faith and credit- The responsibility of the court of one state to enforce the valid order of another state. In order to deserve such enforcement, the order must have been issued by a court that has both kinds of jurisdiction, after the respondent received notice to the proceeding, and had a chance to be present.
• Guardian Ad Litem- see custody evaluator.
• Hearing- A meeting held at the courthouse during which the judge listens to evidence from both sides and makes a legally binding decision.
• Home state convenience- A doctrine whereby cases are heard in the state where the parties were living for at least the six month period before an action is filed, on the theory that most relevant evidence is located there. Although another state may grant emergency temporary relief the home state court will usually be the one with jurisdiction to make the final determinations.
• Indigent- Having no money. Someone too poor to afford a lawyer or court fees.
• Injunction- A court order requiring someone not to do something. An injunction can order an abuser to say away from his victim.
• In Forma Pauperis- A status where an applicant has court fees waived owing to inability to pay.
• Jurisdiction- The authority of legal power to hear and decide cases; the territorial range of authority. To be in the correct court, a party must bring a case where the court has authority to hear the case, jurisdiction is determined both by geographic location and the subject matter of the case.
• Litigant- Any person or group engaged in a lawsuit.
• Litigation- A legal contest in court.
• Magistrate- Another word for judge.
• Mediation- A process by which the parties instead of litigating in court, work with a neutral third person to work out their differences by agreement. Because of the imbalance of power between victim and abuser, domestic violence cases are not good candidates for mediation.
• Non-custodial parent- The party to whom the court does not award custody of children and who is usually required to pay support to the custodial parent on behalf of the children.
• Notary or Notary Public- Someone who has the authority to show that you signed a statement or document. A notary may be found at the courthouse and many banks.
• Order to show cause- An order from a court to a party charged with failing to obey an earlier order of the court. The show cause order requires the accused party to come to court and explain why he/she should not be held in contempt for failing to obey the earlier order.
• Overrule- To deny a motion or objection raised to the court.
• Party or Parties- A person or people involved in a legal action.
• Petition- An application or request to the court. The petition asks the court to issue a protection order.
• Petitioner- The person who begins the case. Same as applicant, plaintiff or complainant.
• Perjury- The act of a witness providing false or misleading testimony while under oath in criminal court proceedings.
• Plaintiff- The person who begins the case. Same as complainant or petitioner.
• Presumption- A legal conclusion that a certain outcome is appropriate based on the evidence, unless the opposing party can show reason why such outcome is not appropriate.
• Probable cause- The degree of proof needed to arrest and bring prosecution against a person suspected of committing a crime. The evidence must be such that a reasonable person would believe that this specific crime was committed and that it is probable that the person being accused committed it.
• Pro Bono- Professional services provided without being paid for them. Sometimes, lawyers will represent someone in court pro bono.
• Pro se- Acting as one’s own lawyer. In Latin means “for oneself”.
• Process server- The person who personally delivers legal documents ordering someone to appear in court.
• Prosecutor- A government lawyer who argues on behalf of the government in a criminal case. Same as district attorney.
• Rebuttal- The introduction of evidence to discredit statements of witnesses.
• Respondent- Same as defendant. The person who must respond to the charges by the complainant or plaintiff.
• Restraining Order- Another term for protection order.
• Service- Delivering court documents to one of the parties. The abuser must be “served” with the document telling him/her why he/she must come to court and when he/she must appear.
• Settlement- An agreement by which parties determine what rights each has and what obligations each owes the other.
• Statutes- Laws passed or enacted by the state legislature.
• Subpoena- A legal document ordering a witness to appear in court.
• Sustain- To accept any motion or objection.
• Testimony- The statement of a witness in court.
• Vacate order- This orders an abuser to leave the home. Can be issued by a judge as part of a protection order.