VOCABULARY
INTRO TO LAW - GOVERNMENT
  1. Executive Branch: in charge of making sure that the laws of the United States are obeyed. The President of the United States ("POTUS") is the head of the executive branch.
  2. Judicial Branch: responsible for administering the laws of the state and resolving legal conflicts.  Power is vested in a Supreme Court, courts of appeal, district courts, and other courts.
  3. Legislative Branch: made up of the two houses of Congress—the Senate and the House of Representatives. The most important duty of the legislative branch is to make laws. Laws are written, discussed and voted on in Congress. There are 100 senators in the Senate, two from each state.

INTRO TO LAW - BASIC LEGAL TERMS
  1. Affiant: a person who swears to an affidavit.
  2. Affidavit: a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant under an oath.
  3. Allegation:  The statement of a party setting out what s/he expects to prove.
  4. Arbitration: a technique to resolve disputes outside the courts.
  5. Assets: property owned by a person or company, regarded as having value.
  6. Bailiff: an official in a court of law who keeps order.
  7. Court Order: A mandatory direction of a judge which is made during a case.
  8. Court Reporter:a person whose occupation is to transcribe spoken or recorded speech into written form, using machine shorthand to produce official transcripts of court hearings, depositions and other official proceedings.
  9. Damages: an award, typically of money, to be paid to a person as compensation for loss or injury.
  10. Deposition: The testimony of a witness taken upon oral examination, not in court. The adverse party has the right to attend and cross-examine. Testimony is reduced to writing and intended to be used in connection with the trial of an action in court.
  11. Elements: Facts or circumstances that define a crime, each of which must be proven in order to result in liability or a conviction.
  12. Injunction: an order that prohibits a person from continuing an action.
  13. Jury: A group of persons selected from the community to hear evidence and decide a criminal or civil case.
  14. Liabilities: things for which someone is responsible, especially a debt or financial obligation.
  15. Litigant: A party to a lawsuit; one engaged in litigation.
  16. Litigate: take a claim or a dispute to a court of law; be a party to a lawsuit.
  17. Mediation: A form of dispute resolution that takes place outside of court where a neutral third party helps the parties reach a settlement.
  18. Perjury: A criminal offense committed by giving a false statement given under oath.
  19. Settlement: an agreement intended to resolve a dispute or conflict.
  20. Statute: a written law passed by a legislative body.
  21. Subpoena: a writ ordering a person to attend court.
  22. Trial: an examination of evidence before a judge or a jury in order to decide guilt in a criminal case or liability in a civil case.
  23. Witness: One who testifies to what he has seen, heard or otherwise observed and who is not a party to the action.