Legal glossary for court interpreters

All

Code of Federal Regulations

An annual publication which contains the cumulative executive agency regulations.

Code of Professional

The rules of conduct that govern the legal profession Responsibility .

Codicil

An amendment to a will.

Collate

To arrange in order; verify arrangement of pages before binding or fastening; put together.

Collective mark

Trademark or service mark used by members of a cooperative, an association, or other collective group or organization.

Commit

To send a person to prison, asylum, or reformatory by a court order.

Common law

Also case law. Law established by subject matter heard in earlier cases.

Commutation

The reduction of a sentence, as from death to life imprisonment.

Comparative fault

A rule in admiralty law where each vessel involved in a collision is required to pay a share of the total damages in proportion to its percentage of fault.

Comparative negligence

The rule under which negligence is measured by percentage, and damages are diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the person seeking recovery.

Complainant

The party who complains or sues; one who applies to the court for legal redress. (See also plaintiff.)

Complaint

1. The legal document that usually begins a civil lawsuit. It states the facts and identifies the action the court is asked to take. 2. Formal written charge that a person has committed a criminal offense.

Conciliation

A form of alternative dispute resolution in which the parties bring their dispute to a neutral third party, who helps lower tensions, improve communications, and explore possible solutions. Conciliation is similar to mediation, but is may be less formal.

Concurrent sentences

Sentences for more than one crime that are to be served at the same time, rather than one after the other. (See also cumulative or consecutive sentences.)

Condemnation

The legal process by which the government takes private land for public use, paying the owners a fair price. (See eminent domain.)

Conformed copy

An exact copy of a document on which has been written things that could not or were not copied, i.e., a written signature is replaced on the conformed copy with a notation that it was signed by the parties.

Consecutive sentences

Successive sentences, one beginning at the expiration of another, imposed against a person convicted of two or more violations. (See also cumulative or concurrent sentences.)

Consent

Agreement; voluntary acceptance of the wish of another.

Conservatorship

Legal right given to a person to manage the property and financial affairs of a person deemed incapable of doing that for himself or herself. (See also guardianship.)

Consideration

The price bargained for and paid for a promise, goods, or real estate.