General (not jurisdiction-specific)

A court case or agreement that divides property owned by two or more people. A court may order partition in kind, which physically divides the property, or partition by sale, which sells it and splits the money. Many states have adopted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act for inherited land.

A document in which a property owner states that they now hold certain property as trustee for others, or for themselves and others. It creates a trust without transferring the property to a different person. The Restatement (Third) of Trusts § 10 lists declaration as one way to create a trust.

The substitution of one party into another party’s legal rights after paying that party’s loss. For example, an insurer that pays a policyholder for crash damage may then sue the at-fault driver to recover what it paid. Subrogation rights can come from a contract, a statute or equity.

The party that steps into another party’s rights through subrogation, usually an insurer that has paid a claim. The party whose rights are taken over is the subrogor.

To end a case, a charge or a claim without a full trial. A dismissal can be with prejudice, which bars refiling, or without prejudice, which does not. In federal civil cases, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41 governs voluntary and involuntary dismissal.

A prosecutor’s formal decision to drop criminal charges. The Latin phrase means “to be unwilling to pursue.” In federal court, the government may dismiss charges with leave of court under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 48(a). A nolle prosequi is not an acquittal, so charges can often be refiled within the statute of limitations.

A plea in which the defendant does not admit guilt but does not contest the charge. It is also called nolo contendere. In federal court, a defendant may plead no contest only with the court’s consent (Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(a)(1), (a)(3)). Under Federal Rule of Evidence 410, a no-contest plea generally cannot be used against the defendant in a later case.

A criminal sentence in which a person stays in the community under supervision instead of going to jail or prison, subject to conditions set by the court. In federal court, 18 U.S.C. § 3561 governs when probation is available. If the person violates the conditions, the court can revoke probation and impose another sentence.

A plea that denies the charge and requires the government to prove guilt at trial. It is also the verdict when the prosecution does not prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In federal court, if a defendant refuses to enter a plea, the court must enter a plea of not guilty (Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(a)(4)).

Responsible for a crime. A defendant becomes guilty in the legal sense by pleading guilty or by being found guilty at trial beyond a reasonable doubt. In federal court, a judge must make sure a guilty plea is voluntary and has a factual basis before accepting it (Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b)).