Discretion is the power of a judge, public official or private party to act according to the dictates of their own judgment and conscience within general legal principles. In criminal and tort law, discretion is the ability to judge between...
judicial administration
discretionary
Discretionary acts are not governed by regulations, but rather by persons in roles of authority who judge each specific case, which means an act (such as review by the court of a particular matter) is at the free choice or judgment of the...
district court
A district court, in the United States federal judicial system, refers to one of the 94 trial courts throughout the nation that determine facts and apply legal principles to both civil and criminal cases. At least one district court sits in...
diversity jurisdiction
Diversity jurisdiction refers to one way a federal court can obtain subject matter jurisdiction over a given case (the other method being federal question jurisdiction). Diversity jurisdiction is codified in Title 28, Section 1332 of the...
docket
A docket is a brief list of all proceedings, filings, and possibly deadlines in a case. A judge's docket is the official docket kept for a case by the court. A docket fee is a price charged by a court for placing a case on its docket or...
dynamite charge
Dynamite charges (also referred to as allen, nitroglycerin, shotgun, or third-degree charges) refer to jury instructions given to a hung jury urging them to agree on a verdict. Dynamite charges are controversial as some claim they overly...
en banc
En banc is French for "on the bench." The term refers to a special procedure where all judges of a particular court hear a case. When the court believes that the matters are especially complex or important, the en banc procedure will be used...
enter a judgment
Enter a judgment means to make a final recording of the decision and the opinion, if the court made one. When the entry is complete depends on the jurisdiction, but entering a judgment usually either occurs after the decision is inserted into...
entry of judgment
Entry of judgment is a final recording of the decision and opinion, if the court made one. When the entry is complete depends on the jurisdiction, but the entry usually either occurs after the decision is inserted into the docket or sent to a...
equitable
Equitable means fair or impartial. In legal context it can relate to “equity” as opposed to “law”. The distinction between equity and law originates from England where courts were divided into two kinds, courts of equity and courts...