General Legal Terms

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

An indictment by a grand jury.

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

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.