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 Capital crime -A crime punishable by death.

Calendar -A list of cases scheduled for hearing in court.

Canons of ethics -Standards of ethical conduct for attorneys.

Capacity -Having legal authority or mental ability. Being of sound mind.

Caption -Heading or introductory party of a pleading.

Case law -Law established by previous decisions of appellate courts, particularly the United States Supreme Court. (See stare decisis in Foreign Words Glossary.)




Caveat -A warning; a note of caution.

Censure -An official reprimand or condemnation of an attorney. (See disbarment or suspension.)



Certiorari -A writ of review issued by a higher court to a lower court. A means of getting an appellate court to review a lower court's decision. If an appellate court grants a writ of certiorari, it agrees to take the appeal. (Sometimes referred to as "granting cert.")


Challenge for cause -A request from a party to a judge that a certain prospective juror not be allowed to be a member of a jury because of specified causes or reasons. (Also, see peremptory challenge.)


Change of venue -Moving a lawsuit or criminal trial to another place for trial. (See venue.)

Charge to the jury -The judge's instructions to the jury concerning the law that applies to the facts of the case on trial.

Chief judge -Presiding or administrative judge in a court.

Chattel -An article of personal property.

Child -Offspring of parentage; progeny.

Chronological -Arranged in the order in which events happened; according to date.

Circumstantial evidence -All evidence except eyewitness testimony. One example is physical evidence, such as fingerprints, from which an inference can be drawn.


Citators -A set of books which provides the subsequent history of reported decisions through a form of abbreviations or words. Most widely used are Chopart's Citations.


Civil action -An action brought to enforce or protect private rights.

Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) -A commission which promotes and regulates the civil air transport industry in the U.S. and between the U.S. and foreign countries.

Civil law Law based on a series of written codes or laws.


Civil Service Commission -A federal agency which regulates the hiring of government employees.



Clayton Act -A federal law which is an amendment to the Sherman Act dealing with antitrust regulations and unfair trade practices.

Clean air acts -Federal and state environmental statutes enacted to regulate and control air pollution.



Clerk of Court -Administrator or chief clerical officer of the court.


Code of Federal Regulations -An annual publication which contains the cumulative executive agency regulations.

Code of Professional -The rules of conduct that govern the legal profession Responsibility .

Codicil An amendment to a will.

Collate -To arrange in order; verify arrangement of pages before binding or fastening; put together.

Collective mark -Trademark or service mark used by members of a cooperative, an association, or other collective group or organization.

Commit -To send a person to prison, asylum, or reformatory by a court order.

Common law -Also case law. Law established by subject matter heard in earlier cases.

Commutation -The reduction of a sentence, as from death to life imprisonment.



Complainant -The party who complains or sues; one who applies to the court for legal redress. (See also plaintiff.)



Concurrent sentences -Sentences for more than one crime that are to be served at the same time, rather than one after the other. (See also cumulative or consecutive sentences.)

Condemnation -The legal process by which the government takes private land for public use, paying the owners a fair price. (See eminent domain.)


Consecutive sentences -Successive sentences, one beginning at the expiration of another, imposed against a person convicted of two or more violations. (See also cumulative or concurrent sentences.)

Consent -Agreement; voluntary acceptance of the wish of another.


Consideration -The price bargained for and paid for a promise, goods, or real estate.

Constitution -The fundamental law of a nation or state which establishes the character and basic principles of the government.

Constitutional law -Law set forth in the Constitution of the United States and the state constitutions.

Consumer bankruptcy -A proceeding under the Bankruptcy Code filed by an individual (or husband and wife) who is not in business.


Continuance -Postponement of a legal proceeding to a later date.



Conveyance -Instrument transferring title of land for one person or group of persons to another.

Conviction -A judgment of guilt against a criminal defendant.

Corroborating evidence -Supplementary evidence that tends to strengthen or confirm the initial evidence.



Court -A body in government to which the administration of justice is delegated.

Court-appointed attorney -Attorney appointed by the court to represent a defendant, usually with respect to criminal charges and without the defendant having to pay for the representation.


Court of original jurisdiction -A court where a matter is initiated and heard in the first instance; a trial court.


Court rules-Regulations governing practice and procedure in the various courts.

Creditor -A person to whom a debt is owed by another.




Cross-examination- The questioning of a witness produced by the other side.

Cumulative sentences-Sentences for two or more crimes to run consecutively, rather than concurrently.


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Decision - The opinion of the court in concluding a case at law.

Declaratory judgment - A statutory remedy for judicial determination of a controversy where plaintiff is in doubt about his legal rights.


Defamation - That which tends to injure a person's reputation. (See libel and slander.)



Defendant - The person defending or denying a suit.

Defense of property - Affirmative defense in criminal law or tort law where force was used to protect one's property.




Dependent - One who derives existence and support from another.



Direct evidence - Proof of facts by witnesses who saw acts done or heard words spoken.

Direct examination - The first questioning of witnesses by the party on whose behalf they are called.


Disbarment - Form of discipline of a lawyer resulting in the loss (often permanently) of that lawyer's right to practice law. (See censure or suspension.)


Disclaim - To refuse a gift made in a will.

Discovery - The name given pretrial devices for obtaining facts and information about the case.

Dismissal - The termination of a lawsuit. (See with prejudice and without prejudice.)

Dissent To disagree. - An appellate court opinion setting forth the minority view and outlining the disagreement of one or more judges with the decision of the majority.





Docket control - A system for keeping track of deadlines and court dates for both litigation and non-litigation matters.




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