Legal Latin Terms
Terms
undefined, object
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- ipso facto
- by the fact itself
- persona non grata
- an unwelcome person
- prima facie
- at first sight (face)
- ab initio
- from the beginning
- absolvo
- I acquit
- sine die
- without a day (set for reconvening)
- ad hoc
- to this purpose-used for temporary committees which serve a particular purpose and are then disbanded
- ad litem
- to the lawsuit-for the purposes of a single lawsuit
- sui generis
- of one's own kind; unique
- res adjudicata
- a thing having been settled; a matter which has been settled by a competent court
- post mortem
- after death
- a posteriori
- from what comes after; reasoning from specific facts to general principals; inductive reasoning
- a priori
- from what comes before-reasoning in which consequences are deduced from principals that are assumed; deductive reasoning
- a mensa et toro
- from table and bed-a legal separation
- amicus curiae
- a friend of the court- a pserson not party to a lawsuit who gives advice to the court
- a vinculo matrimonii
- from the bond of marriage-an absolute divorce
- ante bellum
- before the war
- bona fide
- in good faith-genuine, done honestly
- cadit quaestio
- the question falls-the central idea of an arguement or legal case collapses
- casus belli
- cause of war-a justification for making war
- caveat emptor
- let the buyer beware
- sine qua non
- without which not-a necessary item or condition
- certiorari
- to be made more certain-name given to a writ calling for a transcript from a lower court
- compos mentis
- sound of mind-legally sane
- non compos mentis
- not sound of mind-legally insane
- contra bonos mores
- against good morals-against the best interests of society
- coram iudice
- before the judge
- corpus iuris
- body of law
- cui bono
- to whom for a benefit-who stands to gain?
- corrigenda
- that which is to be corrected-items to be corrected
- cum grano salis
- with a grain of salt-with a bit of healthy scepticism
- de facto
- according to fact-in reality
- de iure
- according to law
- deus ex machina
- a god from a machine-an unlikely but timely intervention that resolves all difficulty
- Anno Domini
- in the year of our Lord, the common era
- annus mirabilis
- a remarkable year
- (argumentum) ad hominem
- an appeal to feelings rather than intellect
- e pluribus unum
- one out of many
- et al.
- and others
- et ux
- and wife
- in camera
- in the room, chamber-in the judge's chambers or in a closed courtroom with public and press excluded
- in aeternum
- forever
- in flagrante delicto
- in blazing crime; caught red-handed
- in extremis
- at the point of death
- in loco parentis
- in the place of a parent
- in re
- in the matter of
- per se
- through itself-in and of itself
- inter vivos
- between the living-designates a gift given during the parties' lifetime
- in toto
- in the whole, entirely
- mala fide
- in bad faith
- modus operandi
- method of operating; the pattern a criminal follows
- ne plus ultra
- not more beyond-the ultimate, the highest attainable point
- nolo contendere
- I do not wish to contend- a plea made by a defendant who admists no guilt but presents no defense against the charges
- nunc for tunc
- now for then-a retroactive wage settlement
- obiter dictum
- having been said along the way (journey)-an incidental remark made by the judge that has no actual legal bearing
- onus probandi
- burden of proving-burden of proof
- pendente lite
- while the uit is pending-ablative absolute used as an ADVERB
- lis pendens
- a pending law suit-used as a NOUN
- per annum
- per year
- per diem
- per day
- per capitia
- per heads-individually
- post scriptum
- after having been written; written afterwards
- post partum
- after childbirth
- pro bono publico
- for the public good-legal work done without a fee
- pro forma
- for form-as a formality
- quid pro quo
- what for what-soemthing for something; an exchange, sometimes said of a ple bargain
- qui tacet consentit
- he who is silent consents-silence implies consent
- rara avis
- a rare bird-a rarity
- res ipsa loquitur
- the thing speaks for itself-the facts are obvious
- (defunctus) sine prole
- (dead) without issue-said of one deceased with no children to serve as heirs
- ultra vires
- beyond the powers-acting beyond one's legal authority
- habeas corpus
- you may have the body- a legal doctrine that requires a person to be charged within a reasonable time or released
- sui juris
- of his or her own right, of full legal capacity
- mandamus
- we command-a type of writ ordering that something be done
- per stirpes
- per branch or stem
- in terrorem
- to the terror, for the purposes of frightening
- stare decisis (et non quieta movere)
- to stand on what has been decided-to stick to the legal precedent
- ex officio
- out of one's office, by virtue of holding an office
- ex post facto
- from after the fact-retroactively
- in propria persona
- in one's own person, representing one's self
- corpus delicti
- body of the crime-evidence that a crime has been committed