General Glossary Terms

Violations of workplace safety standards established by the federal Department of Labor, specifically detailed and updated by the Occupational Safety and Health Act or OSHA. The safety standards vary by industry, equipment, and potential exposure to dangerous situations and products.

Refers to the action of law enforcement to search for and take evidence. This search is legally allowed if law enforcement follows the rules of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution and/or if it is reasonable that a person would not consider the place being searched to be a private place. The 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." Usually, a legal search of a private place will include a warrant signed by a judge but instances of unwarranted search may differ by state and circumstance. A criminal defense attorney can advise you with questions about the legality of search and seizure.

The punishment given to a person convicted of a crime. A sentence is ordered by the judge, based on the trial jury’s verdict or the judge's decision if there was a bench trial (no jury). The judge creates the punishment from mandates in state law or federal law (in convictions for federal crimes). Sentence refers to jail or prison time but also to other punishment mandates of the judge for conviction of the crime including fines, community service, restitution, probation, and any other punishment-related details.

Legal documents that formally document how shareholders in a corporation may sell or transfer their shares. Shareholder buyout agreements are important for all corporations but can be vitally important to the health of a small corporation, where a shareholder’s death or desire to sell their shares can have a big impact on the leadership and longevity of the corporation.

Usually spoken defamation (serious harming of someone’s reputation or character by making false statements) but can include gestures, sign language, and other “non-permanent” statements.

A one-person business, not registered with the state as a corporation or LLC, in which one person owns all the assets of the business and is responsible for all decisions related to the operation of the business.

Commonly referred to as alimony, is a financial award sometimes granted during a divorce, to be paid by the higher wage earner spouse to the lower or non-wage earner spouse. Spousal support is often granted to offset the negative economic consequences of divorce for the lower or non-wage earner spouse and to allow that spouse some time to become self-sufficient. Spousal support awards can be either life-long or limited to a certain amount of time and they are often discontinued if the recipient spouse remarries. The Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act recommends that spousal support awards be considerate of the age, physical condition, emotional state, and financial condition of the former spouses; the length of time the recipient would need for education or training to become self-sufficient; the couple's standard of living during the marriage; the length of the marriage; and the ability of the payer spouse to support the recipient and also support himself or herself.

A document that grants a person of your choice (usually called your agent or attorney-in-fact) legal authority to take action or manage your affairs on your behalf, effective only when you (the principal) become incapacitated, incompetent, or unable to manage your affairs.

The accepted level of care and caution that a prudent and reasonable individual should use when providing care for others. If a medical professional performs their duties in a way that breaches the “standard of care”, they may be found to have been professionally negligent.

Status can refer to the classification under which the person is admitted to the U.S. (i.e. as a student, visitor, temporary worker, etc.) and also to the length of the stay permitted in the U.S. Both of these components may be changed by the USCIS. A person admitted in one status may seek a change of status into a new classification and the duration of a person's stay may be extended by the USCIS. Again, the validity period of a visa has nothing to do with the duration of a nonimmigrant visitor's permitted stay.

In common law, the law that details the maximum period of time that legal proceedings may be enacted after certain events. The statute of limitations will vary by the event and by state and country. In civil law, these legally maximum periods of time to begin legal proceedings are referred to as “periods of prescription”.

An agreement for the financial settlement of a lawsuit to be paid out in installments rather than in a lump sum. Structured settlements usually result from large settlements and are often created through the purchase of annuities. The payments can be structured in any way the parties choose (monthly, yearly, quarterly, etc.). Structured settlements are common in large recovery cases, often in anticipation of long-term financial and health care costs.

Sub prime loans are typically offered to persons with poor credit histories or those with a lack of credit history, and they carry a higher rate of interest than prime loans to compensate the lender for increased credit risk. Sub prime loans for mortgages or refinancing fall more often into foreclosure for reasons that may include higher interest rates, ignorance of a person’s ability to repay the loan, ballooning interest payments, and hidden fees.

This literally means substitution. In law, it refers to the fact that once a person or entity (i.e. insurance company) has paid expenses or a debt for someone else, they can then assume the legal rights of that person related to that debt. For instance, after a car accident, if an insurance company has paid for property damages and personal injuries for their client, they can then turn around and sue the other motorist responsible for causing the accident. Subrogation comes up often when an insurance company’s client has been in an accident with an uninsured motorist. It also can also arise when the injured party is required to reimburse the insurance company or hospital for medical expenses from their award.