CLA Exam 2006
Terms
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- a fortiori
- with stronger reason
- a priori
- from what goes before; from the cause to the effect
- ab initio
- from the beginning
- actiones in personam
- personal actions
- ad curiam
- before the court, to the court
- ad damnum clause
- to the damage, clause of complaint which states plaintiff's monetary loss
- ad faciendum
- to do
- ad hoc
- for this purpose, for this occasion
- ad litem
- for the suit; for the litigation (a guardian ad litem, for example)
- ad rem
- to the thing at hand
- ad valorem
- according to the value (an ad valorem tax for example)
- adversus
- against (defendant adv. plaintiff)
- aggregatio menium
- meeting of minds (relates to formation of contracts)
- alias dictus
- otherwise called, also known as (as in an assumed name)
- alibi
- in another place, elsehwere
- aliunde
- from another place, from without (as in evidence outside the document)
- alter ego
- the other self
- amicus curiae
- friend of the court (as an amicus curiae brief filed with the appellate court)
- animo
- with intention, disposition, design, will
- animus
- mind, intention
- ante litem motam
- before suit brought, before litigation is filed
- arguendo
- in the course of the argument, for the sake of argument
- assumpsit
- he undertook, he promised
- bona fide
- good faith
- capias
- take, arrest
- capita
- persons, heads
- causa mortis
- by reason of death
- caveat
- beware, a warning
- caveat emptor
- let the buyer beware
- certiorari
- send the pleadings up (fro an inferior cour to a superior court; U.S. Supreme Court uses writ of certiorari)
- cestui
- beneficiaries
- cestui que trust
- beneficiaries of the trust
- circa
- in the area of, about, concerning
- compos mentis
- of sound mind
- consortium
- union of lots or changes; conjugal fellowship of husband and wife
- contra
- against
- coram nobis
- before us ourselves
- corpus
- body
- corpus delicti
- body of the offense; essense of the crime
- cum testamento annexo
- with the will annexed
- datum (pl., data)
-
a thing given; information
a date - de facto
- in fact, in deed, actually
- de jure
- of right, lawful
- de novo
- anew, afresh
- de son tort
- of his own wrong
- dies non
- not a day
- duces tecum
- bring with you (as in subpoena duces tectum, whereby subpoenaed person must appear and bring records)
- dum bene se gesserit
- while he shall conduct himself, during good behavior
- e converso
- conversely, on the other hand
- en banc
- in the bench, all judges present (a three-judge panel sits individually or en banc)
- eo instanti
- upon the instant
- erratum (pl. errata)
- error
- et alii
- and others (as in Smith, et al. v. Jones)
- et sequentia
- and as follows (et seq.)
- et ux
- and wife
- et vir
- and husband
- ex delicto
- (arising) from a tort
- ex gratia
- as a matter of favor
- es officio
- from office, by virtue of his office
- ex parte
- one side only, by or for one party only
- ex post facto
- after the fact
- facto
- in fact, in or by the law
- felonice
- feloniously
- fiat
- let it be done, a short order that a thing be done
- fieri
- to be made up, to become
- fieri facias
- cause to be made
- flagrante delicto
- in the very act of committing the crime
- forum non conveniens
- discretionary power of a court to decline jurisdiction over a case when the court believes it should be tired elsewhere for convenience of parties and witnesses
- gravis
- serious, of importance
- habeas corpus
- you have the body
- habendum clause
- that part of deed which begins "to have and to hold"; defines extent of ownership
- honorarium
- honorary fee or gift; compensation from gratitude
- idem
- the same as above (id.)
