Glossary of Legal Terms

vocabulary for legal understanding

Appellant

The party who is dissatisfied with the judgment of the trial court and seeks to have that judgment reversed or altered by appealing the judgment to a higher court.

Appellee

Sometimes called a respondent, the party opposing the appellant on appeal.

Bluebook

The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is published by the Harvard Law Review and other leading law reviews and sets forth abbreviations and rules of citation for legal materials. It is the accepted standard in law school writing but isn’t necessarily followed by courts or attorneys who may be required to follow local rules.

Brief

There are two types of briefs: (1) Briefs of cases and (2) Briefs that are prepared for court. Case briefs are the documents you will create to prepare for class. Your briefs highlight/summarize the most important information in a case. In other words, it’s a summary of the high points of the case. Many students find them very useful as a reference when called upon in class. Briefs prepared for court set forth legal arguments and conclusions.

Casebook

The textbook that you will use for your class that is comprised of edited versions of published cases. Note: Most cases have been rather heavily edited by the casebook authors.

Citation

The reference which helps you identify a particular case, law review article, book, statute or other resource, whether primary or secondary. For example, the citation for Roe v. Wade is 410 US 959 (1973). This means the case appears in volume 410 of the official United States Reports beginning at page 959. The opinion was rendered in 1973. 42 USC 1983 is the citation for civil rights legislation which appears in title 42 of the United States Code at section 1983.

Civil/Criminal:

Civil cases are typically disputes between persons or entities in which the remedy sought is money damages, or sometimes an order that the defendant do, or refrain from doing, certain acts. Civil cases include torts, suits about contracts, family law cases, etc. A criminal case, by contrast, is always brought by a governmental entity (through a federal or local prosecutor) against a defendant for a violation of a criminal statute where the penalty may be a fine, imprisonment, or both. Although the victim of a crime may be a witness, the victim is not really a party to the prosecution of a criminal defendant.

Court/court:

When the word "court" by itself is capitalized in a sentence, it is generally referring to the United States Supreme Court. Lower case "court" refers to all other courts. When naming a specific court, such as the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the word court is capitalized.

Defendant:

The person against whom a lawsuit or prosecution has been brought. In a civil suit this is the person from whom a plaintiff seeks relief. In a criminal action, it is the accused (who is innocent until proven guilty...).

Dissent

A judge's disagreement with the majority of the court. Appellate court cases are heard by a panel of judges that can vary in number depending on the jurisdiction. A judge (or judges) who disagrees with the majority ruling and opinion will often write a dissenting opinion explaining his or her reasons for disagreement.

Opinion

The written product of a judge or judges handing down and explaining a decision. Opinions are usually written by appellate courts, but may also be written by trial judges who resolve legal issues at the trial level. A majority opinion is joined by a majority of the judges participating in the decision. A dissenting opinion disagrees with the holding of the majority; a concurring opinion agrees with the majority’s holding but for different reasons; a plurality opinion is joined by the largest number of judges when no majority opinion is achieved; and there can also be opinions that dissent in part, concur in part, etc.

Petitioner

The petitioner is the party who presents a petition to the court. On appeal, the petitioner is usually the party who lost in the lower court. This can be either the plaintiff or defendant from the court below, as either of the parties can present the case to a higher court for further proceedings.

Plaintiff

The individual or organization who initiates a lawsuit by filing a complaint. In a criminal action it is the government. (Typically the government in a criminal matter is not called the plaintiff. Instead, it is called the people or the state or the government…)

Precedent

An existing opinion, usually published, which, because of its similar facts and legal issues, serves to guide a court in the case before it. Our common law system is based upon precedent. Courts will look to principles established in earlier cases. Those decisions that involve similar facts or legal issues serve to guide a court and are regarded as precedent.

Remand

An order made by an appellate court whose ruling was sought by appealing parties. A remand does not end the case. Instead, the case is sent back (remanded) to the lower court to do whatever is necessary to be consistent with the appeals court’s decision. This may mean conducting a new trial, entering judgment for a different party, holding a hearing on a part of the case, etc.

Restatement

Several volumes produced by the American Law Institute and authored by legal scholars and experts that set forth statements of major areas of law (as contracts, torts, trusts, and property) and are widely referred to in jurisprudence but are not binding. It is the not the law but a restatement of the law by non-judges who are deemed experts in that particular field. Courts sometimes cite to the restatement; if they adopt the restatement, then that becomes the law.

Respondent

The respondent is the party against whom a petition is filed, especially one on appeal—the person who must respond to the filing. The respondent can be either the plaintiff or the defendant from the court below, as either party can appeal the decision, thereby making themselves the petitioner and their adversary the respondent.

Tort

A generic term encompassing many different causes of action in which a plaintiff alleges some injury caused by the defendant. Torts include such actionable wrongs as assault, invasion of privacy, product liability (injury caused by defective goods) and many others. The most common tort is an action for negligence. A person injured by the negligent conduct of another (such as in an automobile accident) may sue to recover monetary damages for those injuries.

Opinion

A legally binding opinion that explains why the court is ruling the way it is

Specific Intent

An actor “intends” the consequences of his conduct if his purpose in acting is to bring about those consequences

General Intent

The actor “intends” the consequences of his conduct if he knows with substantial certainty that those consequences could/will result

Remand

Send back to the lower court for additional action

Circumstantial Evidence

Come to a conclusion not by testifiable evidence, but because circumstances strongly suggest a conclusion, circumstantial evidence can be used to determine intent. Intent can be determined by conduct and circumstantial evidence.