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Terminology: Knowing Your Latin
Listed below are common legal terms.
A
a posteriori: Latin for "from the latter;" refers to knowledge or justifications dependent on experience or empirical evidence. The opposite of a priori.
a priori: Latin for "from the earlier;" the assumption that a thing is true without need for proof. For example, the assumption that one will awaken after falling asleep. The opposite of a posteriori.
ad hoc: Latin for "for this;" for one purpose only, such as a committee formed to solve one problem, then dissolved once the problem has been dealt with.
ad valorem: Latin for "based on value;" property taxes based on percentage of county's assessment of the property's value.
affidavit: Latin for "he/she has declared upon oath;" any written document in which the signer swears under oath that the statements in the document are true.
amicus curiae: Latin for "friend of the court;" oftentimes the name of a brief filed by an interested party or organization on behalf of the argument of a case.
B
bona fide: Latin for "in good faith;" interchangeable with its literal translation and also often used as an adjective to mean "genuine."
C
caveat: Latin for "may he/she beware;" a caution or warning; often used by lawyers to mention to a hidden problem or defect.
certiorari: Latin for "to be informed, apprised or shown;" term referring to a type of writ seeking judicial review. A writ of certiorari is an order by a higher court directing a lower court to send up the record in a given case for review.
corpus: Latin for "the body;" in law, corpus is generally used to describe the principal of an estate or fund.
corpus juris: Latin for "the body of law;" used to refer to the body of law either of an entire country or of a particular court.
corpus juris civilis: Latin for "the body of civil law;" used to refer to the collection of all laws.
cum laude: Latin for "with praise;" an academic distinction. It is the third highest honor given, behind magna cum laude and summa cum laude.
D
de facto: Latin for "in fact;" often used in place of the word "actual."
de jure: Latin for "from law;" used to mean "lawful" and contrasted with de facto.
dictum: Latin for "remark;" a comment expressed in a ruling that does not bear direct reference to the case at hand.
E
ergo: Latin for "therefore;" also used to mean because, hence, consequently, etc.
ex officio: Latin for "from the office;" by virtue of the office held.
ex post facto: Latin for "after the fact;" legally this refers to something that comes into law, but was not previously a crime. The U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 9) prohibits the application of new laws to acts committed previous to the enactment of the new law.
H
habeas corpus: Latin for "you have the body;" this is a writ mandating law enforcement officials to appear before a judge with a prisoner in custody to determine whether the prisoner is lawfully imprisoned.
I
in loco parentis: Latin for "instead of a parent;" this phrase refers to an individual in care of a minor.
inter alia: Latin for "among other things."
J
juris doctor: Latin for "teacher of law;" a term for a first professional graduate degree and professional doctorate in law.
L
locus: Latin for "place;" refers to where an instance occurred.
M
magna cum laude: Latin for "with great praise;" an academic distinction. It is the second highest honor given, behind summa cum laude and above cum laude.
mandamus: Latin for "we order;" this is a writ that compels a public agency to perform an act after it has refused or neglected to do so.
N
nolo contendere: Latin for "I will not contest;" a plea of no contest.
non sequitur: Latin for "it does not follow;" when a conclusion does not match the facts.
O
obiter dicta: Latin for "a thing said in passing;" comments by a judge not necessary for a decision.
P
parens patriae: Latin for "father of his country;" doctrine that government is the ultimate guardian of all children or people under a disability.
per capita: Latin for "by head;" determining something based on the number of people participating.
per curium: Latin for "by the court;" a per curiam decision is a ruling issued collectively by a group or panel of judges of an appellate court. The decision is published as a decision of the court, and the authorship of the decision is not indicated.
per diem: Latin for "per day;" payment of daily expenses of an employee.
prima facie: Latin for "at first look;" evidence presented before trial is sufficient to prove a case.
pro tem: Short for "pro tempore."
pro tempore: Latin for "for the time being;" a judge serving in a position temporarily.
Q
quasi: Latin for "as if;" things are not exactly as one would assume.
quid pro quo: Latin for "something for something;" each party in an agreement expects something from the other.
quo warranto: Latin for "by what warrant;" a writ to challenge a right to public or corporate office.
S
scire facias: Latin for "show cause;" a writ requiring the defendant to appear in court and show cause as to why the record should not be enforced against him or her.
seriatim: Latin for "one after another;" a term typically used to indicate that a court is addressing multiple issues in a certain order.
stare decisis: Latin for "to stand by a decision;" used to describe the legal principal that precedents— previously argued cases and court decisions—are to be followed by subsequent courts.
subpoena: Derived from the Latin sub poena, meaning "under penalty;" a written order to compel an individual to give a testimony on a particular subject, often before a court.
summa cum laude: Latin for "with highest praise;" an academic distinction. It is the highest honor given, above cum laude and magna cum laude.
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