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
Judge:  Government official with authority to decide lawsuits brought before courts. Other judicial officers in the U.S. courts system are Supreme Court justices.

Judgement:  The official decision of a court finally determining the respective rights and claims of the parties to a suit.

Jurisdiction:  (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.

Jurisprudence:  The study of law and the structure of the legal system.

Jury:  Persons selected according to law and sworn to inquire into and declare a verdict on matters of fact.



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