Legal glossary for court interpreters

C

Calendar

A list of cases scheduled for hearing in court.

Canons of ethics

Standards of ethical conduct for attorneys.

Capacity

Having legal authority or mental ability. Being of sound mind.

Capital crime

A crime punishable by death.

Caption

Heading or introductory party of a pleading.

Case law

Law established by previous decisions of appellate courts, particularly the United States Supreme Court. (See stare decisis in Foreign Words Glossary.)

Cases

General term for an action, cause, suit, or controversy, at law or in equity; questions contested before a court of justice.

Cause

A lawsuit, litigation, or action. Any question, civil or criminal, litigated or contested before a court of justice.

Cause of action

The fact or facts which give a person a right to relief in court.

Caveat

A warning; a note of caution.

Censure

An official reprimand or condemnation of an attorney. (See disbarment or suspension.)

Certificate of Title

Document issued by Registrar of Titles for real estate registered under the Torrens System, which is considered conclusive evidence of the present ownership and state of the title to the property described therein.

Certification

1. Written attestation. 2. Authorized declaration verifying that an instrument is a true and correct copy of the original.

Certiorari

A writ of review issued by a higher court to a lower court. A means of getting an appellate court to review a lower court's decision. If an appellate court grants a writ of certiorari, it agrees to take the appeal. (Sometimes referred to as "granting cert.")

Challenge

An objection, such as when an attorney objects at a hearing to the seating of a particular person on a civil or criminal jury.

Challenge for cause

A request from a party to a judge that a certain prospective juror not be allowed to be a member of a jury because of specified causes or reasons. (Also, see peremptory challenge.)

Chambers

A judge's private office. A hearing in chambers takes place in the judge's office outside of the presence of the jury and the public.

Change of venue

Moving a lawsuit or criminal trial to another place for trial. (See venue.)

Charge to the jury

The judge's instructions to the jury concerning the law that applies to the facts of the case on trial.

Chattel

An article of personal property.