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A
B C
D E
F G
H I
J K L
M N
O P
Q R
S T
U V
W X Y Z #
Click on the first letter of the word
from the list above to go to the appropriate section of
the glossary.
- D -
Damages: Money payment recovered in the courts for an
injury or loss caused by an unlawful act or omission or
negligence of another.
Decedent: A deceased person. Decision: The judgment
reached or given by a court of law.
Declaratory Judgment: Judicial adjudication of the
rights of the parties in a lawsuit made to clarify the
parties' legal positions.
Decree: An order of the court. A final decree is one
that fully and finally disposes of the litigation. An
interlocutory decree is a preliminary order that often
disposes of only part of a lawsuit.
Defamation: That which tends to injure a persons
reputation. Libel is published defamation, whereas
slander is spoken.
Default: A failure to respond to a lawsuit within the
specified time.
Default Judgment: A judgment entered against a party
who fails to appear in court or respond to the charges.
Defendant: In civil law, the party defending a
lawsuit ; the party against whom the plaintiff seeks to
recover damages from.
Demurrer: Defendant's claim that even if the
allegations in a complaint are true, they are not
sufficient to impose any liability on the defendant.
De Novo: A new. A trial de novo is a new trial of a
case.
Deposition: Testimony of a witness taken under oath,
but not in a courtroom. May be used to discover evidence
prior to trial or to preserve testimony for use in court
at a later time.
Deponent: The person who testifies at a deposition.
Descent and Distribution Statutes: State laws that
provide for the distribution of estate property of a
person who dies without a will. Same as intestacy laws.
Dicta: Plural of "obiter dictum." A remark
made by a judge in a legal opinion that is irrelevant to
the decision and does not establish a precedent.
Directed Verdict: Now called Judgment as a matter of
Law. An instruction by the judge to the jury to return a
specific verdict.
Direct Evidence: Generally, eyewitness evidence.
Compare with circumstantial evidence.
Direct Examination: The first questioning of
witnesses by the party on whose behalf they are called.
Disability: In the legal sense, lack of legal
capacity to perform some act. Used in a physical sense
in connection with workers' compensation acts and is a
composite of (a) actual incapacity to perform employment
tasks and the wage loss resulting therefrom and (b)
physical bodily impairment which may or may not be
incapacitating.
Disbarment: Form of discipline of a lawyer resulting
in the loss (often permanently) of that lawyer's right
to practice law. It differs from censure (an official
reprimand or condemnation) and from suspension (a
temporary loss of the right to practice law).
Disclaim: To refuse a gift made in a will.
Discovery: The pretrial process by which one party
discovers the evidence that will be relied upon in the
trial by the opposing party.
Disfigurement: A technical term in workers'
compensation cases for a serious and permanent scar to
the head, neck, or face.
Dismissal with Prejudice: Final judgment against the
plaintiff which prohibits bringing an action on the same
cause of action in the future. In contrast,
"dismissal without prejudice" allows the
plaintiff to sue again for the same cause of action.
Dismissal: The termination of a lawsuit. A dismissal
without prejudice allows a lawsuit to be brought before
the court again at a later time. In contrast, a
dismissal with prejudice prevents the lawsuit from being
brought before a court in the future.
Dissent: To disagree. An appellate court opinion
setting forth the minority view and outlining the
disagreement of one or more judges with the decision of
the majority.
Diversion: The process of removing some minor
criminal, traffic, or juvenile cases from the full
judicial process, on the condition that the accused
undergo some sort of rehabilitation or make restitution
for damages.
Docket: A list of cases to be heard by a court or a
log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
Doctrine of avoidable consequences or mitigation of
damages: Imposes a duty on victims of a tort to take
reasonable steps to minimize their damages after an
injury has been inflicted.
Domicile: The place where a person has his or her
permanent legal home. A person may have several
residences, but only one domicile.
Double Jeopardy: Putting a person on trial more than
once for the same crime. It is forbidden by the Fifth
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Dram shop: A drinking establishment where alcoholic
beverages are served to be drunk on the premises.
Dram Shop Act: In Pennsylvania, this statute imposes
liability on drinking establishments, like bars and
restaurants, for harm resulting from the establishment's
service of alcohol to visibly intoxicated persons.
Due Process of Law: The right of all persons to
receive the guarantees and safeguards of the law and the
judicial process. It includes such constitutional
requirements as adequate notice, assistance of counsel.
and the rights to remain silent, to a speedy and public
trial, to an impartial jury, and to confront and secure
witnesses.
Duty: In negligence cases, a "duty" is an
obligation to conform to a particular standard of care.
A failure to so conform places the actor at risk of
being liable to another to whom a duty is owed for an
injury sustained by the other of which the actor's
conduct is a legal cause. See reasonable man doctrine.
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