M

Magistrate (See U.S. Magistrate Judge.)

Judicial officer exercising some of the functions of a judge. It also refers in a general way to a judge.

Malfeasance

The commission of an unlawful act.

Malicious prosecution

An action instituted with intention of injuring the defendant and without probable cause, and which terminates in favor of the person prosecuted.

Malpractice

Any professional misconduct.

Manslaughter

The unlawful killing of another without intent to kill; either voluntary (upon a sudden impulse); or involuntary (during the commission of an unlawful act not ordinarily expected to result in great bodily harm). (See also murder.)

Marshal

The executive officer of the federal court.

Martindale-Hubbell Law

A publication of several volumes which contains names, addresses, Director specialties, and rating of United States lawyers; also includes digests of state and foreign statutory law.

Mediation

A form of alternative dispute resolution in which the parties bring their dispute to a neutral third party, who helps them agree on a settlement.

Memorandum

An informal note or instrument embodying something the parties desire to have in written evidence.

Memorialized

In writing.

Merger

The absorption of one thing or right into another.

Minor

A person under the age of legal competence.

Minute book

A book maintained by the courtroom deputy (bailiff), which contains minute entries of all hearings and trial conducted by the judge.

Minutes

Memorandum of a transaction or proceeding.

Miranda warning

Requirement that police tell a suspect in their custody of his or her constitutional rights before they question him or her. So named as a result of the Miranda v. Arizona ruling by the United States Supreme Court.

Misdemeanor

A criminal offense lesser than a felony and generally punishable by fine or by imprisonment other than in a penitentiary.

Misfeasance

Improper performance of an act which a person might lawfully do.

Mistrial

An invalid trial, caused by fundamental error. When a mistrial is declared, the trial must start again from the selection of the jury.

Mitigating circumstances

Those which do not constitute a justification or excuse for an offense but which may be considered as reasons for reducing the degree of blame.

Mittimus

The name of an order in writing, issuing from a court and directing the sheriff or other officer to convey a person to a prison, asylum, or reformatory, and directing the jailer or other appropriate official to receive and safely keep the person until his or her fate shall be determined by due course of law.

Mitigation

A reduction, abatement, or diminution of a penalty or punishment imposed by law.

Moot

A moot case or a moot point is one not subject to a judicial determination because it involves an abstract question or a pretended controversy that has not yet actually arisen or has already passed. Mootness usually refers to a court’s refusal to consider a case because the issue involved has been resolved prior to the court’s decision, leaving nothing that would be affected by the court’s decision.

Motion

An application made to a court or judge which requests a ruling or order in favor of the applicant.

Motion in Limine

A motion made by counsel requesting that information which might be prejudicial not be allowed to be heard in a case.

Murder

The unlawful killing of a human being with deliberate intent to kill: (1) murder in the first degree is characterized by premeditation; (2) murder in the second degree is characterized by a sudden and instantaneous intent to kill or to cause injury without caring whether the injury kills or not.

L

Lapsed gift

A gift made in a will to a person who has died prior to the will-makers death.

Larceny

Obtaining property by fraud or deceit.

Law

The combination of those rules and principles of conduct promulgated by legislative authority, derived from court decisions and established by local custom.

Law Blank

A printed legal form available for preparing documents.

Law Clerk

In the United States, usually a law school student employed by a law firm to do research and other tasks. In the courts, a lawyer (or law school student) employed to do legal research.

Lawsuit

An action or proceeding in a civil court; term used for a suit or action between two private parties in a court of law.

Leading question

A question that suggests the answer desired of the witness. A party generally may not ask one’s own witness leading questions. Leading questions may be asked only of hostile witnesses and on cross-examination.

Legal aid

Professional legal services available usually to persons or organizations unable to afford such services.

Legal process

A formal paper that is legally valid; something issuing from the court, usually a command such as a writ or mandate.

Legal texts

Books that cover specific areas of the law, usually dealing with a single topic.

Legislation

The act of giving or enacting laws; the power to make laws via legislation in contrast to court-made laws.

