Legal and Judicial Terminology
Core concepts
Build fluency with procedural and substantive terms: plaintiff/defendant, petitioner/respondent, voir dire, arraignment, discovery, interrogatories, subpoena duces tecum, nolo contendere, res judicata, stare decisis, tort, statute of limitations, and burden of proof (preponderance vs. clear and convincing vs. beyond a reasonable doubt). Know court levels and roles: trial court, appellate court, en banc, remand, affirm/reverse. Understand objections and rulings: sustained, overruled, motion in limine, hearsay and its exceptions.
Common traps
- Confusing appellant/appellee with plaintiff/defendant.
- Mixing preponderance (civil) with reasonable doubt (criminal).
- Treating nolo contendere as an admission of guilt for civil purposes-it generally is not.
- Confusing subpoena (testimony) with subpoena duces tecum (documents).
- Mishearing similar-sounding Latin terms (res judicata vs. res gestae).
Worked example
If a witness says "I object" and the judge replies "Sustained," the objection is upheld and the question or answer is excluded. "Overruled" means the objection fails and testimony proceeds. Reporters must capture the ruling exactly and not paraphrase it.