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An Introduction to court terms (the common terms)

Many people will tell you that reporting from the courts is not easy because of the language that the lawyers use. Some will say the language used in court is Latin.
This is not correct. It is about misconception with regards to what transpires in the courts. At the courts, the lawyers and the judges speak in the English Language. At times, there are unfamiliar terms used in the court but you have to remember as a journalist you have the duty to ask the lawyers or the judge or magistrate to help you with the spellings and the meaning of words. This does not happen always. In fact, it happens occasionally.
This post intends to take you through the common words used in court and give the simplest meaning to them. This is to help people understand the meaning and know how to use them in their reports.

1.    Plaintiff: A person who takes another person to court. The plaintiff is called the claimant. He is the one who is claiming for something before the court and this is only for civil cases. The Plaintiff can be a human being or a company such as banks, business entities, schools, media houses, hospitals and many others.

2.    Defendant: This is a term used in both civil and criminal cases. A defendant is a person who is brought to court. In civil cases, the defendant is brought by the plaintiff while in criminal cases the defendant is also called the accused person. Also, the defendant can be a human being or a company such as banks, schools, media houses etc.

3.    Charge Sheet: Is the sheet (paper) carrying the charges the accused person is charged with. It usually has the name of the accused person, the offence (s) committed and the particulars of the offence (s).

4.     Particulars of Claim: In civil cases, it is the explanation of the claims. This means it is what explains the complaint before the court. It is always written. It explains why the plaintiff is making the claims.

5.    Statement of claim: It is usually a summary of what the plaintiff is claiming. It is usually explained in the particulars of claim. For example: If I sue you, I have to tell the court why I brought you before the court. That is the claim. I can sue you for defamation. That is the claim. The particular of the claim is what would explain the claim.

6.    Statement of Offence: This applies to only criminal cases. It is the charge itself. It will explain what offence the accused person is charged with and the section of the law the offence is found.

7.    Particulars of Offence: This is what will explain the statement of offence. It explains when the offence was committed, how it was done and who committed the offence. It also states the place the crime was committed.

8.    Submission, application, objection, record and file: These are simple English words that each and every person is expected to know.

9.    Examination: The questioning of a witness on oath or affirmation. In court, a witness is subject to questioning by lawyers. The first one is called examination-in-chief, followed by cross-examination, and final re-examination. Let me explain: Examination-in-chief is the first questioning by the lawyer who brings the witness. Examination-in-chief is the questioning of a witness by the party who called him to give evidence. If the witness is brought by the prosecution, the lawyer of the prosecution will be the first to ask. This is what is called examination-in-chief. If also, the witness is called by the defendant then the first questioning by his lawyer is what is called examination-in-chief. If the first lawyer asks his questions then the other lawyer will be given the chance to ask the witness questions. This is what is called cross-examination. The questioning of a witness by a party other than the one who called him to testify. It may be to the issue, i.e. designed to elicit information favourable to the party on whose behalf it is conducted and to cast doubt on the accuracy of evidence given against that party; or to credit, i.e. designed to cast doubt upon the credibility of the witness. The purpose of cross-examination is to discredit the witness. The re-examination will come after cross-examination. This is done by the lawyer who first asks the questions. The purpose of re-examination is to clarify ambiguities that arise from the cross-examination.

To be continued.

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