Legal Language

1. adjudicate: to hear and settle a case by judicial procedure. A transitive verb, adjudicate means to settle the rights of the parties in a court case. As an intransitive verb, it means simply to act as a judge

2. appellate: having the power to hear appeals and to reverse lower court decisions. An appellant is the one who appeals from a judicial decision or decree. An appellee is one against whom an appeal is taken.

3. collusion: a secret agreement for a deceitful or fraudulent purpose; conspiracy. Though the word has a serious connotation today, it is derived from the Latin ludere (“to play”), and ludus (“game”). A collusion often implies an attempt to defraud a person of his rights by the forms of law.

4. deposition: testimony under oath, especially a written statement by a witness for use in court in his or her absence. In ordinary usage, deposition refers to the act of depriving of authority, or the placing or laying down, as of a sediment or precipitation.

5. equity: something that is just, impartial, and fair; the value of a business or property in excess of any claim against it; justice applied in circumstances not covered by law.

6. exhume: to dig out of the earth; disinter; reveal. From the Latin humus (“ground’).

7. incommunicado: without the means or right of communication with others, as one held in solitary confinement.

8. intestate: having made no valid will; one who dies without legal will.

9. ipso facto: by the fact itself; by the very fact.

10. lien: the right to take and hold or sell the property of a debtor as security or payment for a debt; mortgage. The word is related to the Latin ligare (“to blind”) indicating that certain possessions are bound or tied to the payment of the debt.

11. litigation: legal action or process. A person who will sue at the drop of a hat, a handkerchief, or a word is said to be litigious.

12. perjury: the deliberate, willful giving of false, misleading, or incomplete testimony by a witness under oath in a criminal proceeding.

13. pettifogger: a petty, quibbling, unscrupulous lawyer; a shyster. Shyster comes form the American lawyer Scheuster, who in 1840 was rebuked in court for his objectionable practices. Pettifogger, similarly, is derived from the pettiness of the Fuggers, a sixteenth-century German family of financiers and merchants.

14. tort: any wrongful act not involving breach of contract for which a civil suit can be brought. The Latin tortum (“twisted”), is related to torque, a twisting force, and torture.

15.tribunal: a seat or court of justice. The tribune was the Roman official chosen by the plebeians (commoners) to protect their rights against the patricians (wealthy class)

Exercises

Which word comes to Mind?
In each of the following, read the statement, then circle the word that comes to mind.

1. No evidence of a will was found
(equity, intestate, litigation)
2. Any statement made now can be held against you
(deposition, tort, ipso facto)
3. If we do not get satisfaction here, we will take this case to a higher court.
(collusion, tribunal, appellate)
4. The witness has told only half the story in court
(adjudicate, perjury, exhume)
5. Lie low till the furor subsides
(incommunicado, pettifogger, lien)
6. The basketball players all agreed to lose the game
(equity, collusion, perjury)
7. Fido’s remains were dug up and buried elsewhere
(exhume, ipso facto, adjudicate)
8. Debts had to be paid before we could acquire the house
(lien, incommunicado, tribunal)
9. He conspire to get me fired
(exhume, appellate, tort)
10. In and out of court regularly
(collusion, litigation, equity)

II. True or False?
In the space provided, indicate whether each statement is true or false

____ 1. A collusion is an intellectual c lash between two strong lawyers.
____ 2. An adjudicated settlement is one made out of court.
____ 3. Torts involve an injury or damage done without breach of contract.
____ 4. A pettifogger is overly concerned with trifles.
____ 5. Ipso facto refers to facts, like axioms, that are universally accepted.
____ 6. We turned to the appellate division to get justice.
____ 7. A deposition is related to a proposition.
____ 8. The government’s witness was held incommunicado.
____ 9. Because he died intestate, no surgery was required.
____ 10. Different American Indian families belong ot special tribunals.

III. Fill in the Blank
Insert one of the new words in the proper space in each sentence below.

1. It would take a Solomon to ________________ the difficult child custody case.
2. There were contradictions between David’s recent testimony and his earlier ____________.
3. We were greatly relieved when the court lifted the _______________ against the sale of our home.
4. Some people sue at the drop of a hat but most prefer to avoid ________________.
5. When both stores offered the exact sale prices, we began to suspect _________________ between the managements.
6. I am searching for __________________, not an unfair advantage.
7. The suspected spy was held ________________ for 48 hours.
8. As an eighteenth-century revolutionary __________________, the French nobleman was found guilty.
9. Although he was cautioned about committing ________________, the witness continued to lie.
10. Since my uncle died __________________, the family has spent a fortune trying ot get its hands on the bulk of his estate.

IV. What’s the Antonym?
Which of the new words is most nearly opposite in meaning to the one provided?

1. bury _________________
2. truth _________________
3. partiality _________________
4. accessible _________________
5. legal act _________________

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