All Legal Terms by letter J

J. D.:- A degree conferred on graduating law students, known as a juris doctor degree. Most states require a J.D. degree as a prerequisite to taking the bar examination.


Joint Account :- An account in a bank or brokerage office that has more than one person in ownership of the account, such that each joint account owner has the right to possess or withdraw all of the joint funds contained in the account, and the surviving joint owner(s) will take the account free of any claims by the heirs of a deceased joint owner.


Joint Custody :- : In divorce law, joint custody is where each divorcing parent is awarded custody of the child(ren) and thereafter share responsibility and authority for raising the child(ren). In most joint custody situations the child(ren) nevertheless reside primarily with one parent or the other. Most jurisdictions require both divorcing parents to submit a joint custody plan during the proceeding or any subsequent modifications.


Joint Enterprise :- An effort or undertaking by two or more persons to accomplish a particular result. In criminal law this refers to conspiracy such that all joint actors are responsible for all aspects of the crime. In tort law, this refers to liability for all injuries and the negligence of one joint enterprise actor is imputable to other in the enterprise. In civil law this is akin to a joint venture.


Joint Tax Return :- A joint tax return is one that is filed by married couples as a single taxable unit. Both parties must sign and accept equal responsibility for the payment of the tax due. There is usually advantageous for married couples to elect this joint filing status.


Joint Tenancy :- Two or more persons that hold the same parcel of real property and in fact hold the same interest. Thus, the joint tenants each own the undivided whole property and all are entitled to possess the whole property as well. Importantly, an incident involved in joint tenancy is the right of survivorship, where when one tenant dies, that interest is vested then in the other joint tenants. A joint tenancy can only arise from a single instrument at the same time.WorkJobs.org

Joint Venture :- Similar to a partnership, this is an entity set up for the purpose of doing a particular transaction for a mutual profit among the joint venturers.


Joint and Mutual Will :- A single will, made by two persons, that disposes of both their separately and commonly held property. The joint and mutual will directs the surviving testator to distribute property in line with the directions in the will. This type of will is to be distinguished from a joint will.


Joint Will :- A single will, made by two persons, that disposes of their commonly held property. This is to be distinguished from a joint and mutual will.

Jones Act :- Federal act that disposed of the fellow servant rule for the class of workers that man ships and other watercraft. This enables injured workers to bring negligence actions against their employer.


Journal :- The Journal is the book on which the chronological written accounting record of the company will be kept.

Journal Entry :- A Journal Entry is the record of a single transaction kept in the company journal that shows debits and credits in a chronological order.


Joyriding :- The taking of another's automobile for the purpose of temporarily riding around, in mischief, and not to permanently deprive the owner of possession. This is usually a juvenile act.


Judge :- The presiding officer of a court. Judges can be appointed or elected, as set forth in the Constitution and in State Statutes


Judge Advocate General :- Essentially, this is the judicial arm of the military service.


Judgment :- The official decision of the court, entered on the record, that disposes of the issues in dispute, and which is final for the purposes of taking appeals to a higher court.


Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict (JNOV):- This occurs when the judge enters a judgment nullifying a jury verdict, otherwise proper, because the judge believes the jury got it way wrong


Judgment Proof :- This occurs where the defendant in a civil case has little or no assets from which a judgment can be collected. As a practical matter, unless there is a deep pocket somewhere at fault that can be brought into the case, the injury claim will go uncompensated. Of course, a person can be judgment proof personally but if he is insured, the claim can logically proceed.


Jumping Bail :- A common term for when the defendant released on bail leaves the jurisdiction unlawfully.


Jurat :- The certification found at the end of an affidavit that makes note of the notary public and of the notarized signature.


Jurisdiction :- A court's authority is described by its jurisdiction. It is subject matter limited and also limited by territory. To make a valid ruling in a case, the court must have subject matter jurisdiction of the matter in controversy, personal jurisdiction over the parties, and the matter should have occurred within the limits of its geographic territory.


Jurisdictional Amount :- Some jurisdiction is limited by the size of the case at issue. For example, a small claims court has no jurisdiction to make an award above the small claim limit. Similarly, there are thresholds in some courts where the amount in controversy must exceed a certain amount.


Jurisprudence :- The philosophy of law. The logical basis for holding people liable for wrongs.