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

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

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