Hospitality Law Vocabulary Chapter 1 1 Administrative agency a governmental subdivision charged with administering legislations that applies to a particular industry 2 Administrative law laws that impact administrative agencies 3 Assault the tort of intentionally putting someone in fear of harmful physical contact such as making a fist in a way suggestive of an imminent punch Also the crime of intentionally causing physical injury to another person 4 Casebooks books in which decisions are published 5 Case decision an interpretation of the law applied b a judge to a set of facts in a given case 6 Cases written decisions by judges 7 Civil law law applicable to legal wrongs other than crimes 8 Common law legal rules that evolved in England from decisions of judges and from customs and practices that were intended to be common or uniform for the entire English Kingdom obtained their authority from the test of time Also refers to judges decisions as opposed to statutory law 9 Compensatory damages out of pocket expenses including doctor bills and lost wage and compensation for pain and suffering loss of enjoyment of life loss of consortium and loss of services 10 Congress the primary law making body of the federal government 11 Constitutional law the law embodied in the federal constitution prescribing the organization and powers of the federal government and defining rights of the people 12 Contract an agreement between two or more people that is enforceable in court 13 Criminal law law applicable to criminal cases 14 Damages the remedy sought by the injured party in a civil case 15 Decision an interpretation of the law and or facts applied by a judge to a set of facts in a given case Constitution 16 Delegated powers those powers expressly allocated to the federal government in the 17 Facts objective information about circumstances that exist and or events that have occurred 18 Fraud an intentional untruthful statement made to induce reliance by another person or for the purpose of misleading someone usually for personal gain 19 Interstate commerce business affecting more than one state as opposed to business done between two parties 20 Issue a legal question that the parties have asked the judge to resolve 21 Law rules enforceable in court requiring people to meet certain standards of conduct 22 Legislative process the process by which the federal government as well as other units of government adopts laws 23 Legislature a law making body whose members are elected to office by the citizenry 24 Legislators the elected members of the legislature 25 Negligence Breach of a legal duty to act reasonably that is the direct or proximate cause of injury to another probation officer 26 Ordinance a law adopted by a local governmental body 27 Precedents a court decision that becomes a basis for deciding future cases 28 Probation a system where by criminal offenders remain out of jail but are supervised by a 29 Punitive damages also called exemplary damanfes money awarded to a plaintiff over and above compensatory damages to punish or make an example of the defendant They are Chapter 2 awarded only in cases where the defendant s wrongful acts are aggravated by violence malice or fraud 30 Rape sexual intercourse that is against the victim s will 31 Reasoning the basis and rationale used in determining legal issues in a court case 32 Regulations laws adopted by administrative agencies 33 Stare decisis The matter stands decided latin The principle that courts will follow precedents when they are applicable 34 Statute a law adopted by federal or state legislature 35 Statutory law law passed by legislatures 36 Theft of services a crime consisting of the use of services such as a hotel room or a restaurant meal with the intent of avoiding payment and the act of failing to pay 37 Trademark infringement Use of another company s business name or logo without permission 1 Allegations in pleading that which a person will attempt to prove an unproven assertion 2 Alternative dispute resolution Alternatives to trial These include arbitration and mediation 3 Answer the pleading issued by the defendant in response to plaintiff s complaint 4 Appeal a review by one court of the decision of another court initiated by the party who lost in the prior court complaint made by a litigant to a superior court that a trial judge committed an error and a request that the superior court correct the error 5 Appellate Court a court with the authority to review the handling and decisions of a case tried in a lower court the case 6 Arbitration the process of dispute resolution by an arbitrator chosen by the parties to decide 7 Briefs a written statement of a person s case to be submitted to a court usually including a summary of the law involved in the case a condensed statement of facts and arguments regarding how the law applies to the facts 8 Case in Chief the part of a trial where each party presents his evidence 9 Charge to the Jury the procedure at trial where the judge informs the jury of the law applicable to the case The charge occurs after the summations 10 Civil Case a noncriminal case The remedy sought is typically damages money 11 Claim a demand for a remedy usually money to compensate for a perceived wrong 12 Complaint The initials pleading filed in court in a civil lawsuit consisting of a statement of the wrong or harm allegedly done to the plaintiff by the defendant and a request for a specific help from the court 13 Counterclaims claims the defendant asserts against the plaintiff in and Answer 14 Criminal Case a case involving a legal wrong that can result in hail time for the perpetrator 15 Cross Examination questioning of a witness by the attorney opposed to the one who called the witness to stand Opposing counsel questioning the other party s witness 16 Default Judgment a judgment entered in favor of a plaintiff when the defendant fails to appear 17 Defendant the party who is sued in a lawsuit by the plaintiff 18 Deliberations the process undertaken by a jury to examine review and weigh the evidence to 19 Deposition a pretrial interrogation of a witness under oath 20 Direct Examination the questioning of a witness by the attorney who called the witness to the decide on a verdict in court stand 21 Discovery the process by which each side obtains evidence known to the other side 22 For Cause applies when a juror is dismissed because of inability to render and impartial verdict based on prior knowledge of the