1. criminal law
   minor, unimportant cases
2. law defined by previous rulings and decisions
   law that requires a great deal of paperwork

"Case law" is the body of existing rulings that judges rely on in their current rulings. Law students spend a great deal of time learning case law.

1. assets
   arguments
2. rulings
   parking spaces

"Assets" are a property that has value and comes into play in divorce and other civil cases. But, as anyone who's had to find parking near a courthouse knows, parking spaces might get seized, as well!

1. civil and criminal
   federal and state
2. juvenile and adult
   small claims and large claims

Court cases fall into two main categories: civil and criminal. The other categories are also existing ones, but not the big two.

1. Of course!
2. No!

The two options are "guilty" or "not guilty." Essentially, the latter means "innocent." So why not just say that? Largely because there are cases where a client might not have entirely clean hands, but doesn't rise to the level of being guilty - so where "innocent" might be too strong a term, "not guilty" fits.

1. credo
   nolo contendere
2. prima facie
   te deum

The humor columnist Dave Barry once wrote that "nolo contendere" is Latin for "Can I pay by check?" In truth, "nolo" is Latin for "I wish not," and "contendere" means "to dispute or argue."

1. property of the prosecution
   likely to be admitted
2. unlikely to be admitted
   secret or sealed

This comes from a time when secret documents were kept under a wax seal with a rose imprint. Therefore, highly-sensitive evidence is "under the rose."

1. to hear appeals
   to approve name changes
2. to hear divorce cases
   This is not a real word.

"Appellate" is derived from the word "appeals." An appellate court upholds or overturns the rulings of lower courts.

1. Third Amendment rights
   pre-incarceration rights
2. Miranda rights
   Prospero rights

The name came from a criminal defendant, Ernesto Miranda, who signed a confession without being advised of his right to a lawyer. Adding insult to injury, the police added a clause to his typed confession which said (supposedly in Miranda's words) that he made the statement with full knowledge of his legal rights.

1. a defense attorney
   a judge
2. a jury
   comfortable seating

A bench trial is one in which the judge decides on matters of fact, not just of law. In a jury trial, the jurors decide on facts, but they judge on law. This means that jurors decide whether there's sufficient evidence that an accused robber was, in fact, in the house after midnight. But the judge has to determine whether the evidence was admissible.

1. asset seizure
   death
2. hard labor
   life in prison

You probably know this word better as part of "capital punishment." While 31 US states have a death penalty, 19 have made it illegal.

1. in chambers
   in extremis
2. in loco parentis
   over coffee

"Chambers" is just a formal word for "in his/her office." Meeting in chambers offers stricter privacy than a meeting at the bench, which is still in the courtroom.

1. an unpaid speeding ticker
   unpaid child support
2. a contentious divorce
   both #1 and #2

Bench warrants arise from failure to appear in court, or failure to pay money owed via a legal obligation. Child support and a speeding fine both count as the latter.

1. bankruptcy
   divorce
2. spousal abuse
   stalking

Chapter 11, Chapter 12 and Chapter 13 all refer to sections of the Bankruptcy Code. This allows businesses and individual to reorganize and pay off some debt without being permanently ruined. At least, that's the intention.

1. claimant
   lawyer
2. juror
   judge

This is a casual term, not one found in legal dictionaries. TV dramas about lawyers often use the term "second chair," for the junior or less experienced lawyer trying a case.

1. the agency that grades bar exams
   a judge
2. a facility where a variety of legal matters are pursued and resolved
   both #2 and #3

The most common use is #3. But in formal documents, a judge may refer to himself as "the court": That is, "The court agrees to hear the rest of the arguments on the following day."

1. assessment
   litigation
2. proscription
   verdict

Judges make smaller decisions, too. But the big ones that bring a civil or criminal case to its conclusion, whether reached by a jury or a judge, are called "verdicts."

1. true
2. false

This was a trick question. "Voir dire" does mean "to speak truth," but in French.

