Understanding Latin Legalese

Most lawyers love to throw around Latin phrases. The reason for this is that ancient Rome's legal system has had a strong influence on the legal systems of most western countries. After all, at one time, the Romans had conquered most of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. The Roman motto was divide et impera (dee-vee-deh eht im-peh-rah) — "divide and conquer." As they conquered nations, they set out to "Latinize" the "barbarians" (anyone who wasn't Roman). Their goal was to teach them how to think, act, and be like real Romans. As the Roman Empire slowly crumbled and disappeared, the new orders in all these lands gradually adapted the existing legal system. England (and most of its former colonies) and the United States of America use a variation of the old Roman law called "Common Law." This is why lawyers today love those Latin phrases! (Well, that and the fact that you can't get out of law school without mastering them.)

This article gives you the information that you need to make sense of what your lawyer, judge, or parole officer is saying. Knowing what a sentence or phrase, like "The case is now sub judice (sub you-dee-kay)" or "What you are proposing is contra legem (kon-trah lay-ghem)," means, can help — even when you're just watching Court TV or The Practice.

English legal terms are full of Latin words and phrases. Several of these terms are so common, you use them today without any problem or confusion. Take these words for example:

• alibi (ah-lee-bee; elsewhere, at another place). If you're asked to provide an alibi for your whereabouts, you know that you need to tell where you were when a crime occurred to prove that you couldn't have been the one who did the awful deed.

• alias (ah-lee-ahs; at another time, otherwise). Today, alias often refers to an alternative name people generally use to conceal their identity. "John Smith alias Henry Taylor alias Clyde the Hustler" means John Smith is otherwise known as Henry Taylor who is otherwise known as Clyde the Hustler.

• per se (purr say; by itself). Also meaning "as such" in English usage, per se is used casually in English conversations: I didn't call him stupid, per se. I simply said he had plenty to learn.

• versus (wer-soos; turned). Often abbreviated as vs., the more common English meaning is "against" or "in contrast to": In the case Roe versus Wade, privacy in cases of abortion was an issue.

Table 1 lists other common Latin words used in English courts and legal proceedings. (Keep in mind that the pronunciation here shows how the Romans would have pronounced these words.)

Table 1: Common Latin Words Used Today

Word	Pronunciation	Original Meaning	Modern Meaning
affidavit	uhf-fee-day-wit	he pledged	a sworn, written statement
bona fide	boh-nuh fee-day	(in) good faith	sincere, genuine
habeas corpus	ha-bay-us kor-pus	may you have the body	bring a person before a court
per diem	pur dee-em	per day, by the day	daily
pro bono	pro bo-no	for the good	done for free for the public good
status quo	stuh-toos kwo	the existing condition or state of affairs	how things are currently
sub poena	soob poi-na	under the penalty	an order commanding a person to appear in court under a penalty for not appearing

The following sections offer more Latin words used in courts today. Like the preceding words, you may have heard many of these words already; you may even be using them without knowing what they really mean. Don't worry. Many of those using them don't know either.

Common courtroom Latin

Many of the terms that lawyers and other legal folk use have come down to us in their original Latin forms. Table 2 lists some of the more common Latin words that are still used today. The following list has even more examples:

• ex officio: This word would appear in a Latin sentence such as the following:

Imperator erat ex officio quoque dux exercitus.
eem-pe-ra-tawr e-rut eks off-ee-kee-oh kwo-kwe dooks eks-er-key-toos.
The emperor was by virtue of his position also the leader of the army.

Today, you see or hear this word in a sentence like this:
The headmaster of the school is ex officio also a member of the school board.

• persona non grata: This word would appear in a Latin sentence such as the following:

Post caedem Caesaris, Brutus erat habitus persona non grata Romae.
post ki-dem ki-sa-ris, broo-tus e-rut ha-bee-tus per-sow-na non gra-ta rom-igh.
After the assassination of Caesar, Brutus was regarded a persona non grata in Rome.

Today, you see or hear this word in a sentence like this:
After his conviction for embezzling funds, John was treated like a persona non grata by his former colleagues.

You can hear these words and other words (shown in Table 2) in many places — particularly on TV or in the movies. They're common enough that the audience can get the gist of their meaning and still follow the story line, but they're obscure enough to make the actors sound like experts in the law. (In the movie Silence of the Lambs, did you know what Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lechter means when he says to agent Starling, "Quid pro quo, Clarese. Quid pro quo"? If you look at Table 2, you will!)

Table 2: Latin Words Used in English Courts

Word	Pronunciation	Original Meaning	Modern Meaning
ad hoc	ad hok	to this	for a specific purpose, case, or situation
corpus delicti	kor-pus de-lick-tee	body of the crime	material evidence in a crime
de facto	day fak-toe	from the fact	in reality; actually; in effect
de iure	day you-ray	from the law	according to law; by right
ad infinitum	ad in-fee-nee-toom	forever	forever
in absentia	in ab-sen-tee-ah	in (his/her) absence	in (his/her) absence
in camera	in ka-me-rah	in a room	in private; no spectators allowed
in loco parentis	in lo-ko pa-ren-tis	in the place of a parent	in the place of a parent
ipso facto	eep-so fak-toe	by the fact itself	by that very fact
locus delicti	low-koos day-lick-tee	scene of the crime	scene where a crime took place
modus operandi	moh-dus o-per-un-dee	mode of working	method of operating
nolo contendere	no-lo kon-ten-de-re	I do not wish to contend	a plea by the defendant that's equivalent to an admission of guilt (and leaves him subject to punishment) but allows him the legal option to deny the charges later
prima facie	pree-mah fah-key-ay	at first face	at first sight
pro forma	pro for-ma	for the sake of form	done as formality, done for the show
quid pro quo	kwid pro kwo	this for that	something for something; tit for tat; an equal exchange

Less common Latin phrases

We often refer to the language that lawyers use as legalese because it has so many Latin phrases and words. Table 3 lists a few of the less common Latin phrases that you're likely to hear only if you — or someone you know — actually ends up in a court of law.

Table 3: Other Latin Legal Terms

Word	Pronunciation	Original Meaning	Modern Meaning
a mensa et toro	ah men-sa eht to-row	from table and bed	legal separation
casus belli	ka-soos bel-lee	occasion of war	an event that justifies a war
cui bono	coo-ee bo-no	for whom the good	whom does it benefit?
(in) flagrante delicto	in fla-gran-tay day-lick-toe	while the crime is burning	red-handed, in the act
inter alia	in-ter ah-lee-ah	among other things	among other things
mutatis mutandis	moo-tah-tees moo-tun-dees	having changed what must be changed	after making the necessary changes
non compos mentis	non kom-pos men-tis	not of sound mind	mentally incompetent
obiter dictum	oh-bee-ter deek-toom	something said in passing	something a judge says in arguing a point, but has no bearing on the final decision
onus probandi	oh-nis pro-bun-dee	burden of proving	burden of proof
pendente lite	pen-den-tay lee-tay	while judgment is pending	a case in progress
res ipsa loquitur	rays eep-sa lo-kwee-tur	the matter itself speaks	it goes without saying
sine qua non	see-nay kwa non	without which not	an indispensable condition; a prerequisite
sine die	see-nay dee-ay	without a day	postponed indefinitely
sub judice	sub you-dee-kay	under the judge	pending judgment
ultra vires	ool-trah wee-rays	beyond strength	outside one's jurisdiction

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