Legitimate

That which is legal, lawful, recognized by law or according to law.

Leniency

Recommendation for a sentence less than the maximum allowed.

Letters of Administration

Legal document issued by a court that shows an administrator’s legal right to take control of assets in the deceased person’s name.

Letters Testamentary

Legal document issued by a court that shows an executor’s legal right to take control of assets in the deceased person’s name.

Liable

Legally responsible.

Libel

Published defamation which tends to injure a person’s reputation.

Licensing boards

State agencies created to regulate the issuance of licenses, i.e., to contractors, cosmetologists, realtors, etc.

Lien

An encumbrance or legal burden upon property.

Limine

(See “in limine” in Foreign Words Glossary).

Limited Jurisdiction

Refers to courts that are limited in the types of criminal and civil cases they may hear. For example, traffic violations generally are heard by limited jurisdiction courts.

Litigant

A party to a lawsuit.

Litigation

A lawsuit; a legal action, including all proceedings therein.

Living trust

A trust set up and in effect during the lifetime of the grantor. (Also called inter vivos trust.)

Loose-leaf services

Loose-leaf replacement pages provided by a publisher in areas of the law where changes occur at a rapid rate.

J

Joint and several liability

A legal doctrine that makes each of the parties who are responsible for an injury, liable for all the damages awarded in a lawsuit if the other parties responsible cannot pay.

Joint tenancy

A form of legal co-ownership of property (also known as survivorship). At the death of one co-owner, the surviving co-owner becomes sole owner of the property. Tenancy by the entirety is a special form of joint tenancy between a husband and wife.

Judge

A presiding officer of the court.

Judgment

The official and authentic decision of a court of justice upon the rights and claims of parties to an action or suit submitted to the court for determination. (See also summary judgment.)

Judgment debtor

One who owes money as a result of a judgment in favor of a creditor.

Judicial lien

A lien obtained by judgment or other judicial process against a debtor.

Judicial review

The authority of a court to review the official actions of other branches of government. Also, the authority to declare unconstitutional the actions of other branches.

Judiciary

The branch of government invested with judicial power to interpret and apply the law; the court system; the body of judges; then bench.

Jurat

Certificate of person and officer before whom a writing is sworn to.

Jurisdiction

The power or authority of a court to hear and try a case; the geographic area in which a court has power or the types of cases it has power to hear.

Jurisprudence

The study of law and the structure of the legal system.

Jury

A certain number of men and women selected according to law and sworn to try a question of fact or indict a person for public offense.

Jury Administrator

The court officer responsible for choosing the panel of persons to serve as potential jurors for a particular court term.

Justiciable

Issues and claims capable of being properly examined in court.

I

Immigrants

Persons who come into a foreign country or region to live.

Immigration

The entry of foreign persons into a country to live permanently.

Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)

A federal agency which regulates immigration and naturalization of aliens.

Immunity

Grant by the court, which assures someone will not face prosecution in return for providing criminal evidence.

Impeachment

A criminal proceeding against a public official.

Impeachment of a witness

An attack on the credibility (believability) of a witness, through evidence introduced for that purpose.

Implied Consent

Is an agreement made between the recipient of a Florida State Drivers License and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles that states that if the licensee is arrested for Driving under the Influence the licensee is required by law to have their license suspended for 6 months or 1 year if they refuse to submit to a breath test.

Implied contract

A contract not created or evidenced by the explicit agreement of the parties but one inferred by law; as the use of electric power in your home implies a contract with the light company.

Inadmissible

That which, under the rules of evidence, cannot be admitted or received as evidence.

Incapacity

Lack of legal ability to act; disability, incompetence; lack of adequate power.

Incarceration

Imprisonment in a jail or penitentiary.

Incompetent

One who lacks ability, legal qualification, or fitness to manage his own affairs.

Independent executor

A special kind of executor, permitted by the laws of certain states, who performs the duties of an executor without intervention by the court.

Indeterminate sentence

A sentence of imprisonment to a specified minimum and maximum period of time, specifically authorized by statute, subject to termination by a parole board or other authorized agency after the prisoner has served the minimum term.

