Law Lexicon
Habeas corpus - The name of a writ having for its object to bring a person before a court.
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Harmless error - An error committed during a trial that was corrected or was not serious enough to affect the outcome of a trial and therefore was not sufficiently harmful (prejudicial) to be reversed on appeal.
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Headnote - A brief summary of a legal rule or significant facts in a case, which along with other headnotes, precedes the printed opinion in reports.
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Hearing - A formal proceeding (generally less formal than a trial) with definite issues of law or of fact to be heard. Hearings are used extensively by legislative and administrative agencies.
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Hearing de novo - A full new hearing.
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Hearsay - Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
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Hostile witness - A witness whose testimony is not favorable to the party who calls him or her as a witness. A hostile witness may be asked leading questions and may be cross-examined by the party who calls him or her to the stand.
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Hung jury - A jury whose members cannot agree upon a verdict.
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Hypothetical question - An imaginary situation, incorporating facts previously admitted into evidence, upon which an expert witness is permitted to give an opinion as to a condition resulting from the situation.
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Inadmissible - That which, under the rules of evidence, cannot be admitted or received as evidence.
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Incapacity - Lack of legal ability to act; disability, incompetence; lack of adequate power.
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Incarceration - Imprisonment in a jail or penitentiary.
Source: Jurist International.
