The punishment ordered by a court for a defendant convicted of a crime.

Source: US Courts Glossary

A set of rules and principles established by the United States Sentencing Commission that trial judges use to determine the sentence for a convicted defendant.

Source: US Courts Glossary

To separate. Sometimes juries are sequestered from outside influences during their deliberations.

Source: US Courts Glossary

The delivery of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.

Source: US Courts Glossary

Parties to a lawsuit resolve their dispute without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in at least partial satisfaction of the other party's claims, but usually do not include the admission of fault.

Source: US Courts Glossary

A business not authorized to practice law that prepares bankruptcy petitions.

Source: US Courts Glossary

The document that initiates the filing of a bankruptcy proceeding, setting forth basic information regarding the debtor, including name, address, chapter under which the case is filed, and estimated amount of assets and liabilities.

Source: US Courts Glossary

A federal misdemeanor punishable by six months or less in prison.

Source: US Courts Glossary

A person or business that files a formal complaint with the court.

Source: US Courts Glossary

A debtor's detailed description of how the debtor proposes to pay creditors' claims over a fixed period of time.

Source: US Courts Glossary

In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges. See also nolo contendere.

Source: US Courts Glossary

Written statements filed with the court that describe a party's legal or factual assertions about the case.

Source: US Courts Glossary

A transfer of the debtor's property made after the commencement of the case.

Source: US Courts Glossary

The arrangement (or rearrangement) of a debtor's property to allow the debtor to take maximum advantage of exemptions. (Prebankruptcy planning typically includes converting nonexempt assets into exempt assets.)

Source: US Courts Glossary

A court decision in an earlier case with facts and legal issues similar to a dispute currently before a court. Judges will generally "follow precedent" - meaning that they use the principles established in earlier cases to decide new cases that have similar facts and raise similar legal issues. A judge will disregard precedent if a party can show that the earlier case was wrongly decided, or that it differed in some significant way from the current case.

Source: US Courts Glossary

A debt payment made to a creditor in the 90-day period before a debtor files bankruptcy (or within one year if the creditor was an insider) that gives the creditor more than the creditor would receive in the debtor's chapter 7 case.

Source: US Courts Glossary

A report prepared by a court's probation officer, after a person has been convicted of an offense, summarizing for the court the background information needed to determine the appropriate sentence.

Source: US Courts Glossary

A meeting of the judge and lawyers to plan the trial, to discuss which matters should be presented to the jury, to review proposed evidence and witnesses, and to set a trial schedule. Typically, the judge and the parties also discuss the possibility of settlement of the case.

Source: US Courts Glossary

A function of the federal courts that takes place at the very start of the criminal justice process – after a person has been arrested and charged with a federal crime and before he or she goes to trial. Pretrial services officers focus on investigating the backgrounds of these persons to help the court determine whether to release or detain them while they await trial. The decision is based on whether these individuals are likely to flee or pose a threat to the community. If the court orders release, a pretrial services officer supervises the person in the community until he or she returns to court.

Source: US Courts Glossary

An unsecured claim that is entitled to be paid ahead of other unsecured claims that are not entitled to priority status. Priority refers to the order in which these unsecured claims are to be paid.

Source: US Courts Glossary

The Bankruptcy Code's statutory ranking of unsecured claims that determines the order in which unsecured claims will be paid if there is not enough money to pay all unsecured claims in full.

Source: US Courts Glossary

A slang expression sometimes used to refer to a pro se litigant. It is a corruption of the Latin phrase "in propria persona."

Source: US Courts Glossary

Representing oneself. Serving as one's own lawyer.

Source: US Courts Glossary

Temporary.

Source: US Courts Glossary

Officers of the probation office of a court. Probation officer duties include conducting presentence investigations, preparing presentence reports on convicted defendants, and supervising released defendants.

Source: US Courts Glossary