Legal Terms in Other Words
Attorney: A word used interchangeably with Lawyer.
Bar Association: A professional association of lawyers. Membership in a state bar association is often mandatory before a lawyer can practice in that state; all states have a bar association. Bar associations also exist at the county and city level. Many bar associations offer lawyer referral services to the public.
Citation: A written notice issued by a police or an animal control officer that charges a person with a minor legal violation, e.g., a violation of traffic or animal control laws. The citation orders the person to appear in court at a later date. Citations are issued instead of arresting the person. A person can typically avoid the court appearance by consenting in writing to the penalty specified on the citation and paying a fine.
City Attorney: A lawyer who, on behalf of the city, brings and litigates violations of city ordinances. The lawyer may also provide legal advice to the city executive and administrative agencies or departments.
County Attorney: A lawyer who, on behalf of the county, brings and litigates violations of county ordinances. The lawyer may also provide legal advice to the county executive and administrative agencies or departments.
Civil Actions: Law suits between private parties to redress private rights. An example: a law suit filed by a property owner against his neighbor, claiming the neighbor’s cat damaged his antique car and demanding the neighbor pay the repair costs. Compare Civil Offenses and Criminal Law.
Code: A collection of statutes (or laws) which are organized by topic, as opposed by date of enactment. “State code” refers to a collection of all statutes enacted by the state legislature. References to topic-specific codes, such as “criminal code” or “health and safety code,” refer to a subpart fo the full collection.
Civil Offenses: Violations of state law or local ordinances that deem certain acts or conditions to be offensive to the entire community, e.g., violations of “pooper-scooper” ordinances. Usually only the government, not private individuals, may initiate legal action to remedy these offenses. These violations are punishable by fines but not imprisonment. Compare Criminal Law.
Criminal law: Laws created by state legislators (or Congress) that make certain conduct illegal and punishable by fines and/or imprisonment. For example, anti-cruelty laws are criminal laws. Criminal law encompasses a range of offenses, from felonies, which are the most serious, to misdemeanors, to petty offenses, which are sometimes referred to as infractions. Compare Civil Offenses.
Defendant: A person or organization charged with violating a law, whether civil or criminal.
Defense Attorney: A lawyer who represents defendants in civil and criminal cases.
Fine: A monetary penalty for an offense. Fines may be imposed for civil and criminal offenses.
Felony: A serious crime usually punishable by a prison term of more than one year. More than 40 states and the District of Columbia have made aggravated acts of cruelty to be felonies, e.g., intentional or malicious acts of torturing, mutilating, or poisoning an animal.
Infraction: A violation of a law that is punishable by a fine, e.g., a parking ticket.
Law: A generic term often referring to a statute enacted by the legislative branch of government, especially Congress or state legislatures. Acts of local legislature are referred to as “ordinances.”
Lawyer: A word used interchangeably with Attorney.
Local government: A general term which encompasses counties, cities, municipal corporations, and other bodies that govern territorial areas smaller than the state. The authority of these governing bodies is limited to their territorial boundaries. Also, local government authority is limited to subjects of local concern, such as zoning, housing and building codes, and, sometimes, animal control.
Misdemeanor: A crime that is less serious than felony and is punishable by a fine and/or no more than one year in jail.
Nuisance: A public nuisance is something that unreasonably interferes with the health, safety, comfort, morals, or convenience of the entire community and that is treated as a criminal violation. (Note: A private nuisance is an activity that constitutes an unreasonable interference with a private party’s use and enjoyment of his or her own property; that may be the basis for a Civil Action between two private parties.)
Ordinance: A law passed by a legislature of a local government, such as a county, city, or municipality.
Pro Bono: A Latin term meaning free of charge, as in pro bono legal services.
Statute: A law enacted by the legislative branch of government, especially the Congress or state legislatures. Legislation by local goverment bodies, such as a city counsel, are usually referred to as “ordinances.” Compare Law, Code, Ordinance.