LAS 100 2

17 The legal relinquishment by a child's parents or guardian of the legal right to exercise control over the child.

17 A marriage that is formed solely by mutual consent and without a marriage license or ceremony.

17 A court order that requires one person to stay away from another.

17 A lawsuit brought by an unmarried mother to establish that a certain person is the biological father.

17 A procedure in which persons become the legal parents of a child who is not their biological child.

17 A temporary arrangement in which a family is paid by the state to care for a child for a limited time, often pending adoption.

17 A privately arranged adoption.

17 A court decree that invalidates a marriage.

17 The act of entering into marriage with one person while still legally married to another.

17 A formal court proceeding that legally dissolves a marriage.

17 A divorce in which neither party is deemed to be at fault for the breakdown of the marriage.

17 The document filed with the court to initiate divorce proceedings.

17 Custody of a child that confers on the parent the right to make major decisions about the child's life without consulting the other parent.

17 Custody of a child that is shared by the parents following the termination of a marriage.

17 The right of a noncustodial parent to have contact with his or her child.

17 The financial support necessary to provide for a child's needs.

17 Financial support paid to a former spouse after a marriage has been terminated.

17 The division of property between spouses on the termination of a marriage.

17 All property acquired during the course of a marriage, apart from inheritances and gifts made to one or the other of the spouses.

17 Property that a spouse owned before the marriage, plus inheritances and gifts acquired by the spouse during the marriage.

17 In certain states, all property acquired during a marriage, except for inheritances or gifts received during the marriage by either marital partner.

17 A contract formed between two persons who are contemplating marriage to provide for the disposition of property in the event of divorce or death.

17 One who makes a valid will.

17 The condition of having died with a valid will

17 The state of having died without a valid will

17 State statutes that specify how a property will be distributed when a person dies intestate.

17 A person appointed by a testator to serve as a personal representative on the testator's death.

17 To prove and validate a will

17 An arrangement in which property is transferred by one person (trustor/Settlor) to another (trustee) for the benefit of a third party (beneficiary).

17 A trust created by the grantor and effective during the grantor's lifetime.

17 A trust that is created by will and that does not take effect until the death of the testator.

17 The process in which a decedent's personal representative settles the affairs of the decedent's estate.

17 A person appointed by a court to serve as a personal representative for a person who died intestate, who made a will but failed to name an executor, or whose executor cannot serve.

17 A person appointed by the court to represent the interests of a child or a mentally incompetent person before the court.

11 The person who is being interviewed

11 A question phrased in such a way that it elicits a relatively unguided and lengthy narrative response

11 A question phrased in such a way that it elicits a simple yes or know answer.

11 A question that suggests, or 'leads to' a desired answer

11 A question based on hypothesis, conjecture, or fiction.

11 The act of listening attentively to the speaker's message and responding to the speaker's message and responding to the speaker by providing verbal or nonverbal cues that encourage the speaker to continue; in effect, saying I'm listening, please go on.

11 The act of listening attentively to the speaker's message and responding by giving appropriate feedback.

11 A witness with professional training or substantial experience qualifying him or her to testify as to his or her opinion on a particular subject.

11 A witness who can truthfully and accurately testify on a fact in question without having specialized training or knowledge; an ordinary witness.

11 A witness who testifies about an event that he or she observed or experienced firsthand.

11 A witness who is biased against your client's adversary or sympathetic toward your client in a lawsuit or other legal proceeding.

11 A witness who is biased against your client or friendly toward your client's adversary in a lawsuit or other legal proceeding; an adverse witness.

11 The written record of the statements made by a witness during an interview, signed by the witness

11 A plan that lists each step involved in obtaining and verifying facts and information relevant to the legal problem being investigated.

11 Anything that is used to prove the existence of a fact.

11 Rules governing the admissibility of evidence in trial courts.

11 Evidence directly establishing the existence of a fact

11 Indirect evidence offered to establish, by inference, the likelihood of a fact that is in question.

11 Evidence tending to prove or disprove the fact in question.

11 The process of establishing the genuineness of an item that is to be introduced as evidence in a trial.

11 Testimony that is given in court by a witness who relates not what he or she knows personally but what another person said.

10 A person who is asked to testify under oath at a trial.

10 The court's final decision regarding the rights and claims of the parties to a lawsuit.

10 The rules controlling all procedural matters in civil trials brought before the federal district courts.

10 The pleading made by a plaintiff or a charge made by the state alleging wrongdoing on the part of the defendant.

10 Statements by the plaintiff and the defendant that detail the facts, charges, and defenses involved in the litigation.

10 The list of cases entered on a court's calendar and thus scheduled to be heard by the court.

10 A party's statement, claim, or assertion made in a pleading to the court.

10 A statement at the end of the complaint requesting that the court grant relief to the plaintiff.

10 A written statement of facts, confirmed by the oath or affirmation of the party making it and made before a person having the authority to administer the oath or affirmation.

10 A computer system that enables attorneys to file case documents with the courts over the internet twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

10 The delivery of the summons and the complaint to a defendant.

10 A document served on a defendant in a lawsuit informing the defendant that a legal action has been commenced against him or her and that the defendant must appear in court or respond to the plaintiff's complaint within a specified period of time.

