Law

Law terms

1. "Bates Numbering" or "Bates Stamping" A system of sequentially numbering document pages in paper or electronic form as part of litigation discovery to uniquely identify each page scanned or…
2. "christmas tree" bill Informal nomenclature for a bill on the Senate floor that attracts many, often unrelated, floor amendments.
3. "lame duck" session When Congress (or either chamber) reconvenes in an even-numbered year following the November general elections to consider various items of business.
4. "must pass" bill A vitally important measure that Congress must enact, such as annual money bills to fund operations of the government.
5. 'Legal Document Repository' or 'Litigation Document Repository' An electronic system for data retrieval of documents in connection with litigation. Features may include external hosting, search, retrieval and security.
6. 30(b)(6) Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b)(6), a corporation, partnership, association, or governmental agency is subject to the deposition process, and…
7. 341 meeting The meeting of creditors required by section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code at which the debtor is questioned under oath by creditors, a trustee, examiner, or…
8. A contrario Argument based on contract.
9. A datu From the date.
10. A fortiori With greater force.
11. A maximis ad minima From the greatest to the least.
12. A priori From something previously determined.
13. Ab initio From the beginning.
14. ABA # American Bankers Association number - often referred to as the "transit routing number", is the nine (9) digit electronic address of a financial…
15. abandonment Process by which the debtors estate would not benefit by the sale of certain property so the trustee will turn it back over to the debtor.
16. Abandonment of Invention To relinguish rights in an invention. In the U.S., an invention is considered to be abandoned, if within a reasonable time after the invention is…
17. Abandonment of Patent Application To relinquish, either by express abandonment or by inaction, a patent application.
18. abandonment of property Trustees declaration that the trustee has no interest in certain property because of lack of value, debtors exemption, or because it is burdensome to the…
19. ABC activity based cost accounting - an accrual-based accounting method for determining unit-based costs of delivering services by allocating the costs to…
20. Ablate Describes the process by which laser-readable pits are burned into the recorded layer of optical discs, DVD-ROMs and CD-ROMs.
21. Ablative Unalterable data. See Ablate.
22. ABM activity based management - a management methodology that combines ABC with business process analysis techniques to run, improve and measure performance…
23. Abogado designado Un abogado designado por el tribunal para representar a un demandado o acusado sin costo.
24. Absence d'esprit Absence of mind.
25. Absolute Certainty ultimate sureness with no implication of possible change.
26. Absolute divorce a divorce in which the marriage is completely dissolved and both parties become single.
27. Absolute Novelty A requirement of some patent offices (but not the USPTO) that public disclosure or sale of an invention anywhere in the world cannot occur prior to the…
28. absolute priority rule Requirement that a certain class of creditors be satisfied before payment to another class of creditors.
29. Absolver Un veredicto emitido por el jurado de un juicio o por un juez que decide que una persona no es culpable de un delito.
30. ABSS Automated Biotechnology Sequence Search See PSIPS to access sequence searching online
31. Abstract of the Disclosure A concise statement of the technical disclosure including that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains -- see MPEP 608.01(b) for more
32. Abstract of Title A historical summary provided by a title insurance company of all records affecting the title to a property.
33. Abuse of Discretion An appellate court uses this standard of review where a party may argue that a lower court’s decision was greatly unsound, unreasonable, or illegal.
34. Abuse of Privilege Formal nomenclature for user actions not in accordance with organizational policy or law.
35. Accelerant an agent, often an ignitable liquid, that acts to initiate a fire or increase its rate of spread.
36. acceleration clause A clause that allows a lender to declare the entire outstanding balance of a loan immediately due and payable should a borrower violate specific loan…
37. Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual This manual lists numerous examples of identifications of goods and services that are acceptable to the USPTO for inclusion in trademark applications and…
38. Acceptance The written approval of the buyer's offer by the seller.
39. Acceptance of service Acceptance of service is an agreement by a defendant (or his/her attorney) in a legal action to accept a complaint or other petition (like divorce papers)…
40. Acción, demanda Una demanda legal de un derecho que se afirma entablando una causa en un tribunal.
41. Accomplice 1. A partner in a crime. 2. A person who knowingly and voluntarily participates with another in a criminal activity.
42. Accountability The principle that individuals using a facility or a computer system must be identifiable.
43. Accuracy Department of Defense parlance for the notion that information has been maintained and transferred in such a way as to be inviolate (the information has…
44. Acetate-base film A safety film (ANSI Standard) substrate used to produce microfilm.
45. Acetone a colorless, highly flammable chemical compound used as an organic solvent, an ingredient in many lacquer thinner compounds and adhering liquids.
46. ACH Automated Clearing House - a nationwide batch-oriented electronic funds transfer system governed by the NACHA (National Automated Clearing House…
47. Acknowledgment 1. A formal declaration before an authorized official by the person who executed an instrument that it is his/her free act and deed. 2.
