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Lapuz Legal Writing 2013 Sumira 1F Understanding Latin Legalese Table 1 lists other common Latin words used in English courts and legal By Clifford A. Hull, Steven R. Perkins, and Tracy Barr from Latin For proceedings. (Keep in mind that the pronunciation here shows how the Dummies Romans would have pronounced these words.) Most lawyers love to throw around Latin phrases. The reason for this is that Table 1: Common Latin Words Used Today ancient Rome's legal system has had a strong influence on the legal systems of Word Pronunciation Original Modern Meaning most western countries. After all, at one time, the Romans had conquered most Meaning of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. The Roman motto was divide et impera (dee-vee-deh eht im-peh-rah) "divide and conquer." As they affidavit uhf-fee-day-wit he pledged a sworn, written statement conquered nations, they set out to "Latinize" the "barbarians" (anyone bona fide boh-nuh fee-day (in) good faith sincere, genuine who wasn't Roman). Their goal was to teach them how to think, act, and be like real Romans. As the Roman Empire slowly crumbled and disappeared, the new habeas ha-bay-uskormay you have bring a person before a orders in all these lands gradually adapted the existing legal system. England corpus pus the body court (and most of its former colonies) and the United States of America use a variation of the old Roman law called "Common Law." This is why lawyers per diem pur dee-em per day, by the daily today love those Latin phrases! (Well, that and the fact that you can't get out of day law school without mastering them.) pro bono pro bo-no for the good done for free for the public This article gives you the information that you need to make sense of what your good lawyer, judge, or parole officer is saying. Knowing what a sentence or phrase, like "The case is now sub judice (subyou-dee-kay)" or "What you are proposing status stuh-toos kwo the existing how things are currently is contra legem (kon-trah lay-ghem)," means, can help even when you're just quo condition or watching Court TV or The Practice. state of affairs English legal terms are full of Latin words and phrases. Several of these terms are so common, you use them today without any problem or confusion. Take sub soob poi-na under the an order commanding a these words for example: poena penalty person to appear in court under a penalty for not alibi (ah-lee-bee; elsewhere, at another place). If you're asked to provide an appearing alibi for your whereabouts, you know that you need to tell where you were when a crime occurred to prove that you couldn't have been the one who The following sections offer more Latin words used in courts today. Like the did the awful deed. preceding words, you may have heard many of these words already; you may alias (ah-lee-ahs; at another time, otherwise). Today, alias often refers to an even be using them without knowing what they really mean. Don't worry. Many alternative name people generally use to conceal their identity. "John Smith of those using them don't know either. alias Henry Taylor alias Clyde the Hustler" means John Smith is otherwise Common courtroom Latin known as Henry Taylor who is otherwise known as Clyde the Hustler. Many of the terms that lawyers and other legal folk use have come down to us per se (purr say; by itself). Also meaning "as such" in English in their original Latin forms. Table 2 lists some of the more common Latin usage, per se is used casually in English conversations: I didn't call him words that are still used today. The following list has even more examples: stupid, per se. I simply said he had plenty to learn. ex officio: This word would appear in a Latin sentence such as the versus (wer-soos; turned). Often abbreviated as vs., the more common following: English meaning is "against" or "in contrast to": In the Imperator erat ex officio quoque dux exercitus. case Roe versus Wade, privacy in cases of abortion was an issue. eem-pe-ra-tawr e-rut eks off-ee-kee-oh kwo-kwe dooks eks-er-key-toos. The emperor was by virtue of his position also the leader of the army. Page 1 of 3

Atty. Lapuz Legal Writing 2013 Today, you see or hear this word in a sentence like this: The headmaster of the school is ex officio also a member of the school board. in loco persona non grata: This word would appear in a Latin sentence such as parentis the following: Post caedem Caesaris, Brutus erat habitus persona non grata Romae. ipso facto post ki-dem ki-sa-ris, broo-tus e-rut ha-bee-tus per-sow-na non gra-ta rom-igh. After the assassination of Caesar, Brutus was regarded a persona non grata in Rome. locus Today, you see or hear this word in a sentence like this: delicti After his conviction for embezzling funds, John was treated like a persona modus non grata by his former colleagues. operandi You can hear these words and other words (shown in Table 2) in many places particularly on TV or in the movies. They're common enough that the nolo audience can get the gist of their meaning and still follow the story line, but contendere they're obscure enough to make the actors sound like experts in the law. (In the movie Silence of the Lambs, did you know what Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lechter means when he says to agent Starling, "Quid pro quo, Clarese. Quid pro quo"? If you look at Table 2, you will!) Table 2: Latin Words Used in English Courts prima facie Word Pronunciation Original Modern Meaning

Sumira 1F allowed in lo-ko pa-rentis eep-so fak-toe low-koos lick-tee dayin the place of a parent by the fact itself scene of the crime mode of working I do not wish to contend in the place of a parent by that very fact scene where a crime took place method of operating a plea by the defendant that's equivalent to an admission of guilt (and leaves him subject to punishment) but allows him the legal option to deny the charges later at first sight done as formality, done for the show something for something; tit for tat; an equal exchange

moh-dus o-perun-dee no-lo de-re kon-ten-

Meaning
to this

pree-mah key-ay pro for-ma

fah-

at first face for sake form this that the of for

ad hoc corpus delicti de facto de iure ad infinitum in absentia in camera

ad hok kor-pus de-licktee day fak-toe day you-ray ad in-fee-neetoom in ab-sen-tee-ah in ka-me-rah

for a specific purpose, case, or situation material evidence in a crime in reality; actually; in effect according to law; by right forever in (his/her) absence in private; no spectators

pro forma

body of the crime from fact from law forever in (his/her) absence in a room the the

quid quo

pro

kwid pro kwo

Less common Latin phrases We often refer to the language that lawyers use as legalese because it has so many Latin phrases and words. Table 3 lists a few of the less common Latin phrases that you're likely to hear only if you or someone you know actually ends up in a court of law. Table 3: Other Latin Legal Terms

Word
a mensa et toro

Pronunciation
ah men-sa eht torow

Original Meaning
from table and bed

Modern Meaning
legal separation

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Atty. Lapuz casus belli cui bono (in) flagrante delicto inter alia mutatis mutandis ka-soos bel-lee coo-ee bo-no in fla-gran-tay day-lick-toe in-ter ah-lee-ah moo-tah-tees moo-tun-dees occasion war of

Legal Writing 2013 an event that justifies a war whom does it benefit? red-handed, in the act ultra vires ool-trah wee-rays beyond strength

Sumira 1F outside one's jurisdiction

for whom the good while the crime is burning among things other

among other things after making necessary changes the

having changed what must be changed not of sound mind something said in passing

non compos mentis obiter dictum

non kom-posmentis oh-bee-terdeektoom

mentally incompetent

something a judge says in arguing a point, but has no bearing on the final decision burden of proof a case in progress it goes without saying an indispensable condition; a prerequisite postponed indefinitely pending judgment Page 3 of 3

onus probandi pendente lite res ipsa loquitur sine non sine die sub judice qua

oh-nis dee

pro-bun-

burden proving

of

pen-den-taylee-tay rays eep-sa kwee-tur lo-

while judgment is pending the matter itself speaks without which not without a day under judge the

see-nay kwa non see-nay dee-ay sub you-dee-kay