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Glossary

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Commit -To send a person to prison, asylum, or reformatory by a court order.

Common law -Also case law. Law established by subject matter heard in earlier cases.

Commutation -The reduction of a sentence, as from death to life imprisonment.

Comparative fault -A rule in admiralty law where each vessel involved in a collision is required to pay a share of the total damages in proportion to its percentage of fault.

Comparative negligence -The rule under which negligence is measured by percentage, and damages are diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the person seeking recovery.

Complainant -The party who complains or sues; one who applies to the court for legal redress. (See also plaintiff.)

Complaint -1. The legal document that usually begins a civil lawsuit. It states the facts and identifies the action the court is asked to take. 2. Formal written charge that a person has committed a criminal offense.

Conciliation -A form of alternative dispute resolution in which the parties bring their dispute to a neutral third party, who helps lower tensions, improve communications, and explore possible solutions. Conciliation is similar to mediation, but is may be less formal.

Concurrent sentences -Sentences for more than one crime that are to be served at the same time, rather than one after the other. (See also cumulative or consecutive sentences.)

Condemnation -The legal process by which the government takes private land for public use, paying the owners a fair price. (See eminent domain.)

Conformed copy -An exact copy of a document on which has been written things that could not or were not copied, i.e., a written signature is replaced on the conformed copy with a notation that it was signed by the parties.

Consecutive sentences -Successive sentences, one beginning at the expiration of another, imposed against a person convicted of two or more violations. (See also cumulative or concurrent sentences.)

Consent -Agreement; voluntary acceptance of the wish of another.

Conservatorship -Legal right given to a person to manage the property and financial affairs of a person deemed incapable of doing that for himself or herself. (See also guardianship.)

Consideration -The price bargained for and paid for a promise, goods, or real estate.

Constitution -The fundamental law of a nation or state which establishes the character and basic principles of the government.

Constitutional law -Law set forth in the Constitution of the United States and the state constitutions.

Consumer bankruptcy -A proceeding under the Bankruptcy Code filed by an individual (or husband and wife) who is not in business.