Legal Terms Beginning with D
Damages
A cash compensation ordered by a court to offset losses or suffering caused by another’s fault or negligence. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Dangerous offender
A person convicted of serious crimes and who is likely to re-offend. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Death
Irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions and irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Death penalty
Also known as capital punishment, this is the most severe form of corporal punishment as it is requires law enforcement officers to kill the offender. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
de bonis non
Latin and short for de bonis non administratis. A word used exclusively in estate matters and refers to situations where an estate is abandonoed by an administrator only partially administered and someone must be appointed to complete the administration of the residue of the estate; those assets not yet administered. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Debtor
A person who owes money, goods or services to another, the latter being referred to as the creditor. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Decapitation
The act of beheading a person, usually instantly such as with a large and heavy knife or by guillotine, as a form of capital punishment. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Decedent
An individual who has died. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Decree absolute
The name given to the final and conclusive court order after the condition of a decree nisi is met. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Decree nisi
A provisional decision of a court which does not have force or effect until a certain condition is met such as another petition brought before the court or after the passage of a period time, after which it is called a decree absolute. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Deed
A written and signed document which sets out the things that have to be done or recognitions of the parties towards a certain object. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Deem
To accept a document or an event as conclusive of a certain status in the absence of evidence or facts which would normally be required to prove that status. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
De facto
Latin: as a matter of fact; something which, while not necessarily lawful or legally sanctified, exists in fact. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Defalcation
1. Defaulting on a debt or other obligation such to account for public or trust funds. Usually used in the context of public officials. 2. Defalcation has another legal meaning referring to the setting-off of two debts owed between two people by the agreement to a new amount representing the balance. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Defamation
An attack on the good reputation of a person, by slander or libel. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Defeasance
A side-contract which contains a condition which, if realized, could defeat the main contract. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Defendant
The person, company or organization who defends a legal action taken by a plaintiff and against whom the court has been asked to order damages or specific corrective action redress some type of unlawful or improper action alleged by the plaintiff. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Defense Attorney or Defence Counsel
Lawyers who represent persons facing criminal charges. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Dehors
French for outside. In the context of legal proceedings, it refers to that which is irrelevant or outside the scope of the debate. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
De jure
Latin: 'of the law.' The term has come to describe a total adherence of the law. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Delegatus non potest delegare
One of the pivotal principles of administrative law: that a delegate cannot delegate. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Demand letter
A letter from a lawyer, on behalf of a client, that demands payment or some other action, which is in default. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Demarche
A word coined by the diplomatic community and referring to a strongly worded warning by one country to another and often, either explicitly or implicitly, with the threat of military consequence. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
De minimis non curat lex
Latin: a common law principle whereby judges will not sit in judgement of extremely minor transgressions of the law. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Demurrer
This is a motion put to a trial judge after the plaintiff has completed his or her case, in which the defendant, while not objecting to the facts presented, and rather than responding by a full defence, asks the court to reject the petition right then and there because of a lack of basis in law or insufficiency of the evidence. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
De novo
Latin: new. This term is used to refer to a trial which starts over, which wipes the slate clean and begins all over again, as if any previous partial or complete hearing had not occurred. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Deportation
The removal of a foreign national under immigration laws for reasons such as illegal entry or conduct dangerous to the public welfare. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Deposition
The official statement by a witness taken in writing (as opposed to testimony which where a witnesses give their perception of the facts verbally). - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Descendant
Those person who are born of, or from children of, another are called that person’s descendants. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Detinue
A common law action similar to conversion and also involving the possession of property by the plaintiff may also ask for damages for the duration of the possession. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Devastavit
Latin for 'he has wasted.' This is the technical word referring to a personal representative who has mismanaged the estate and allowed an avoidable loss to occur. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Devise
The transfer or conveyance of real property by will. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Dicta or dictum
Latin: an observation by a judge on a matter not specifically before the court or not necessary in determining the issue before the court; a side opinion which does not form part of the judgment for the purposes of stare decisis. May also be called 'obiter dictum.' - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Diplomacy
Peaceful representations between states. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Diplomat
