Tenant: A person who rents property.

Testate: A person who has made a will or who has died leaving a valid will. Testify: To give evidence as a witness under oath.

Testify: To provide oral evidence under oath at a trial or at a deposition.

Third-Party Action: An action taken by anyone who is not a party to a contract, agreement, or other transaction.

Third-Party Claim: An interest or share in property that has been seized by order of a court.

Time Waiver: To relinquish the right to a specified amount of time in which a certain phase of the legal process would normally take place.

Title: The ownership or evidence of ownership of land or other property.

Tort: A private or civil wrong, independent of contract; failure to perform some duty imposed by law or custom, resulting in injury to another.

Tort-Feasor: A person who commits or is guilty of a tort.

Traffic Violations Case: A classification that includes cases involving alleged violations of minor traffic laws, infractions or local ordinances.

Transcript: An official, written, verbatim record of a judicial proceeding.

Trial: The hearing and determination of issues of fact and law, in accordance with prescribed legal procedures, in order to reach a disposition. Bench: A court trial is one heard and decided by a judge.

Trial Jury: A jury trial is one heard and decided by a jury, which usually consists of twelve people.

Tribunal: A court, administrative agency, or quasi judicial agency authorized to establish or modify support orders or to determine parentage.

Trustee: (1) A person who, having legal title to property, holds it for the benefit of another; (2) in a bankruptcy case, a person appointed to represent the interests of the bankruptcy estate and the unsecured creditors. The trustee's responsibilities may include liquidating the property of the estate, making distributions to creditors, and bringing actions against creditors or the debtor to recover property of the bankruptcy estate.

Trust Fund: Money, stocks, bonds, or securities held by or under the control of someone for the use and benefit of another.

U

Underwriter: Another term for an insurer, one who assumes the risk of another's loss and compensates for the loss under the terms of an insurance policy.

Unlawful: Against or not authorized by the law. Also called illicit or illegal.

Unlawful Detainer: When a person detains or continues to hold some real property that is no longer rightfully theirs. An unlawful detainer is also the name for a summary civil action in which a landlord seeks to evict a tenant who the landlord claims is no longer entitled to live on the premises.

Uphold: When an appellate court agrees with the lower court decision and allows it to stand.

U.S. Attorney: A lawyer appointed by the President in each judicial district to prosecute and defend cases for the federal government. The U.S. Attorney employs a staff of assistant U S. Attorneys who appear as the government's attorneys in individual cases.

V

Vacate the Default Judgment: Getting a default judgment removed or erased.

Venire: Most commonly used to describe the whole group of people called for jury duty from which the jurors are selected. From the Latin for "to come" (as in to come, or appear, before the court).

Venue: The geographical limits of a court's jurisdiction. The venue of a Superior Court is a county.

Verdict: The final decision of a jury.

General: A verdict given in a civil case in which the jury finds in favor of the plaintiff or in favor of the defendant.

Special/Directed: In a civil case, a verdict given by the judge after considering the law as it applies to the case and after the jury states its conclusions on a specific factual issue.

Verification: An oral or written statement that something is true, usually sworn to under oath.

Violation: A breach of a right, duty, or law.

Voir dire: The process by which judges and lawyers select a trial jury from among those eligible to serve by questioning them to make certain that they can fairly decide the case; from the French for "to speak the truth."

W

Wage Garnishment: A legal procedure that requires the employer of a judgment debtor to withhold a portion of the judgment debtor's wages to satisfy a judgment.

Waiver: To give up a legal right voluntarily, intentionally, and with full knowledge of the consequences.

Waiver of Rights: A form signed by a defendant and the judge recording which, if any, legal rights are waived by the defendant.

Ward of the Court: A minor whose care and control is held by the court rather than by the parent(s).

Warrant: A written order issued and signed by a judicial officer directing a peace officer to take specific action. Can be: (1) an arrest warrant, i.e., one that commands a peace officer to arrest and bring before the court the person accused of an offense for purpose of commencing legal action; (2) a bench warrant, i.e., a written order issued by the court from the judge or bench commanding a person's arrest because of his or her failure to appear in court; (3) a recall warrant, i.e., a procedure for removing from Department of Justice and state police computers information concerning canceled warrants in order to avoid mistaken arrests; or (4) a search warrant, i.e., an order issued by a judge, based on a finding of probable cause, directing law enforcement officers to conduct a search of specific premises for specific persons or things and to bring them before the court.

Warrant of Arrest: A court order for arrest of a defendant, under affidavit, before defendant's appearance at a specific place or time has been scheduled. Issuance of the warrant by the clerk (not the court order for issuance of the arrest warrant.)

Warrant Bench: A court order for arrest of an already charged defendant because of defendant's failure to appear in court at a specific time and place. Issuance of the warrant by the clerk (not the court's order for issuance of the bench warrant.)

Warranty of Habitability: A promise that goes with the rental of residential property that it will be fit for human habitation, including working plumbing and electrical systems, locking doors and windows, watertight roof, and other health and safety conditions. This promise is by statute, even if the landlord does not include it in the lease or rental agreement.

Will: The written instrument by which a person declares his or her wishes about the disposition of personal property after death.

Wiretapping: Eavesdropping on private conversations by connecting listening equipment to a telephone line. To be legal, wire tapping must be authorized by a search warrant or court order.

Witness: A person called by either side in a lawsuit to give testimony before the court or jury.

Writ: A written order or directive issued by a court commanding that certain action be taken. Can be a writ of: (1) attachment, i.e., one that orders that specified property be attached; (2) certiorari, i.e., an order by an appellate court granting or denying a review of judgment; (3) execution, i.e., an order directing the enforcement of a court judgment; (4) habeas corpus, i.e., a writ that orders the release of someone who has been unlawfully imprisoned; (5) mandamus (or mandate), i.e., a writ that orders the performance of any act designated by law to be part of a person's duty or status; or (6) prohibition, i.e., the counterpart of a writ of mandate that orders that further proceedings or other official acts be stopped (usually issued from a higher to a lower court).

Writ of Certiorari: An order issued by the U.S. Supreme Court directing a lower court to transmit records for a case that the Supreme Court will hear on appeal.

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