Legal Phrases & Sentences | Latin
actio in personam |
"action against a person" |
ad hominem |
"to the man" (Appealing to a person's interests or prejudices rather than to reason) |
ad litem |
"for the suit/action" |
amicus curiae |
"friend of the court" |
bona fide |
"in good faith" |
de jure |
"according to law / by right" |
Dura lex, sed lex. |
"The law is hard, but it is the law." |
ex curia |
"out of court" |
ex lege |
"arising from the law; as a matter of law" |
habeas corpus |
"You shall have the body. / (I command that) you have the body." (A judge's order to bring a person before the court to see whether he is justly imprisoned.) |
Hoc indictum volo. |
"I wish this to be unsaid. (I withdraw the statement.)" |
Ignorantia legis |
"Ignorance of the law excuses no one." |
in camera |
"in chamber / in secret / closed session" |
in facie curiae |
"in the face/presence of the court" |
in personem |
"against a/the person" |
ipso facto |
"by the fact itself / by that very fact" |
lex scripta |
"written law" |
mala fide |
"in/with bad faith / treacherously" |
mala in se |
"bad/evil in itself" |
ne bis in idem |
"A person may not be punished twice for the same thing." |
ne exeat |
"Let him not go out from the jurisdiction of the court" |
noli-me-tangere |
"do not touch me" (A warning against touching) |
nolle prosequi |
"I do not wish to pursue" (A prosecutor is dropping all or part of an indictment.) |
nolo contendere |
"I do not wish to contend." (A guilty plea, leaving open the option of denying alleged facts in later proceedings) |
non compos mentis |
"not having control of the mind" (Not legally responsible) |
nunc pro tunc |
"now for then" (Indicates action in the present that should have been taken before) |
per se |
"in/by itself" |
prima facie |
"on first appearance / at first sight" |
pro forma |
"as a matter of form / according to form" |
pro tempore |
"for the time / temporarily" |
res gestae |
"things done / deeds / facts of a case that are admissible as evidence" |
sine die |
"without a day (set for reconvening) / indefinitely" |
sine qua non |
"without which not / an essential element or condition" |
status quo |
"manner in which / condition / legal condition of a person or thing" |
sub judice |
"before the judge/court / under judicial consideration" |
sui juris |
"of one's own right" (Capable of managing one's own affairs) |
Collected by Edith E. Smith, M.A.