作为学习法律英语术语的学生，理解专业术语是非常重要的。本文将为你提供一系列常见的法律英语词汇及其解释，希望对你的学习有所帮助。

Litigation
诉讼。这个单词来源于拉丁词“litigare”，意思是“争论”，在法律英语中指的是解决两方或者多方争议的法律程序，一般在法院进行。
The company decided to settle the dispute out of court instead of pursuing prolonged litigation.

Plaintiff
原告。指在民事诉讼中向法庭提起诉讼的个人或团体。
The plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer for the defective product.

Defendant
被告。指在民事诉讼或刑事诉讼中被起诉的个人或单位。
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges of embezzlement.

Statute
法令、法规。一般指经立法机关正式制定的书面法律。
The new statute aims to reduce environmental pollution through stricter regulations.

Contract
合同。这是指一份包含两个或更多当事人之间约定的法律文书，通常涉及服务交换或商品交换。
The parties involved signed a contract that outlined the terms of the agreement in detail.

Tort
侵权。侵权行为是指不公正地致使他人遭受损失或伤害的行为，该词来源于法语，意为“错误”。
The court found the company liable for a tort due to its negligence causing the customer’s injury.

Subpoena
传票。这是一种由法院发出的命令，要求某人在特定时间出庭作证或者提供证据。
The witness received a subpoena to appear in court next month.

Verdict
裁决，或判决。这是由陪审团（或有时是法官）在审讯结束后做出的，在刑事案件中可能是“有罪”或“无罪”，在民事案件中则判定责任。
After hours of deliberation, the jury reached a unanimous verdict of guilty.

Appeal
上诉。不满初审判决的当事人可以通过上诉至更高的法院寻求改变判决结果。
The defendant decided to appeal against the decision to a higher court.

Jurisdiction
管辖权。这是指法院对案件的审理权，包括地理区域内的权力和某些类型的案件审理权。
The court did not have jurisdiction over the case since the incident occurred in a different state.

Amendment
修正案。这是指对现有法律文本的修改或附加条款，通常经过严格的审议和投票过程。
The Twenty-second Amendment limits the number of terms a president can serve.

Common Law
普通法。起源于英格兰，主要通过判例而非成文法发展起来的一套法律体系。
Common Law is a legal system that gives great precedential weight to court decisions.

Bail
保释金。被告支付给法院以确保他们在审判期间会出现的一笔资金。
The judge set the bail at ten thousand dollars for the alleged burglar.

Deposition
证人的口供。在正式审判前，法律程序中要求证人在律师面前提供的书面证词。
During the deposition, the witness was asked detailed questions about the events on the night of the incident.

Indictment
起诉书。这是大陪审团提出的正式指控，宣称有足够的证据让一个被告在刑事案件中受审。
The grand jury issued an indictment against the official for corruption charges.

Negligence
疏忽。当个人或机构未在某种情况下表现出应有的谨慎和关注时，可能构成疏忽。
The patient sued the hospital for negligence due to the medical staff’s failure to diagnose his condition correctly.

Objection
反对。这是指在庭审中，律师对对方的某个问题或证据提出的反对，通常是因为它违反了规则，比如可能是引导性问题或是与案件无关的信息。
“Objection, Your Honor, that question is irrelevant to the case,” the defense attorney stated.

通过对以上术语的学习，相信你能够更好地理解法律文书或法庭程序中的英语内容。各个术语的典型使用场景能帮助你在法律英语的学习路径上更快地前进。不断地实践和复习这些术语，将有助于你在涉及领域的英语沟通中更加自信。