Law Dictionaries: http://www.law.stetson.edu/law/dictionaries.htm?id=209.179.141.63

A law passed by a legislature. [pronounce: stah-chute]

A decision (usually by a judge) about the meaning and legal effect of ambiguous or doubtful words that considers not only the words themselves but also surrounding circumstances, relevant laws and writings, etc. (Looking at just the words is called "interpretation," although interpretation is sometimes used to mean construction also.)

Interpretation of the meaning of a statute that permits the statute to apply to situations within its general scope, but not explicitly covered. See equity of a statute for more detail and compare with strict construction.

Exact; precise; governed by exact rules. Strict construction of a law means taking it literally or "what it says, it means" so that the law should be applied to the narrowest possible set of situations. Compare with liberal construction. Strict construction of a contract means that any ambiguous words in the contract should be interpreted in the way least favorable to the side that wrote the words.

1. The process of discovering or deciding the meaning of a written document by studying only the document itself and not the circumstances surrounding it. But see no. 2.
2. Studying the document and surrounding circumstances to decide the document's meaning. See construction.

1. Fairness in a particular situation.
2. The name for a system of courts that originated in England to take care of legal problems when the existing laws did not cover some situations in which a person's rights were violated by another person.
3. A court's power to "do justice" where specific laws do not cover the situation.
4. The value of property after all charges against it are paid. This is also called net worth or net value.
5. Stock. Sometimes common stock only.

Dishonesty or other failure to deal fairly with another person. Bad faith need not involve fraud. See good faith.

1. Honest; honesty in fact.
2. For a merchant, good faith also means "the observance of reasonable commercial standards of fair dealing in the trade" according to the Uniform Commercial Code.
3. Good faith bargaining is the obligation of an employer to hold honest negotiations about wages, hours, and employment conditions with a union that has been certified to represent its employees.
4. A good faith purchaser in commercial law is a person who buys something honestly, pays good value, and knows of no other person's claim to the thing bought.
5. There is a good faith exception to the exclusionary rule.

Any kind of trickery used by one person to cheat another. For different types of fraud, such as tax fraud, see those words.

In a lawsuit, fraud that prevented the losing party from having a full, fair trial. It is extrinsic because it is "outside" the issues in the trial (which might involve intrinsic fraud), involving the way the loser was prevented from knowing his or her rights or was prevented from presenting his or her side of the case.

A strong suspicion of fraud. The phrase is usually used when examining a transfer of property to see if it is a fake used to keep the property away from creditors. In this case a badge of fraud might be a hurried sale of property made to a relative to avoid a creditor's claims on the property.

Fraud that directly involves the issues in a lawsuit. Compare with extrinsic fraud.

A comprehensive set of laws on every major type of business law, including contract law as it applies to the sale of goods, banking law, and negotiable instruments law. It has been adopted by almost every state, in whole or in major part. It replaced many older uniform laws, such as the Uniform Negotiable Instruments Act and the Uniform Sales Act.

1. A reason why even relevant (see that word) evidence will be kept out of a trial.
2. "The exclusionary rule" often means the rule that illegally gathered evidence may not be used in a criminal trial.

Tending to prove or disprove a fact that is important to a claim, charge, or defense in a court case. Information must be relevant to be admitted as evidence in a case. (In evidence law, "relevant" and "material" are sometimes used as synonyms, but technically, material is a subset of relevant and means "important to a claim, charge, or defense in a court case.") All relevant evidence is admissible into a case unless excluded by a specific rule, such as the hearsay rule. Relevant evidence may also be excluded if its value as evidence is outweighed by the possibility of unfair prejudice, the time wasted by presenting it, the possibility of confusing the issues, etc.

1. All types of information (observations, recollections, documents, concrete objects, etc.) presented at a trial or other hearing. Statements made by the judge and lawyers, however, are not evidence.
2. Any information that might be used for a future trial.
3. For types of evidence, such as circumstantial, demonstrative, direct, hearsay, parol, probative, real, state's, etc., see those words.

A statement about what someone else said (or wrote or otherwise communicated). Hearsay evidence is evidence, concerning what someone said outside of a court proceeding, that is offered in the proceeding to prove the truth of what was said. The hearsay rule bars the admission of hearsay as evidence to prove the hearsay's truth unless allowed by a hearsay exception.

An exception to the hearsay rule (see hearsay). There are hearsay exceptions for business records, declarations against interest, dying declarations, excited utterances, party admissions, present sense impressions, etc

1. An unsworn statement made out of court. For example, a dying declaration made by a person who is about to die may sometimes be admitted as evidence, as may a declaration against interest (a statement that when made is so contrary to the speaker's interests that it would not likely have been made unless true).

An out-of-court statement by a party (or a party's representative) to a lawsuit. A relevant party admission can usually be used by an opposing party as evidence under a hearsay exception.

An exception to the "hearsay exclusion rule" that allows original, routine records (sometimes whether or not part of a "business") to be used as evidence in a trial even though they are hearsay (see that word).

All evidence other than testimony.

Taking unfair commercial advantage by fraud or unconscionability.

Sales practices that are so greatly unfair that a court will not permit them. For example, a sales contract between a large company and a poorly educated person that contains unfair terms in small print and technical language, and involves an unfairly high sales price, is unconscionable. The Uniform Commercial Code permits rescission ("unmaking") of unconscionable contracts.

1. Secret action taken by two or more persons together to cheat another or to commit fraud. For example, it is collusion if two persons agree that one should sue the other because the second person is covered by insurance.
2. An agreement between husband and wife that one of them will commit (or appear to commit) an act that will allow the other one to get a divorce.

The principle that if the main purpose of a person's promise to pay another's debt is the person's own benefit, that promise need not be in writing to be enforceable. (This is an exception to the general rule under the statute of frauds that the promise to pay another's debts must be in writing.)

1. Making a fake document (or altering a real one) with intent to commit a fraud.
2. The document itself in no. 1.

1. The formal and informal exchange of information between sides in a lawsuit. Two types of discovery are interrogatories and depositions.
2. Finding out something previously unknown. For example, in patent law, a discovery is finding out something new rather than inventing a device or process. Also, the discovery of a fraud or of medical malpractice occurs when the person harmed finds out the problem (or should have found out if careful).

Cause to fail. Destroy (either totally or partially) the legal effect or binding force of something. For example, fraud vitiates a contract. [pronounce: vish-ee-ate]

1. The sharing of payment for a debt (or judgment) among persons who are all liable for the debt.
2. The right of a person who has paid an entire debt (or judgment) to get back a fair share of the payment from another person who is also responsible for the debt. For example, most insurance policies require that if another insurance company also covers a loss, each must share payment for ("contribute to") the loss in proportion to the maximum amount each covers.

1. The resolve or purpose to use a particular means to reach a particular result. "Intent" usually explains how a person wants to do something and what that person wants done, while "motive" explains why. These words often get confused.
2. In criminal law, intent is divided into two types: general (intent to do something that the law prohibits); and specific (intent to do the exact thing charged). Also, if a person does something knowing that a certain result is likely, there is an intent to cause that result whether or not the person desires it.