Glossary

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Capital crime - A crime punishable by death.

Calendar -A list of cases scheduled for hearing in court.

Canons of ethics -Standards of ethical conduct for attorneys.

Capacity -Having legal authority or mental ability. Being of sound mind.

Caption -Heading or introductory party of a pleading.

Case law -Law established by previous decisions of appellate courts, particularly the United States Supreme Court.

Cause - A lawsuit, litigation, or action. Any question, civil or criminal, litigated or contested before a court of justice.

Cause of action -The fact or facts which give a person a right to relief in court.

Caveat -A warning; a note of caution.

Censure -An official reprimand or condemnation of an attorney. (See disbarment or suspension.)

Certificate of Title -Document issued by Registrar of Titles for real estate registered under the Torrens System, which is considered conclusive evidence of the present ownership and state of the title to the property described therein.

Certification -1. Written attestation. 2. Authorized declaration verifying that an instrument is a true and correct copy of the original.

Challenge -An objection, such as when an attorney objects at a hearing to the seating of a particular person on a civil or criminal jury.

Challenge for cause -A request from a party to a judge that a certain prospective juror not be allowed to be a member of a jury because of specified causes or reasons. (Also, see peremptory challenge.)

Chambers -A judge's private office. A hearing in chambers takes place in the judge's office outside of the presence of the jury and the public.

Change of venue -Moving a lawsuit or criminal trial to another place for trial. (See venue.)

Charge to the jury -The judge's instructions to the jury concerning the law that applies to the facts of the case on trial.

Chief Judge -Presiding or administrative judge in a court.

Chattel -An article of personal property.

Chronological -Arranged in the order in which events happened; according to date.

Circumstantial evidence -All evidence except eyewitness testimony. One example is physical evidence, such as fingerprints, from which an inference can be drawn.

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