Essential Legal Terms: A Comprehensive Glossary
Essential Legal Terms
Remedy – A legal solution to a problem or harm. Example: If a company sells a faulty product, the court might order them to pay the customer for damages.
Stare Decisis – The legal principle of following past court decisions. Example: If a court ruled that texting while driving is illegal, future courts must follow that decision in similar cases.
Due Process – Fair legal procedures and protections. Example: A person accused of a crime must have a trial before being punished.
Interstate Commerce – Business or trade between different states. Example: A company in California sells and ships products to customers in Texas.
Intrastate Commerce – Business or trade within one state. Example: A bakery in New York sells cakes only within New York.
Discovery – The process where both sides in a lawsuit exchange information. Example: A lawyer requests emails as evidence in a fraud case.
Service of Process – Officially notifying someone they are being sued. Example: A court official hands a lawsuit notice to a person at their home.
Pretrial Motion – A request made to the judge before the trial starts. Example: A lawyer asks the judge to exclude certain evidence from being used.
Summary Judgment – A court decision made without a full trial because the facts are clear. Example: If security footage shows a driver running a red light, the judge may rule in favor of the injured pedestrian without a trial.
Writ of Execution – A court order to enforce a judgment, such as seizing property. Example: If a person refuses to pay a court-ordered debt, the court may seize their car.
Product Liability – A company’s responsibility for selling dangerous products. Example: A toy company is sued because their toy has small parts that cause choking.
Statute of Limitations – A time limit for filing a lawsuit. Example: If you want to sue for an injury, you may have only two years to do so.
Preponderance of Evidence – The standard of proof in civil cases, meaning “more likely than not.” Example: In a car accident lawsuit, if one side presents stronger evidence, they win.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt – The highest standard of proof, used in criminal cases. Example: A jury must be almost certain that someone committed a crime before convicting them.
Mens Rea – A guilty mind or intent to commit a crime. Example: If someone accidentally takes the wrong bag at the airport, there’s no mens rea, so it’s not theft.
White-Collar Crime – Non-violent financial crimes. Example: A CEO lies about company profits to trick investors.
Embezzlement – Stealing money you were trusted to manage. Example: A cashier secretly takes money from the register.
Money Laundering – Hiding illegal money by making it seem legal. Example: A criminal runs a fake restaurant to make drug money look like business income.
Exclusionary Rule – Evidence collected illegally cannot be used in court. Example: If police search a home without a warrant, the evidence they find may not be used in trial.
Cybersquatting – Registering a domain name to profit from a brand name. Example: Someone buys “NikeShoes.com” and tries to sell it to Nike for a high price.