Law lexicon
Contempt of court - Willful disobedience of a judge's command or of an official court order.
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Continuance - Postponement of a legal proceeding to a later date.
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Contract - An agreement between two or more persons which creates an obligation to do or not to do a particular thing. A legally enforceable agreement between two or more competent parties made either orally or in writing.
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Contributory negligence - The rule of law under which an act or omission of plaintiff is a contributing cause of injury and a bar to recovery.
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Conveyance - Instrument transferring title of land for one person or group of persons to another.
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Conviction - A judgment of guilt against a criminal defendant.
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Corpus delicti - The body (material substance) upon which a crime has been committee, e.g., the corpse of a murdered man or the charred remains of a house burned by an arsonist.
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Corroborating evidence - Supplementary evidence that tends to strengthen or confirm the initial evidence.
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Costs - An allowance for expenses in prosecuting or defending a suit. Ordinarily this does not include attorney fees.
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Counsel - A legal adviser; a term used to refer to lawyers in a case.
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Counterclaim - A claim made by the defendant in a civil lawsuit against the plaintiff. In essence, a counter lawsuit within a lawsuit.
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Court - A body in government to which the administration of justice is delegated.
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Court-appointed attorney - Attorney appointed by the court to represent a defendant, usually with respect to criminal charges and without the defendant having to pay for the representation.
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Court costs - The expenses of prosecuting or defending a lawsuit, other than the attorney fees. An amount of money may be awarded to the successful party (and may be recoverable from the losing party) as reimbursement for court costs.
Source: Jurist International.
