Descriptionary

severable contract a contract in which the agree­ments are considered as separate and independent so that a breach of any agreement does not void the contract as a whole.

criminal and tort law

(Also see contract law, probate law, property and real estate law)

ABA American Bar Association.

abscond to skip town or otherwise avoid court action through hiding or concealing oneself.

abuse of process using process for a purpose other than that intended by law.

accessory one who assists or facilitates others in a crime.

accessory after the fact

one who knowingly receives or assists a person who is being sought for commit­ting a felony.

accessory before the fact a person who plans a crime, gives advice about a crime, or commands oth­ers to commit a crime, but who does not actively commit the crime.

accomplice a partner in the commission of a crime.

accusatory instrument an accusation, an indict­ment, or information that forms the basis for a crimi­nal charge.

ACLu American Civil Liberties Union.

acquiescence any behavior that implies consent, such as remaining silent and failing to raise an objec­tion when an accusatory statement is made.

acquit to set free one who has been absolved of charges.

action the prosecuting of one party by another for a misdeed or for protection of rights or other reasons.

ad damnum the amount of damages sued for.

additur

an increase of the amount of damages, awarded by the court when a jury award is deemed inadequate.

adjourn to break temporarily from a court proceed­ing through recess.

Admiralty court a court or tribunal having jurisdic­tion over actions related to the sea, such as maritime contracts or injuries at sea.

admissible evidence evidence acceptable to the court.

affidavit a written statement made by a person under oath before the court or a notary public.

affirmative action taking tangible action to elimi­nate the abuses of past discrimination, as through racial quotas in schools and the workplace.

against the weight of the evidence a situation through which a new trial may be ordered because a jury has, in the judge's opinion, given a verdict that is unsupported by the evidence.

age of consent age at which one may marry with­out parental consent. Also, the age at which a person may consent to sexual intercourse without the risk of statutory rape or sexual assault being charged to the other party.

aggrieved party the person who has been hurt or damaged in a lawsuit.

aid and abet

to facilitate or assist knowingly another person in the commission of a crime.

alias otherwise or also known as.

alibi a provable accounting of a person's where­abouts at the time a crime was committed.

alienation of affections malicious acts or behavior by a third party—such as a mother, father-in-law, or outside lover—that interferes with a marriage and alienates one spouse from another.

amnesty a pardon excusing a person of a crime, such as draft evasion.

antitrust laws statutes that help to maintain free competition in the marketplace and that punish any acts by a person or corporation that unfairly restrain a competitor.

appeal to take a case to a higher court in the hope that it will deem the lower court's judgment incorrect and either reverse the judgment or order a new trial.

appellant the party who appeals a decision.

appellate court a court that reviews the rulings and judgments of a lower court.

a priori

from cause to effect.

arbitration the settling of disagreements between two parties by an agreed-upon third party, most used in disputes involving labor contracts.

arbitrator the impartial, chosen person who arbi­trates a dispute.

arraign to accuse of a wrongdoing or to call a per­son to answer a charge.

arraignment the formal charging of the defendant with an offense.

artifice a fraudulent device used to commit a crime.

assault, aggravated an assault resulting in serious bodily injury to the assaulted, or any assault judged to be particularly atrocious or depraved.

attachment the seizing of a defendant's property for the payment of a plaintiff's judgment award.

attorney-client privilege the privilege of confiden­tial communication between client and attorney, in which information cannot be shared with any other party without consent from the client.

attorney general the chief attorney of the federal government or of each state government.