Sentencing guidelines A set of rules and principles established by the United States Sentencing Commission that trial judges use to determine the sentence for a convicted defendant. Secured creditor A secured creditor is an individual or business that holds a claim against the debtor that is secured by a lien on property of the estate. The property subject to the lien is the secured creditor’s collateral.
History of Black’s Law Dictionary
The judges who did not agree with the majority may write separately in dissenting or concurring opinions to present their views. A dissenting opinion disagrees with the majority opinion because of the reasoning and/or the principles of law the majority used to decide the case. A concurring opinion agrees with the decision of the majority opinion, but offers further comment or clarification or even an entirely different reason for reaching the same result. Only the majority opinion can serve as binding precedent in future cases. Objection to exemptions A trustee’s or creditor’s objection to the debtor’s attempt to claim certain property as exempt from liquidation by the trustee to creditors.
Although not technically a legal dictionary,Words and Phrasesalso provides definitions of legal terms. Read more about understanding the law here. Whereas legal dictionaries provide definitions taken from a variety of sources, Words and Phrases provides definitions taken almost exclusively from court opinions.
Party in interest A party who has standing to be heard by the court in a matter to be decided in the bankruptcy case. The debtor, U.S. trustee or bankruptcy administrator, case trustee, and creditors are parties in interest for most matters. Equitable Pertaining to civil suits in “equity” rather than in “law.” In English legal history, the courts of “law” could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy .
Court reporter A person who makes a word-for-word record of what is said in court, generally by using a stenographic machine, shorthand or audio recording, and then produces a transcript of the proceedings upon request. Conviction A judgment of guilt against a criminal defendant. Contract An agreement between two or more people that creates an obligation to do or not to do a particular thing. Consumer bankruptcy A bankruptcy case filed to reduce or eliminate debts that are primarily consumer debts. Confirmation Approval of a plan of reorganization by a bankruptcy judge. Case file A complete collection of every document filed in court in a case.
Westlaw Conduct legal research efficiently and confidently using trusted content, proprietary editorial enhancements, and advanced technology. Temporary restraining order Akin to a preliminary injunction, it is a judge’s short-term order forbidding certain actions until a full hearing can be conducted. Subordination The act or process by which a person’s rights or claims are ranked below those of others. Senior judge A federal judge who, after attaining the requisite age and length of judicial experience, takes senior status, thus creating a vacancy among a court’s active judges. A senior judge retains the judicial office and may cut back his or her workload by as much as 75 percent, but many opt to keep a larger caseload. Probation officer Officers of the probation office of a court. Probation officer duties include conducting presentence investigations, preparing presentence reports on convicted defendants, and supervising released defendants.
Words that may be confused with law
Exculpatory evidence Evidence indicating that a defendant did not commit the crime. En banc French, meaning “on the bench.” All judges of an appellate court sitting together to hear a case, as opposed to the routine disposition by panels of three judges. In the Ninth Circuit, an en banc panel consists of 11 randomly selected judges. Default judgment A judgment awarding a plaintiff the relief sought in the complaint because the defendant has failed to appear in court or otherwise respond to the complaint. De novo Latin, meaning “anew.” A trial de novo is a completely new trial. Appellate review de novo implies no deference to the trial judge’s ruling. Damages Money that a defendant pays a plaintiff in a civil case if the plaintiff has won.
Law dictionary
Parties to a contract can limit the amount each might owe the other, but cannot contract away the rights of a third party to make a claim. The Law Dictionary is your free online legal dictionary featuring Black’s Law Dictionary, the trusted source of law definitions and terms for over 100 years. The 2nd edition has over 15,000 legal terms for your business and research use. Unlike a law dictionary, which arranges and defines legal words and phrases individually and in alphabetical order, a legal terminology textbook arranges and defines legal words and phrases in groups and by topic. As a result, a student or other person interested in understanding an array of related legal words and phrases may prefer to use a legal terminology textbook instead. Wage garnishment A nonbankruptcy legal proceeding whereby a plaintiff or creditor seeks to subject to his or her claim the future wages of a debtor. In other words, the creditor seeks to have part of the debtor’s future wages paid to the creditor for a debt owed to the creditor.
If you have it, consider whether the benefits will be taxable or tax-free. That can make a big difference in how far the payments go. GettyWhat is taxed and what isn’t can be confusing. In the case of disability pay, whether it is taxed or not usually depends on who paid for the disability insurance coverage.
Mathematics A general principle or rule that is assumed or that has been proven to hold between expressions. A code of principles based on morality, conscience, or nature.