Law Agreements:

Child Support: Payment made for the support of the children of divorced or separated
parents while the children are minors or until they reach an age set by the separation
agreement or in a court order. Child support is usually paid by the parent who is without
custody. In the case of joint custody, both parents usually pay child support.

Collective Bargaining Agreement: An agreement between an employer and a labor union

produced through collective bargaining: Labor contract at contract.

Contract under seal: A contract that does not require consideration in order to be binding
but that must be sealed, delivered, and show a clear intention of the parties to create a
contract under seal.

Listing: An arrangement, agreement, or contract for the marketing of real property through
one or more real estate agents usually for a specific period – called also Listing Agreement.

Protection Order: Restraining order; an order of a specific duration issued after a hearing
attended by all parties that is intended to protect one individual from violence, abuse,
harassment, or stalking by another especially by prohibiting or restricting access or
proximity to the protected party.

Plea Agreement: An agreement reached at the conclusion of plea-bargaining: Plea Bargain

Plea bargaining: The negotiation of an agreement between the prosecution and the defense
whereby the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser offense or to one or some of multiple
offenses usually in exchange for more lenient sentencing recommendations, a specific
sentence, or dismissal of other charges – Plea Bargain

Rape Shield Law: A law that prohibits or limits use of evidence (as testimony) regarding
prior sexual conduct of an alleged rape victim.

Social Contract: An actual or hypothetical agreement among individuals forming an

organized society or between the community and the ruler that defines and limits the rights
and duties of each.

Small Claims Court: A special court intended to simplify and expedite the resolution of
minor disputes involving small claims.

Court-Martial: (n) Courts-martial also court-martials

1: A court consisting of commissioned officers and in some instances enlisted personnel for
the trial of members of the armed forces or others within its jurisdiction.

Court of appeals: often cap C&A: A court hearing appeals from the decisions or lower
court: as
1A: An intermediate court of the U.S. Federal Judicial System.
1B: A state appellate court – called also Court Of Appeal
Speedy Trial: A trial conducted according to prevailing rules and procedures that takes
place without unreasonable or undue delay or within a statutory period.
* The right to a speedy trial is guaranteed to criminal defendants by the Sixth Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution. The purposes of the right as explained by the U.S. Supreme Court
are to keep a person who has not yet been convicted from serving lengthy jail time, to
lessen the time that accused must endure the anxiety and publicity of the impending trial,
and to minimize the damage that delay might cause to the person’s ability to present a
defense.

Statutory rule against perpetuities: A statute setting forth the requirements for the
vesting of a future interest in property and superseding the common-law rule against
perpetuities; especially: a uniform statute invalidating a future interest in property that is
not certain to vest or terminate within a life in being plus 21 years or that does not vest or
terminate within 90 years after its creation.

Trust agreement: An agreement establishing and setting forth the material terms of a trust.

Unemployment Insurance: A social insurance program that provides unemployment

compensation for a limited period to involuntarily unemployed workers.

Unnecessary Hardship: A deprivation of an owner’s right to the beneficial use of property

that is caused when a zoning ordinance makes it impossible to receive a reasonable return
from the property.

Well-pleaded complaint rule: A rule of procedure that federal question jurisdiction cannot
be acquired over a case unless an issue of federal law appears on the face of a properly
pleaded complaint.
The well-pleaded complaint rule is not satisfied by a defense based on federal law,
including a defense of federal preemption, or by anticipation of such a defense in the
complaint.

Witness Protection Program: A state or federal program designed to protect prosecution

witnesses in serious criminal cases especially from bodily injury or tampering ( as by
providing aid in establishing a new identity in a new location).

Worker’s Compensation:
1: Compensation for injury to an employee arising out of and in the course of employment
that is paid to the worker or dependents by an employer whose strict liability for such
compensation is established by statute.
Where established by statute, worker’s compensation is generally the exclusive
remedy for injuries arising from employment, with some exceptions.
Worker’s compensation statutes commonly include explicit exclusions for injury
caused intentionally, by willful misconduct, and by voluntary intoxication from alcohol or
illegal drugs.