Indictment

A written accusation by a grand jury charging a person with a crime. (See information.)

Indigent

Needy or impoverished. A defendant who can demonstrate his or her indigence to the court may be assigned a court-appointed attorney at public expense.

Initial appearance

The defendant comes before a judge within hours of the arrest to determine whether or not there is probable cause for his or her arrest.

Information

Accusatory document, filed by the prosecutor, detailing the charges against the defendant. An alternative to an indictment, it serves to bring a defendant to trial.

Infraction

A violation of law not punishable by imprisonment. Minor traffic offenses generally are considered infractions.

Injunction

A prohibitive order or remedy issued by the court at the suit of the complaining party, which forbids the defendant to do some act which he is threatening or attempting to do. Conversely, it may require him to perform an act which he is obligated to perform but refuses to do.

Insolvent

When the total debt of an entity is greater than all of its property.

Instructions

Judge’s explanation to the jury before it begins deliberations of the question it must answer and the applicable law governing the case. (Also referred to as charge.)

Intangible assets

Nonphysical items such as stock certificates, bonds, bank accounts, and pension benefits that have value and must be taken into account in estate planning.

Intentional tort

Wrong perpetrated by one who intends to break the law.

Interlocutory

Temporary; provisional; interim; not final.

Interrogatories

A set or series of written questions propounded to a party, witness, or other person having information or interest in a case; a discovery device.

Intervention

An action by which a third person who may be affected by a lawsuit is permitted to become a party to the suit.

Involuntary bankruptcy

A proceeding initiated by creditors requesting the bankruptcy court to place a debtor in liquidation.

Issue

  1. The disputed pint in a disagreement between parties in a lawsuit.
  2. To send out officially, as in to issue an order.

H

Habeas corpus

The name of a writ having for its object to bring a person before a court.

Headnote

A brief summary of a legal rule or significant facts in a case, which along with other headnotes, precedes the printed opinion in reports.

Hearing

A formal proceeding (generally less formal than a trial) with definite issues of law or of fact to be heard. Hearings are used extensively by legislative and administrative agencies.

Hearsay

Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.

Hostile witness

A witness whose testimony is not favorable to the party who calls him or her as a witness. A hostile witness may be asked leading questions and may be cross-examined by the party who calls him or her to the stand.

Hung jury

A jury whose members cannot agree upon a verdict.

G

Garnishment

A legal proceeding in which a debtor’s money, in the possession of another (called the garnishee) is applied to the debts of the debtor, such as when an employer garnishes a debtor’s wages.

General jurisdiction

Refers to courts that have no limit on the types of criminal and civil cases they may hear.

Good time

A reduction in sentenced time in prison as a reward for good behavior. It usually is one third to one half of the maximum sentence.

Grand Jury

A jury of inquiry whose duty it is to receive complaints and accusations in criminal matters and if appropriate issue a formal indictment.

Grantor

The person who sets up a trust. Also referred to as “settlor.”

Grievance

In labor law a complaint filed by an employee regarding working conditions to be resolved by procedural machinery provided in the union contract. An injury, injustice, or wrong which gives ground for complaint.

Guardian

A person appointed by will or by law to assume responsibility for incompetent adults or minor children. If a parent dies, this will usually be the other parent. If both die, it probably will be a close relative.

Guardianship

Legal right given to a person to be responsible for the food, housing, health care, and other necessities of a person deemed incapable of providing these necessities for himself or herself.

F

Family law

Those areas of the law pertaining to families, i.e., marriage, divorce, child custody, juvenile, paternity, etc.

Federal Bureau of (FBI)

A federal agency which investigates all violations of federal Investigation laws.

Felony

A serious criminal offense. Under federal law any offense punishable by death or imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.

Fiduciary

A person or institution who manages money or property for another and who must exercise a standard care imposed by law, i.e., personal representative or executor of an estate, a trustee, etc.

File

To place a paper in the official custody of the clerk of court/court administrator to enter into the files or records of a case.

Filing Fee

The fee required for filing various documents.

