Category: Dictionary

En banc : French, meaning “on the bench.” All judges of an appellate court sitting together to hear a case, as opposed to the routine disposition by panels of three judges. In the Ninth Circuit, an en banc panel consists of 11 randomly selected judges.

Due process : In criminal law, the constitutional guarantee that a defendant will receive a fair and impartial trial. In civil law, the legal rights of someone who confronts an adverse action threatening liberty or property.

Docket : A log containing the complete history of each case in the form of brief chronological entries summarizing the court proceedings.

Disposable income : Income not reasonably necessary for the maintenance or support of the debtor or dependents. If the debtor operates a business, disposable income is defined as those amounts over and above what is necessary for the payment of ordinary operating expenses.

Dismissal without prejudice : Court action that allows the later filing.

Dismissal with prejudice : Court action that prevents an identical lawsuit from being filed later.

Discovery : Procedures used to obtain disclosure of evidence before trial.

Disclosure statement : A written document prepared by the chapter 11 debtor or other plan proponent that is designed to provide “adequate information” to creditors to enable them to evaluate the chapter 11 plan of reorganization.

Dischargeable debt : A debt for which the Bankruptcy Code allows the debtor’s personal liability to be eliminated.

Discharge : A release of a debtor from personal liability for certain dischargeable debts. Notable exceptions to dischargeability are taxes and student loans. A discharge releases a debtor from personal liability for certain debts known as dischargeable debts and prevents the creditors owed those debts from taking any action against the debtor or the debtor’s property to collect the debts. The discharge also prohibits creditors from communicating with the debtor regarding the debt, including through telephone calls, letters, and personal contact.

Deposition : An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial. See discovery.

Defendant : An individual (or business) against whom a lawsuit is filed.

Default judgment : A judgment awarding a plaintiff the relief sought in the complaint because the defendant has failed to appear in court or otherwise respond to the complaint.

Declaratory judgment : A judge’s statement about someone’s rights. For example, a plaintiff may seek a declaratory judgment that a particular statute, as written, violates some constitutional right.

Debtor’s plan : A debtor’s detailed description of how the debtor proposes to pay creditors’ claims over a fixed period of time.

Debtor : A person who has filed a petition for relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

De novo : Latin, meaning “anew.” A trial de novo is a completely new trial. Appellate review de novo implies no deference to the trial judge’s ruling.

De jure : Latin, meaning “in law.” Something that exists by operation of law.

De facto : Latin, meaning “in fact” or “actually.” Something that exists in fact but not as a matter of law.

Damages : Money that a defendant pays a plaintiff in a civil case if the plaintiff has won. Damages may be compensatory (for loss or injury) or punitive (to punish and deter future misconduct).

Creditor : A person to whom or business to which the debtor owes money or that claims to be owed money by the debtor.

Credit counseling : Generally refers to two events in individual bankruptcy cases: (1) the “individual or group briefing” from a nonprofit budget and credit counseling agency that individual debtors must attend prior to filing under any chapter of the Bankruptcy Code; and (2) the “instructional course in personal financial management” in chapters 7 and 13 that an individual debtor must complete before a discharge is entered. There are exceptions to both requirements for certain categories of debtors, exigent circumstances, or if the U.S. trustee or bankruptcy administrator have determined that there are insufficient approved credit counseling agencies available to provide the necessary counseling.

Court reporter : A person who makes a word-for-word record of what is said in court, generally by using a stenographic machine, shorthand or audio recording, and then produces a transcript of the proceedings upon request.

Court : Government entity authorized to resolve legal disputes. Judges sometimes use “court” to refer to themselves in the third person, as in “the court has read the briefs.”

Count : An allegation in an indictment or information, charging a defendant with a crime. An indictment or information may contain allegations that the defendant committed more than one crime. Each allegation is referred to as a count.

Counsel : Legal advice; a term also used to refer to the lawyers in a case.

Conviction : A judgment of guilt against a criminal defendant.

Contract : An agreement between two or more people that creates an obligation to do or not to do a particular thing.

Contingent claim : A claim that may be owed by the debtor under certain circumstances, e.g., where the debtor is a cosigner on another person’s loan and that person fails to pay.

Consumer debts : Debts incurred for personal, as opposed to business, needs.

Consumer bankruptcy : A bankruptcy case filed to reduce or eliminate debts that are primarily consumer debts.

Consecutive sentence : Prison terms for two or more offenses to be served one after the other. Example: Two five-year sentences and one three-year sentence, if served consecutively, result in a maximum of 13 years behind bars.

Confirmation : Approval of a plan of reorganization by a bankruptcy judge.

Concurrent sentence : Prison terms for two or more offenses to be served at the same time, rather than one after the other. Example: Two five-year sentences and one three-year sentence, if served concurrently, result in a maximum of five years behind bars.

Complaint : A written statement that begins a civil lawsuit, in which the plaintiff details the claims against the defendant.

