Legal Glossary

A supplement or addition to a will.

A secret agreement between two or more persons for fraudulent or deceitful purposes.

1. To order a person to a state institution such as a prison or mental health facility. 2. To engage in a criminal act.

A person or business that carries or transports people or property for money.

Law derived from the English legal system applicable as precedent in the absence of overriding Constitutional law or legislative enactments.

A marriage not solemnized by legal ceremony, but instead created by an agreement to marry followed by cohabitation. Mississippi does not recognize common law marriages contracted after April 5, 1956.

A statutory mandate requiring an equal division of all marital property upon divorce regardless of the respective contributions or circumstances. Not applicable in Mississippi. Instead, our state applies a system of equitable distribution.

Reduction in severity of a previously imposed penalty, e.g., commuting a death sentence to life imprisonment.

Legal principal, now codified in Mississippi, that permits the jury to diminish personal injury damages in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the injured party. Compare, CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE.

1. The mental capacity to understand the nature and effects of one’s actions. A defendant in a criminal case must have a rational and factual understanding of the proceedings to enter a plea or to stand trial. 2. Evidentiary finding that a witness is legally qualified to give testimony.

The first pleading which begins a civil action.

Agreement whereby a creditor accepts the immediate payment of a percentage of the total amount owed as discharge of the entire debt.

Evidence that is incontrovertible or from which only one reasonable conclusion can be drawn taking all the facts and surroundings into consideration. It is synonymous with manifest, plain, clear, and obvious.

A woman who lives with a man without the benefit of marriage.

Legal process by which real property of a private owner is taken for public use upon the award of due compensation. Compare, EMINENT DOMAIN.

Defense in a divorce proceeding on grounds that the offended spouse either expressly or impliedly forgave, upon a condition of future good behavior, a marital wrong. Merely not leaving the marital domicile or separating from the offending spouse does not constitute a condonation.

An action in chancery court to clear title in the ownership of real property.

Differences or inconsistencies between the laws of different jurisdictions.

The secret or indirect consent or permission of one person to the commission of an unlawful or criminal act by another; an intentional failure to discover or prevent the wrong.

Kinship; blood relationship; the connection or relation of persons descended from the same stock or common ancestor.

A decree agreed upon by the parties as a way to settle a controversy, or substantial part of it, without further litigation.

1. One appointed by the chancery court to manage the estate of a person who is found incapable of doing so for reasons of advanced age, physical incapacity, or mental weakness. 2. A person appointed or qualified by a court to act as general, limited or temporary guardian of a minor's property or a person legally authorized to perform substantially the same functions.

The inducement to a contract; the promise, price or other value given to persuade another to enter into the contract.

A protected interest arising out of the marriage covenant such as society, companionship, love, affection, aid, services, support, and sexual relations.

A claim for damages as a result of a party’s loss of his or her spouse’s consortium.

When two (2) or more people agree and plan to commit a crime.

As set forth in Miss. Code Ann. Section 19- 19-5, an officer whose responsibilities include preserving the peace, aiding and assisting in executing the criminal laws of the state, and serving process.

See, INDIRECT CONTEMPT.

Conduct or words disruptive to the orderly administration of justice. See also, INDIRECT CONTEMPT; DIRECT CONTEMPT.

Postponement of a court proceeding to a later date.

Latin: “Against good morals.”

Property subject to lawful seizure.

A legally enforceable exchange of promises.

An agreement to the conditions or terms stated in an offer.

A proposal to enter into a contract; an offer contains conditions or terms.

Defense to negligence action barring recovery if injured person was partially at fault in proximately contributing to the injury. Not applicable in Mississippi. Compare, COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE.

Any substance regulated by law as to its possession and use.

The unauthorized exercise of ownership over personal property belonging to another.

The transfer of title to property from one person to another; the written instrument which effects the transfer of title.

1. To find one guilty of a criminal charge as a result of a trial or plea. 2. A prisoner.

An adjudication of guilt.

The right to a particular expression of ideas, such as literature, music, art, etc.; the right to control its reprinting.

Latin: “The body.” The principal substance of a thing; the principal of a fund or estate, as opposed to interest, income, dividends or the like.

Latin: “The body of the crime.” Essential facts which must be established by the prosecution in a criminal case to prove that a crime has in fact been committed.

Latin: “The body of the law.” A comprehensive collection of the law of a country or jurisdiction.

Proof which supplements that already given and which tends to confirm or strengthen it.

The payment that must accompany the filing of a complaint in a civil action. Unused costs deposits are to be returned promptly to the parties on a case-by-case basis. Compare, ACCOUNTING FOR COSTS.

1. An attorney. 2. To provide legal advice.

1. Civil. Each separate claim in the pleadings. 2. Criminal. Each separate charge in an indictment.

A claim asserted by the defendant in a civil action.