Common Legal Terminology
Insider (of individual debtor) -
- Any relative of the debtor or of a general partner of the debtor; partnership inwhich the debtor is a general partner; general partner of the debtor; or corporation of which the debtor is a director, officer, or person in control.
Interrogatories -
- A form of discovery consisting of written questions to be answered in writing and under oath.
Issue -
- 1. The disputed point between parties in a lawsuit; 2. To send out officially, as in a court issuing an order.
Joint Administration -
- A court-approved mechanism under which two or more cases can be administered together. (Assuming no conflicts of interest, these separate businesses or individuals can pool their resources, hire the same professionals, etc.)
Joint petition -
- One bankruptcy petition filed by a husband and wife together.
Judge -
- An official of the Judicial branch with authority to decide lawsuits brought before courts. Used generically, the term judge may also refer to all judicial officers, including Supreme Court justices.
Judgement -
- The official decision of a court finally resolving the dispute between the parties to the lawsuit.
Judgeship -
- The position of judge. By statute, Congress authorizes the number of judgeships for each district and appellate court.
Judicial Conference of the United States -
- The policy-making entity for the federal court system. A 27-judge body whose presiding officer is the Chief Justice of the United States.
Jurisidiction -
- The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a certain type of case. It also is used as a synonym for venue, meaning the geographic area over which the court has territorial jurisdiction to decide cases.
All terms and definitions on this page are from uscourts.gov/glossary (April 13, 2020)