As I promised, I am sharing with you this small glossary of legal vocabulary used in the US that I compiled after having read The Confession by John Grisham.
I’ve also tried to find an equivalent in Spanish and in Russian for each term.
I have a paperback copy of the novel (Dell Export Mass Market Edition, 2011), and the pages that appear in the table are from there.
I didn’t put the words in alphabetical order, but there is sort of logical order instead.
| Word | Meaning | Example / Context | Spanish / Russian equivalent |
| jurisdiction | the right or power to administer justice and to apply laws | The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) has sole jurisdiction over capital murder cases… (p. 241) | jurisdicción / юрисдикция |
| litigation | a judicial proceeding or contest | The litigation is still pending. (p. 144) | litigio / судебное разбирательство |
| subpoena | a writ issued by a court of justice requiring a person to appear before the court at a specified time | When the investigation began, and the subpoenas started flying… (p. 470) | citación / повестка о явке в суд |
| affidavit | a declaration in writing made upon oath before a person authorized to administer oaths, esp. for use as evidence in court | We invited him to sign an affidavit recanting the lies he told at trial… (p. 79) | declaración jurada / письменное показание под присягой, аффидевит |
| motion | an application made to a judge or court for an order or ruling necessary to the conduct of legal proceedings | Don’t even file a motion, because I won’t consider it. (p. 473) | moción / ходатайство |
| writ of certiorari | an order of a superior court directing that a record of proceedings in a lower court be sent up for review | [They] immediately filed in the U.S. Supreme Court a petition for a writ of certiorari, or cert, as it’s known; a request that the Court hear the appeal and consider the merits of the petition. (p. 300) | auto de avocación /приказ об истребовании дела (из нижестоящего суда в вышестоящий суд) |
| reversal | annulment of a judicial decision | [this] should have led to a reversal, which, of course, is pretty rare here in Texas (p. 45) | revocación / отмена судебного постановления |
| stay | the suspension of a judicial proceeding | “Any chance of some court issuing a last-minute stay?” (p. 176) | aplazamiento de una sentencia /приостановление, отсрочка |
| reprieve | a postponement (or remission) of punishment, esp. of a person condemned to death |
|
aplazamiento de ejecución (o indulto) / отложение приведения в исполнение (смертного) приговора |
| statute of limitations | a legislative enactment prescribing the period of time within which proceedings must be instituted to enforce a right or bring an action at law | Tell [him] the statute of limitations has run on perjury (p. 101) | estatuto de prescripción / закон о непривлечении к уголовной ответственности за истечением срока давности |
| immune from liability | exempt from obligation, penalty | The members of the judiciary were immune from liability… (p. 450) | inmune (exento) de responsabilidad / не подлежащий ответственности, освобождаемый от ответственности |
| to file | to bring (a suit) in a court of law | We’re filing an insanity petition now. (p. 154) | presentar / подавать (заявление, жалобу) |
| to contest | to try to disprove | [They were] not contesting the motion. (p. 509) | disputar / возражать, оспаривать |
| to recant | to repudiate or withdraw (a former belief or statement), esp. formally in public | We invited him to sign an affidavit recanting the lies he told at trial… (p. 79) | retractarse de / отказываться (от прежнего заявления, показаний) |
| to dismiss | to decline further hearing to (a claim or action) | Much of the lawsuit would be dismantled and eventually dismissed…(p. 450) | rechazar / отказывать (в удовлетворении заявления, жалобы) |
| to quash | to annul or make void | “Don’t indict anyone; I’ll quash the indictments…” (p. 473) | anular, invalidar / отменять, признавать недействительным |
| to exonerate | to clear or absolve from blame or a criminal charge | [They] filed a motion to declare Donté not guilty and exonerated… (p. 509) | exculpar / реабилитировать, оправдывать |
| posthumously | after one’s death | His name would be cleared, even though posthumously. (p. 306) | post mórtem / посмертно |
| to indict | to charge (a person) with crime, esp. formally in writing; accuse |
|
acusar, imputar / предъявлять обвинение |
| to prosecute | to bring a criminal action against a person for some offence | …you could be prosecuted for obstruction of justice (p. 451) | procesar / вести уголовное преследование |
| Miranda rights | In the US, the legal rights that a person being arrested by the police must be told about. These include the «right to remain silent» and the right to get advice from a lawyer. These rights were established by the Miranda decision of the US Supreme Court in 1966, in the case of Miranda v. Arizona. | [He] produced a sheet of paper and explained that Donté needed to understand his Miranda rights. (p. 86) | Derechos Miranda / Правило Миранды |
| disbarment | the removal of a lawyer from a bar association or the practice of law | A win there could mean disbarment and further humiliation… (p. 450) | procedimiento de inhabilitación del abogado / лишение адвокатского статуса, исключение из адвокатской палаты |
| to resign from the bench | to give up tenure of judge | [He] resigned from the bench in disgrace… (p. 143) | dimitir del cargo de juez /подавать в отставку (о судье) |
| obstruction of justice | when someone or something prevents or delays a legal process | …you could be prosecuted for obstruction of justice (p. 451) | obstrucción a la justicia /препятствие правосудию |
| defamation | the injuring of a person’s good name or reputation | In 2005, Paul Koffee filed a defamation suit against Robbie… (p. 144) | difamación / клевета |
| perjury | the offence committed by a witness in judicial proceedings who, having been lawfully sworn, willfully gives false evidence | …the statute of limitations has run on perjury. (p. 101) | perjurio / лжесвидетельство |
| larceny | (formerly) a technical word for theft | …Charges with grand larceny, drunk driving… (p. 62) | latrocinio / воровство, кража |
| abduction | the act of taking someone away by force or cunning; kidnapping | [He] was arrested and charged with the abduction, aggravated rape, and murder… (p. 23) | rapto, secuestro / похищение, насильственное лишение свободы |
| misdemeanor | minor offence or transgression | [He] pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and walked out of jail. (p. 142) | delito menor / мелкое правонарушение |
| slap on the wrist | (figurative) a punishment that you think is not severe enough; mild reprimand | …he could not imagine anything more than a slap on the wrist. (p. 161) | tirón de orejas; amonestación menor / выговор, порицание |
| halfway house | a place where prisoners or people with mental health problems stay after they leave prison or hospital and before they start to live on their own | A few months in the halfway house…, then I’m a free man with nothing to look forward to but parole for the rest of my life.” (p. 5) | centro de readaptacón de antiguos presos / учреждение для реабилитации отбывших наказание заключённых, вылечившихся наркоманов, алкоголиков, психически больных |
| parole | a) the freeing of a prisoner before his sentence has expired, on the condition that he is of good behavior; b) the duration of such conditional release | «…I can’t leave this county. If I do, they’ll bust me for parole violation and send me back to prison.» (p. 65) | libertad condicional / условно-досрочное освобождение (заключённого) |
As always, hope to receive your comments (:
ruspanglish 
О, я как раз начала смотреть сериал «Homicidios», где встречается много специальной лексики. Так что Ваш пост очень вовремя. Спасибо!
Екатерина, расскажете потом, встретилось ли что-нибудь из словарика? (: