Tool to Decode Legal Terms Debuts on Court News Ohio

By Kathleen Maloney | May 2, 2014

In celebration of Law Day, Court News Ohio has launched an interactive online glossary to help the public understand the legal terms that courts and lawyers frequently use.

The new tool features pop-up definitions that appear when a reader hovers over underlined legal words in articles on the CNO web site. The complete glossary currently contains 160 definitions translating legal jargon into simple English.

Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger played a key role in developing the court's first interactive online glossary. A committed advocate of public education about the courts and a former teacher and law professor, Justice Lanzinger worked with the court's public information office to choose legal terms relevant to Ohio.

"It makes it easier for you to understand the reasoning and the analysis of what the justices have done," Justice Lanzinger said. "Anything that will make it more simple and easier for people to understand is an excellent tool in my book."

Along with the pop-up definitions and glossary, CNO also introduced the "Legal Word of the Week." Follow Court News Ohio on Facebook or Twitter for each week's featured legal word and definition.