10 A document signed by a process server and submitted to the court to prove that a defendant received a summons

10 A judgment entered by a clerk or court against a party who has failed to appear in court to answer or defend against a claim that has been brought against him or her by another party.

10 A defendant's response to a plaintiff's complaint.

10 A response to a plaintiff's claim that does not deny the plaintiff's facts but attaches the plaintiff's legal right to bring an action

10 A claim made by a defendant in a civil lawsuit against the plaintiff.

10 A claim asserted by a defendant in a civil lawsuit against another defendant or by a plaintiff against another plaintiff.

10 A procedural request or application presented by an attorney to the court on behalf of a client.

10 A motion filed by the defendant in which the defendant asks the court to dismiss the case for a specified reason, such as improper service, lack of personal jurisdiction, or the plaintiff's failure to state a claim for which relief can be granted.

10 An affidavit accompanying a motion that is filed by an attorney on behalf of his or her client.

10 A document that delineates the legal theories, statutes, and cases on which a motion is based.

10 A motion that may be filed by either party in which the party asks the court to enter a judgment in his or her favor based on information contained in the pleadings.

10 A motion that may be filed by either party in which the party asks the court to enter judgement in his or her favor without a trial.

10 Formal investigation prior to trial.

10 Confidential communications between certain individuals, such as an attorney and his or her client, that are protected from disclosure except under court order.

10 A series of written questions for which written answers are prepared and then signed under oath by a party to a lawsuit.

10 A pretrial question-and-answer proceeding, usually conducted orally, in which a party or witness answers an attorney's questions. The answers are given under oath, and the session is recorded.

10 A party or witness who testifies under oath during a deposition.

10 A document commanding a person to appear at a certain time and place to give testimony concerning a certain matter.

10 The official transcription of the recording taken during a deposition

10 To call into question the credibility of a witness by challenging the truth or accuracy of his or her trial statement.

10 A plan formed by the attorneys litigating a lawsuit, on behalf of their clients, that indicates the types of information that will be disclosed by each party prior to trial.

10 Embedded electronic data recorded by a computer in association with a particular file.

10 A series describing the movement and location of evidence from the time it is obtained to the time it is presented in court.

12 Traditionally, a binder that contains copies of all the documents and information that an attorney will need to have at hand during the trial.

12 A conference prior to trial in which the judge and the attorneys litigating the suit discuss settlement possibilities, clarify the issues of the dispute, and schedule forthcoming trial-related events.

12 A motion requesting that certain evidence not be brought out at the trial.

12 The process of selecting a jury

12 An Attorney's objection , during voir dire, to the inclusion of a particular person on the jury.

12 A voir dire challenge to exclude a potential juror from serving on the jury for a reason specified by an attorney in the case.

12 A voir dire challenge to exclude a potential juror from serving on the jury without supporting reason or cause.

12 An attorney's statement to the jury at the beginning of the trial.

12 The examination of a witness by the attorney who calls the witness to the stand to testify on behalf of the attorney's client.

12 The questioning of an opposing witness during the trial.

12 The questioning of a witness following the adverse party's cross-examination.

12 The questioning of an opposing witness following the adverse party's redirect examination.

12 A motion requesting that the court grant a judgment in favor of the party making the motion on the ground that the other party has not produced sufficient evidence to support his or her claim.

12 The argument made by each side's attorney after the cases for the plaintiff and defendant have been presented.

12 The judge's instruction to the jury setting forth the rules of law that the jury must apply in reaching its decision, or verdict.

12 A motion requesting that the court grant judgment in favor of the party making the motion on the ground that the jury verdict against him or her was unreasonable or erroneous.

12 A motion asserting that the trial was so fundamentally flawed that a new trial is needed to prevent a miscarriage of justice.

12 The process of seeking a high court's review of a lower court's decision

12 The party who takes an appeal from one court to another.

12 The party against whom an appeal is taken.

12 The items submitted during the trial and the transcript of the trial proceedings that are forwarded to the appellate court for review when a case is appealed.

12 To uphold the judgment of a lower court.

12 The overturn the judgment of a lower court.

12 To send a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.

12 A writ that puts in force a court's decree or judgment

12 A creditor who is legally entitled, by a court's judgment, to collect the amount of the judgment from a debtor.

9 In a time sequence; naming or listing events in the time order in which they occurred.

9 Legal language that is difficult for the general public to understand

9 The part of the letter that indicates to whom the letter is addressed.

9 The portion of the letter that indicates the matter to be discussed in the letter.

9 In a letter, the formal greeting to the addressee.

9 In a letter, an ending word or phrase placed above the signature, such as Sincerely

9 A letter that conveys information to a client, witness, and adversary's counsel, or some other person regarding some legal matter.

9 A letter that states the substance of a previously conducted verbal discussion to provide a permanent record of the oral conversation.

9 A letter from an attorney to a client containing a legal opinion on an issue raised by the client's question or legal claim.

9 A letter in which one party explains its legal position in a dispute and requests that the recipient take some action.