ENGLISH LEGAL
TERMINOLOGY
Professor Harland L. Miller, III
Visiting Fulbright Scholar
Pravna Fakultete
Univerze v. Maribor
12 Angry Men
What was the defendant charge with?
12 Angry Men
What were the key facts for the
prosecution’s case?
12 Angry Men
1. Knife
2. Testimony of the man downstairs (what
he heard and saw)
3. Defendants lack of memory regarding
the movies/alibi.
4. Argument and “I’ll kill you.”
5. Testimony of woman who saw murder.
12 Angry Men
Guilty?
Not Guilty?
Innocent?
Evidence
What is Evidence?
Evidence
Something (including testimony,
documents and tangible objects) that
tends to prove or disprove the existence
of an alleged fact.
Admissible Evidence
Evidence that is relevant and is of such a
character that the court should receive
it.
Character Evidence
Evidence regarding someone’s general
personality traits or propensities.
Circumstantial Evidence
Evidence based on inference and not on
personal knowledge.
Direct Evidence
Evidence that is based on personal
knowledge or observation and that, if
true, proves a fact without inference or
presumption.
Exculpatory Evidence
Evidence tending to establish a criminal
defendant’s innocence.
Hearsay Evidence
Testimony given by a witness who relates
not what he or she knows, but what
others have said. Therefore it is
dependent on the credibility of someone
other than the witness. (An out of court
statement offered for the truth of the
matter being asserted.)
Impeachment Evidence
Evidence which is used to undermine
(discredit) a witness’s credibility.
Prima Facie Evidence
Evidence that will establish a fact or
sustain a judgment unless contradictory
evidence is produced.
Burden of Proof
A party’s duty to prove a disputed
assertion or charge.
1.Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
2.Clear and Convincing
3.Preponderance of the Evidence
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Reasonable Doubt is the doubt that
prevents one from being firmly
convinced of a defendant’s guilt, or the
belief that there is a real possibility that
a defendant is not guilty.
Clear and Convincing
Evidence indicating that the thing to be
proved is highly probable or reasonably
certain.
Preponderance of the
Evidence
The greater weight of the evidence, not
necessarily established by the number
of witnesses testifying, but by evidence
that has the most convincing force.
Hearsay
a. Legalese for opening arguments made
in court.
b. Name of a chocolate factory in
Pennsylvania.
c. Holding of a belief that goes against
generally accepted standards.
d. The type of evidence that is often
excluded, unless it falls within an
accepted category.
Hearsay
d. The type of evidence that is often
excluded, unless it falls within an
accepted category.
Leading question
a.
b.
c.
d.
A question that suggests its answer.
The first of a series of questions.
A dispute of dancing partners.
An important public issue.
Leading question
a. A question that suggests its answer.
Cross-examination
a.
b.
c.
d.
Inspection of a religious relic.
Direct examination of a witness.
Questioning of an adverse witness.
Questioning of a party’s own witness.
Cross-examination
c. Questioning of an adverse witness.
Expert Testimony
a. Testimony of a witness who directly saw an
event take place.
b. Testimony about the good character of a
defendant.
c. Testimony of a witness who has substantial
knowledge and experience in a particular
field.
d. Testimony given by a witness who has
rehearsed so much that he or she sounds
like an expert.
Expert Testimony
c. Testimony of a witness who has substantial
knowledge and experience in a particular
field.
Torts
A civil wrong (other than a breach of a
contract) for which a remedy may be
obtained – usually in the form of
damages.
Torts
A breach of a duty that the law imposes
on persons.
The law of injuries and remedies
Examples
Assault, battery, false imprisonment,
intentional infliction of emotional
distress, negligence, invasion of
privacy, defamation, fraud or
misrepresentation, wrongful conversion
and trespass.
Civil Liability v. Criminal Guilt
A person can be “liable” for a tort. (for
example – she was liable for the injuries
she caused in the car accident)
In criminal law, a person is found “guilty”
of a crime.
Negligence
4 Elements:
1.Duty owed to a person
2.Breach of that Duty
3.Proximate Cause to damages
4.Damages/injuries
Example
Duty owed: A duty to drive safely
Breach: run a red light
Proximate Cause: CRASH
Damages/Injuries: Damage to car and
injuries to person
Intentional tort
A tort committed by someone acting with
general or specific intent. (The wrongdoer
intended his actions as in an assault, battery,
false imprisonment)
Compare with negligence, where there was a
failure to observe a standard of care, but no
intent to cause the damage.
Damages
Money claimed by, or ordered to be paid
to, a person as compensation for a loss
or injury.
Compensatory Damages
An amount awarded to a person to
compensate them for the loss or injury
they sustained.
Punitive Damages
Damages awarded in addition to actual
(compensatory) damages when the
defendant acted with recklessness,
malice, or deceit – The purpose is to
punish the tortfeasor for his intentional
acts.
Injunctive relief
A court order commanding or prohibiting
an action.
(example: The Defendant shall refrain
from entering the premises of the
Plaintiff.)
Tort
a. A cake in Germany or Austria, or a sandwich
in Mexico.
b. A breach of contract punishable by
imprisonment.
c. A civil wrong or private injury not based on
contract law.
d. An involuntary action which amounts to a
criminal offense because of an actual or
potential injury.
Tort
c. A civil wrong or private injury not based on
contract law.
