Law School Vocabulary

Affidavit

 a written sworn statement – always taken ex parte

Cause of action

The reason for which a plaintiff files a complaint or suit against someone. This can be negligence, breach of contract, malpractice or defamation, to name a few. A cause of action is divided into elements, and each element must be proved to win the case.

Cold call

when the teacher calls on students in class randomly to talk about the cases you were assigned.

Certiorari

• meaning: “to be informed of” (Latin).

• A writ seeking review of a lower court decision by a higher court.

Chattel

an item of personal property which is movable, as distinguished from real

property (land and improvements).

Civil

 everything that is not criminal. Torts go through civil court.

Decision

• a ruling by a court.

• When a professor asks for this, they mean the opinion that may or may not accompany the decision that the court made.

Defendant

 the person that the civil or criminal claim is made against. The other side is a

plaintiff in civil court, and a prosecutor in criminal court.

Demurrer

a formal response to a complaint filed in a lawsuit, pleading for

dismissal and saying, in effect, that even if the facts are true, there is no legal basis for a

lawsuit. Examples include a missing necessary element of fact, or a complaint that is unclear. The judge can agree and “leave to amend,” giving the claimant the opportunity to amend the complaint. If it is not amended to the judge’s satisfaction, the demurrer is granted. (Some states use a motion to dismiss.)

Depose

to testify or give under oath or sworn affidavit.

De novo

“anew” (Latin).

• Refers to a new trial by a different tribunal.

Ex parte

 “for one party” (Latin).

• Refers to motions, hearings, or orders granted for the benefit of one party only.

Elements

requirements that must be met before a standard can be established. Every element

must be met for a standard to apply.

Sequestration

the act of removing, separating, or seizing anything from the possession of its

owner under process of law for the benefit of creditors or the state.

Situs

latin for "location,"

• be it where the crime or accident took place or where the building

stands.

Specific performance

 the right of a party to a contract to demand that the defendant (the

party who it is claimed breached the contract) be ordered in the judgment to perform the

contract. Specific performance may be ordered instead of (or in addition to) a judgment for money if the contract can still be performed and money cannot sufficiently reward the plaintiff.

• Example: when a defendant was to deliver some unique item such as an art- work and did not, a judge may order the defendant to actually deliver the artwork.

Statute

 a written law passed by Congress or another legislative body.

stare decisis

stand by a decision” (Latin).

• This refers to the doctrine that a trial court is bound by previous decisions that appellate courts have made on specific legal questions.

Summary judgment

a court order ruling that no factual issues remain to be tried and

therefore a cause of action or all causes of action in a complaint can be decided upon certain facts without trial

Uniform Laws

 compilations of laws sponsored by the National Conference of Commissioners

on Uniform State Laws. Proposed to all state legislatures; some states adopt in whole or part.

Voir Dire

 jury selection

(Writ of) habeas corpus 

a term that is most often heard in the context

of a writ being granted. A writ of habeas corpus is requested when a person is being detained and you want them brought before a judge to determine the legal basis for holding them prisoner.

Affirm

To confirm a judgement on appeal, or

uphold it. Meaning, the appellate court confirms

that the lower court ruled “correctly.”

Appellant

A party who appeals a lower court’s

decision, usually seeking to reverse that decision.

A party would do this if they lose at court.

Appelle

A party against whom an appeal is

taken. Their role is to respond to that appeal, and

they usually want to affirm (or keep) the lower

court’s decision.

Appellate Court

This is the type of court that

hears appeals. This means the party that lost at

the lower court level appealed to a higher court.

The cases you typically read in law school are at

the appellate court level.

Bar Exam

The Bar Exam, or sometimes just “bar,”

is what most (there are some state exceptions,

but not many) lawyers must take in order to be

licensed. When you graduate law school, you have

a Juris Doctor, but you are not a lawyer. You don’t

become a lawyer until you pass your jurisdiction’s

bar exam, and are sworn in. The Bar Exam is a

two day test in either February or July.

Black’s Law Dictionary

A legal dictionary.

You should always look up legal terms using a

legal dictionary versus a normal dictionary, as

sometimes the terms will have different meanings.

Any trustworthy legal dictionary will suffice for

this, it just so happens that “Black’s” is the most

famous.

BlueBook

This is the book most legal writing

courses, law firms, judges, law journals and law

reviews use for uniform citation. You might hear

people talk about “bluebooking,” which generally

means checking citations.

CALI

he Center for Computer-Assisted Legal

Instruction, also known as CALI, is a non-profit

consortium of mostly U.S. law schools that

conducts applied research and development in

the area of computer-mediated legal education.

The organization is best known in law schools

for CALI Lessons and online interactive tutorials

in legal subjects.

At some schools, there are “CALI Awards,” which

are given to the student that gets the top grade

in a specified class. You might hear students say

they “CALI’d” a class, and that might be because

they did CALI lessons!

Case Book

Your textbook. A compilation of

cases, chosen and edited to teach a subject

Case Brief

As you read cases for class, you will

want to “brief” them. You will receive instruction

on how to do this, likely during orientation.

Essentially, it is a summary of the case, so that

you can remember things like important facts,

issues, rules, and the holding.

Case Law

The law derived from a collection of

cases. Essentially, judges will write opinions, and

that creates case law, or precedent. Case law can

be common law, or it can be used to explain and

supplement statutory law.

