Jactitation
A false boast designed to increase standing at the expense of another.
This used to form the basis of an ancient legal petition called "jactitation
of marriage" wherein a person could be ordered by the courts to cease
claims of being married to a certain person when, in fact, they were not
married. The tort of slander of title is a form of jactitation. .
Joint
custody
A child custody decision which means that both parents share joint legal
custody and joint physical custody. This is not very common and many professionals
have taken to referring to "joint legal custody but sole maternal
physical custody" as "joint custody".
Joint
tenancy
When two or more persons are equally owners of some property. The unique
aspect of joint tenancy is that as the joint tenancy owners die, their
shares accrue to the surviving owner(s) so that, eventually, the entire
share is held by one person. A valid joint tenancy is said to require
the "four unities": unity of interest (each joint tenant must
have an equal interest including equality of duration and extent), unity
of title (the interests must arise from the same document), unity of possession
(each joint tenant must have an equal right to occupy the entire property)
and unity of time: the interests of the joint tenants must arise at the
same time.
Judicial
review
When a court decision is appealed, it is known as an "appeal."
But there are many administrative agencies or tribunals, which make decisions
or deliver government services of one sort or another, the decisions of
which can also be "appealed." In many cases, the "appeal"
from administrative agencies is known as "judicial review" which
is essentially a process where a court of law is asked to rule on the
appropriateness of the administrative agency or tribunal's decision. Judicial
review is a fundamental principle of administrative law. A distinctive
feature of judicial review is that the "appeal" is not usually
limited to errors in law but may be based on alleged errors on the part
of the administrative agency on findings of fact.
Jure
Latin, from Roman law: by right, under legal authority or by the authority
of the law. A variation, "juris" means "of right"
or "of the law." See jurisprudence below which means "science
of the law."
Jury
A group of citizens randomly selected from the general population and
brought together to assist justice by deciding which version, in their
opinion, constitutes "the truth" given different evidence by
opposing parties.
Jus
Latin: word, which, in Roman law, meant the law or a right. Also spelt
"ius" in some English translations. For example, public law
was called "jus publicum" and private law was called "jus
privatum."
