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Legal Term Glossary

General Legal Terms

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Glossaries

Term Main definition
Remand

To send back; an appellate court may remand a case to the trial court for retrial or other action.

Res Judicata

A thing adjudged. Once a particular case or controversy has been judicially decided in a legal proceeding, it is final and cannot be heard again.

Rest

A person is said to rest or rest its case when it has presented all of the evidence it intends to offer.

Restitution

Criminal: Payment of money to reimburse the economic loss suffered by the victim because of the actions of the defendant.

Eviction: An enforcement order of an eviction. After a specified period of time if a tenant who has been evicted stays on the property a writ of restitution allows a sheriff or constable to remove the tenant from the property and allows the landlord to change the locks on the residence.

Synonyms - Writ of Restitution
Retention

The electoral process by which voters decide whether judges will continue to serve another term in their current judicial capacity.

Reverse

Decision of an appellate court to change all or part of the decision of a lower court.

Sentence

Punishment set by the court within the range of punishments authorized by statute.

Settlement

An agreement that provides satisfaction to one or both individuals in a civil lawsuit in return for dismissal of the case.

Small Claims Court

Special division court at each justice court to legally resolve claims that do not exceed $3,500. The proceedings are less formal than in other types of courts and individuals usually represent themselves.

Statute

Law enacted by the Legislature and published as the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.).

Subpoena

An order to compel someone to come to a court at a certain date and time; there are penalties if that person does not come to court.  Subpoena duces tecum is the technical name for a subpoena for production of evidence.

Synonyms - Subpoena duces tecum
Summons

A document given to a sheriff or other officer that tells the person named in the summons that a lawsuit has been started against them in court, and what day and time they have to show up at court.

Supersedeas Bond

A bond or amount of money, usually the amount of the judgment, that stays with the court while an appeal is in process.

Testimony

Statements made by witnesses who have taken an oath or affirmed that they will tell the truth.

Transcript

Official written, word-for-word record of court proceedings.

Trial

Formal presentation of facts to a court or jury to reach a legal decision.

Trial de Novo

A new trial that is held upon appeal from a non-record court, or from appeal of an arbitration award.

True Bill

An indictment by a grand jury.

Trust

Handing over property or money to one person, to be held for the benefit of another person.

Unbundled Legal Services

A form of legal representation where the case is broken up into segments and the attorney and client agree that the attorney will only provide assistance for designated parts of the case instead of full representation. This method is cheaper than full representation and places the responsibility of  handling the case back on the client.

Synonyms - Limited Scope Representation

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