Legal Definitions

People Search

Sun, 14 May 2006 19:47:53 -0600

People search refers to one of the millions of websites dedicated to tracking down a person's address, phone number, or email address. Additionally, for a charge, most sites will also perform background checks or do a public records search. The People Search industry is a fast-growing one on the Internet, as individuals seek to conduct their own detective work for both personal and business use.

Public Records

Sun, 14 May 2006 19:48:08 -0600

Public records are records which are available to the general public, such as birth marriage, death, tax and land records. The Freedom of Information Act and its comparable state laws allows any person the right to obtain agency records unless the records (or part of the records) are protected from disclosure by any of the nine exemptions contained in the law.

Video Depositions

Sun, 14 May 2006 19:48:24 -0600

A video deposition is a legal preceding used for litigation and trial purposes. Often a deposed person is videotaped to audio-tape or DVD. The video deposition is then presented as evidence, or for testimonial purposes during a trial or for other legal precedings. Video depositions are largely used for trials in which it would be inconvenient or difficult for the deposed member to appear in person.

Medical Expert Witnesses

Sun, 14 May 2006 19:48:40 -0600

Medical expert witnesses provide consultation and testimony for a very wide range of issues, including medical disorders, medical treatment, doctor, nurse and facility standards of care and conduct, malpractice, forensic medicine, misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, birth injury, and pathology. In most cases, the law requires that virtually all medical malpractice cases must be proven with medical expert testimony. Generally, the type of expert to be retained must be a physician who practices in the same specialty as the accused doctor; because most physicians will not testify against other physicians in the same state in which they practice, most testifying experts are from out of state.

Legal Video

Sun, 14 May 2006 19:49:07 -0600

Legal Video is often an integral part of the litigation process, capturing more than simply the words a transcript gets, but the inflections, emotions, and hesitancy of a witness, making it invaluable to lawyers seeking the key to a jury or looking for information to support an oral argument or impeach a witnesses testimony. Legal video is also important for providing trial playback. The better legal video business provide services such as video depositions, video/text synchronization, split-screen imaging, digital editing, and date and time stamping.

Expert Witness

Sun, 14 May 2006 19:49:24 -0600

An expert witness is a witness, who by virtue of education, or profession, or experience, is believed to have special knowledge of his subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially (and legally) rely his opinion. He or she should also be able to present highly technical matters in language which can be easily understood by non experts, and be able to justify his or her professional opinion under cross examination.

Skip Tracing

Sun, 14 May 2006 19:49:39 -0600

So, what is skiptracing? It's the use of electronic databases to track down people; users of skiptracing are generally debt collection agencies seeking debtors who have skipped out, hence the name. Bounty hunters and private investigators also make use of skiptracing. The growth of the internet, of course, has made available many online resources for skiptracing, which raise some privacy concerns.

Trial Graphics

Sun, 14 May 2006 19:50:05 -0600

What are trial graphics? In simple terms, trial graphics are animation, professional-level diagrams, persuasive visuals, or other expert graphics lawyers generally pay a lot of money for, which are used to help explain complex technology to jury members during a trial.

Background Checks

Sun, 14 May 2006 19:50:32 -0600

Background checks are extensively used for some of the following reasons: check someone's criminal record; check into someone's background before committing to a relationship; or to confirm the legitimacy of a potential employee. Through background checks, you can find someone's criminal record, employment record, driving record, and credit information. Background checks are regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Drivers Privacy Protection Act, and the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act, in addition to other state laws and regulations as they pertain to background checks. Background checks can be conducted by an investigator or by one of the hundreds of websites that provide instant background checks for a small fee.

Jury Consultants

Sun, 14 May 2006 19:50:48 -0600

Jury consultants help lawyers get a feeling for the local residents and their attitudes to a particular case. The research that jury consultants provide helps them advise lawyers on what kind of jurors would be best for their case and recommend questions to ask the jury pool to elicit an appropriate jury for their case. It can also help lawyers determine whether the members of the community will be able to put their opinions aside if called to serve as a juror. Furthermore, jury consultants sometimes set up mock juries using local residents; prosecutors or defense attorneys can then present their arguments to the mock jurors to gauge the community's attitude toward their case and their client. In addition, jury consultant firms use surveys and statistical modeling tests to help determine what kind of biases and prejudices prospective jurors in the area may have.

Medical Illustrations

Sun, 14 May 2006 19:51:04 -0600

Medical Illustrators are artists who create material designed to facilitate the recording and dissemination of medical and bioscientific knowledge through visual communication media; these illustrators are involved not only in the creation of such material, but also serve in consultant, advisory, educational and administrative capacities in all aspects of bioscientific communications and related areas of visual education.

Process Servers

Sun, 14 May 2006 19:51:19 -0600

A process server is just a person who serves the summons or other documents upon the opposing party. The process server must serve the documents in accordance with the legislation in the area of service, which may mean handing the documents to the defendant personally or sub-serving to someone in the same household or business. Once the documents are delivered, the process serving agent must then provide proof that the papers were served.

Surety Bonds

Sun, 14 May 2006 19:51:34 -0600

A surety bond is a contract between at least three parties: the principal, the obligee, and the surety. Through this agreement, the surety agrees to make the obligee whole if the principal defaults in its performance of its promise to the obligee. The contract is formed so as to induce the obligee to contract with the principal, i.e., to demonstrate the credibility of the principal. In more simple terms, a surety bond is a promise by a professional surety insurer to pay should the principal default or commit a wrongful act.

Computer Crimes

Sun, 14 May 2006 19:52:02 -0600

Computer crimes are separated into two categories: crimes committed using a computer, and crimes where a computer or a network is the target. The former category includes crimes such as storing records of fraud, producing false identification, reproducing and distributing copyright material, collecting and distributing child pornography. Crimes where computers are the targets, on the other hand, can result in damage or alteration to the computer system. Computers which have been compromised, as a result, may be used to launch attacks on other computers or networks. For more information about federal legal codes related to cybercrime, you can visit Department of Justice's Cybercrime website.

Engineering Expert Witness

Sun, 14 May 2006 19:52:16 -0600

An engineering expert witness is a witness, who by virtue of his or her education, profession, or experience, is believed to have special knowledge of engineering beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially (and legally) rely his opinion on engineering matters. He or she should also be able to present highly technical matters concerning engineering in language which can be easily understood by non experts, and be able to justify his or her professional opinion under cross examination.