DAMAGES: The financial compensation awarded to someone who suffered an injury or was harmed by someone else's wrongful act.
DEBTOR: Person who owes money.
DECISION: The judgment rendered by a court after a consideration of the facts and legal issues before it.
DEED: A written legal document that describes a piece of property and outlines its boundaries. The seller of a property transfers ownership by delivering the deed to the buyer in exchange for an agreed upon sum of money.
DEFAMATION: The publication of a statement that injures a person's reputation. Libel and slander are defamation.
DEFAULT: The failure to fulfill a legal obligation, such as neglecting to pay back a loan on schedule.
DEFAULT JUDGMENT: A ruling entered against a defendant who fails to answer a summons in a lawsuit.
DEFENDANT: In criminal cases, the person accused of the crime. In civil matters, the person or organization that is being sued.
DEFINED BENEFIT PLAN: A type of retirement plan that specifies how much in benefits it will pay out to a retiree.
DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLAN: Also called an individual account plan. A type of retirement plan in which the employer pays a specified amount of money each year, which is then divided among the individual accounts of each participating employee. Profit-sharing, employee stock ownership and 401(k) plans are all defined contribution plans.
DEPOSITION: Part of the pre-trial discovery (fact-finding) process in which a witness testifies under oath. A deposition is held out of court with no judge present, but the answers often can be used as evidence in the trial.
DIRECT EVIDENCE: Evidence that stands on its own to prove an alleged fact, such as testimony of a witness who says she saw a defendant pointing a gun at a victim during a robbery.
DIRECT EXAMINATION: The initial questioning of a witness by the party that called the witness.
DIRECTED VERDICT: A judge's order to a jury to return a specified verdict, usually because one of the parties failed to prove its case.
DISBURSEMENTS: Legal expenses that a lawyer passes on to a client, such as for photocopying, overnight mail and messenger services.
DISCOVERY: Part of the pre-trial litigation process during which each party requests relevant information and documents from the other side in an attempt to "discover" pertinent facts.
DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE: When a case is dismissed for good reason and the plaintiff is barred from bringing an action on the same claim.
DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE: When a case is dismissed but the plaintiff is allowed to bring a new suit on the same claim.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY: Being tried twice for the same offense.
DUE PROCESS: The idea that laws and legal proceedings must be fair. The Constitution guarantees that the government cannot take away a person's basic rights to "life, liberty or property, without due process of law." Courts have issued numerous rulings about what this means in particular cases.
DUTY TO WARN: The legal obligation to warn people of a danger. Typically, manufacturers of hazardous products have a duty to warn customers of a product's potential dangers and to advise users of any precautions they should take.