citation

Definition

In law, either the official summons commanding someone to appear in court or the reference to legal authorities supporting an argument. Can also be that expensive piece of paper a cop gives you for parking wrong. Basically, it's any formal notification that someone wants your attention, usually for reasons that will cost you money.

Example Usage

The attorney included citations to three Supreme Court cases to bolster her argument in the appellate brief.

Source: Common legal terminology

Related Terms

Advanced

sequestration

The legal process of isolating assets or people from outside influence, whether it's locking away property in a dispute or keeping jurors from watching Netflix during a trial. In government finance, it's the automatic budget cuts that kick in when politicians can't agree on spending, slashing programs with the precision of a blindfolded lumberjack. Either way, it's about separation and control, usually court-ordered.

⚖️ Legal

Intermediate

allocution

A defendant's opportunity to speak on their own behalf before sentencing, typically to beg for mercy or explain why they're not as terrible as the evidence suggests. Judges listen with varying degrees of sympathy.

⚖️ Legal

Intermediate

Class Action

A lawsuit where thousands of people band together to sue a corporation and, after years of litigation, each receive a check for $3.47 while the lawyers buy vacation homes. Democracy in action.

⚖️ Legal

Advanced

judgment notwithstanding the verdict

A judge's decision to overrule a jury's verdict when no reasonable jury could have reached that conclusion. It's the judicial equivalent of 'I know what you said, but you're wrong,' and it's as rare as it sounds.

⚖️ Legal

Beginner

Objection

The one legal term everyone learned from television, shouted dramatically in courtrooms to interrupt opposing counsel, usually followed by a judge saying "overruled" and the lawyer sitting down looking defeated. The legal equivalent of raising your hand to tattle.

⚖️ Legal

Intermediate

torts

Civil wrongs that aren't quite crimes but are definitely lawsuit-worthy, like negligence, defamation, or that time your neighbor's tree fell on your car. This entire area of law exists so people can sue each other for damages without anyone going to jail. Law students memorize endless tort cases with names like "Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad," learning that the legal system has opinions about literally everything that can go wrong between humans.

⚖️ Legal

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