Glossary

Concise definitions of legal terms used on the Citizen Media Law Project site. (The glossary is currently a work-in-progress. Please use our contact form to suggest additional terms for this glossary.)

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Click one of the letters above to be taken to a page of all terms beginning with that letter.
d
Damages search for term

A remedy in the form of monetary compensation to the harmed party.

See also: Compensatory damages, Punitive damages
Declaratory judgment search for term

A binding judgment issued by a court that defines the legal relationship between the parties and their rights with respect to the matter before the court.

Defamation search for term

A statement, whether written or oral, that is communicated to a third party and injures the subject's reputation.

See also: Libel, Slander, Trade libel Synonyms: defamed, defamatory
Defendant search for term

In a civil matter, the party sued by the plaintiff; in a criminal matter, the party being prosecuted.

Dicta search for term

Short for "obiter dictum," which means in Latin "something said in passing." When judges make comments in opinions that are extraneous to the line of reasoning that leads to the decision in the case, lawyers refer to the comments as "dicta." These comments are not binding authority on other judges.

Dividends search for term

Payments made by a for-profit corporation to its shareholders out of the corporation's profits.

  
 
 
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