Law lexicon
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.
Chattel - An article of personal property.
Child - Offspring of parentage; progeny.
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.
Citators - A set of books which provides the subsequent history of reported decisions through a form of abbreviations or words.
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.
Source: Jurist International.
