wex definitions

A confidence game is when a person defrauds a victim of their money, property, or information through tricks. The perpetrator is able to defraud the victim of their possessions through gaining the victim’s trust.

Confidential communication involves statements (oral, written, or nonverbal) made in confidence between two people who have trust in each other and believe that the communication will be kept in confidence. Examples of this kind of communication include conversations between a married couple, a doctor and patient, and an attorney and their client.

Confidential relations can refer to an actual fiduciary relationship, such as between a lawyer and client, or, more informally, a relationship of trust and reliance, such as between a parent and child. The term frequently arises in allegations of undue influence, often involving wills where suspicious circumstances exist.

Confine means to imprison or restrain someone, to keep them in a place, especially in a prison or jail, usually as punishment for committing a crime. 

See: imprison.

[Last reviewed in June of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]

Confirmation bias refers to the tendency to seek out and give undue credibility to information that supports a desired conclusion. Due to confirmation bias, a party may unduly discredit contradictory information to the desired conclusion, or incorrectly believe it to reinforce a minority viewpoint at best. Confirmation bias is similar to the concept of biased assimilation. 

In a legal context, there are two primary definitions for confirmation hearing:

Confiscation is the permanent taking of a person’s property without compensation.

A conflict of interest refers to the ethical problems that may arise between parties with a preexisting relationship. In law, a conflict of interest arises between an attorney and a client if the interests of the attorney, a different client, or a third-party conflict with the interests of the present client. 

Conflict of laws refers to a difference between the laws of two or more jurisdictions with some connection to a case, such that the outcome depends on which jurisdiction's law will be used to resolve each issue in dispute. The conflicting legal rules may come from U.S. federal law, the laws of U.S. states, or the laws of other countries. 

Conformed copy is an exact copy of a document filed with a clerk with an official stamp. The clerk may make notes on the copy of original signature dates and any items that could not be transferred to the copy such as signatures. Often individuals will request a conformed copy for records when filing a document, and a conformed copy can usually be admitted into evidence if the original is unavailable.