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Most Popular Legal Definitions

terrorism

Violence against a civilian intended to intimidate a population or a government from taking or abstaining from an act.

administer

1) To conduct the duties of a job or position 2) To manage the affairs of the estate of a person who has died under supervision of the local court 3) To give an oath, as in "administer the oath"

legislative branch

The elected law-making branch of government.

sexual orientation

An individual's preference in terms of sexual relationships with others.

movable

Civil law: things not attached to land and which may be carried from place to place.

bona fide purchaser

commonly called BFP in legal and banking circles; a person who has purchased an asset for stated value, innocent of any fact which would cast doubt on the right of the seller to have sold it in good faith. This is vital if the true owner shows up to claim title, since the BFP will be able to keep the asset, and the real owner will have to look to the fraudulent seller for 
recompense.

acceleration clause

most often found in promissory notes for installment payments of real property, it requires that the property be sold and the resulting amount of the note be due immediately

character witness

A person who testifies testifies in a trial on behalf of a person (usually a criminal defendant) as to that person's good ethical qualities and morality both by the personal knowledge of the witness and the person's reputation in the community.

exhibit

A document or object shown to the court as evidence in a trial

fourteenth amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution as a part of the Civil War amendments designed to give full civil and legal rights to slaves, incorporated the Bill of Rights into state law, created the due process clause, and is known as the greatest expansion of individual rights since the Bill of Rights