| Question | Answer |
| Consideration | what a person demands and generally must receive in order to make his or her promise legally binding |
| Gift | a transfer of ownership without receiving anything in return |
| Donor | person giving a gift |
| Donee | person receiving the gift |
| Forbearance | refraining from doing what one has the right to do |
| Promisor | a person promising an action of forbearance |
| Promisee | person to whom the promise is made |
| Legal Value | there has been a change in a party's legal position as a result of the contract |
| Nominal Consideration | token amount identified in a written contract when parties either cannot or do not wish to state the amount precisely |
| Output Consideration | agreement to perchase all of a particular producer's production |
| Requirements Contract | seller agreees to supply all of the needs of a particular buyer |
| Liquidated Debt | one where the parties agree that the debt exists and on the amount of the debt |
| Accord and Satisfaction | parties' agreement to change the obligation required by their original contract and the performance of the new obligation |
| Release | party settles a claim at the time the tort occurs, and the liability is unliquidated because the extent of damages is uncertain |
| Composition of Creditors | agreement by all creditors to accept something less than the total amount of their claims as full payment |
| Past Consideration | act that has already been performed cannot be consideration for a promise in the present |
| Statute of Limitations | state laws setting time limit for bringing a law suit |
| Promissory Estoppel | enforcement of a promise to avoid injustice by denying to the promisor the defense of lack of consideration |
| Fraud | intentional misrepresentation of an existing, important fact |
| Fraudulent Misrepresentation | if seller knows the statement is untrue |
| Innocent Misrepresentation | party to a contract does not know that a statement he or she made is untrue |
| Void | without legal effect |
| Material Facts | important facts that influence the parties' decisions about a contract |
| Mutual Mistake | both parties to a contract have an uncorrect belief about an important fact |
| Unilateral Mistake | occurrs when one party holds an incorrect belief about the facts related to a contract |
| Undue Influence | Occurs when one party to the contract is in a position of trust and wrongfully dominates the other party |
| Duress | when one party uses an improper threat or act to abtain an expression of agreement |
| Ratification | conduct that confirms you intend to be bound by the contract |
| Rescission | backing out of the transaction by asking for the return of what you gave and offering to give back what you received |
| Voidable | injured party can withdraw, thus cancelling the contract |
| Genuine Assent | true and complete agreement |
| Unilateral Contract | an offer where the offeror requires the offeree indicate acceptance by performing his or her obligations under the contract |
| Bilateral Contract | require that the offeree accept by communicating the requested promise to the offeror |
| Mirror Image Rule | requires that the acceptance must exactly match the terms contained in the offer |
| Acceptance | when a party to whom an offer has been made agrees to the proposal |
| Firm Offer | when a written offer contains a term stating how long it is to stay open |
| Option | if the offeree gives the offeror something of value in return for a promise to keep the offer open |
| Counteroffer | if the offeree changes the offeror's terms in important ways and sends it back to the offeror |
| Revocation | the right to withdraw an offer before it is accepted |
| Offer | proposal by an offeror to do something, provided the offeree does or refrains from doing something in return |
| Offeree | person to whom an offer is made |
| Offeror | person who makes an offer |
| Contracts | an agreement between two or more parties that creats obligations |
| Writ of Execution | process by which a judgment for money is enforced |
| Judgment | final result of a trial |
| Verdict | the jury's decision |
| Subpoena | wirtten order by the judge commanding a person to appear, give testimony, and perhaps present other evidence |
| Witness | someone who has personal knowledge of the facts |
| Expert Witness | witness who possesses superior knowledge about important facts |
| Testimony | consists of statements made by witnesses under oath |
| Evidence | includes anything that the judge allows to be presented to the jurt that helps prove or disprove the alleged facts |
| Injunction | court order for a person to do or not do a particular act |
| Strict Liability | holding a defendant liable without a showing of negligence |
| Conversion | using property in a manner inconsistent with the owner's rights |
| Trespass to Land | entry onto the property of another without the owner's consent |
| Invasion of Privacy | tort defined as the uninvited intrusion into an individual's personal relationships and activities in a way likely to cause shame or mental suffering in an ordinary person |