48. ACL (access control list) A security type used by Lotus Notes developers to grant varying levels of access and user privileges within Lotus Notes databases.
49. Acordar, estar de Acuerdo La opinión del juez de un tribunal de apelaciones que concuerda con la decisión emitida por otro juez por las mismas o diferentes razones.
50. Acquit To find a criminal defendant not guilty through a verdict or because the evidence is insufficient, or because the charges have been dropped or dismissed.
51. Acquittal A release, absolution or discharge of an obligation or liability. In criminal law, the finding of not guilty.
52. Act The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and any amendments to it.
53. Action Case, cause, suit or controversy disputed or contested before a court.
54. Active Data Active data is information residing on the direct access storage media of computer systems, which is readily visible to the operating system and/or…
55. active inducement to infringe One may be held liable for patent infringement as a result of actively encouraging another to infringe if such other does infringe, even though the…
56. Active Records Active Records are those Records related to current, ongoing or in-process activities and are referred to on a regular basis to respond to day-to-day…
57. Actual Level of Redeployment The actual amount of FTE officers that the grantee will realize because of the time savings generated from the technology or civilian personnel funded by…
58. Acusación formal, pliego acusatorio Acusacion formal de un delito presentada por escrito y emitida por voto de un gran jurado.
59. Ad curiam Before the court; to the court.
60. Ad damnum To the damage.
61. Ad finem To the end; at the end.
62. Ad hoc For this purpose or occasion.
63. Ad infinitum To infinity.
64. Ad libitum (Abbr. ad lib) At will.
65. Ad litem For purpose of the suit or action.
66. Ad rem To the thing at hand.
67. Ad valorem To the value.
68. ADC Analog to Digital converter. Converts analog data to a digital format.
69. Addendum An addition to the presentence report prepared by the probation officer. The addendum includes any objections to the report raised by the parties and…
70. Addendum (Pl. addenda) Something added; appendix or supplement.
71. Additur An increase by a judge in the amount of damages awarded by a jury.
72. address Addresses using a number of different protocols are commonly used on the Internet.
73. adequate protection The standard of protection of the interest of a creditor which must be provided by the trustee or debtor in possession before the creditors interest can…
74. ADF Automatic Document Feeder. This is the means by which a scanner feeds the paper document.
75. adjourn A motion to adjourn in the Senate (or a committee) ends that day's session.
76. adjourn for more than 3 days Under the Constitution, neither chamber may adjourn for more than three days without the approval of the other.
77. adjournment sine die The end of a legislative session "without day." These adjournments are used to indicate the final adjournment of an annual or the two-year session of a…
78. adjournment to a day and time certain An adjournment of the Senate that fixes the day and time for its next session.
79. Adjudication 1. Giving or pronouncing a judgment or decree. 2. The judgment given.
80. Adjusted offense level In guidelines sentencing, the base offense level assigned by the sentencing guidelines to a particular offense is expressed as a number.
81. Adjustment In guidelines sentencing, a defendant's base offense level may be adjusted upward or downward.
82. Administrative (or Laboratory Director) Case File Review a detailed final review of the case file documentation. A member other than the assigned analyst must conduct the Laboratory Director case file review on…
83. Administrative agencies Agencies created by the legislative branch of government to administer laws pertaining to specific areas such as social security, taxes, transportation…
84. Administrative Agency A federal, state or local government body responsible for applying or enforcing a particular type of law.
85. administrative claim Claims for reasonable and necessary expenses and fees incurred in the administration of an estate.
86. Administrative documentation records such as case related conversations, evidence receipts, description of evidence packaging and seals, and other pertinent information.
87. Administrative Instructions set out the provisions and requirements in relation to the filing and processing of the international (patent) application under the PCT and are…
88. Administrator Administrator means the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor, and such authorized representatives as may be designated to…
89. Admiralty law Also, maritime law. That body of law relating to ships, shipping, marine commerce and navigation; the transportation of persons or property by sea, etc.
90. Admissible Evidence that is relevant to the case, and is material, will be usually be permitted to be presented to the jury in most instances.
91. Admissible evidence Evidence that can be legally and properly introduced in a civil or criminal trial.
92. Admissions by Applicant A statement by an applicant for patent that can or is used to deny the patentability of an invention, in some cases regardless of whether the statement is…
93. Admonish To advise or caution. For example, the court may admonish counsel for improper actions.
94. Admortization Amortization.
95. Adobe Acrobat The leading program for creating and viewing PDF files. Acrobat is available in several versions, including Acrobat, a free viewer and Acrobat…
96. ADS Application Data Sheet
97. Adultery Adultery means consensual sexual relations when one of the participants is legally married to another.
98. Advance sheets Paperback pamphlets published by legal publishers periodically which contain cases.
99. Adversarial System This is the method American courts use to arrive a resolution in a legal case. The parties in a case tell their sides of a case to a judge and/or jury who…
100. adversary proceeding A lawsuit arising in or related to a bankruptcy case that is commenced by filing a complaint with the court.