- idem sonans
- having the same sound (as names sounding alike but spelled differently)
- in curia
- in court
- in esse
- in being, existence
- in forma pauperis
- permissiongiven to a poor person to sue without liability for court costs
- infra
- beneath; below
- in limine
- at the beginning; threshold
- in loco parentis
- in place of a parent, on charged with parent's rights and obligations
- in pari delicto
- in equal fault
- in personam
- personally, against the person
- in praesenti
- at once; now
- in re
- in the matter
- in rem
- proceedings against a thing (a bank account or real estate) distinguished from those against a person
- in specie
- in the same or in similara form
- instanter
- immediately
- inter alia, inter alios
- among other things, between other persons
- inter se
- among themselves
- inter vivos
- between the living, from one person to another
- in toto
- in the whole, completely
- in transitu
- in transit
- intra
- within, inside
- ipse dixit
- he himself said (it), as an assertion made but not proved
- ipso facto
- by the fact itself
- ita est
- so it is
- jura personarum
- right of a person, rights of persons
- jura rerum
- rights of things
- jure divino
- by divine right
- jure uxoris
- in his wife's right
- jus (pl. jura)
- law; right; laws collectively
- jus ad rem
- a right to a thing
- jus commune
- the common law, the common right
- jus gentium
- the law of nations, international law
- just habendi
- the right to have a thing
- jus tertii
- the right of a third party; the rights of another person
- levari facias
- cause to be levied, a writ of execution
- lex
- law
- lex loci
- law of the place wheree the cause of action arose
- lis pendens
- litigation pending, as in a lis pendens filed with real estate records
- locus delicti
- the place of the crime or of the tort
- locus sigilli (L.S.)
- the place for the seal
- mala
- bad
- mala fides
- bad faith
- mala in se
- wrong in itself, an act which is morally wrong
- mala praxis
- malpractice
- mala prohibita
- acts declared as criminal by statute (failure to file a report), though not wrong in themselves (theft)
- malo animo
- with evil intent
- mandamus
- we command, a writ used to compel offical to perform an act which she is required to perform
- manu forti
- with a strong hand, forcible entry
- mens rea
- guilty mind, most crimes require the element of intent (mens rea)
- nihil dicit
- he says nothing, as in a default judgment against a defendant who does not raise a defense in the action
- nil
- nothing, of not account
- nil debet
- he owes nothing
- nisi prius
- unless before (used to distinquish the court where trial was held from the appellate court)
- nolle prosequi
- unwilling to prosecute (a crime), prosecutor's discretion not to file charges in a particular case
- nolo contendere
- I will not contest it
- non
- not
- non assumpsit
- plea in defense; that he did not promise
- non compos mentis
- not of sound mind
- non est factum
- it is not his deed
- non obstante
- notwithstanding
- non sequitur
- it does not follow
- nota bene (N.B.)
- note well; take notice
- nuncum pactum
- nude pact, bare agreement which lacks the consideration to form a valid contract
- nul tort
- no wrong done
- nulla bona
- no goods (wording used to the return of a writ fieri facias)
- nunc pro tunc
- now for then, as in an order nunc pro tunc to correct clerical error in a previous order
- obiter dictum
- remark which is not central to the main issue
- onus probandi
- the burden of proof
- opus (pls., opera)
- work, labor
- ore tenus
- by word of mouth, orally, as in a motion ore tenus
- pari delicto
- in equal guilt
- pari passue
- by equal progress, ratably, equitably, without preference
- pater familias
- father of the family
- peculium
- private property
- pendens
- pending
- pendente lite
- pending the suit, during litigation
- per annum
- annual, by the year
- per capita
- by the head, equally shared
- per contra
- in opposition
- per curiam
- by the court
- per diem
- by the day
- per se
- by itself, taken alone
- per stirpes
- by representation, by the roots or stocks for purposes of inheritance
- post
- after, later
- post-factum
- after the fact, after the even
- post-obit
- to take effect after death
- praecipe
- writ commanding aperson to do some act or to appear and show cause why she shold not do so
- prima facie
- at first sight, on the fact of it
- pro bono
- free of charge; without cost
- pro forma
- as a matter of form
- pro hac vice
- for this occasion
- pro rata
- according to the rate or proportion
- pro se
- appearing for oneself; personally
- pro tanto
- for so much, to that extent
- pro tempore
- for the time being, temporarily
- prochein ami
- next friend
- publici juris
- of public right
- pur autre vie
