Action: Proceeding taken in a court of law. Sometimes called case, suit, or lawsuit.Affidavit: A written or printed declaration or statement under oath.
Allegation: An assertion or statement of a party to an action made in a pleading, stating what he or she expects to prove.
Answer: A formal response to a claim, admitting or denying the allegations in the claim.
Appeal: Review of a case by a higher court.
Arraignment: In criminal cases, a court hearing where a defendant is advised of the charges and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.
Chambers: A judge's private office.
Complaint: (Criminal) Formal written charge that a person has committed a criminal offense. (Civil) Initial document entered by the plaintiff which states the claims against the defendant.
Cross-Examination: The questioning of a witness by the party opposed to the one who produced the witnesses.
Defendant: (Criminal) Person charged with crime. (Civil) Person against whom a civil action is brought.
Evidence: Any form of proof legally presented at a trial through witnesses, records, documents, etc.
Felony: A crime of graver nature than a misdemeanor.
General Jurisdiction: Refers to courts that have no limit on the types of criminal and civil cases they may hear.
Hearsay: Evidence based on what the witness has heard someone else say, rather than what the witness has personally experienced or observed.
Indigent: Needy, poor, impoverished. A defendant who can demonstrate his or her indigence to the court may be assigned a court-appointed attorney at public expense.
Jurisdiction: Authority of a court to exercise judicial power.
Litigant: One who is engaged in a law suit.
Plaintiff: The party who begins an action; the party who complains or sues in an action and is named as such in the court's records.
Pleadings: Formal, written allegations by the parties of their respective claims.
Remand: To send back. A disposition by an appellate court that results in sending the case back to the original court from which it came for further proceedings.
Summons: Document or writ directing the sheriff or other officer to notify a person that an action has been commenced against that individual and that he or she is required to appear, on a certain day, and answer the complaint in such action.
Venue: The specific county, city, or geographical area in which a court has jurisdiction.
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