Common Legal Terminology
Jurisprudence -
- The study of law and the structure of the legal system
Jury -
- The group of persons selected to hear the evidence in a trial and render a verdict on matters of fact. See also grand jury.
Jury Instructions -
- A judge’s directions to the jury before it begins deliberations regarding the factual questions it must answer and the legal rules that it must apply.
Lawsuit -
- A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty which resulted in harm to the plaintiff.
Liens -
- A charge on specific property that is designed to secure payment of a debt or performance of an obligation. A debtor may still be responsible for a lien after a discharge.
Liquidated claim -
- A creditor’s claim for a fixed amount of money.
Liquidation -
- The sale of a debtor’s property with the proceeds to be used for the benefit of creditors.
Litigation -
- A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
Magistrate judge -
- A judicial officer of a district court who conducts initial proceedings in criminal cases, decides criminal misdemeanor cases, conducts many pretrial civil and criminal matters on behalf of district judges, and decides civil cases with the consent of the parties.
Means test -
- Section 707(b)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code applies a “means test” to determine whether an individual debtor’s chapter 7 filing is presumed to be an abuse of the Bankruptcy Code requiring dismissal or conversion of the case (generally to chapter 13). Abuse is presumed if the debtor’s aggregate current monthly income (see definition above) over 5 years, net of certain statutorily allowed expenses is more than (i) $10,000, or (ii) 25% of the debtor’s nonpriority unsecured debt, as long as that amount is at least $6,000. The debtor may rebut a presumption of abuse only by a showing of special circumstances that justify additional expenses or adjustments of current monthly income.
All terms and definitions on this page are from uscourts.gov/glossary (April 13, 2020)