What is an adjournment?Delay in trial ordered by the judge, usually at the request of one of the lawyers.
Define adjudicate.To judge. An adjudication is the formal giving or recording of a judgment for one side in a lawsuit.
What is an appellant?The party, usually the losing one, that seeks to overturn the decision of a lower court by appealing to a higher court.
What is the bench?Reference to the court or to the judges composing the court.


What is a bench trial?Trial conducted without a jury in which the judge serves as the trier of fact.
What is beyond a reasonable doubt?Burden of proof required by law to convict a defendant in a criminal case.
What is a burden of proof?Need to prove the fact(s) in dispute.
What is a calendar (legal calendar)?List of cases to be heard in court on a specific date, containing the title of the case, the lawyers involved, and the case number.


What is a challenge for cause?Method for removing a potential juror because of specific reasons, such as bias or prejudgment. Can be granted only by the judge.
What is a change of venue?A court-ordered change in the geographic location of a trial.
What are charges to the jury?Same as jury instructions: Instructions given to the jury by the judge in which the judge outlines what the jury must find in order to rule for the plaintiff and what they must find to rule for the defendant.
What is circumstantial evidence?Indirect method of proving the material facts of the case. Testimony that is not based on the witness's personal observation of the material events.


What is a closing argument?Statement made by an attorney at the end of the presentation of evidence to summarize the case for the jury.
What is cross-examination?At trial, the questions of one attorney put to a witness called by the opposing attorney.
What is a directed verdict?Order from a judge to the jury ordering the latter to decide the case in favor of one of the parties for failure of the other party to prove its case.
What is direct evidence?Evidence derived from one or more of the five senses.


What is a direct examination?At trial, the questions asked of a witness by the attorney who called the witness to the stand.
What is evidence?All types of information presented at a trial or other hearing.
What is an expert witness?One qualified to speak authoritatively and give testimony on technical matters because of his or her special training or skill.
What is a gag order?Judge's order the lawyers and witnesses not discuss the trial with outsiders.


Define hearsay.Out-of-court assertion or statement, made by someone other than the testifying witness, that is offered to prove the truth of the matter stated. Hearsay evidence is excluded from trials unless it falls within one of the recognized exceptions.
What is a hung jury?Jury that is unable to reach a verdict.
Define immaterial.Evidence that neither proves nor disproves the issue of a trial.
What is impaneling?Selection and swearing in of a jury.


Define impeach.To question the truthfulness of a witness
What is incompetent testimony?Testimony that cannot be admitted in evidence, such as hearsay evidence.
Define irrelevant.Testimony that has no bearing on the issue of trial.
What are jury instructions?Instructions given to the jury by the judge in which the judge outlines what the jury must find to rule for the plaintiff and what they must find to rule for the defendant.


What is a jury pool?Persons who have been summoned for jury duty but who have not yet been subjected to a voir dire hearing.
What are leading question?Question that suggests the answer and, therefore, is inadmissible.
What is a master jury list?Compilation of a representative cross section of the community in which the lawsuit arose.
What is a mistrial?An invalid trial.


What is an objection?Act of taking exception to a statement or procedure during a trial.
What is an opening statement?Address made by attorneys for both parties at the beginning of a trial in which they outline for the jury what they intend to prove in their case.
What is a peremptory challenge?Method used to remove a potential juror from the jury without specifying the reason for doing so.
Petit jury? Trial jury (as distinguished from a grand jury).


What is a petty offense?Minor criminal offense that does not entitle the defendant to a trial by jury.
What is prejudicial pretrial publicity?Prejudicial information, often inadmissible at trial, that is circulated by the news media before a trial and reduces the defendant
What is prima facie evidence?Evidence deemed by the law to be sufficient to establish a fact, if that fact cannot be disproved.
What is real evidence?Objects, such as fingerprints, seen by the jury.


reasonable doubt?State of mind of jurors when they do not feel a moral certainty about the truth of the charges and when the evidence does not exclude every other reasonable hypothesis except that the defendant is guilty as charged.
What is a rebuttal?Introduction of contradictory evidence.
What is a redirect examination?Follow-up questions asked of his or her own witness by the attorney who originally called the witness to the stand.
Define relevant.Applying to the issue in question; related to the issue.


What is a remand?To send back. When a case is remanded, it is sent back by a higher court to the court from which it came for further action.
Define sequestered.Isolated from the community. May apply to jury members until they reach a final verdict.
What are statutory exemptions?Rules adopted by legislatures exempting certain types of persons or occupations from jury duty.
What is a stipulation?Agreement reached by opposing lawyers during litigation relating to certain facts and the qualifications of expert witnesses, among other things.


What is testimony?Giving of evidence by a witness under oath.
What is a trial?Fact-finding process using the adversarial method.
What is trustworthiness?Basic criterion for the admissibility of evidence, which seeks to ensure that only the most reliable and credible facts, statements, or testimony is presented to the fact finder.
What is a venire?Group of citizens from which members of the jury are chosen, a jury pool.


What is venue?Geographic location of a trial, which is deter-mined by constitutional or statutory provisions.
What is a change of venue?Removal of a case from one jurisdiction to another. It is usually granted if the court believes that a defendant cannot receive a fair trial in the area where the crime occurred.
What is a verdict?Decision of a trial court.
What is voir dire?French phrase meaning ''to speak the truth.'' The process by which prospective jurors are questioned to ascertain if there is cause to remove them from the jury.


Define waive (waiver).To abandon or throw away; in modern law, to abandon or surrender a claim, privilege, or right.
Who is a witness?One who has seen, heard, or acquired knowledge about some aspect of a lawsuit.