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Most Popular Legal Definitions
appellate court
court of appeals which hears appeals from lower court decisions
vigilante
Someone who takes the law into his/her own hands by trying or punishing another
person without any legal authority.
mercy
to be placed at the discretion of a judge in relation to punishable offenses
circuit courts
A movable court in which the judge holds court sessions at several different
locations for pre-specified periods of time. In effect, the judge "rides the
circuit" from town to town and takes the "court" with him. Formerly, the Federal
District Courts of Appeal were called the Circuit Courts of Appeal.
amortalization
periodic payment plan to pay a debt in which the interest and a portion of the
principal are included in each payment by an established mathematical formula;
by figuring the interest on the declining principal and the number of years of
the loan, the monthly payments are averaged and determined; since the main
portion of the early payments is interest, the principal does not decline
rapidly until the latter stages of the loan term; if the amortization leaves a
principal balance at the close of the time for repayment, this final lump sum is
called a "balloon" payment
distraint
The right of a landlord to seize the property of
a tenant which is in the premises being rented, as collateral against a tenant
that has not paid the rent or has otherwise defaulted on
the lease, such as wanton
disrepair or destruction of the premises.bilateral contract
an agreement in which the parties exchange promises for each to do something in
the future
preliminary hearing
the initial hearing at which the prosecutor
presents applicable evidence to a judge to show probable cause for the arrest
and that the individual committed a crime; can also refer to any court
proceeding that occurs before an actual trial
in pari delicto
Latin for 'both parties are at fault.'
censure
1) to provide judgment 2) placing blame or condemnation