A dismissal refers to the court’s decision to terminate a court case without imposing liability on the defendant. The court may dismiss a case in response to a defendant’s motion to dismiss or do so sua sponte. According to Federal Rules of...
legal theory
dispositive fact
A dispositive fact is a fact that, if proven with necessary certainty, resolves a legal dispute on its own. Oftentimes, establishing the truth of a dispositive fact will lead to the resolution of the lawsuit as a whole.
For...
dissent
A dissent refers to at least one party's disagreement with the majority opinion. An appellate judge or Supreme Court Justice who writes an opinion opposing the holding is said to write a dissenting opinion.
Unlike majority...
dissenting opinion
A dissenting opinion refers to an opinion written by an appellate judge or Supreme Court Justice who disagrees with the majority opinion in a given case. A party who writes a dissenting opinion is said to dissent.
Unlike...
distinguish
To distinguish means to note a significant difference or dissimilarity (usually between cases); to make a distinction. A party usually distinguishes one case from another as part of the argument that because of a certain distinction, the...
doctrine
A doctrine is a single important rule, a set of rules, a theory, or a principle that is widely followed in a field of law. It is formed via the continuous application of legal precedents. Calling something a doctrine usually means at least...
doctrine of completeness
Under Rule 106 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, when an incomplete writing or recorded statement is introduced in a trial by one party, the adverse party may require the introduction of any other parts or any other writing or recorded...
doctrine of integration of wills
The doctrine of integration of wills is a legal theory that says that since wills are multi-page documents, they do not have to be signed or initialed on every page. Each page is regarded as part of single integrated document, so long as all...
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was a set of policies, laws, and regulations governing how the U.S. military dealt with gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members. Previously, under 10 U.S.C. § 654, homosexual members of the armed forces would be...
driving while black
“Driving while Black” (DWB) is a slang term used to refer to the racial profiling of African-American motor vehicle drivers by police. It implies that a motorist may be stopped by a police officer largely because of racial bias rather than...