Damages: A cash compensation ordered by a court to offset losses or suffering caused by another’s fault or negligence. See the complete Legal Definition of Damages

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 convicted offender. See the complete Legal Definition of Death Penalty

De Bonis Non: Latin: assets not yet administered. See the complete Legal Definition of De Bonis Non

Debtor: A person who owes money, goods or services to another, the latter being referred to as the creditor. See the complete Legal Definition of Debtor

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 the complete Legal Definition of Decapitation

Decree Absolute: The name given to a final and conclusive court order after the condition of an interim or intervening order (decree nisi) is met. See the complete Legal Definition of Decree Absolute

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. See the complete Legal Definition of Decree Nisi

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 the complete Legal Definition of Deed

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 the complete Legal Definition of Deem

De Facto: Latin: as a matter of fact; something which, while not necessarily lawful, exists in fact. See the complete Legal Definition of De Facto

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. The setting-off of two debts owed between two people by the agreement to a new amount representing the balance. See the complete Legal Definition of Defalcation

Defamation: An attack on the good reputation of a person, by slander or libel. See the complete Legal Definition of Defamation

Defeasance: A side-contract which contains a condition which, if realized, could defeat the main contract. See the complete Legal Definition of Defeasance

Defendant: The individual, 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 the complete Legal Definition of Defendant

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 the complete Legal Definition of Dehors

De Jure: Latin: of the law. See the complete Legal Definition of De Jure

Delegatus Non Potest Delegare: Latin: a delegate cannot delegate. See the complete Legal Definition of Delegatus Non Potest Delegare

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 the complete Legal Definition of Demarche

De Minimis Non Curat Lex: Latin: a common law principle whereby judges will not sit in judgment of extremely minor transgressions of the law. See the complete Legal Definition of De Minimis Non Curat Lex

Demurrer: A mostly obsolete 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 the complete Legal Definition of Demurrer

De Novo: Latin: new. See the complete Legal Definition of De Novo

Deportation: The removal of a foreign national under immigration laws for reasons such as illegal entry or conduct dangerous to the public welfare. See the complete Legal Definition of Deportation

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 the complete Legal Definition of Deposition

Descendant: Those person who are born of, or from children of, another are called that person’s descendants. See the complete Legal Definition of Descendant

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 the complete Legal Definition of Detinue

Devastavit: Latin for 'he has wasted.' See the complete Legal Definition of Devastavit

Devise: The transfer or conveyance of real property by will. See the complete Legal Definition of Devise

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. See the complete Legal Definition of Dicta or Dictum

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 the complete Legal Definition of Diplomat

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 the complete Legal Definition of Disbursement

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 the complete Legal Definition of Discretionary Trust

Disrate: A term of maritime law where an officer or other seaman is either demoted in rank or deprived of a promotion. See the complete Legal Definition of Disrate

Dissent: To disagree. See the complete Legal Definition of Dissent

Dissolution: The act of ending, terminating or winding-up a company or state of affairs. See the complete Legal Definition of Dissolution

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 the complete Legal Definition of Distraint

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 the complete Legal Definition of Dividend

Divorce: The final, legal ending of a marriage, by Court order. See the complete Legal Definition of Divorce

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 the complete Legal Definition of DNA

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 the complete Legal Definition of Docket

Doctrine: A rule or principle or the law established through the repeated application of legal precedents. See the complete Legal Definition of Doctrine

Domicile: The permanent residence of a person; a place to which, even if he or she were temporary absent, they intend to return. See the complete Legal Definition of Domicile

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 the complete Legal Definition of Dominant Tenement

Dominium Directum: Latin: qualified ownership of a land: not having possession or use of property but retaining ownership. See the complete Legal Definition of Dominium Directum

Dominion Utile: Latin: the property rights of a tenant. See the complete Legal Definition of Dominion Utile

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 the complete Legal Definition of Donatio Mortis Causa

Donee: The recipient of a trust; either the trustee or the beneficiary. See the complete Legal Definition of Donee

Donor: The person who donates property to the benefit of another, usually through the legal mechanism of a trust. See the complete Legal Definition of Donor

Duces Tecum: Latin: bring with you. See the complete Legal Definition of Duces Tecum

Due Process: 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 the complete Legal Definition of Due Process

Dum Casta: Latin: for so long as she remains chaste. See the complete Legal Definition of Dum Casta

Dum Sola: Latin: for so long as she remains unmarried. See the complete Legal Definition of Dum Sola

Dum Vidua: Latin: for so long as she remains a widow. See the complete Legal Definition of Dum Vidua

