courts

appellate jurisdiction

Appellate jurisdiction refers to the power of a court to hear appeals from lower courts.

Overview:

Appellate jurisdiction includes the power to reverse or modify the lower court's decision. Appellate jurisdiction exists...

Appellate procedure consists of the rules and practices by which appellate courts review trial court judgments. Appellate review performs several functions, including correcting errors committed by a trial court, developing the law, and...

appellee

Appellee is the party against whom the appeal is filed and responds to and defends the appeal. The appellee is also referred to as the respondent. In contrast, the appellant is the party who appeals a lower court's judgment or order to a...

approach

Approach refers to moving toward the bench, a witness, or the jury box in court. An attorney may approach the bench in order to have a conversation with the judge and opposing counsel off the record and/or out of the jury's earshot. An...

approach the witness

Approach the witness refers to when an attorney moves towards a witness in order to show them a document or exhibit. See approach. In some jurisdictions, an attorney must request to approach a witness; e.g. "may I approach the witness?"...

appropriation

Appropriation occurs when a defendant uses a plaintiff’s name, likeness, or image without their permission for commercial purposes. Appropriation is one of several torts falling under the category of invasion of privacy. When a defendant uses...

arbitrary

1. When used in reference to a judge’s ruling in a court case, arbitrary means based on individual discretion rather than a fair application of the law. For example, finding someone guilty of a crime simply because they have a beard would be an...

arbitration

Arbitration refers to an alternative dispute resolution method where the parties in dispute agree to have their case heard by a qualified arbitrator out of court. Under the Federal Arbitration Act, decisions reached through arbitration are...

arbitrator

An arbitrator is a neutral third party that oversees the alternative dispute resolution method of arbitration. While arbitration as a whole is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, the requirements to become an arbitrator are determined...

argument

An argument is both the process of giving reasons for believing something is true as well as the term used to describe the reason(s) given.

An argument is also a disagreement between two or more persons, in which opposing...