An official representative of a state, present in another state for the purposes of general representation of the state-of-origin or for the purpose of specific international negotiations on behalf of the diplomat's state-of-origin. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Diplomatic Immunity
Immunity extended to diplomat officers from criminal and civil jurisdiction of their host state. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Directed Verdict
When the Court stops a trial determining that an essential fact has not been proven. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Direct Evidence
Evidence tendered in trial in the form of recounting of personal observations or a document which directly establishes a fact sought to be proven. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Disability Insurance
An insurance contract in which the insurer agrees to pay money or to other benefits in the event that the person insured becomes disabled. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Disbursement
Miscellaneous expenses other than lawyer fees and court costs (i.e. filing fees) which paid on behalf of another person and for which reimbursement will eventually be demanded of that person. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Discretionary trust
A trust in which the settlor has given the trustee full discretion to decide which (and when) members of a group of beneficiaries is to receive either the income or the capital of the trust. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Disrate
A term of maritime law where an officer or other seaman is either demoted in rank or deprived of a promotion. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Dissent
To disagree. The word is used in legal circles to refer to the minority opinion of a judge which runs contrary to the conclusions of the majority. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Dissolution
The act of ending, terminating or winding-up a company or state of affairs. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Distraint
The right of a landlord to seize the property of a tenant which is in the premises being rented, as collateral against a tenant that has not paid the rent or has otherwise defaulted on the lease, such as wanton disrepair or destruction of the premises. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
District Attorney
A lawyer in the USA charged with prosecution of criminal charges on behalf of the government. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Diversity Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction of a US federal court to dispose of a matter meeting a monetary threshold and between residents of different states. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Dividend
A proportionate distribution of profits made in the form of a money payment to shareholders, by a for-profit corporation. Dividends are declared by a company's board of directors. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Divorce
The final, legal ending of a marriage, by Court order. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
DNA
Abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid. A chromosome molecule which carries genetic coding unique to each person with the only exception of identical twins (that is why it is also called 'DNA fingerprinting'). - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Docket
An official court record book which lists all the cases before the court and which may also note the status or action required for each case. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Doctrine
A rule or principle or the law established through the repeated application of legal precedents. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Domicile
The permanent residence of a person; a place to which, even if he or she were temporary absent, they intend to return. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Dominant tenement
Used when referring to easements to specify that property (i.e. tenement) or piece of land that benefits from, or has the advantage of, an easement. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Dominion directum
Latin: the qualified ownership of a landlord, not having possession or use of property but retaining ownership. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Dominion utile
Latin: the property rights of a tenant. While not owning the property in a legal sense, the tenant, as having dominion utile, enjoys full and exclusive possession and use of the property. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Donatio mortis causa
A death-bed gift, made by a dying person, with the intent that the person receiving the gift shall keep the thing if death ensues. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Donee
Another word to describe the beneficiary of a trust. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Donor
The person who donates property to the benefit of another, usually through the legal mechanism of a trust. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Double Jeopardy
A prohibition against being tried or sentenced twice for the same offense. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Dower
Dower: a widow's life estate interest in an intestate's real property - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Duces tecum
Latin: bring with you. Used most frequently for a species of subpoena (as in subpoena duces tecum) which seeks not so much the appearance of a person before a court of law, but the surrender of a thing (eg. a document or some other evidence) by its holder, to the court, to serve as evidence in a trial. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Due process
A term of US law which refers to fundamental procedural legal safeguards of which every citizen has an absolute right when a state or court purports to take a decision that could affect any right of that citizen. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Dum casta
Latin: for so long as she remains chaste. Separation agreements years ago used to contain dum casta clauses which said that if the women were to start another relationship, she forfeited her entitlement to maintenance. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Dum sola
Latin: for so long as she remains unmarried. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Dum vidua
Latin: for so long as she remains a widow. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Duplex
A house which has separate but complete facilities to accommodate two families as either adjacent units or one on top of the other. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Duress
Where a person is prevented from acting (or not acting) according to their free will, by threats or force of another, it is said to be 'under duress'. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
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