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 the complete Legal Definition of Duplex

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 the complete Legal Definition of Duress

Dower: A widow's life estate interest in her husband's real property if he died intestate. See the complete Legal Definition of Dower

Dangerous Offender: A person convicted of serious crimes and who is likely to re-offend. See the complete Legal Definition of Dangerous Offender

Diplomatic Immunity: Immunity extended to diplomat officers from criminal and civil jurisdiction of their host state. See the complete Legal Definition of Diplomatic Immunity

Diplomacy: Peaceful representations between states. See the complete Legal Definition of Diplomacy

Decedent: An individual who has died. See the complete Legal Definition of Decedent

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 the complete Legal Definition of Disability Insurance

Directed Verdict: When the Court stops a trial determining that an essential fact has not been proven. See the complete Legal Definition of Directed Verdict

Double Jeopardy: A prohibition against being tried or sentenced twice for the same offense. See the complete Legal Definition of Double Jeopardy

Defense Attorney or Defence Counsel: Lawyers who represent persons facing criminal charges. See the complete Legal Definition of Defense Attorney or Defence Counsel

District Attorney: A lawyer in the USA charged with prosecution of criminal charges on behalf of the government. See the complete Legal Definition of District Attorney

Diversity Jurisdiction: Jurisdiction of a US federal court to dispose of a matter meeting a monetary threshold even though it involves residents of different states. See the complete Legal Definition of Diversity Jurisdiction

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 the complete Legal Definition of Direct Evidence

Death: Irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions and of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem. See the complete Legal Definition of Death

Divorce a Mensa et Thoro: An obselete form of divorce order which did not end the marriage but allowed the parties to reside separate; in effect, a legal or judicially-sanctioned separation of two married persons. See the complete Legal Definition of Divorce a Mensa et Thoro

Demurrage: A term of maritime law which refers to the damages payable by a ship charterer, to the ship owner, as compensation for lost time; where a chartered ship is not returned to the owner on a specified date. See the complete Legal Definition of Demurrage

Delict: A civil law term which imposes liability on a person who causes injury to another, or for injury caused by a person or thing under his custody. See the complete Legal Definition of Delict

Deadbeat Dad: A father who ignores a Court order to pay child support. See the complete Legal Definition of Deadbeat Dad

Debt: An amount of money due and payable, from one person to another. See the complete Legal Definition of Debt

Democracy: A form of government in which the people freely govern themselves; where the executive (or administrative) and law-making (or legislative) power is given to persons chosen by the population; the free people. See the complete Legal Definition of Democracy

Dictatorship: A form of government with a single person as decision-maker; a single ruler. See the complete Legal Definition of Dictatorship

Defamatory Libel: Deliberate publication of defamatory lies which the publisher knows to be false. See the complete Legal Definition of Defamatory Libel

Deterrence: A principle or objective of sentencing a person guilty of a crime which ensures that the punishment is sufficient to deter the guilty person, and others, from committing the same crime. See the complete Legal Definition of Deterrence

Detention: The exercise of an element of physical constraint of an individual. See the complete Legal Definition of Detention

Diligence: The degree of attention or care required of a person in a given situation. See the complete Legal Definition of Diligence

Discharge: A sentence of a person found guilty of a crime in which that person does not receive a criminal record of conviction, either absolutely or conditionally. See the complete Legal Definition of Discharge

Dunnage: Materials used by ships to secure and protect cargo. See the complete Legal Definition of Dunnage

Derelict: Property that has been abandoned; especially in maritime law: a ship that is floundering or in peril and which the crew has been abandoned without hope for recovery or with no intention of saving the ship or of returning thereto. See the complete Legal Definition of Derelict

De Bene Esse: To take something for what it is worth, such as evidence collected for the time being, in the absence of, but in anticipation of, litigation, admissibility to be determined when such thing is sought to be used against another at trial. See the complete Legal Definition of De Bene Esse

Domestic Animal: A pet; dogs, cats or other tame animals or birds and which serve some purpose for its owner or others. See the complete Legal Definition of Domestic Animal

Domitae Naturae: Animals which are of a nature easily tamed and may be readily domesticated. See the complete Legal Definition of Domitae Naturae

Distress: A common law remedy available to landlords to hold the tenant's belongings while the tenant is behind on rent but continues to occupy the premises. See the complete Legal Definition of Distress

Death Duties: Tax payments due to the state, incurred and payable as a result of the death of the tax-payer. See the complete Legal Definition of Death Duties

Direct Tax: A tax demanded from the very persons who it is intended or desired should pay it. See the complete Legal Definition of Direct Tax

