General (not jurisdiction-specific)

The fundamental law of a nation or state that establishes the government, divides and limits its powers and protects individual rights. In the United States there is a federal Constitution and a constitution for each state. Laws that conflict with the applicable constitution are invalid.

Law developed by courts through their decisions, as distinguished from law enacted by legislatures in statutes. The term also refers to the law administered by the historic English common-law courts, as distinguished from equity. Many states have adopted English common law by statute to the extent it is consistent with their own constitutions and laws (for example, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 5.001), and a valid statute overrides a conflicting common-law rule. In federal court, the Seventh Amendment preserves the right of trial by jury in “Suits at common law.”

Relating to equity, the body of law historically administered by courts of chancery, or fair and just. Equitable remedies include injunctions, specific performance, rescission and constructive trusts, and courts generally grant them only when money damages would not be an adequate remedy. In federal court, the Seventh Amendment jury right applies to suits at common law, so purely equitable claims are generally decided by a judge.

Allowed or permitted, but not required. Rules often distinguish permissive language (“may”) from mandatory language (“must” or “shall”). For example, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide for permissive counterclaims (Rule 13(b)), permissive joinder of parties (Rule 20) and permissive intervention (Rule 24(b)), which a party may use but is not required to.

The name has several legal meanings, and each statute may define it for its own purposes. It can mean the nation and its federal government established by the Constitution, the federal government as a party in a lawsuit, or a geographic area. For example, the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act provides that, as used in that chapter, “United States” means (A) a Federal corporation; (B) an agency, department, commission, board, or other entity of the United States; or (C) an instrumentality of the United States (28 U.S.C. § 3002(15)). That definition only identifies which federal creditors can use the chapter’s debt-collection procedures; it does not change the meaning of “United States” in other laws, and we have not found a court decision holding that it makes the United States a corporation.

A person who is a citizen or national of a country other than the United States. Federal statutes usually use the defined word “alien,” meaning any person not a citizen or national of the United States (8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(3)), and some statutes define “foreign national” for their own purposes, such as federal election law (52 U.S.C. § 30121(b)).

A person who owes permanent allegiance to a state (8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(21)). Under federal law, a “national of the United States” is either a citizen of the United States or a person who, though not a citizen, owes permanent allegiance to the United States (8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(22)). Non-citizen nationals are a small group defined by statute — for example, people born in American Samoa (8 U.S.C. § 1408). We have not found a court decision recognizing non-citizen national status, or an exemption from federal or state law, acquired by a person’s own declaration.

A formal written request to a court or other official body. In some proceedings, the document that starts the case is called a petition rather than a complaint — for example, in Texas the initial pleading is a petition (Tex. R. Civ. P. 45), and a voluntary bankruptcy case begins with the filing of a petition (11 U.S.C. § 301; involuntary cases are covered by § 303). Petitions are also used for habeas corpus, certiorari and many family-law and probate matters. The First Amendment protects the right of the people to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The person who suffered harm, loss or the violation of a right and who may seek a remedy. In contract law, the injured party is the one entitled to remedies for the other party’s breach. In a lawsuit, the injured party is usually the plaintiff or claimant.

Harm to a person, property, reputation or legal right. To have standing to sue in federal court, a plaintiff must show an “injury in fact” — an invasion of a legally protected interest that is concrete and particularized and actual or imminent — that is fairly traceable to the defendant’s conduct and likely to be redressed by a favorable decision (Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560–61 (1992)).