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a fortiori
(ah-for-she-ory) prep. Latin for "with even stronger reason," which applies to a situation in which if one thing is true then it
can be inferred that a second thing is even more certainly true. Thus, if Abel is too young to serve as administrator, then his
younger brother Cain certainly is too young...

a priori assumption
(ah-pree-ory) n. from Latin, an assumption that is true without further proof or need to prove it. It is assumed the sun will
come up tomorrow. However, it has a negative side: an a priori assumption made without question on the basis that no
analysis or study is necessary, can be mental laziness wh...

a.k.a.
prep. abbreviation for "also known as" when someone uses different initials, a nickname, a maiden or married name.
Example: Harold G. Snodgrass, a.k.a. Harry Snodgrass, a.k.a. H. G. Snodgrass, a.k.a. "Snuffy the Snod."

ab initio
prep. lawyer Latin for "from the start," as "it was legal ab initio."

abandon
v. to intentionally and permanently give up, surrender, leave, desert or relinquish all interest or ownership in property, a
home or other premises, a right of way, and even a spouse, family, or children. The word is often used in situations to
determine whether a tenant has left his/her apartment a...

abandoned property
n. property left behind (often by a tenant) intentionally and permanently when it appears that the former owner (or tenant)
does not intend to come back, pick it up, or use it. Examples may include possessions left in a house after the tenant has
moved out or autos left beside a road for a long peri...

abandonment
n. the act of intentionally and permanently giving up, surrendering, deserting or relinquishing property, premises, a right of
way, a ship, contract rights, a spouse and/or children. Abandonment of a spouse means intent at permanent separation, and
with children a lengthy period of neither contact n...

abate
v. to do away with a problem, such as a public or private nuisance or some structure built contrary to public policy. This can
include dikes which illegally direct water onto a neighbor's property, high volume noise from a rock band or a factory, an
improvement constructed in violation of building a...

abatement
n. 1) the removal of a problem which is against public or private policy, or endangers others, including nuisances such as
weeds that might catch fire on an otherwise empty lot; 2) an equal reduction of recovery of debts by all creditors when there
are not enough funds or assets to pay the full amou...

abduction
n. the criminal taking away of a person by persuasion (convincing someone-particularly a minor or a woman-he/she is
better off leaving with the persuader), by fraud (telling the person he/she is needed, or that the mother or father wants
him/her to come with the abductor), or by open force or violen...

abet
v. to help someone commit a crime, including helping them escape from police or plan the crime.

abeyance
1) n. when the owner- ship of property has not been determined. Examples include title to real property in the estate of a
person who has died and there is no obvious party to receive title or there appears to be no legal owner of the property, a
shipwreck while it is being determined who has the ri...

able-bodied
adj. physically capable of working at a job or in the military. It is often used to describe a person as capable of earning a
living and, therefore, of paying alimony or child support.

abortion
n. the termination of pregnancy by various means, including medical surgery, before the fetus is able to sustain independent
life. Until 1973 abortion was considered a crime (by the mother and the doctor) unless performed by physicians to protect
the life of the mother, a phrase often broadly interp...

abrogate
v. to annul or repeal a law or pass legislation that contradicts the prior law. Abrogate also applies to revoking or withdrawing
conditions of a contract.

abscond
v. 1) traditionally to leave a jurisdiction (where the court, a process server or law enforcement can find one) to avoid being
served with legal papers or being arrested. 2) a surprise leaving with funds or goods that have been stolen, as in "he
absconded with the loot."

absolute
adj. complete, and without condition.

abstention doctrine
n. when the Supreme Court refuses to exercise its federal constitutional jurisdiction or declines to consider a question of
state law arising from a case being appealed from a state court.

abstract
n. in general, a summary of a record or document, such as an abstract of judgment or abstract of title to real property.

abstract of judgment
n. a written summary of a judgment which states how much money the losing party owes to the person who won the lawsuit
(judgment creditor), the rate of interest to be paid on the judgment amount, court costs, and any specific orders that the
losing party (judgment debtor) must obey, which abstract i...

abstract of title
n. the written report on a title search which shows the history of every change of ownership on a piece of real estate, and any
claims against the property, such as easements on the property, loans against it, deeds of trust, mortgages, liens, judgments,
and real property taxes. Some abstracts only ...

abuse of discretion
n. a polite way of saying a trial judge has made such a bad mistake ("clearly against reason and evidence" or against
established law) during a trial or on ruling on a motion that a person did not get a fair trial. A court of appeals will use a
finding of this abuse as a reason to reverse the trial ...

abuse of process