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Legal Terms

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AKA: ”Also known as”. Used to list aliases or another name, or another spelling of a name used by a person. 

Adjournment: Postponement of a court session until another time or place. 

Affirmation: Declaring something to be true under the penalty of perjury by a person who will not take an oath for religious or other reasons. 

Affidavit: A written statement made under oath, swearing to the truth of the contests of a document. 

Allegation: Saying that something is true. The assertion, declaration or statement of a party in a case, made in a pleading. 

Answer: A court document, or pleading, in a civil case, by which the defendant responds to the plaintiff’s complaint. 

Appeal: a request made after a trial by a party that has lost on one or more issues that a higher court review the decision to determine if it was correct. To make such a request is “to appeal” or “to take an appeal.” One who appeals is called the “appellant;” the other party is the “appellee.” 

Appearance: The official court form filed with the court clerk which tells the court that you are representing yourself in a lawsuit or criminal case or that an attorney is representing you. All court notices and calendars will be mailed to the address listed on the form. When a defendant in a civil case files an appearance, the person is submitting to the court’s jurisdiction. 

Appellee: The party against whom an appeal is taken. 

Attorney of Record: Attorney whose name appears in the permanent records or files of a case.