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Most Popular Legal Definitions
summons
a document issued by the court at the time a lawsuit is filed, stating the name
of both plaintiff and defendant, the title and file number of the case, the
court and its address, the name and address of the plaintiff's attorney, and
instructions as to the need to file a response to the complaint within a certain
time.
presumption of innocence
Synonymous with the phrase "innocent until proven guilty." It is a legal
presumption that the defendant in a criminal case is innocent until the
prosecutor proves their guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
abduction
The criminal taking of a person by persuasion, by fraud, or by open force of
violence.
thirteenth amendment
part of the Civil War amendments, explicitly prohibits the institution of
slavery
seisin
The legal possession of property. In law, the term refers more specifically to
the possession of land by a freeholder.
defamatory libel
deliberate publication of defamatory lies which
the publisher knows to be false
conveyance
a written document which transfers property from one person to another, usually
real property
state
A term of international law: those groups of
people which have acquired international recognition as an independent country
and which have four characteristics.
statute of uses
A 1535 English law that prevented, for a time, the legal structure of a
use.
minutes
The official record of a meeting.