1. exculpatory
   inculpatory
2. de jure
   de novo

The root "-culp" has to do with guilt (as in "mea culpa"). So "inculpatory" indicates guilt, while "exculpatory" indicates lack thereof.

1. the bar exam
   jury deliberations
2. jury selection
   direct or cross examination

As we learned elsewhere in this quiz, "voir dire" means "to speak truth." It refers to potential jurors being truthful about potential conflicts or biases when they are questioned by attorneys from both sides.

1. amicus curiae
   amica juris
2. confrere du courts
   both #1 and #2

Again, Latin comes into play here. "Curiae" means "of the court"; "juris" would mean "of the law."

1. to help the prosecution
   to help the defense
2. to provide information that isn't necessarily beneficial to either side
   to keep the jury from getting too bored

Amicus curiae briefs provide information, often by experts, to the court. They might have a certain interest in the final outcome, but are not part of either side of the case at hand.

1. the defendant
2. the plaintiff

The plaintiff must show that he or she has suffered damages. It is possible in a civil case for the plaintiff to lose, which doesn't mean that they were not injured somehow, but there just wasn't sufficient evidence to show it.

1. civilian
   plaintiff
2. persecutor
   opponent

"Plaintiff" comes to us from middle English, like "sheriff." It is related to the word "complaint," which is, in fact, the document a plaintiff files.

1. a defendant
   a respondent
2. a despondent
   the deposed

"Defendant" is a term shared by both criminal and civil law. They might well be "despondent" too, if they don't think they can win the case.

1. true
2. false

In other words, criminal cases are like civil cases. But it's the state that is the plaintiff, and the outcome is not (usually) financial; instead, freedom or incarceration hang in the balance.

1. a public defender
   a lawyer who has never won a case
2. a family member
   yourself

You probably know the old chestnut about a lawyer who defends himself having "a fool for a client." The Latin way of expressing it is much shorter, and less judgmental.

1. called for a day off
   taken over jury selection
2. ruled for summary judgment
   stepped aside from hearing a case

Recusal happens for several reasons. Often, it's a conflict of interest: for example, the judge knows a plaintiff or defendant personally.

1. a juror
   a spouse
2. a minor
   a dog

Children under 18, but over a certain age (often 16) can be freed from parental guardianship if they can prove a source of income and sufficient ability to handle their own affairs. We've known some dogs that are smart enough to be emancipated, but there is no legal procedure for this!

1. abstinent
   cloistered
2. sequestered
   truncated

Sequestration means that the jury has privacy in which to discuss the case. During that time, and throughout the trial, they are required to avoid media coverage the case.

1. bail note
   duty notice
2. mandato
   subpoena

This is literally Latin for "under punishment." It means that the person called must appear or suffer some kind of legal penalty.

1. the bailiff
   the jury foreman
2. the judge
   both #1 and #3

The judge presides over the courtroom, and his or her authority is supposed to be sufficient to keep people in line. But when things get downright physical, a bailiff steps in.

1. an aborted trial
   a moot trial
2. a mistrial
   a fiasco

You might consider it a fiasco, but the official name is "mistrial." When this happens, the case must be tried again.

1. dismissal with prejudice
   dismissal without prejudice
2. double jeopardy
   indemnification

Fun fact: "Double Jeopardy" was an absurd 90s movie in which a woman falsely convicted of killing her husband supposedly has carte blanche to kill him (he's alive and living under another name, having set her up for his "murder.") Legal experts hurried to say that in this situation, the original murder conviction would be vacated. True double jeopardy ensures that the state cannot harass a citizen by trying them over and over on (presumably unfounded) charges.

1. inclement weather in the existing venue
   There has been excessive media coverage of the case.
2. Neither the prosecution nor the defense likes any of the judges.
   All of these qualify.

Trials receive a change of venue when media coverage has been so intense that there is little chance of impaneling a jury that hasn't formed an opinion of the case yet. Often, venue changes mean moving to another county.

1. a sports team
   organized religion
2. the media
   a university

Libel is a falsehood or falsehoods that damages someone's reputation. It must be written or recorded. If it's only spoken, it is referred to as "slander."