Finding

Formal conclusion by a judge or regulatory agency on issues of fact. Also, a conclusion by a jury regarding a fact.

Foreclosure

A court proceeding upon default in a mortgage to vest title in the mortgagee.

Forfeiture

A cancellation. A legal action whereby a contract purchaser following default loses all his interest in the property.

Fraud

A false representation of a matter of fact which is intended to deceive another.

E

Elements of a crime

Specific factors that define a crime which the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt in order to obtain a conviction: (1) that a crime has actually occurred, (2) that the accused intended the crime to happen, and (3) a timely relationship between the first two factors.

Eminent Domain

The power of the government to take private property for public use through condemnation.

Enjoining

An order by the court telling a person to stop performing a specific act.

Entity

A person or legally recognized organization.

Entrapment

The act of inducing a person to commit a crime so that a criminal charge will be brought against him.

Entry

A statement of conclusion reached by the court and placed in the court record.

Environment

The conditions, influences, or forces which affect the desirability and value of property, as well as the effect on people’s lives.

Equal Protection of the Law

The guarantee in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that all persons be treated equally by the law.

Equity

Justice administered according to fairness; the spirit or habit of fairness in dealing with other persons.

Escheat

The process by which a deceased person’s property goes to the state if no heir can be found.

Escrow

Money or a written instrument such as a deed that, by agreement between two parties, is held by a neutral third party (held in escrow) until all conditions of the agreement are met.

Esquire

In the United States the title commonly appended after the name of an attorney. In English law a title of dignity next above gentleman and below knight. Title also given to barristers at law and others. Abbreviated: Esq.

Estate

A person’s property.

Estate tax

Generally, a tax on the privilege of transferring property to others after a person’s death. In addition to federal estate taxes, many states have their own estate taxes.

Estoppel

An impediment that prevents a person from asserting or doing something contrary to his own previous assertion or act.

Ethics

Of or relating to moral action and conduct; professionally right; conforming to professional standards.

Evidence

Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.

Exceptions

Declarations by either side in a civil or criminal case reserving the right to appeal a judge’s ruling upon a motion. Also, in regulatory cases, objections by either side to points made by the other side or to rulings by the agency or one of its hearing officers.

Exclusionary Rule

The rule preventing illegally obtained evidence to be used in any trial.

Execute

To complete; to sign; to carry out according to its terms.

Executor

A personal representative, named in a will, who administers an estate.

Exempt property

All the property of a debtor which is not attachable under the Bankruptcy Code or the state statute.

Exhibit

A document or other item introduced as evidence during a trial or hearing.

Exonerate

Removal of a charge, responsibility, or duty.

Ex parte

On behalf of only one party, without notice to any other party. For example, a request for a search warrant is an ex parte proceeding, since the person subject to the search is not notified of the proceeding and is not present at the hearing.

Ex parte proceeding

Action Circumstances which render a crime less aggravated, heinous, or reprehensible than it would otherwise be.

Expungement

The process by which the record of criminal conviction is destroyed or sealed.

Extradition

The surrender of an accused criminal by one state to the jurisdiction of another.

D

Damages

Money awarded by a court to a person injured by the unlawful actor negligence of another person.

Debtor

One who owes a debt to another; a person filing for relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

Decision

The opinion of the court in concluding a case at law.

Declaratory judgment

A statutory remedy for judicial determination of a controversy where plaintiff is in doubt about his legal rights.

Decree

An order of the court. A final decree is one that fully and finally disposes of the litigation. (See interlocutory.)

Defamation

That which tends to injure a person’s reputation. (See libel and slander.)

Default

Failure of the defendant to appear and answer the summons and complaint.

Default judgment

A judgment entered against a party who fails to appear in court or respond to the charges.

Defendant

The person defending or denying a suit.

Defense of property

Affirmative defense in criminal law or tort law where force was used to protect one’s property.

Deficient

Incomplete; defective; not sufficient in quantity or force.

Demurrer

A pleading filed by the defendant that the complaint as filed is not sufficient to require an answer.

Dependent

One who derives existence and support from another.

