Chapter 14 Glossary

COMMONLY USED LEGAL WORDS

Absurdity	So unreasonable as to be ridiculous
Acrimonious	Bitterness or harshness of manner or speech
Adduce	To give as a reason for proof
Alleviating	Relieve
Ameliorated	To make better
Annuity	Annul, to void
Articulate	Able to speak clearly
Axiom	A universal truth
Behooves	To be incumbent upon, to need
Capricious	Sudden change
Cavalier	Casual, arrogant
Chattel	A movable item of personal property
Coalesce	To unite in a single body
Cognizable	That which can be known or perceived
Collateral Attack	An attempt to challenge a judgment in another legal forum
Collateral Estoppel	The matter has been decided
Conterminous	Boundary. Having a common boundry
Credulity	Tending to believe, credulous
De - minimis	Concerning trifles
Dilatory	Causing delay
Draconian	Very severe or harsh
Emphasized	To give emphasis to, stress
Empirical	Based on experiment or experience
Endeavor	Honest attempt
Erudition	Learning acquired by studying and reading
Eschew	To advocate
Espouse	To shun, avoid
Estoppel	A bar that stops a plea
Exigent	Calling for immediate action or attention
Ex‑parte	From one side
Explicit	Clearly stated or shown
Frivolous	Of little value
Gratuitous	Uncalled for
Idiosyncratic	One's own view, peculiarity
Inexorable	That which cannot be altered or checked
Inimical	Hostile, in opposition to
Invidious	Such as to incite ill will
Invoked	To call on, to resort to
Linked	Anything that connects
Malaise	A vague feeling of discomfort
Matrix	Womb, from within
Meritorious	Deserving regard
Microcosm	Regarded as world in miniature
Modicum	Small amount
Myopic	Short sightedness
Mystified	To puzzle or perplex
Negate	To make ineffective
Nihilistic	General rejection of customary beliefs
Objectivity	Independent of the mind
Onerous	Oppressive
Penumbras	A surrounding region where something exists to a lesser degree
Pernicious	Causing great injury
Polemical	Attack on the opinion of others
Precedential	Decision to be followed by a lower court
Prejudice	A preconceived, usually unfavorable idea
Progeny	Offspring
Promulgate	To make known officially
Quixotic	Romantically idealistic
Redounded	Come back, react
Res Judicata	The case has already been adjudicated and cannot be re-litigated
Ridiculous	Absurd
Rudimentary	Slight beginning
Scintilla	The least trace
Sham	Something false or fake
Smacked	A small amount, trace
Standing	One who has a right to be a party to the litigation
Static	At rest, inactive
Stigma	Mark of disgrace
Stigmatize	To mark with a stigma
Subterfuge	Plan to evade, something different
Succor	To help in time of need
Syllogistic	A formal argument consisting of a major and a minor premise and a conclusion which must logically be true
Tangential	Touching upon
Unambiguous	Clear, precise
Unpersuasive	Not having the power to persuade
Usufruct	The legal right of using and enjoying the fruits or profits of something belonging to another
Vehement	Strong feelings
Vehicle	A means of communication, thought
Venire	From within a jury will be selected
Vindicate	To clear from criticism or blame
Vitiate	To spoil, corrupt, pervert
Vociferous	Noisy, clamorous
Voyeur	One that has excessive interest in sex
Zealously	Fervent, enthusiastic

LEGAL LATIN

Ab initio	From the beginning
Ad damnum	To the damage ‑ refers to the damages of the plaintiff
Ad hoc	For this ‑ for a particular purpose
Ad infinitum	To go on indefinitely
Ad interim	In the meantime
Ad nauseam	To the point of disgust
A fortiori	By the stronger reason ‑ all the more
Amicus curiae	Friend of the court
A priori	From what is before
Arguendo	For arguments sake
Bona vacantia	Property with no apparent legal owner
Coram nobis	Before ourselves ‑ to seek review in the same court
Corpus delicti	The body of the crime/victim
Cui bono	Who will profit by this action
Defacto	Something that is "in fact"
Dehors	Out of, without, foreign to the record
De jure	By right ‑ by law
De nova	Again, over, anew
Duces tecum	You will bring with you
Eo nomine	Under that name
Et al	And others (et alii)
Ex abundanti cautela	Out of an abundance of caution
Ex facie	From the face, apparently
Ex officio	From or by virtue of the office
Ex parte	From or in the interest of one side only
Ex post facto	After the fact
I.e.	That is (id est)
In camera	In a room ‑ usually something that is heard in private
In forma pauperis	Not able to pay the fees. Not liable for the cost
In limine	At the beginning
In pari delicto	In equal fault ‑ equal in guilt
In personam	Against the person ‑ against a specific person
In re	In the matter of ‑ usually when there are no opposing parties
Rem	Against the thing ‑ against a thing rather than its owner
Infra	Refers to a later section of text
Inter alia	Amongst others ‑ among other things
Ipse dixit	He said it himself ‑ a bare assertion
lpso facto	By the fact itself
Mandamus	We command
Mens rea	Criminal intent
Nolo prosequi	Record entry indicating that party will not proceed any further
Nolo contendere	I will not contest it
Non compos mentis	Not of sound mind ‑ insane
Nunc pro tunc	Acts allowed to be done after the time they should be done
Onus prbandi	The burden of proof
Ore tenus	By word of mouth
Pendente lite	Pending or during suit
Per curiam	By the court ‑ by the whole court rather than one judge
Prima facie	On the first appearance
Pro forma	As a matter of form
Pro se	To represent oneself
Pro hac vice	Soley in this instance
Quid pro quo	One thing in return for another
Res judicata	A matter already decided ‑ not to be decided again
Seriatim	In the same sequence
Sine qua non	A condition or thing that is essential or indispensable
Stare decisis	To stand by decided matters ‑ prior case law
Sua sponte	Of it's own accord
Sub judice	The case at hand
Subpoena	Writ commanding a person to appear in court to give testimony
Subpoena duces tecum	A writ commanding a person to bring specific papers to court
Supra	Referring to an earlier section of text
Ultra vires	Beyond the powers
Vel non	Or not

TYPES OF RELIEF

ANNOYANCE: A discomfort, a nuisance, vexation.
ANXIETY: Worry or uneasiness about what may happen
COMPENSATORY: The damages recoverable in satisfaction of, or in recompense for loss or injury sustained, including all damages except nominal damages, punitive, or exemplary damages.
DECLARATORY: A judgment which declares conclusively the rights and duties, Or the status, of the parties.
EXEMPLARY DAMAGES: Damages given as an enhancement of compensatory damages because of the wanton, reckless, malicious. or oppressive character of the acts complained of, and by way of punishment of the defendant and a deterrent to others.
HARASSMENT: To worry or torment.
INJUNCTIVE: A court order prohibiting or ordering a given action.
MENTAL ANGUISH: Mental suffering as distinguished from physical pain
MONETARY: Of money.
NOMINAL DAMAGES: An award to which the plaintiff is entitled, although he gives no evidence of any particular amount of loss, because the law infers damage from the breach of an agreement or the invasion of a right.
PUNITIVE: Damages which are allowed as an enhancement of compensatory damages because of the wanton. reckless, malicious, or oppressive character which the plaintiff complains. See Smith v Wade, 461 US 30, 75 L.Ed.2d 63‑2, 103 SCt 1625 (1983).

For questions or comments about this website contact: jcoghill2@cox.net