Community service : A special condition the court imposes that requires an individual to work – without pay – for a civic or nonprofit organization.

Common law : The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States, which relies on the articulation of legal principles in a historical succession of judicial decisions. Common law principles can be changed by legislation.

Collateral : Property that is promised as security for the satisfaction of a debt.

Clerk of court : The court officer who oversees administrative functions, especially managing the flow of cases through the court. The clerk’s office is often called a court’s central nervous system.

Class action : A lawsuit in which one or more members of a large group, or class, of individuals or other entities sue on behalf of the entire class. The district court must find that the claims of the class members contain questions of law or fact in common before the lawsuit can proceed as a class action.

Claim : A creditor’s assertion of a right to payment from a debtor or the debtor’s property.

Chief judge : The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court; chief judges are determined by seniority

Chambers : The offices of a judge and his or her staff.

Cause of action : A legal claim.

Caseload : The number of cases handled by a judge or a court.

Case law : The law as established in previous court decisions. A synonym for legal precedent. Akin to common law, which springs from tradition and judicial decisions.

Case file : A complete collection of every document filed in court in a case.

Capital offense : A crime punishable by death.

Business bankruptcy : A bankruptcy case in which the debtor is a business or an individual involved in business and the debts are for business purposes.

Burden of proof  : The duty to prove disputed facts. In civil cases, a plaintiff generally has the burden of proving his or her case. In criminal cases, the government has the burden of proving the defendant’s guilt. (See standard of proof.)

Brief : A written statement submitted in a trial or appellate proceeding that explains one side’s legal and factual arguments.

Bench trial : A trial without a jury, in which the judge serves as the fact-finder.

Bankruptcy trustee : A private individual or corporation appointed in all Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases to represent the interests of the bankruptcy estate and the debtor’s creditors.

Bankruptcy petition : A formal request for the protection of the federal bankruptcy laws. (There is an official form for bankruptcy petitions.)

Bankruptcy judge : A judicial officer of the United States district court who is the court official with decision-making power over federal bankruptcy cases.

Bankruptcy estate : All interests of the debtor in property at the time of the bankruptcy filing. The estate technically becomes the temporary legal owner of all of the debtor’s property.

Bankruptcy court : The bankruptcy judges in regular active service in each district; a unit of the district court.

Bankruptcy code : The informal name for title 11 of the United States Code (11 U.S.C. §§ 101-1330), the federal bankruptcy law.

Bankruptcy : A legal procedure for dealing with debt problems of individuals and businesses; specifically, a case filed under one of the chapters of title 11 of the United States Code (the Bankruptcy Code).

Bail : The release, prior to trial, of a person accused of a crime, under specified conditions designed to assure that person’s appearance in court when required. Also can refer to the amount of bond money posted as a financial condition of pretrial release.

Automatic stay : An injunction that automatically stops lawsuits, foreclosures, garnishments, and most collection activities against the debtor the moment a bankruptcy petition is filed.

Assume : An agreement to continue performing duties under a contract or lease.

Assets : Property of all kinds, including real and personal, tangible and intangible.

Article III judge : A federal judge who is appointed for life, during “good behavior,” under Article III of the Constitution. Article III judges are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

Arraignment : A proceeding in which a criminal defendant is brought into court, told of the charges in an indictment or information, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.

Appellee : The party who opposes an appellant’s appeal, and who seeks to persuade the appeals court to affirm the district court’s decision.

Appellate : About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgment of a lower court (trial court) or tribunal. For example, the U.S. circuit courts of appeals review the decisions of the U.S. district courts.

Appellant :The party who appeals a district court’s decision, usually seeking reversal of that decision.

Appeal : A request made after a trial by a party that has lost on one or more issues that a higher court review the decision to determine if it was correct. To make such a request is “to appeal” or “to take an appeal.” One who appeals is called the “appellant;” the other party is the “appellee.”

Answer : The formal written statement by a defendant in a civil case that responds to a complaint, articulating the grounds for defense.

Alternate juror : A juror selected in the same manner as a regular juror who hears all the evidence but does not help decide the case unless called on to replace a regular juror.

Affirme : In the practice of the court of appeals, it means that the court of appeals has concluded that the lower court decision is correct and will stand as rendered by the lower court.

Affidavit : A written or printed statement made under oath.

Adversary proceeding : A lawsuit arising in or related to a bankruptcy case that begins by filing a complaint with the court, that is, a “trial” that takes place within the context of a bankruptcy case.

Admissible : A term used to describe evidence that may be considered by a jury or judge in civil and criminal cases.

Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO) : The federal agency responsible for collecting court statistics, administering the federal courts’ budget, and performing many other administrative and programmatic functions, under the direction and supervision of the Judicial Conference of the United States.

Active judge : A judge in the full-time service of the court. Compare to senior judge.

Acquittal : A jury verdict that a criminal defendant is not guilty, or the finding of a judge that the evidence is insufficient to support a conviction.