a fortiori

with stronger reason

a priori

what goes before;

from cause to effect

ab initio

from the beginning

actiones in personam

personal actions

ad curiam

before the court, to the court

ad damnum clause

to the damages, plaintiff's clause of complaint

ad hoc

for the purpose, for this occasion

ad litem

for the suit, for the litigation

(ie. guardian ad litem)

ad rem

to the thing at hand

ad valorem

according to the value

amicus curiae

friend of the court

arguendo

for the sake of argument

certiorari

send the pleadings up

(writ of certiorari - from inferior to superior court for review)

de facto

in fact, in deed, actually

de jure

of right, lawful

de novo

anew, afresh

duces tecum

bring with you

(subpoenaed person brings records with them)

en banc

in the bench, all judges present

(appellate court panels sit 'individually' or en banc)

erratum (errata)

error

et alii

et al.

and others

ex parte

one side only, by or for one party only

ex post facto

after the fact

habeas corpus

you have the body

(write directed to the custiodian of a person to produce the person)

infra

beneath;below

in limine

at the beginning; threshold

in rem

proceedings against a thing, distinguished from those against a person

intra

within, inside

ipso facto

by the fact itself

jus (jura)

law; right; laws collectively

lex

law

nota bene

N.B.

note well; take notice

obiter dictum

remark which is not central to the main issue

per se

by itself, taken alone

prima facie

at first sight, on the face of it

pro se

appearing for oneself; personally

res ipsa loquitor

the thing speaks for itself

res judicata

a thing (matter) adjudicated

respondeat superior

let the master answer

stare decisis

to abide by decided cases

sua sponte

voluntarily, of his own will and motion

sui generis

of its own kind or class, unique

voir dire

to speak the truth, the process used to select jurors