General (not jurisdiction-specific)

A person who gives testimony, or who saw or knows about an event. Every person is competent to be a witness unless the rules provide otherwise (Fed. R. Evid. 601), and a lay witness may testify only to matters within personal knowledge (Fed. R. Evid. 602). An expert witness may give opinions if qualified and if the testimony meets Fed. R. Evid. 702.

A person who gives information about suspected crime to law enforcement, often confidentially. The government has a limited privilege to withhold an informant’s identity, but it must give way when disclosure is relevant and helpful to the defense or essential to a fair determination of the case (Roviaro v. United States, 353 U.S. 53 (1957)).

In criminal law, a formal written accusation of a crime filed by a prosecutor, as distinguished from an indictment returned by a grand jury. In federal court, an offense punishable by death must be prosecuted by indictment, and an offense punishable by more than one year of imprisonment must be prosecuted by indictment unless the defendant waives it, in which case it may be prosecuted by information (Fed. R. Crim. P. 7(a)–(b)).

A person or institution that lends money, usually in exchange for repayment with interest. Lenders that regularly extend consumer credit generally must give disclosures under the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z, and mortgage lenders are also subject to other federal and state laws. A lender that takes a security interest in personal property is a secured party under UCC Article 9; a lender secured by real estate holds a mortgage or deed of trust instead.

A person or business to whom money or another obligation is owed. Statutes define the word for their own purposes; for example, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act defines a creditor as any person who offers or extends credit creating a debt or to whom a debt is owed, but not someone who takes a defaulted debt only to collect it for another (15 U.S.C. § 1692a(4)), and the Truth in Lending Act limits the term to those who regularly extend consumer credit (15 U.S.C. § 1602(g)).

A person who owes money or another obligation. Under UCC Article 9, a debtor is a person having an interest in the collateral, other than a security interest or lien, whether or not that person owes the obligation; sellers of certain receivables and consignees also count (UCC § 9-102(a)(28)). In bankruptcy, a debtor is the person or municipality concerning which a case under the Bankruptcy Code has been commenced (11 U.S.C. § 101(13)).

Under UCC Article 9, a person in whose favor a security interest is created or provided for under a security agreement, among others (UCC § 9-102(a)(73)) — for example, a lender holding a lien on a car or equipment. A security interest generally requires a security agreement authenticated by the debtor (UCC § 9-203(b)), so filing a financing statement naming yourself does not make you a secured party; we have not found a court decision upholding a “secured party creditor” claim of that kind.

To record something in an official list or public record. Examples include recording a deed in the county land records, registering a vehicle with the state motor vehicle agency, registering a business entity or its registered agent with the secretary of state or similar state office, registering a copyright claim with the U.S. Copyright Office (17 U.S.C. § 408), and registering a federal money judgment in another district (28 U.S.C. § 1963).

A statement acknowledging that something is true. In discovery, a matter admitted under Rule 36 is conclusively established unless the court permits the admission to be withdrawn or amended (Fed. R. Civ. P. 36(b)). In evidence law, a party’s own statement offered against that party is not hearsay (Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(2)). “Admission” also means acceptance to practice law in a jurisdiction.

To acknowledge that something is true, or to allow something in. A party admits an allegation in its answer (Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(b)), and a matter in a request for admission is admitted unless the party timely answers or objects (Fed. R. Civ. P. 36(a)(3)). A court admits evidence when it allows it to be considered (Fed. R. Evid. 104(a)), and an attorney is admitted to practice when licensed by a court or bar.