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Most Popular Legal Definitions
sodomy
Synonymous with buggery and referring to
unnatural sex acts, including copulation, either between two persons of the same
sex or between a person and an animal.
matrimonial asset
An asset owned by one or both of two persons who
are married to one another which, upon the application of one of the spouses to
a court, is subject to division between
them.defendant
individual, company or organization that defends a legal action taken by a
plaintiff and against which the court has been asked to order damages or
specific corrective action redress some type of unlawful or improper action
alleged by the plaintiff
covenant
written document in which signatories either
commit themselves to do a certain thing, to not do a certain thing or in which
they agree on a certain set of facts
equity
A branch of English law which developed hundreds of years ago when litigants
would go to the King and complain of harsh or inflexible rules of common law
which prevented justice from prevailing
civil law
1) A body of laws and legal concepts which come
down from old Roman laws established by Emperor Justinian, and which differ from
English common law, which is the framework of most state legal systems. In the
United States only Louisiana (relying on the French Napoleonic Code) has a legal
structure based on civil law. 2) Generic term for non-criminal law.
clear and convincing evidence
Evidence that proves a matter by the "preponderance of evidence" required in
civil cases and beyond the "reasonable doubt" needed to convict in a criminal
case.
national treatment
A tenet of international trade agreements whereby nations must afford imported
goods the same treatment that they afford domestic or national products
vassal
an individual who submits to serve another usually for a return; a dependent;
servant
arguendo
Latin meaning "for the sake of argument"