Court Vocabulary Worksheet

Press Print worksheet to match twelve court terms, from judge and jury to plaintiff and defendant, to their meanings.

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NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comDraw a line from each one on the left to its partner on the right.Court vocabularyjudgejuryjurorforepersonplaintiffdefendantprosecutordefense attorneywitnessbailiffcourt reporterexpert witnessa court officer who sees that theroom stays orderlya specialist called to explain asubject to the courtthe juror who leads the jury andspeaks for itthe person who takes down eachword spoken in courta panel of local people who settlethe facts of a casethe one who presides in court andsettles points of lawthe one on trial for a crime, orthe one being suedone member of a jurythe lawyer who speaks for theaccused personthe side that brings a civil case tocourtsomeone called to testify aboutwhat he or she sawthe lawyer who tries to prove theaccused guilty
NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comDraw a line from each one on the left to its partner on the right.Court vocabularyAnswer keyjudgejuryjurorforepersonplaintiffdefendantprosecutordefense attorneywitnessbailiffcourt reporterexpert witnessa court officer who sees that theroom stays orderlya specialist called to explain asubject to the courtthe juror who leads the jury andspeaks for itthe person who takes down eachword spoken in courta panel of local people who settlethe facts of a casethe one who presides in court andsettles points of lawthe one on trial for a crime, orthe one being suedone member of a jurythe lawyer who speaks for theaccused personthe side that brings a civil case tocourtsomeone called to testify aboutwhat he or she sawthe lawyer who tries to prove theaccused guilty
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All 36 terms

People in a courtroom 12

  • bailiff A court officer who sees that the room stays orderly. A bailiff may also give the oath to people who are about to testify.
  • court reporter The person who takes down each word spoken in court. The written record is called a transcript.
  • defendant The one on trial for a crime, or the one being sued. The law treats an accused person as innocent until guilt is proven.
  • defense attorney The lawyer who speaks for the accused person. A defendant who cannot afford a lawyer can have a public defender.
  • expert witness A specialist called to explain a subject to the court. The judge decides whether a person may testify as an expert.
  • foreperson The juror who leads the jury and speaks for it. Jurors may vote for their foreperson, or the judge may pick one.
  • judge The one who presides in court and settles points of law. The President names federal judges, and the Senate must approve them.
  • juror One member of a jury. Jurors are questioned before a trial to make sure they can decide the case fairly.
  • jury A panel of local people who settle the facts of a case. A federal criminal jury has 12 members.
  • plaintiff The side that brings a civil case to court. In a civil case the plaintiff generally has to prove the claim.
  • prosecutor The lawyer who tries to prove the accused guilty. In federal courts the prosecutors are U.S. attorneys and their assistants.
  • witness Someone called to testify about what he or she saw. A subpoena is an order for a witness to come to court and testify.
Show all 36 terms (24 more)

A trial 12

  • bench trial A trial decided by a judge with no jury. In a bench trial the judge decides the facts as well as the law.
  • burden of proof The duty to prove what you claim in court. In a criminal case that duty belongs to the government.
  • civil case A dispute between people or groups over rights or money. One side of a civil case may be ordered to pay the other.
  • criminal case The government's charge that someone broke the law. The defendant answers the charge with a plea of guilty or not guilty.
  • cross-examination Questioning a witness called by the other side. It comes after the questions of the side that called the witness.
  • damages Money the loser of a civil case must pay the winner. Damages may make up for a loss or punish wrongdoing.
  • evidence Proof offered in court: papers, objects and testimony. Evidence that a judge or jury may consider is called admissible.
  • objection A lawyer's claim that a question or answer breaks the rules. A lawyer usually objects after a question is asked and before the witness answers.
  • sentence The penalty a judge hands down for a crime. A sentence may be a fine or time in prison.
  • settlement An agreement that ends a lawsuit without a trial. A settlement often includes a payment from one side to the other.
  • trial The court session where each side presents its case. In the federal system, trials are held in the U.S. district courts.
  • verdict The decision reached at the end of a trial. In a criminal trial the verdict is guilty or not guilty.