Discrimination: A distinction based on the personal characteristics of an individual resulting in some disadvantage to that individual. See the complete Legal Definition of Discrimination

Delusion: A firm yet irrational belief and which may affect an individual's capacity to contract. See the complete Legal Definition of Delusion

Deceptive Trade Practice: An intentional act or omission in the course of trade or commerce that has the tendency or capacity to mislead or create the likelihood of deception. See the complete Legal Definition of Deceptive Trade Practice

Derivative Work: Intellectual property (copyright): a work that builds on, or reassembles, with some degree of originality, existing works. See the complete Legal Definition of Derivative Work

Debenture: A document which creates or acknowledges a debt or loan. See the complete Legal Definition of Debenture

Divine Right of Kings: A doctrine of absolute right of a monarch premised on the belief that an individual's tenure as monarch was an act of God, and thus the king can set the law, or to ignore or change the law as may have been set by a representational parliament. See the complete Legal Definition of Divine Right of Kings

Disclaimer: A renunciation or refusal of rights or liability which might otherwise fall upon the person. See the complete Legal Definition of Disclaimer

Discontinuance: A formal notice filed with the Court and served on the defendant, ending active litigation. See the complete Legal Definition of Discontinuance

Dereliction: The enlarging of land adjacent to water by the gradual retreat of the water line. See the complete Legal Definition of Dereliction

Decree: A decision or order of government or judicial body. See the complete Legal Definition of Decree

Day: A consecutive period of 24 hours. See the complete Legal Definition of Day

Due Diligence: Reasonable verifications and precautions taken to identify or prevent forseeable risks. See the complete Legal Definition of Due Diligence

Director: Senior manager(s) selected by shareholders to manage a corporation. See the complete Legal Definition of Director

Dummy Corporation: A corporation created solely for the purpose of insulating an individual or another corporation from liability in either contract or import. See the complete Legal Definition of Dummy Corporation

Defunct Company: A corporation which has been cancelled by the jurisdiction which initially created it. See the complete Legal Definition of Defunct Company

Discovery: The making known to the other side of a law suit, of all relevant evidence. See the complete Legal Definition of Discovery

Dedimus Potestatem de Attornato Faciendo: Latin: An ancient common law exemption from the requirement to attend any court summons in person allowing, instead, representation by an attorney. See the complete Legal Definition of Dedimus Potestatem de Attornato Faciendo

Damnum Absque Injuria: Latin: harm absent a wrong. See the complete Legal Definition of Damnum Absque Injuria

Damnum Injuria Datum: Latin: wrongful injury to the property of another. See the complete Legal Definition of Damnum Injuria Datum

Dhimmi: Muslim law: non-Muslims. See the complete Legal Definition of Dhimmi

Diyya: Muslim law: the payment by an aggressor to his victim of a sum of money to thus avoid a retaliation punishment ("kisas"). See the complete Legal Definition of Diyya

Djabr: Muslim law: a father's right to constrain his son or daughter into a marriage of the father’s choosing. See the complete Legal Definition of Djabr

Deponent: A person who gives evidence verified by oath, as within an affidavit. See the complete Legal Definition of Deponent

Derivative Action: A class action brought for a wrong done to a corporation. See the complete Legal Definition of Derivative Action

Demand Letter: A letter from a lawyer, on behalf of a client, that demands payment or some other action, which is allegedly due or in default. See the complete Legal Definition of Demand Letter

Dangerous Driving: The operating of a motor vehicle in a manner which has as one of its inherent qualities the exposure of the public to harm or injury. See the complete Legal Definition of Dangerous Driving

Deceit: Willful or reckless misrepresentation or concealment of material facts with an intent to mislead. See the complete Legal Definition of Deceit

Deliberative Secrecy: The intentional concealment of the process of cogitating, consulting or other private methods of arriving at a judicial decision. See the complete Legal Definition of Deliberative Secrecy

Denunciation: A principle of sentencing in criminal law; that the sentence send a clear message to the general public that the offence is serious and the punishment just. See the complete Legal Definition of Denunciation

Dementia: A chronic impairment of cognitive and intellectual functioning including memory impairment, which interferes with the activities of daily living. See the complete Legal Definition of Dementia

Delirium: A sudden onset of acute confusion and hyperactivity. See the complete Legal Definition of Delirium

DSM-IV: The American Psychiatric Association mental disorder manual and classification. See the complete Legal Definition of DSM-IV

Defence of Habitation: The right to use lethal force to prevent a felony committed within a person's home. See the complete Legal Definition of Defence of Habitation