Precedent - A court decision in an earlier case with facts and legal issues similar to a dispute currently before a court. Judges will generally "follow precedent" - meaning that they use the principles established in earlier cases to decide new cases that have similar facts and raise similar legal issues. A judge will disregard precedent if a party can show that the earlier case was wrongly decided, or that it differed in some significant way from the current case.⏎
Pro tem - Temporary.⏎
Peremptory challenge - A district court may grant each side in a civil or criminal trial the right to exclude a certain number of prospective jurors without cause or giving a reason.⏎
Oral argument - An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.⏎
Remand - Send back.⏎