civil procedure

temporary restraining order

A temporary restraining order (TRO) is a short-term pre-trial temporary injunction. To obtain a TRO, a party must convince the judge that they will suffer immediate irreparable injury unless the order is issued. If the judge is convinced...

temporary restraining order (TRO)

Temporary restraining orders (TROs) are a type of short-term injunction issued to prevent a party from taking a certain action until the court is able to issue a more enduring order, such as a preliminary injunction. TROs are a type of...

territorial jurisdiction

Territorial jurisdiction is a court’s authority to preside over legal proceedings in a geographical area. Territorial jurisdiction is the scope of a federal and state court’s power and is determined by the governing laws and regulations of...

test case

Test cases refer to legal actions brought with the intention of challenging or receiving clarification on a present law. The strategy usually involves creating a “controversy” to get into a court that otherwise would not lead to a legal...

testimony

Testimony is oral or written evidence given by the witness under oath, affidavit, or deposition during a trial or other legal procedures. According to Rule 43 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, testimony taking should be conducted in an...

third-degree instruction

Third degree Instruction is an instruction given by a court to a deadlocked jury to encourage it to continue deliberating until it reaches a verdict. Also called Allen charge, dynamite charge, nitroglycerine charge, and shotgun charge....

third-party beneficiary

A third-party beneficiary is a person who is not a contracting party of a contract but can still receive the benefits from the performance of the contract. The privity of the contract is between the contracting parties - the promisor and...

Tinker v. Des Moines

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School Systems (1969) was a Supreme Court case famous as a foundational case on protecting first amendment rights of students at publicly funded schools. The case arose when school administrators...

tort

A tort is an act or omission that gives rise to injury or harm to another and amounts to a civil wrong for which courts impose liability. In the context of torts, "injury" describes the invasion of any legal right, whereas "harm" describes a...

tortious

Tortious is a term describing behavior that constitutes a tort. Thus, tortious behavior is any behavior (other than breach of contract) that may be sued upon as a civil wrong.

[Last updated in June of 2024 by the Wex Definitions Team...

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