Legal Definitions

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W  All
Capital offense:  A crime punishable by death.

Case Law:  The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.

Chambers:  A judge's office.

Charge To The Jury:  The judge's instructions to the jury concerning the law that applies to the facts of the case on trial.

Chief Judge:  The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.

Circumstantial Evidence:  All evidence except eyewitness testimony.

Clerk of Court:  An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.

Common Law:  The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.

Complaint:  A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.

Contract:  An agreement between two or more persons that creates an obligation to do or not to do a particular thing.

Conviction:  A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.

Counsel:  Legal advice; a term used to refer to lawyers in a case.

Counterclaim:  A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.

Court:  Government entity authorized to resolve legal disputes. Judges sometimes use "court" to refer to themselves in the third person, as in "the court has read the briefs."; ";"c



The definitions of the legal terms on this page are provided by the United States Department of Justice.