LEGAL GLOSSARY
H
habeas
corpus - Latin
phrase meaning "you have the body"; A civil proceeding used to review
the legality of a prisoner's confinement in criminal cases. Habeas corpus
actions are commonly used as a means of reviewing state or federal convictions.
harmless error - An error committed by a lower court during a trial,
but determined by an appellate court not to be prejudicial to the rights of
the party affected, and therefore furnishing no basis for reversal of the
lower court's judgment.
hearing
de novo - A full
new hearing.
hearsay
- Second-hand evidence, generally consisting of a witness's testimony
that he/she heard someone else say something.
holographic will - hung jury - A jury which cannot agree on
a final verdict. If a jury is hung, the court declares a mistrial and the
case may be re-tried.
hypothetical question - An imaginary situation, incorporating facts
previously admitted into evidence, upon which an expert witness is permitted
to give an opinion as to a condition resulting from the situation.