Assault
a. A mineral from the Dead Sea.
b. A military invasion.
c. The civil wrong of inflicting actual
bodily injury on another.
d. The act of putting a person in
reasonable apprehension (fear) of
imminent (immediate) bodily injury.
Assault
c. The civil wrong of inflicting actual
bodily injury on another.
Punitive damages
a. Damages to compensate for injury.
b. Civil damages meant to punish the
wrongdoer for causing injury.
c. “Nominal” or minimal damages.
d. Non-monetary damages, such as an
injunction (injunctive relief) or “specific
performance” of a contract obligation.
Punitive damages
b. Civil damages meant to punish the
wrongdoer for causing injury.
Intentional Infliction of
Emotional Distress
a. A cause of action that allow for recovery
after a person is insulted.
b. A cause of action for the intentional breach
of a contract obligation
c. A cause of action where a person’s behavior
is so outrageous and extreme that it will
result in serious emotional distress.
d. A cause of action for putting another person
in fear of being hit.
Intentional Infliction of
Emotional Distress
c. A cause of action where a person’s behavior
is so outrageous and extreme that it will
result in serious emotional distress.
Proximate Cause
a. In negligence law, the creation of a legal
duty.
b. In negligence law, the breach of a legal duty.
c. A close relationship between a plaintiff’s
foreseeable injuries and a defendant’s action
(or failure to act).
d. In negligence law, the damages resulting
from a breach of duty.
Proximate Cause
d. In negligence law, the damages resulting
from a breach of duty.
Libel
a. Being in position for something to
happen.
b. Responsibility for a legal obligation.
c. A defamatory publication in writing.
d. A defamatory publication that is
spoken.
Libel
c. A defamatory publication in writing.
Restatement (2nd) of Torts
a. In defamation law, the publication or
repetition of slander.
b. A scholarly publication written by the
American Law Institute to describe what the
law should be.
c. The lawyer’s process of summarizing the
testimony of witnesses
d. In the process of giving instructions to a jury,
the judge’s summary or restatement of the
law.
Restatement (2nd) of Torts
b. A scholarly publication written by the
American Law Institute to describe what the
law should be.
False Imprisonment
a. Placing a convicted defendant in a
maximum security prison.
b. Description of when a judge and jury
disagree about a sentence.
c. A criminal imprisonment for civil wrong.
d. The intentional, unlawful confinement
of a person against that person’s will.
False Imprisonment
d. The intentional, unlawful confinement
of a person against that person’s will.
Negligence
a. Forgetfulness
b. Willful and wanton misconduct
c. An intentional tort that can be brought
for “wrongful birth” or for “wrongful
death.”
d. A tort that will impose liability for a
breach of a duty that proximately
causes an injury.
Negligence
d. A tort that will impose liability for a
breach of a duty that proximately
causes an injury.
Misrepresentation
a. A truthful presentation of the facts.
b. An intentional false statement that is
reasonable relied upon by another to
that person’s detriment.
c. Intentionally and maliciously hurting a
person’s feelings.
d. A terms used in the court to describe a
lawyer’s presentation of facts to a jury.
Misrepresentation
b. An intentional false statement that is
reasonable relied upon by another to
that person’s detriment.
Trespass to Land
a. The act of entering another’s land
without permission.
b. Causing damage to another person’s
personal property.
c. An invasion of privacy.
d. Interfering with the “quiet enjoyment” of
property by causing a nuisance.
Trespass to Land
a. The act of entering another’s land
without permission.
Intent
a. An action required to sustain a tort.
b. Strict Liability
c. The desire to cause a certain result or
to act with substantial knowledge that
an injury will result.
d. Where desert nomads live.
Intent
c. The desire to cause a certain result or
to act with substantial knowledge that
an injury will result.
Immunity
a. A statutory defense available only to
sovereign governments.
b. A possible defense to tort liability.
c. The right students in law school to
participate in political demonstrations.
d. The invulnerability of a trial court judge
Immunity
b. A possible defense to tort liability.
Nuisance
a. The process of answering these questions.
b. Name given to any student who annoys
fellow classmates or the professor.
c. Causing injury to personal property, a tort
also known as “trespass to chattel.”
d. The unreasonable use of property to as to
harm another.
Nuisance
d. The unreasonable use of property to as to
harm another.
Preponderance of the
Evidence
a. The burden of proving a fact “beyond a
reasonable doubt.”
b. The burden of proving a fact with
“substantial evidence.”
c. The burden of proving that the existence of a
fact is more probable than its non-existence.
d. The assumption that a fact is true for
purposes of reviewing a motion before the
court.
Preponderance of the
Evidence
c. The burden of proving that the existence of a
fact is more probable than its non-existence.
Reasonably prudent person
a. A risk taker.
b. An investor in the stock market.
c. A fictional man or woman whose
anticipated reactions to certain events
will provide the standard for
determining a defendant’s liability.
d. The actual conduct of a particular
defendant in a civil or criminal action.
Reasonably prudent person
c. A fictional man or woman whose
anticipated reactions to certain events
will provide the standard for
determining a defendant’s liability.
Prima Facie Cause of Action
a. What a defendant must prove to
establish liability for a cause of action.
b. What a plaintiff must prove to establish
liability for a cause of action.
c. The first element of a tort that can
bring rise to a
Prima Facie Cause of Action
b. What a plaintiff must prove to establish
liability for a cause of action.