So there are many Latin words and phrases in our present legal system. Here are a few for you to casually drop into conversation. You will remember them from re-runs of Street Legal or L.A.Law or on Ally McBeal, Law and Order, or The Practice. We'll give pronunciation guides to the way they are usually pronounced in English. Click on the speaker icon to listen.
Lawyers often do some work for good causes without charging a fee.
To produce bona fides means to show your good intentions. A writ of habeas corpus is a legal document that requires that an accused person be brought before the court for a formal charge. This goes back in English law to the Magna Carta, which stipulated that a person could not be picked up and slammed in prison without knowing if the charge against him was valid. It is a rule of law that states the buyer, not the seller of goods or services, is responsible for making sure the item bought lives up to expectations. In other words, when you go to a garage sale be careful, because you are usually buying an item as is .