SNIGDHA'S LAW FIRM
vocabulary for new clients to be familiar with
these terms are useful for clients to know:
- plaintiff-a person who brings a case against another in a court of law.
- defendant-a person or entity accused of a crime in criminal prosecution or a person or entity against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case.
- complaint-The pleading that starts a case
- summons-an order to appear before a judge or magistrate, or the writ containing it.
- pleadings-
a formal statement of the cause of an action or defense.
Translate pleadings to - pretrial conference-A meeting of the parties to an action and their attorneys held before the court prior to the commencement of actual courtroom proceedings.
- mediation-intervention in a dispute in order to resolve it; arbitration.
- arbitration-the use of an arbitrator to settle a dispute.
- trial-a formal meeting in a court in which evidence about crimes, disagreements, etc., is presented to a judge and often a jury so that decisions can be made according to the law
- preponderance of evidence-A standard of proof that must be met by a plaintiff if he or she is to win a civil action.
- verdict-a decision on a disputed issue in a civil or criminal case or an inquest.
- appeal-
apply to a higher court for a reversal of the decision of a lower court.