Become Informed About the Law
Never be clueless again
Vocabulary to help you understand everything you need to know.
Defendant: the person being arrested and accused of a crime.3
Complaint: the formal way and legal reasoning for going against another party
Summons: to serve somone with a summons
Pleadings: a formal statementof the cause of an action or defense
Pretrial Conference: a short hearing where the judge informs the parties of the steps necessary to get ready for trail
Mediation: intervention in a dispute in order to resolve it; see arbitration
Arbitration: the private, judicial determination of a dispute, by an independent 3rd party
Trial: a formal examination of evidence before a judge, and typically before a jury, in order to decide guilt in a case of criminal or civil proceedings
Proponderence of Evidence: the greater weight of the evidence required in a civil lawsuit for the trier of fact to decide in favor of one side or the other
Verdict: the jury's decision
Appeal: apply to a higher court for a reversal of the decision of a lower court