The judicial branch 12

  • appeal Asking a higher court to look again at a ruling. A court of appeals checks whether the trial court applied the law correctly.
  • appellant The side that takes a lost case to a higher court. The appellant usually wants the first decision reversed.
  • checks and balances The ways each branch can limit the other two. Courts decide cases, and they depend on the executive branch to enforce the decisions.
  • court of appeals A court that checks trial rulings for legal mistakes. Its judges usually hear a case in panels of three.
  • dissenting opinion A judge's written reasons for disagreeing with a ruling. A dissent does not change the ruling and is not binding on later cases.
  • district court Where a federal case is first heard and tried. Every state has at least one district court, and so does the District of Columbia.
  • judicial branch The third arm of government: the courts and their judges. It decides whether federal laws agree with the Constitution.
  • judicial review The courts' power to cancel a law the Constitution forbids. The case that set it out is Marbury v. Madison.
  • majority opinion The written reasons most judges give for a ruling. More than half of the court's judges agree to it.
  • state court A court set up by one of the fifty states. State courts hear most of the country's civil and criminal cases.
  • Supreme Court The country's top court, created by the Constitution. Its nine judges are called justices: the Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices.
  • unconstitutional Not allowed by the Constitution. Courts can find a state law unconstitutional as well as a federal one.

How this list was compiled: Term list chosen for this site on 2026-10-11. Each meaning is written in our own words and was checked that day against the Glossary of Legal Terms of the United States Courts (https://www.uscourts.gov/glossary) and against the entry for the term in Wiktionary, the free dictionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/), or the English Wikipedia article on it (https://en.wikipedia.org/), both under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: Jury, Bailiff, Expert witness, Trial, Bench trial, State court (United States), Cross-examination, Objection (United States law), Sentence (law), Federal judiciary of the United States, United States district court, United States courts of appeals, Supreme Court of the United States, Judicial review in the United States, Marbury v. Madison, Constitutionality, Presumption of innocence, Majority opinion, Dissenting opinion and Separation of powers. The facts about the federal courts were checked a second time against the pages Court Role and Structure and Types of Cases of the United States Courts (https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/court-role-and-structure) and the page About the Court of the Supreme Court of the United States (https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/about.aspx). The sentence after each meaning is our own. Licence: own work

How it works

A court vocabulary worksheet to print: match judge, jury, plaintiff, defendant, witness and seven more courtroom terms to their meanings. Two more sets have the words of a trial and of the judicial branch; every sheet has an answer key.

Read the full guide

A trial

In Set, the second sheet follows a case: trial, civil case, criminal case, evidence, cross-examination, objection, burden of proof, verdict, sentence, damages, settlement and bench trial.

Judicial branch vocabulary worksheet

The third set is the judicial branch: state court, district court, court of appeals, Supreme Court, appeal, appellant, judicial review, unconstitutional, majority opinion, dissenting opinion and checks and balances. Under the tool each term has a fact, checked against Wikipedia and the glossary and court pages of the United States Courts.

  • The meanings follow the federal courts of the United States; the courts of a state may use other names.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between a plaintiff and a defendant?

The plaintiff starts a civil case by filing a complaint. The defendant is the side the complaint is made against. A criminal case has no plaintiff: the government brings the charge through a prosecutor.

What is the difference between a civil case and a criminal case?

A civil case is a dispute between two or more sides, usually over money or rights, and goes to the side with the greater weight of evidence. A criminal case is brought by the government and needs proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

What are the three levels of federal courts?

District courts, which hold the trials; courts of appeals, which review them; and the Supreme Court above both. There are 94 districts and 13 courts of appeals.

What is judicial review?

The power of courts to decide whether a law agrees with the Constitution and to refuse to enforce one that does not. The Constitution does not spell the power out; the Supreme Court declared it in 1803.

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