Iroquois County Genealogical Society
Old Courthouse Museum103 West Cherry Street
Watseka, IL 60970-1524
(815)432-3730
ICGS
Civil Cases Definitions
Appeal - the action of going from a lower to a higher court or the request for same
Assumpsit - usually a breach of contract suit
Attachment - apprehending or taking into custody a person or property involved in a court action
Certiorari - order from a higher court to a lesser asking for the record of a particular case
Cognovit - An instrument in writing whereby a defendant in an action acknowledges a plaintiff's demand to be just
Covenant - a reason for a court action to recover monetary damages
Debt - a court action to collect money owned for a contract or agreement
Distress for rent - to compel payment
Ejectment - a suit by a property owner to recover use of property either failing to pay rent or for misuse of same
Et al - and others
Et ux - and spouse
Foreclose - act of stopping person who owes money on property from redeeming it, usually for non-payment
Garnishee - to attach a man’s wages or property to recover a debt
Garnishment - notice to a person who holds another’s property not to give it to him, but to account to the court for it
Habeus Corpus - legal document requiring jailers to produce a prisoner
Injunction - aka a restraining order
Mandamus - an order requiring a person who has signed a contract to fulfill same
Mechanics lien - lien to secure payment for work and materials in erecting or repairing a building or other structure
Partition - legal division of property among the heirs etc.
Perfect title - clear up any inconsistencies in a chain of deed
Petition for dower - wife’s asking for her legal share
Quo warranto - A writ brought before a proper tribunal, to inquire by what warrant a person or a corporation acts, or exercises certain power
Release - relinquishment of some right or claim by one person in favor of another
Replevin - legal action to regain possession of specific personal property alleged to have been taken illegally
Scire Facias - legal document based on record, which requires a person to give a good reason why judgement should not be enforced
Slander - an untrue utterance to ruin a person’s reputation
Specific performance - to follow a contract from beginning to end in it’s stated terms
Subpoena - an order from a court to appear under penalty for not doing so
Trespass - to enter upon another’s property without permission
Trover - a court case intended to recover the worth of personal property which another person has illegally acquired and kept
Writ of Capias - formal arrest document