appellee

Definition

The person who gets to respond when someone else appeals a court decision—basically the legal equivalent of being tagged in a complaint thread. You won the case, felt victorious, and now some sore loser is dragging you back to court to argue about it again. Also known as the respondent, because apparently one legal title wasn't confusing enough.

Example Usage

As the appellee, Johnson hired additional counsel to defend the jury's original verdict in the appellate court.

Source: Wiktionary via Free Dictionary API

Related Terms

Intermediate

motion to compel

A formal request asking the judge to force the other side to comply with discovery requests they've been avoiding. It's the legal equivalent of tattling to the teacher when someone won't share.

⚖️ Legal

Intermediate

venire

The pool of prospective jurors summoned to court from which the jury is selected, Latin for 'to come.' Essentially a random collection of citizens hoping their number isn't called.

⚖️ Legal

Intermediate

friendly amendment

A proposed change to a motion that the original maker agrees to accept, avoiding the need for a vote. It's parliamentary procedure's rare moment of actual cooperation, where people just agree to improve something without drama.

⚖️ Legal

Intermediate

pursuant

Legal jargon's favorite pretentious way of saying 'according to' or 'in compliance with,' typically preceding a citation that nobody will actually read. Lawyers sprinkle this throughout contracts and memos to sound impressively formal while basically just pointing at rules they're following. If you see this word, brace yourself for a reference to some statute, regulation, or policy that's about to justify whatever bureaucratic nonsense comes next.

⚖️ Legal

Intermediate

interrogate

To question someone with the intensity and persistence of a prosecutor who's had too much coffee. The art of asking questions designed to extract information, typically conducted by someone with a badge or a parent who found your report card. A thorough examination that makes a casual conversation feel like a spa day in comparison.

⚖️ Legal

Advanced

cession

The legal equivalent of saying "it's yours now, my problem is your problem." In insurance and real estate, it's when rights, property, or risks get transferred from one party to another, often because someone decided they didn't want to deal with it anymore. Think of it as the formal paperwork version of hot potato.

⚖️ Legal

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