Champerty refers to a relationship that arises when third parties unrelated to a litigation provide material support to litigants in exchange for consideration contingent on the outcome of the litigation. Often that relationship between the...
civil procedure
chance verdict
A chance verdict (also known as a gambling verdict) refers to a verdict that is reached not through deliberation understanding, but through chance. Thus, in a close case without the agreement of the jury, some jurors might wish to flip a coin...
chancellor
In the old English legal system, a chancellor is a judge who sit in a chancery court—an equity court. In equity courts, the chancellor has the power to order acts rather than damages. As a result, injunctions, specific performance and vacatur are...
chancery
Chancery originated in Medieval England as a distinct court of equity, named for the Lord Chancellor. In its earliest form, those who were unable to obtain an adequate common law remedy could petition the King of England, who would refer the...
charging lien
A charging lien is defined as a type of attorney's lien under which a lawyer acquires an interest in a judgment awarded to the client. This may mean that the lawyer can eventually claim a portion of any money paid to the client due to the...
child custody
Child Custody: An Overview
Child custody issues arise most commonly in cases of divorce. The court of jurisdiction for the divorce proceedings also determines child custody arrangements. Under the common statutory provision, if the spouses...
circuit court
Once the federal district court has decided a case, the case can be appealed to a United States court of appeals. There are twelve federal circuits that divide the country into different regions. The Fifth Circuit, for example, includes the...
circumstantial evidence
Circumstantial evidence is indirect evidence that does not, on its face, prove a fact in issue but gives rise to a logical inference that the fact exists. Circumstantial evidence requires drawing additional reasonable inferences in order to...
citation
Citation has two common definitions in a legal context:
A citation is a reference to a source that supports a statement or is otherwise related to it. In legal documents, the source may be a primary legal authority (such as a...citation sentence
A citation sentence is a sentence consisting entirely of one or more citations. A citation sentence is used to cite sources and legal authorities that refer to the entire preceding sentence. Citation sentences always begin with a capital...