CourtHelp Legal Glossary

When a Judge hears and decides a case.

1. The judge’s decision in a case. 2. The process of deciding a case.

1.Management (officials) at the highest level of government or business. 2. Surrogate’s Court: The proceeding that handles the estate of a person that died with no will (intestate).

The way a government agency makes and enforces its rules and orders without going to court to do it.

1. A person appointed by the court to manage and settle the estate of a person who died without a will. 2. Where there is a will but no executor (a person in charge of the estate) is named, or the executor can't act, an administrator can be appointed to replace the executor (cun testamento anexo) or to complete (finish) what the will demands. (de bonis non).

Statements, papers and other things that can legally be used in court to prove a fact.

A statement by one side in a case that helps the other side.

1. To warn or scold. 2. To advise

Instructions from a Judge to the jurors about: 1. What they must do and how they must behave, or 2. What evidence they can use to make their decision (called "admissible" evidence), or 3. How they can use that evidence to make a decision.

A 16 year old who is charged with a felony committed after September 30, 2018, or a 17 year old who is charged with a felony committed after September 30, 2019.

The legal placement of a child with new parents.

A way of helping people decide legal problems without a trial. Mediation and arbitration are types of ADR.

An opponent. The person on the other side of a case.

The court procedure in the United States and some other countries. This procedure, called trial practice, gives each side the chance to say his or her position in court.

A person called to testify for the other side.

A person who prepares and signs an affidavit (a legal paper).

A written statement sworn to in front of someone legally authorized, like a notary public.

A paper signed by someone not involved in a case saying that the papers were given (served) to another person who is named on the papers.

The relationship of a person to their spouse’s (husband or wife's) family. Related by marriage.

1. To say that something is true or correct. 2. When a higher court decides that a lower court ruling is right.

A formal declaration that a statement is true. To lie is perjury and a person can be punished.

A reason that would make a defendant not responsible, or not guilty in a criminal case, even if the claims are true. The defendant has to prove what they say is true; it's called the burden of proof.

Community based services for a young person, his or her family, and/or guardian after a young person is let go from foster care. It provides services to help the young person to stay at home safely and to leave foster care and/or institutional settings.

Someone that has permission to act for another. A representative.

A term referring to a young person who must leave foster care because they have become too old and do not have a permanent plan in place. Aging out can occur at 18 but the young person has to stay in “care” until 21. At 21 the young person will leave care except in rare cases.