- for or during the life of another
- quaere
- question, doubt
- quantum
- how much, the amount
- quare
- wherefore
- quare clausum fregit
- breaking the close, trespass
- quasi
- as if, as if it were
- quid pro quo
- what for what, something for something (as in consideration for a contract)
- quo warranto
- by what right or authority
- res
- thing, object, subject matter
- res gestae
- things done, excited utterance
- res ipsa loquitur
- the thing speaks for itself
- res judicata
- a thing (matter) adjudged
- respondeat superior
- let the master answer
- scienter
- knowledge, awareness
- scilicet
- to wit, that is to sasy, namely (SS or ss)
- scintilla
- a spark, the least particle
- scire facias
- cause to know, give notice (write used to receive a judgment that has expired)
- secundum
- according to
- se defendendo
- in self-defense
- semper
- always
- seriatim
- severally, separately
- sic
- thus, so, in such manner (used to indicate an error in original, quoted material)
- sigillum
- a seal
- sine
- without
- sine die
- without a day, without a specific day assigned for a future meeting
- sine qua non
- that without which a thing cannot occur; indispensable condition or part
- stare decisis
- to abide by decided cases
- status quo
- state in which, present state
- sua sponte
- voluntarily, of his own will and motion
- sub nomine
- under the name of, in the name of, under the title of
- sub silentio
- under silence, without any notice being taken
- sui generis
- of its own kind or class, the only one of a kind, unique
- sui juris
- of his own right, having legal capacity to act for himself
- supersedeas
- superseding (as in the bond that accompanies a writ commanding a stay of proceedings pending appeal)
- supra
- above, cited in full above
- tenere
- to hold, to keep
- terminus a quo
- the starting point
- ultra
- beyond, in excess of, outside of
- ultra vires
- without power, beyond the powers of
- venire facias
- tht you cause to come, a type of summons
- versus
- against (plaintiff v. defendant)
- videlicet (viz.)
- it is easy to see, that is to say, namely
- vi et armis
- by force and arms
- vis-a-vis
- one who (that which) in face to face with another
- vivos
- living
- voir dire
- to speak the truth, the process used to select jurors
- abatement
- reduction, termination
- abrogation
- annulment of a former law by act of a legislative body, by constitutional authority, or by usage
- acceptance
- in contract law, consent to abide by the terms of the offer
- accession
- that which increases the size or value of property
- accommodation
- arrangement made as a favor to another rather than for consideration received
- acknowledgement
- an admission, affirmation, or declaration
- acquittal
- release or discharge of an obligation or liability; in criminal law, a finding of not guilty
- ademption
- satisfaction of a legacy by gift prior to testator's death
- adhesion contract
- standardized contract form in which a party with little or no bargaining power is forced to accept its terms
- adjudication
- judgment or decision of a court
- administrative law
- body or rules and regulations having the force of law and promulgated by an administrative body created by Congress or a state legislature
- adverse possession
- acquiring title to real estate by hostile possession rather than by purchase
- affiant
- one who makes or swears to the truth of an affidavit
- affirmative defense
- allegation of a responsive pleading which, if it can be proved, negates the allegations of the complaint
- agent
- person authorized by another to act for him, one entrusted with another's business
- agreement
- meeting of the minds, preliminary to contract formation
- allegation
- assertion made but not proved
- amortization
- gradual extinction of a monetary obligation by periodic payments that usually includes interest
- amnesty
- sovereign forgetfulness of past acts, usually available for a limited time
- ancillary
- auziliary, supplemental, subordinate
- annotation
- remark, note, or commentary intended to illustrate or explain
- annul
- cancel, make void, destroy
- answer
- written pleading by which a defendant responds to the plaintiff's complaint
- antitrust laws
- federal and state laws to prevent restraint of trade, price fixing, price discrimination, monopolies, or other conduct detrimental to free commerce
- appeal
- review by a higher court
- appellant
- party who files an appeal
- appellee
- party who defends and appeal
- appraisal
- valuation of estimate of property value, made by qualified expert
- arbitration
- investigation and determination of dispute by neutral decision-maker; decision binding on parties
- arraignment
- in criminal law, hearing at which accused pleads guilty or not guilty