Glossary
This glossary may be used to find the definitions of many legal terms.
In many instances, there are synonyms and plain language options provided for the terms.
You may search within this glossary:
- by entering a term in the “Keyword Search” field.
- by choosing a “Type” from the drop-down list such as “Estate” or “Small Claims.”
- by choosing the beginning letter in the “Filter by Letter” drop-down list to display only the terms that start with that letter.
A combination of these search options can be used to provide a more defined result.
Note that this glossary may not contain all legal terms.
| Term | Definition | Plain Language | Synonyms | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concurrent sentence | Sentences for more than one crime in which the time of each is to be served at the same time, rather than one after the other. | at the same time | combined sentence | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Condemnation | 1. The legal process by which real estate of a private owner is taken for public use without the owner's consent, but upon the award and payment of just compensation. 2. A special proceeding at law to determine on a single action the damages done by the taking of private property for public use. 3. Government taking of private land; eminent domain. | seize | government taking of private land; eminent domain | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | |
| Consecutive sentences | Two or more sentences which must be served one after the other. | one after another | back to back, continuing, sequential | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Contempt of court | An act to embarrass, obstruct, or lessen the authority or dignity of the court. | disobey a court order | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | ||
| Conviction | The finding that a person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of committing a crime. | guilty sentence | guilty sentence | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Corroborating evidence | Evidence supplementary to that already given and tending to strengthen or confirm it. | supporting evidence | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Costs | Fees and charges that a party pays to file and present a court case or to enforce a judgment; ordinarily does not include attorney's fees. | fees | fees, charges | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Counsel | (noun) A lawyer or group of lawyers. (verb) To give legal advice. | lawyer; legal advice | lawyer; legal advice | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Counterclaim | A claim presented by a defendant against the plaintiff in a civil action. | claim by a defendant | rebuttal, response, defense, come back, counter argument | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | |
| Court administrator | Manager of administrative, nonjudicial affairs of a court. | nonjudicial official | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Court of record | A court in which a permanent record of proceedings is made? a court having the power to fine or imprison for contempt. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |||
| Court reporter | A person who makes a word-for-word record of what is said in court, usually with a stenographic machine, shorthand or audio recording, and then produces a transcript of the proceedings upon request. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |||
| Crime | A behavior that has been defined by the state or a legislative body as deserving of punishment, which usually includes time in jail or prison, fines, or both. | violation, infraction, unlawful act | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Criminal insanity | Lack of mental capacity to do or abstain from doing a particular act? inability to distinguish right from wrong. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |||
| Cross examination | The questioning of a witness in a trial, or in the taking of a deposition, by the party opposed to the one who produced the witness. The testimony a witness gives when the other side's lawyer is questioning the witness. | questioning | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Custody | Detaining a person by lawful process and authority to assure his or her appearance at any hearing? the jailing or imprisonment of a person convicted of a crime. | detention; care | care, guardianship; detainment, imprisonment, jailed, incarceration | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Damages | Financial compensation claimed by or ordered paid to a person who has suffered injury or loss through the unlawful act or negligence of another. | reimbursement | Cost for problem, reimbursement, compensation | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| De novo | Latin for "anew." A trial de novo is a completely new trial. Over again; a second time. Start again from the beginning, do over. | new, new trial | new, new trial | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | |
| Declaratory judgment | 1. A judge's statement about someone's rights. For example, a plaintiff may seek a declaratory judgment that a particular statute, as written, violates some constitutional right. 2. A court's judgment that declares the rights of the parties or expresses the opinion of the court on a question of law without ordering anything to be done. | judge's statement about rights | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Decree | A decision or order of the court. A final decree is one which fully and finally disposes of the litigation? an interlocutory decree is a provisional or preliminary decree which is not final. | order | judgment, order, decision | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Default | The failure of a party to respond in a timely manner to a pleading? a failure to appear for trial. | miss | failing, oversight, miss | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Defendant | A person sued in a civil proceeding or accused in a criminal proceeding. | accused | litigant, offender | General Terms, Domestic Relations, Small Claims, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | |
| Deferred judgement probation | Upon satisfactory completion of the conditions of probation, the defendant or prosecutor may file a motion to withdraw any plea entered by the defendant and to dismiss the action without entry of judgment |
General Terms, News Reporter Guide | |||
| Demur | To file a pleading (called "a demurrer") admitting the truth of the facts in the complaint or answer, but contending they are legally insufficient. | challenge | object, challenge, dispute | General Terms, News Reporter Guide | |