Deposition

Testimony of a witness or a party taken under oath outside the courtroom, the transcript of which becomes a part of the court’s file.

Direct evidence

Proof of facts by witnesses who saw acts done or heard words spoken.

Direct examination

The first questioning of witnesses by the party on whose behalf they are called.

Directed verdict

In a case in which the plaintiff has failed to present on the facts of his case proper evidence for jury consideration, the trial judge may order the entry of a verdict without allowing the jury to consider it.

Disclaim

To refuse a gift made in a will.

Discovery

The name given pretrial devices for obtaining facts and information about the case.

Dismissal

The termination of a lawsuit. (See with prejudice and without prejudice.)

Dissent To disagree

An appellate court opinion setting forth the minority view and outlining the disagreement of one or more judges with the decision of the majority.

Dissolution

The termination; process of dissolving or winding up something.

Diversion

The process of removing some minor criminal, traffic, or juvenile cases from the full judicial process, on the condition that the accused undergo some sort of rehabilitation or make restitution for damages.

Docket

An abstract or listing of all pleadings filed in a case; the book containing such entries; trial docket is a list of or calendar of cases to be tried in a certain term.

Docket control

A system for keeping track of deadlines and court dates for both litigation and non-litigation matters.

Domicile

The place where a person has his permanent home to which he intends to return.

Double jeopardy

Putting a person on trial more than once for the same crime. It is forbidden by the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Due process of law

The right of all persons to receive the guarantees and safeguards of the law and the judicial process. It includes such constitutional requirements as adequate notice, assistance of counsel, and the rights to remain silent, to a speedy and public trial, to an impartial jury, and to confront and secure witnesses.

C

Capital crime

A crime punishable by death.

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. (See stare decisis in Foreign Words Glossary.)

Cases

General term for an action, cause, suit, or controversy, at law or in equity; questions contested before a court of justice.

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.

Certiorari

A writ of review issued by a higher court to a lower court. A means of getting an appellate court to review a lower court’s decision. If an appellate court grants a writ of certiorari, it agrees to take the appeal. (Sometimes referred to as “granting cert.”)

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.

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.

Citation

A writ or order issued by a court commanding the person named therein to appear at the time and place named; also the written reference to legal authorities, precedents, reported cases, etc., in briefs or other legal documents.

Civil

Relating to private rights and remedies sought by civil actions as contrasted with criminal proceedings.

Civil action

An action brought to enforce or protect private rights.

Civil law

Law based on a series of written codes or laws.

Civil procedure

The rules and process by which a civil case is tried and appealed, including the preparations for trial, the rules of evidence and trial conduct, and the procedure for pursuing appeals.

Claim

A debt owing by a debtor to another person or business. In probate parlance, the term used for debts of the decedent and a procedure that must be followed by a creditor to obtain payment from his estate.

Class action

A lawsuit brought by one or more persons on behalf of a larger group.

Clear and convincing evidence

Standard of proof commonly used in civil lawsuits and in regulatory agency cases. It governs the amount of proof that must be offered in order for the plaintiff to win the case.

Clemency or executive clemency

Act of grace or mercy by the president or governor to ease the consequences of a criminal act, accusation, or conviction. (Sometimes known as commutation or pardon.)

Clerk of Court

Administrator or chief clerical officer of the court.

Closing argument

The closing statement, by counsel, to the trier of facts after all parties have concluded their presentation of evidence.

Codicil

An amendment to a will.

Commit

To send a person to prison, asylum, or reformatory by a court order.

Common law

Also case law. Law established by subject matter heard in earlier cases.

Commutation

The reduction of a sentence, as from death to life imprisonment.

Comparative negligence

The rule under which negligence is measured by percentage, and damages are diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the person seeking recovery.

Complainant

The party who complains or sues; one who applies to the court for legal redress. (See also plaintiff.)

Complaint

  1. The legal document that usually begins a civil lawsuit. It states the facts and identifies the action the court is asked to take.
  2. Formal written charge that a person has committed a criminal offense.

