Lexicon

1. Acta

   Record; minutes; certificate — not 'act'

   A document recording that something happened: acta de nacimiento is a birth certificate, acta de audiencia the record of a hearing.

   Origin

   From Latin acta, things done — the plural of actum.

   Note

   An 'act' of a legislature is a ley or decreto. Acta is the record, never the statute.

2. Alegato

   Argument; brief; closing submission

   A party's reasoned argument to the court, written or oral. Alegatos de clausura are closing arguments.

   Origin

   From Latin allegare, to send or cite in support — related to 'allege' and 'delegate'.

   Note

   Not 'allegation'. An allegation of fact is an imputación or señalamiento.

3. Allanamiento

   Two senses: unlawful entry — or submission to a claim

   Allanamiento de morada is breaking into a dwelling. Allanamiento a la demanda is a defendant accepting the plaintiff's claim. Only the full phrase tells you which.

   Origin

   From allanar, to level or flatten — either flattening the door, or flattening one's own resistance.

   Note

   Reading the wrong sense reverses the meaning of a filing. Translate the whole phrase, never the head noun alone.

4. Amparo

   Amparo — constitutional relief (usually left untranslated)

   A constitutional action protecting individual rights against acts of authority. It can suspend the challenged act while the claim is heard, and has no single common-law equivalent — it sits somewhere among habeas corpus, injunction, and certiorari.

   Origin

   From amparar, to shelter or protect, ultimately from Latin anteparare, to prepare beforehand — a guard raised in advance.

   Note

   Best practice is to keep the Spanish and gloss it on first use rather than force a false equivalence.

5. Auto

   Court order; interlocutory ruling

   A reasoned judicial decision resolving something other than the merits — admitting evidence, ordering detention, opening a stage of proceedings.

   Origin

   From Latin actum, a thing done. Nothing to do with automobiles, which reached Spanish separately through automóvil.

   Note

   Autos in the plural also means the case file — the whole record of things done.

6. Careo

   Confrontation of witnesses

   A procedure in which two people who have given conflicting statements are brought face to face before the court to resolve the contradiction. It is an evidentiary step, not a right of the accused.

   Origin

   From cara, face — literally a facing-off.

   Note

   Do not render it as 'confrontation': in US practice that names the defendant's Sixth Amendment right, which is a different thing entirely.

7. Carga de la prueba

   Burden of proof

   Which party must establish a fact, and what follows if they fail to.

   Origin

   Carga is a load — the metaphor is identical in both languages, one of the rare places it survives the crossing intact.

8. Casación

   Cassation — review to quash a judgment

   Review confined to questions of law, in which the higher court may annul the decision below rather than substitute its own findings of fact.

   Origin

   Through French casser, to break, from Latin quassare, to shatter — the judgment is broken, not rewritten.

   Note

   There is no US equivalent; explaining the mechanism serves the reader better than reaching for 'appeal'.

9. Cosa juzgada

   Res judicata

   A matter already decided by final judgment, which may not be litigated again between the same parties.

   Origin

   A direct calque of Latin res judicata, 'a thing adjudged' — English kept the Latin, Spanish translated it.

10. Culpa

    Negligence — not 'guilt'

    In criminal law, the negligent state of mind, set against dolo (intent). Guilt in the broad sense is culpabilidad.

    Origin

    From Latin culpa, fault or blame — as in mea culpa.

    Note

    Un delito culposo is a negligent offence, not 'a guilty crime'.

11. Declaración jurada

    Affidavit

    A written statement of fact sworn or affirmed before someone authorised to administer an oath, offered as evidence without the declarant testifying live.

    Origin

    Affidavit is Medieval Latin for 'he has sworn' — the third-person perfect of affidare, to pledge one's faith. The word is literally the first thing the document used to say.

    Note

    Spanish usually prefers declaración jurada; the loanword afidávit appears but reads as an Anglicism in most filings.

12. Demanda

    Complaint (civil) — not 'demand'

    The pleading that initiates a civil action.

    Origin

    From demandar, from Latin demandare, to entrust or commit to someone's charge.

    Note

    Presentar una demanda is to file suit. 'Demand' in the English sense is closer to requerimiento or reclamación.

13. Denuncia / Querella

    Report of an offence / criminal complaint by the aggrieved party

    A denuncia is anyone reporting a suspected crime to the authorities. A querella is brought by the injured party and is required before the state may prosecute certain offences.

    Origin

    Denuncia from Latin denuntiare, to announce; querella from queri, to complain — the root of English 'querulous'.

    Note

    Both flatten into 'complaint' in careless translation, losing who may bring the action and whether it can be withdrawn.

14. Desacato

    Contempt of court

    Disobedience of a judicial order, or disrespect toward the court's authority.

    Origin

    From acatar, to obey or show deference, with the negating des- — literally un-obeying.

15. Dolo

    Intent; wilfulness

    The intentional state of mind — knowing and wanting the result. Roughly the territory English covers with mens rea and 'wilfully', though the categories do not map cleanly.

    Origin

    From Latin dolus, guile or deceit, which survives in the phrase dolus malus.

    Note

    Delito doloso is an intentional offence; the contrast with delito culposo carries real sentencing consequences.

16. Estrado

    Bench; the dais of the court

    The raised platform where the judge sits, and by extension the court itself. Notificación por estrados is service by posting at the court.

    Origin

    From Latin stratum, something spread out — a floor covering, then a raised and covered platform.

17. Fianza

    Bail; bond; surety

    Security given to guarantee an obligation — appearance in court, or performance of a contract.