| Defamation | a false statement that injures a person's reputation or good name |
| False Imprisonment | the intentional confinement of a person against the person's will and without lawful privilege |
| Battery | harmful or offensive touching |
| Assault | occurs when one person intentionally puts another in reasonable fear of an offensive or harmful bodily contact |
| Intentional Torts | torts in which the defendant possessed the intent or purpose to inflict the resultant injury |
| Negligence | most common tort based on carelessness |
| Damages | monetary award intended to compensate the injured party for the harm done to him or her |
| Tort | a private or civil wrong |
| Plea Bargaining | agreement with prosecutor allowing defendant to plead guilty to a lesser crime than the more serious one he or she likely would be charged with |
| Punishment | any penalty provided by law and imposed by a court |
| Contempt of Court | action that hinders the administration of justice |
| Immunity | freedom from prosecution even when one has committed the crime charged |
| Criminal Insanity | generally exists when, because of a verifiable mental disease or defect, the accused does not know the difference between right wrong |
| Self-Defense | use of the force that appears to be reasonably necessary to the victim to prevent death, serious bodily harm, rape, or kidnapping |
| Procedural Defenses | based on problems with the way evidence is obtained or the way an accused person is arrested, questioned, tried, or punished |
| Defense | legal position taken by an accused to defeat the charges against him or her |
| Probable Cause | a reasonable ground for belief |
| Arson | willful and illegal burning or exploding of a building |
| Conspiracy | agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime |
| Extortion | obtaining money or other property from a person by wrongful use of force, fear, or the power of office |
| Bribery | unlawfully offering or giving anything of value to influence performance of an official in the carrying out of his or her public or legal duties |
| Forgery | falsely making or materially alteing a writing to defraud another |
| False Pretenses | obtaining money or other property by lying about a past or existing fact |
| Larceny | the wrondful taking of money or personal property belonging to someone else, with the intent to deprive the owner of it |
| Robbery | taking of property from another's person or immediate presence, against the victim's will, by force or causing fear |
| Burglary | variation of larceny. occurs when one enters a building without permission with the intent to commit a crime |
| White-Collar Crimes | offenses committed in the business world |
| Antitrust Laws | states that competing companies may not cooperate in fixing prices or in dividing sales regions |
| Misdemeanor | less erious crime, usually punishable by confinement in county or city jail for one year or less, by a fine of $1,000 or less, or both |
| Infractions | lesser misdemeanors where one can only be fined |
| Felony | crime punishable by confinement for more than a year in a state prison or by a fine of more than $1,000 or both-or even death |
| Vicarious Criminal Liability | substituted criminal liability |
| Crime | punishable offense against society |
| Probate Courts | courts that administer wills and estates |
| Juvenile Courts | courts that try individuals over 13 and under 18 years of age who have special status under the law |
| Small Claims Court | courts that handle disputes in which small amounts, generally $2,500 or less, are invloved |
| Municipal Courts | city court, usually divided into traffic and criminal divisions |
| Associate Circuit Courts | courts that hear minor criminal cases, state traffic offenses, and lawsuits involving amounts of no more than $25,000 |
| Justice | title given to judges who sit on state supreme courts and the Federal Supreme Court |
| Court of Record | accurate, detailed report of what went on at a trial |
| Writ of Certiorari | Supreme Court issues this if they believe a case contains a constitutional issue sufficiently important |
| Specialized Jurisdiction | the ability to hear only one specific type of case (family court, traffic court, etc.) |
| General Jurisdiction | ability to hear almost any kind of case |
| Appellate Briefs | written arguments on the issues of law, submitted by opposing attorneys |
| Transcript | verbatim record of what went on at trial |
| Appellate Court | court that reviews decisions of lower courts when a party claims an error of law was made during the lower court's proceeding |
| Original Jurisdiction | power to hear the case in full for the first time |
| Verdict | decision in a case |
| Trial Court | court in which a dispute is first heard |
| Court | a governmental forum that administers justice under the law |
| Arbitrator | independent third party who develops a binding and enforceable resolution to a dispute |
| Mediator | independent third party who tries to develop a non-binding solution acceptable to both sides of a dispute |
| Litigate | to allow a court to resolve diputes |