Conciliation

A form of alternative dispute resolution in which the parties bring their dispute to a neutral third party, who helps lower tensions, improve communications, and explore possible solutions. Conciliation is similar to mediation, but is may be less formal.

Concurrent sentences

Sentences for more than one crime that are to be served at the same time, rather than one after the other. (See also cumulative or consecutive sentences.)

Condemnation

The legal process by which the government takes private land for public use, paying the owners a fair price. (See eminent domain.)

Conformed copy

An exact copy of a document on which has been written things that could not or were not copied, i.e., a written signature is replaced on the conformed copy with a notation that it was signed by the parties.

Consecutive sentences

Successive sentences, one beginning at the expiration of another, imposed against a person convicted of two or more violations. (See also cumulative or concurrent sentences.)

Consent

Agreement; voluntary acceptance of the wish of another.

Conservatorship

Legal right given to a person to manage the property and financial affairs of a person deemed incapable of doing that for himself or herself. (See also guardianship.)

Consideration

The price bargained for and paid for a promise, goods, or real estate.

Constitution

The fundamental law of a nation or state which establishes the character and basic principles of the government.

Constitutional law

Law set forth in the Constitution of the United States and the state constitutions.

Consumer bankruptcy

A proceeding under the Bankruptcy Code filed by an individual (or husband and wife) who is not in business.

Contempt of court

Willful disobedience of a judge’s command or of an official court order.

Continuance

Postponement of a legal proceeding to a later date.

Contract

An agreement between two or more persons which creates an obligation to do or not to do a particular thing. A legally enforceable agreement between two or more competent parties made either orally or in writing.

Contributory negligence

The rule of law under which an act or omission of plaintiff is a contributing cause of injury and a bar to recovery.

Conveyance

Instrument transferring title of land for one person or group of persons to another.

Conviction

A judgment of guilt against a criminal defendant.

Corroborating evidence

Supplementary evidence that tends to strengthen or confirm the initial evidence.

Counsel

A legal adviser; a term used to refer to lawyers in a case.

Counterclaim

A claim made by the defendant in a civil lawsuit against the plaintiff. In essence, a counter lawsuit within a lawsuit.

Court

A body in government to which the administration of justice is delegated.

Court appointed attorney

Attorney appointed by the court to represent a defendant, usually with respect to criminal charges and without the defendant having to pay for the representation.

Court costs

The expenses of prosecuting or defending a lawsuit, other than the attorney fees. An amount of money may be awarded to the successful party (and may be recoverable from the losing party) as reimbursement for court costs.

Court of original jurisdiction

A court where a matter is initiated and heard in the first instance; a trial court.

Court reporter

A person who transcribes by shorthand or stenographically takes down testimony during court proceedings, a deposition, or other trial-related proceeding.

Court rules

Regulations governing practice and procedure in the various courts.

Creditor

A person to whom a debt is owed by another.

Crime

An act in violation of the penal laws of a state or the United States. A positive or negative act in violation of penal law.

Criminal justice system

The network of courts and tribunals which deal with criminal law and its enforcement.

Cross-claim

A pleading which asserts a claim arising out of the same subject action as the original complaint against a co-party, i.e., one co-defendant cross claims against another co-defendant for contribution for any damages assessed against him.

Cross-examination

The questioning of a witness produced by the other side.

Cumulative sentences

Sentences for two or more crimes to run consecutively, rather than concurrently.

Custody

Detaining of a person by lawful process or authority to assure his or her appearance to any hearing; the jailing or imprisonment of a person convicted of a crime.

Case Results

Three Felony Charges Dismissed

The Client was originally charged with three Felony counts of escaping from law enforcement custody, resisting officer, and battery on a law enforcement. Defense was able to get the State to agree on a diversion program
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Found Not Guilty at Trial for Domestic Violence Battery

Hillsborough County 11-CM-14886 Domestic Violence Battery
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NO CONVICTION FOR STALKING CHARGE IN ORANGE COUNTY

The client was charged with Stalking in Orange County, FL, for repeated texts to the alleged victim after the couple ended their relationship. The alleged victim filed an injunction which was successfully dismissed and the
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