A court trial, or a bench trial, refers to the type of trial that does not involve a jury but is conducted by the judge alone, in which the judge both decides the facts of the case and applies the law.
Compare: jury trial....
civil procedure
court witness
A court witness is an individual called to testify or provide evidence in a trial.
Court witnesses usually possess knowledge or proof that is relevant to the facts of a suit, and they convey their relevant knowledge as lay...
cross examination
A cross-examination is the act of the opposing party questioning the witness during a trial. Generally, a witness is initially questioned by the party who called them to the stand on direct examination. Afterwards, the opposing party can...
cross-appeal
A cross-appeal is a request filed by an appellee requesting that a higher court review a decision made by a lower court. The difference between an appeal and a cross-appeal is essentially arbitrary and dependent only on who filed the request...
cross-claim
A cross-claim is a claim brought by a plaintiff against a co-plaintiff, or by a defendant against a co-defendant. Cross-claims are governed by Rule 13 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP).
As a general rule, cross...
cross-complaint
A cross-complaint, also called “crossclaim,” is an independent action brought by a party against a co-party, the original plaintiff, or someone who is not yet a party to the lawsuit. The cross-complaint must arise out of the same transaction...
cross-examination
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
At trial, the opportunity to question any witness who testifies on behalf of any other party to the lawsuit (in civil cases) or for the prosecution or other codefendants (in criminal cases). The...
cumis counsel
The term cumis counsel is taken from the case San Diego Federal Credit Union v. Cumis Ins. Society. Cumis counsel refers to an independent attorney hired by an insurance company to represent the defendant in cases with a strong conflict of...
damages
In civil cases, damages are the remedy that a party requests the court award in order to try to make the injured party whole. Typically damage awards are in the form of monetary compensation to the harmed party. Damages are imposed if the...
Daubert Standard
The “Daubert Standard” provides a systematic framework for a trial court judge to assess the reliability and relevance of expert witness testimony before it is presented to a jury. Established in the 1993 U.S. Supreme Court case Daubert v....