Law glossary
LAW GLOSSARY
My name is Thiziri, and I am currently studying Social Sciences at Sherbrooke College. I plan to begin law school next fall semester. Law explains what is allowed, what is forbidden, and what happens when rules are broken. It protects individual rights, resolves conflicts, and ensures justice. I created this glossary to help me learn legal terminology and improve my understanding of English words related to the field of law. Each entry includes the word's nature, correct pronunciation, definition, and French translation. I have also included pictures to illustrate each term.
- affidavit
- noun
- A statement in writing either sworn or solemnly affirmed before an authorized official.
- Example: During the chase, his nephew called his father, who then called 911, the affidavit says.
- en: déclaration sous serment
- bail bond
- noun
- A guarantee, usually money, given to a court assuring that an accused will appear, when required, to answer the charge.
- Example: By filing a bail bond with the court, the defendant will usually be released from imprisonment pending a trial or appeal.
- en: caution
- bench warrant
- noun
- A written order issued by a judge authorizing the arrest of a person charged with contempt of court or of failing to appear.
- Example: Police said at the time he was wanted on a parole violation, as well as a bench warrant stemming from an old theft charge.
- en: mandat d'arrêt
- constitution
- noun
- A body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed.
- Example: After their return to Vietnam a constitution was approved for the Democratic Republic which completely ignored the Indochina Federation and all mention of the French Union, but which affirmed that "The territory of Vietname"is one and indivisible.
- en: constitution
- counsel
- noun
- A lawyer conducting a case.
- Example: All counsel are expected to obey the rules of the court.
- en: avocate
- court
- noun
- A tribunal presided over by a judge, judges, or a magistrate in civil and criminal cases.
- Example: My client's in court out here and I'm keeping an eye on her assets.
- en: tribunal
- custody
- noun
- The condition of having physical control over, or the legal right to control, a person or property.
- Example: Maldonado was initially arrested for a traffic offense and taken into custody, the affidavit said.
- en: garde à vue
- dissenting
- adjectif
- An opinion by a judge or judges who disagree with the majority of judges deciding an appeal.
- Example: One of the three appeals court judges filed a dissenting opinion.
- en: contestation
- evidence
- noun
- The way in which facts are proven at trial. It is the legal means used to prove a fact, the truth of which is determined by a court or tribunal.
- Example: He was trying to find incriminating evidence on Yancey.
- en: preuve
- impeachment
- noun
- The constitutional process whereby the House of Representatives may "impeach" (accuse of misconduct) high officers of the federal government for trial in the Senate.
- Example: The president himself is subject to impeachment proceedings for alleged gross mismanagement of the budget.
- en: mise en accusation
- incarceration
- noun
- The state of being confined in prison; imprisonment.
- Example: The analogies with human incarceration are uncomfortably close.
- en: incarcération
- indictment
- noun
- A written accusation of a crime.
- Example: That children also lingered in foster homes without any definite plan for their future care was taken seriously, but the indictment was levied more against the former than the latter.
- en: accusation
- jurisprudence
- noun
- A collection of reported cases that form the body of law within a given area which forms precedents for future cases.
- Example: The lecture he gave and the responses it provoked form perhaps the most widely read debate in jurisprudence in Britain in the period since the Second World War.
- en: jurisprudence
- legally binding
- adjective
- Lawful action, such as an agreement consciously agreed to by two or more entities, establishing lawful accountability.
- Example: The new deal is not legally binding and can't, on its own, force any country to take action.
- en: légalement contraignant
- objection
- noun
- A protest by an attorney, challenging a statement or question made at trial.
- Example: The judge gave the attorneys a chance to raise objections.
- en: objection
- paralegal
- noun
- A person trained in subsidiary legal matters but not fully qualified as a lawyer.
- Example: Natalie, who is a paralegal and part-time caregiver for her dad, loves her life.
- en: parajuriste
- settlement
- noun
- An official agreement intended to resolve a dispute or conflict.
- Example: The parties have not been able to reach a settlement in the case.
- en: règlement à l'amiable
- to appeal
- verb
- The judicial process by which one party to an action resorts to a superior court to correct what he or she perceives to be an incorrect determination of the original proceedings.
- Example: Jack Daniel’s won the first round in court but lost an appeal.
- en: appel
- tort
- noun
- A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person as outlined by law.
- Example: After the accident, the victim filed a lawsuit for the tort of negligence against the driver.
- en: délit
- trial
- noun
- A formal examination of evidence before a judge, and typically before a jury, in order to decide guilt in a case of criminal or civil proceedings.
- Example: Thus, for basic civic rights like not being enslaved or imprisoned without trial, people should need only to be people.
- en: procès
