Legal Terms, Crimes, and Types of Law: A Comprehensive List

Posted on Jan 15, 2025 in Linguistics

People in Law

  • Adjudicator: Someone who decides who is right and what should be done in a disagreement or dispute.
  • Advocate: Someone who has the right to speak in open court as the representative of a party in a legal case.
  • Appellant: A person who appeals to a higher court in order to get it to change a decision or a sentence imposed by a lower court.
  • Applicant: A person who applies for a court order.
  • Attorney: Someone who is legally allowed to act on behalf of someone else.
  • Barrister: A member of the legal profession who can plead or argue a case in one of the higher courts of law.
  • Beneficiary: Someone who receives something under a will.
  • Claimant: A person who takes legal action against someone in the civil courts.
  • Client: A person who is represented by a lawyer.
  • Convict: Someone who is kept in prison as punishment for a crime.
  • Coroner: A public official who investigates the cause of death or the reason for it, especially if it is sudden or unexpected.
  • Counsel: The term for a barrister acting for one of the parties in a legal action.
  • Defendant: Someone who is sued in a civil case or somebody who is accused of a crime in a criminal case.
  • Foreman: The person who is elected by the other 11 members of the jury.
  • Judge: An official who presides over a court and in civil cases decides which party is in the right.
  • Judiciary: The collective word for all judges in a country, as well as the court system in general.
  • Juror: A member of a jury.
  • Jury: A group of 12 citizens who are sworn to decide whether someone is guilty or not guilty on the basis of the evidence they hear in court.
  • Lawyer: A general term for any qualified member of the legal profession.
  • Magistrate: An official who tries cases in a lower court (only in the UK).
  • Probation Officer: Supervises people who have committed something wrong but are not sent to prison, or people who have been released early from prison on certain conditions.
  • Prosecutor: The person who brings criminal charges against someone in a court.
  • Solicitor: A lawyer who has passed the examinations of the Law Society and has a valid certificate to practice, who gives advice to members of the public and acts for them in legal matters.
  • Suspect: Someone whom the police believe has committed a crime.
  • Testator: A man who has made a will.
  • Tortfeasor: Someone who has committed a civil wrong or tort.
  • Witness: Someone who sees something happen or is present when it happens.

Types of Criminal Acts/Violations

  • Armed Robbery: The act of using a weapon or the threat of violence to steal property or money from another person or entity.
  • Arson: The act of intentionally setting fire to property, often a building, with malicious intent.
  • Assault: The intentional act of causing harm or injury to another person, typically involving physical force or the threat of physical force.
  • Battery: The intentional and unlawful use of force against another person, resulting in harmful or offensive contact.
  • Bribery: Offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting something of value (such as money, gifts, or favors) to influence the actions of a person in a position of power or trust, often in violation of laws or ethical standards.
  • Burglary: Illegally entering a building or structure with the intent to commit a crime, usually theft.
  • Domestic Violence: Physical, emotional, or psychological abuse between individuals in a domestic or intimate relationship.
  • Drug Trafficking: The illegal production, transportation, distribution, or sale of controlled substances, such as narcotics or illegal drugs.
  • Drunk Driving: Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, often leading to impaired driving ability and an increased risk of accidents.
  • Embezzlement: The unlawful misappropriation or theft of funds or property entrusted to one’s care, typically by someone in a position of trust or responsibility.
  • Extortion: Obtaining money, property, or services from someone through coercion, intimidation, or threats of violence.
  • Forgery: The act of creating, altering, or imitating a document, signature, or other item with the intent to deceive or defraud.
  • Fraud: Deliberate deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, often involving misrepresentation or concealment of facts.
  • Homicide: The killing of one person by another, which may be classified as murder, manslaughter, or justifiable homicide depending on the circumstances.
  • Insider Dealing: Illegally trading securities based on material non-public information, typically obtained by someone with a fiduciary duty or inside knowledge of a company.
  • Joyriding: The unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, often for the purpose of temporary enjoyment or thrill-seeking, without the owner’s permission.
  • Kidnapping: The unlawful abduction or confinement of a person against their will, often for ransom or other unlawful purposes.
  • Larceny: The unlawful taking and carrying away of someone else’s personal property with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of it.
  • Manslaughter: The unlawful killing of another person without malice aforethought, often classified as voluntary or involuntary manslaughter based on the circumstances.
  • Money Laundering: The process of concealing the origins of illegally obtained money or assets by transferring them through a complex sequence of banking or commercial transactions.
  • Obstruction of Justice: Interfering with the administration of justice or the investigation of a crime, such as by tampering with evidence, providing false information, or intimidating witnesses.
  • Rape: Non-consensual sexual intercourse or other sexual acts, often involving force, coercion, or incapacity on the part of the victim.
  • Shoplifting: The act of stealing goods from a retail store without paying for them or without the owner’s consent.
  • Stalking: Repeatedly harassing or threatening another person, often causing fear or emotional distress, through unwanted and obsessive behavior.
  • Tax Evasion: Illegally avoiding paying taxes owed to the government by underreporting income, inflating deductions, or other fraudulent means.
  • Theft: The unlawful taking of another person’s property with the intent to permanently deprive them of it.
  • Vandalism: The deliberate destruction or defacement of property belonging to another person or entity, often motivated by malice or disregard for others.
  • White-Collar Crime: Non-violent, financially motivated crimes typically committed by individuals or corporations in positions of trust or authority, such as fraud, embezzlement, or insider trading.

Types of Law

  • Maritime Law: The law that deals with everything connected with the sea or ships.
  • The Law of Tort: The law that deals with every citizen’s responsibility not to harm other people in any way, even if it is not a contractual or criminal situation.
  • Business and Company Law: The law that deals with the way businesses are set up (created) and run (operated) and how they must work in relation to each other and the general public.
  • Contract Law: The law that deals with private agreements between people or companies and tries to make sure that no one suffers a loss if an agreement is broken.
  • The Law of Equity & Trusts: The law that deals with situations where someone has control of property for a period of time and must look after it for the benefit of someone else.
  • IT Law: The law that deals with everything connected with information and how it is passed between people, especially by means of the Internet.
  • Intellectual Property Law: The law that deals with the protection of the rights of inventors (who might invent a new drug or machine) or artists (who might write a book or a song).
  • Family Law: The law that deals with events such as divorce and the custody of (the right to look after) children.
  • Employment/Labor Law: The law that deals with people’s rights, pay, or conditions in the workplace.
  • The Law of Real Property/Conveyancing: The law that deals with land, including transferring the ownership of buildings or land from one person to another.
  • Criminal Law: The law that punishes acts against a person or against property that people consider to be harmful to the whole community. The state prosecutes criminals.
  • Civil Law: The law concerning the rights and duties of private individuals and companies rather than criminal matters.