    Origin

    From fiar, to trust or vouch for, from Latin fidare — the family that also yields 'fidelity', 'fiduciary', and 'confide'.

18. Flagrancia

    In flagrante; caught in the act

    The state of being apprehended during the offence or immediately after, which in many systems permits arrest without a warrant.

    Origin

    From Latin flagrare, to blaze or burn — the crime still alight. The same root gives 'conflagration'.

19. Fuero

    Jurisdiction; privilege; charter

    A body of law attaching to a place, a class of person, or an office — historically the charters granting a town its own rules, today the jurisdiction or immunity a role carries, as in fuero constitucional.

    Origin

    From Latin forum, the public square where justice was administered — the same root that gives English 'forum' and 'forensic'.

    Note

    The oldest sense is close to 'the law that belongs to you', which is why it names this practice.

20. Habeas corpus

    Habeas corpus

    The order requiring that a detained person be produced before a court so the lawfulness of the detention can be tested.

    Origin

    Latin for 'that you have the body' — the opening words of the medieval writ, which both languages kept untranslated.

21. Imputado / Procesado / Acusado

    Defendant, at three stages

    Spanish marks where a person stands in the process: imputado once a charge is intimated, procesado once proceedings formally open, acusado once accusation is filed. English says 'defendant' throughout.

    Origin

    All three from Latin: imputare, to charge to an account; procedere, to go forward; accusare, to call to account.

    Note

    Collapsing them into 'defendant' is usually right, but in a document about procedural posture the distinction is the point.

22. Juzgado / Tribunal / Corte

    Court, at different levels

    A juzgado is typically a single-judge trial court and a tribunal a panel, while corte varies sharply by country — in Mexico it names the Suprema Corte, whereas much of South America uses corte far more freely.

    Origin

    Juzgado from juzgar, to judge; tribunal from Latin tribunal, the raised platform of the tribune; corte from cohors, an enclosure or retinue — the ruler's court before the judicial one.

    Note

    Never assume the hierarchy transfers between countries. Confirm the system before choosing the English.

23. Ministerio Público

    Public prosecutor's office; the prosecution

    The authority that investigates offences and brings charges. In Mexico it also directs the investigation itself, a role split between police and prosecutor in the United States.

    Origin

    From Latin ministerium, service or office — the same root as 'minister' and 'administration'.

    Note

    'Public Ministry' is a literal rendering that means nothing to a US reader; 'prosecutor' or 'prosecution' carries the sense.

24. Notario público

    Civil-law notary — not a 'notary public'

    In Mexico and most of Latin America, a licensed attorney holding fe pública who drafts, authenticates, and archives instruments whose deeds carry evidentiary weight. A US notary public witnesses signatures and nothing more.

    Origin

    From Latin notarius, a shorthand writer or clerk, from nota, a mark or note.

    Note

    The mismatch is serious enough that US authorities warn Spanish-speaking communities about it — someone told a notario will handle their case may believe they have retained a lawyer.

25. Perito

    Expert witness

    A person appointed or offered for specialised knowledge. The written opinion is the peritaje or dictamen pericial.

    Origin

    From Latin peritus, experienced or skilled — the same root beneath 'expert' and 'experience'.

26. Plazo / Término

    Period of time / the moment it expires

    A plazo is the span within which something may be done; a término is the point at which it runs out. Legal Spanish keeps them apart and translators often do not.

    Origin

    Plazo from Latin placitum, that which is agreed; término from terminus, a boundary marker.

27. Prueba

    Evidence — and also proof

    Spanish uses one word where English keeps two apart: the material offered (evidence) and the persuasive result achieved (proof). Only context distinguishes them.

    Origin

    From Latin proba, from probare, to test or approve — the same root as 'probe', 'probation', and 'approve'.

    Note

    Watch carga de la prueba (burden of proof) against medios de prueba (forms of evidence): the same word, two different ideas.

28. Recurso

    Appeal; remedy; motion

    Any procedural means of challenging a decision. Which English word fits depends entirely on which recurso, and which forum.

    Origin

    From Latin recurrere, to run back — returning to the court that decided, or to one above it.

29. Sentencia

    Judgment — not 'sentence'

    The court's full decision resolving a case. The punishment imposed in a criminal matter is the pena or condena, which is only one part of it.

    Origin

    From Latin sententia, 'an opinion or way of thinking', from sentire, to feel or perceive — the judge's considered view.

    Note

    Rendering sentencia as 'sentence' in a civil judgment is among the most common errors in legal translation.

30. Sobreseimiento

    Dismissal; termination of proceedings

    An order ending the case without a judgment on the merits — for lack of evidence, a procedural bar, or the death of the accused.

    Origin

    From sobreseer, from Latin supersedere, to sit above and so refrain from — the same verb English took as 'supersede'.

31. Traslado

    Service of a filing for response

    The step of passing a pleading to the other party so they may answer. Dar traslado is to serve it with the response period running.

    Origin

    From Latin translatus, carried across — the same root as 'translation'.

    Note

    'Transfer' is misleading; 'service' plus the response period conveys what actually happens.

32. Vista

    Hearing

    A session at which the court hears the parties. Vista pública is a public hearing.

    Origin

    From ver, to see — the matter is placed before the court's eyes, much as English 'hearing' places it before its ears.

    Note

    The two languages chose different senses for the same event: one sees the case, the other hears it.

Compiled from working practice, not offered as legal advice. Usage varies by jurisdiction — confirm the system before choosing the English.