Citation

A legal reference. In legal writing

(aside from most exams) you will want to “cite”

your sources. You will learn more about this in

your legal writing courses. You typically use the

Bluebook to determine the correct citation format.

Civ Pro

 This is the abbreviation typically used

for the subject of Civil Procedure. Civil Procedure

is the process, or rules, of a case — such as how

to file a claim and which court has jurisdiction.

Typically, Civil Procedure courses will use FRCP,

or the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Clerking

Upon graduating law school, you can

apply to clerk for a judge. This typically involves

a great deal of research and writing, though the

experiences may differ slightly from judge to

judge and court to court. Typically, it’s a fairly

prestigious honor.

Clinic

 Law school training in which students

participate in actual cases under the supervision

of a practicing attorney or law professor.

Common Law

he body of law derived from

cases, rather than a statute.

Conclusory

his is often used in legal writing,

and means you have left out a proper analysis.

You don’t want your writing to be conclusory.

You want a conclusion supported by analysis.

Your legal writing professors, and your academic

support professors, will help you with this.

Con Law

 This is an abbreviation typically used

for Constitutional Law.

Crim

 This is an abbreviation typically used

for Criminal Law.

Defendant

In a civil case, the defendant is the

one being sued. In a criminal action, the defendant

is the one who is being put on trial for a crime.

Dissent

 A disagreement with a majority opinion,

especially among judges.

FRCP

 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See “Civ Pro.”

Holding

The court’s decision on a matter of

law, sometimes called a judgement or a ruling.

Hornbook

A book explaining an overview of a

particular area of law.

Hypo

Short for hypothetical. Your professors will

often gives “hypos,” which are fictional scenarios,

to help explain the law. In addition, your exams

will consist of “hypos” you should answer. You

might also hear others refer to “practice hypos,”

which is one way of preparing for exams.

IRAC

 Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion. This is the

structure often used in legal writing. Sometimes,

it will be referred to as CRAC or CREAC. CRAC

is Conclusion, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion, and

CREAC is Conclusion, Rule, Explanation, Analysis,

Conclusion. They are all the same basic structure

with a few modifications.

K

An abbreviation for Contracts.

Law Review/Law Journal

 These are student

run publications. Many students join Law Review/

Law Journal for the opportunity to be published.

You may have an opportunity to join one your

second year, which means you will be editing

the articles that the publication puts out. The

articles are typically written by law professors

around the country.

Lexis/Westlaw

These are the legal databases you

will typically use to research the law. Your school

will have representatives from each to help you

navigate the database. In addition, you will learn

more about them in your legal research course.

Moot Court

A fictitious court, usually held in a

law school setting, to argue “moot,” or hypothetical,

cases. These cases are usually at the appellate level.hese are the legal databases you

will typically use to research the law. Your school

will have representatives from each to help you

navigate the database. In addition, you will learn

more about them in your legal research course.

MPRE

The Multistate Professional Responsibility

Exam, or ethics exam. This is usually taken before

you sit for the bar exam, and is typically offered

in March, August, and October. Many students sit

for it in the summer before their 3L year or fall

of their 3L year

Outline

 You will hear the term “outline” during

your first semester. The 2Ls and 3Ls may offer you

their outlines, or you may hear talk of a “commercial

outline.” An outline is simply a way of organizing the

information for a particular subject or class. There

is no “right” way to outline; it can be a traditional

outline, a flow chart, graphs, charts, mind maps,

flashcards. The important part is that you are

organizing, and synthesizing, the information being

given to you in class.

While you can use commercial outlines, or outlines

of fellow students, as a resource, do not use them

in place of doing your own, as it’s the process of

creating your outline, however it looks, that helps

you master the material.

Petitioner

the party who

presents a petition to the court. On appeal, the

petitioner (or appellant) is the one who appeals

from a judgment.

Plantiff

The plaintiff is the party that is bringing

the lawsuit, or initiating the claim.

Procescutor

In a criminal case, the prosecutor is

the lawyer that brings charges against the defendant.

Respondent

The respondent (appellee) is the

party against whom a petition is filed, especially

one on appeal.

Reverse

When an appellant court overturns a

lower court’s decision.

SCOTUS

Supreme Court of the United States.

Statory Law

Law passed by a legislative body.

This is different from common law. Examples of

this are the FRCP and the UCC.

Study Aid/Supplement

are a collection of books designed to help you understand

the law. They are not case books. Your library will

have more information on the various types of

supplements, and what they are used for. Some,

like commercial outlines, help you clarify things,

but they should not be a crutch or a substitute

to reading and briefing yourself.

Tort

A civil wrong. This subject typically involves

things like car accidents, and so forth.

TWEN/Web Courses

This is a web platform that

some professors use in class. TWEN is associated

with Westlaw and Web Courses is associated with

LexisNexis. They use these platforms to collect

assignments, provide course handouts, etc. Your

professor will tell you if you need to use it.

UBE (The Uniform Bar Exam)

This is the bar exam administered in roughly 40 states. The reason this is significant is that the UBE score is “portable,”

meaning you can transfer your bar exam score to other jurisdictions.

UCC (Uniform Commercial Code)

This includes subjects like Sales, Commercial Paper, and Secured Transactions.