| Denial | A statement by a defendant that an allegation (claim of fact) is not true. Once a denial is filed in a juvenile case, the state is required to prove the allegations by a preponderance of the evidence in most cases and by clear and convincing evidence in cases involving termination of parental rights. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide | |||
| Deposition | The testimony of a witness not taken in open court, but in pursuance of authority given by statute or rule of court to take testimony elsewhere. A written declaration under oath or a videotape taken under oath in accordance with procedures provided by law, made upon notice to the adverse party for the purpose of enabling him to attend and cross-examine, or made upon written interrogatories. | sworn statement away from court | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | ||
| Dictum (plural, dicta) | Comment within a published opinion which does not relate directly to the case at hand but illustrates or explains; it cannot be cited as precedent. Is included as "by the way" remark of the court. (Formally called "obiter dictum"; plural, "dicta"). | explanation | Unenforceable statement/opinion, explanation | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Direct evidence | 1. Real, tangible, or clear evidence of a fact or happening that requires no thinking or to prove its existence. 2. Proof of facts by witnesses who saw acts done or heard words spoken in relation to a matter directly in issue; as distinguished from circumstantial evidence. | proves a fact | General Terms, News Reporter Guide | ||
| Direct examination | The first interrogation of a witness called on behalf of a party. | first questioning | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Directed verdict | An instruction by the judge to the jury to return a specific verdict mandated by the evidence. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |||
| Discovery | 1. Gathering information (facts, documents, or testimony) before a case goes to trial through depositions, interrogatories, requests for admissions, or by talking with the other side's lawyer. 2. A proceeding where one party to an action may learn facts known by other parties or witnesses. | sharing information | Share Information | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | |
| Dissent | The explicit disagreement of one or more judges or a court with the decision of the majority. | disagreement | disagreement, disapproval, opposition | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Docket | A list of cases to be tried by a court. | schedule | list of cases, calendar, schedule | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Domestic relations | Proceedings involving marriage dissolution, separation, annulment, custody, visitation, child support and medical support; paternity determinations; domestic abuse protection orders; harassment protection orders. (§ 25-2740) |
family law | Court Reporting, Domestic Relations, General Terms, News Reporter Guide | ||
| Domicile | The place where a person has his or her true and permanent home; a person may have several residences, but only one domicile. The place at which a person regards as home; even though current residence may be elsewhere. | home | Home, permanent home, legal residence | General Terms, Guardian and Conservator, Estates, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Double jeopardy | More than one prosecution for the same crime, transaction or omission. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |||
| Due process | In criminal law, the constitutional guarantee that a defendant will receive a fair and impartial trial. In civil law, the legal rights of someone who confronts an adverse action threatening liberty or property. | fair trial or hearing | fair access to justice under the law | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| DWI | Driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs. | drunk driving | Driving While Intoxicated, DUI | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Eminent domain | The lawful power to take private property for public use by the process of condemnation. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |||
| En banc | "On the bench." All judges of a court sitting together to hear a case. | panel of judges | on the bench | General Terms, News Reporter Guide | |
| Enjoin | To require a person by order of the court to perform, to abstain or resist from some act. | order | order, command, decree, require | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Entrapment | The act of officers or agents of a government in inducing a person to commit a crime not contemplated by him or her for the purpose of instituting a criminal prosecution against that individual. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide | |||
| Escrow | A writing or deed delivered by the grantor into the hands of a third person, to be held by the latter until the happening of a contingency or performance of a condition. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide | |||
| Estoppel | A person's own act or acceptance of facts which preclude his or her later making claims to the contrary. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide | |||
| Evidence | 1. Information presented to a court to prove key facts, including witness testimony, documents, photos, government records, videos, laboratory reports, etc. 2. proof, written, oral, or visual, presented to support allegations in a case. | proof | proof | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Ex parte | A proceeding before a court with only one side present and without notification to the other side. By or for one party; done for, in behalf of, or on the application of one party only. | without all parties | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Exhibit | A paper, document or other article produced and exhibited to a court during a trial or hearing. | evidence | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | ||
| Expert evidence | Testimony given in relation to some scientific, technical or professional matter by experts? i.e., persons qualified to speak authoritatively by reason of their special training, skill or familiarity with the subject. | testimony by an expert | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Extradition | Bring someone in custody from one jurisdiction to another, as from one state to another state of Nebraska. The surrender by one state to another of an individual accused or convicted of an offense outside its own territory and within the territorial jurisdiction. | transfer from one place to another | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Felony | A crime of a graver nature than a misdemeanor? generally, an offense punishable by death or imprisonment in a penitentiary? in Nebraska, Class I through Class IV. | serious crime | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting |