Terms Used In CFR > Title 48 > Chapter 13 > Subchapter G - Contract Management

• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• earnings: as used in this subpart (other than as a part of the phrase "net earnings from self-employment") includes the sum of your wages for services rendered in a taxable year, plus your net earnings from self-employment for the taxable year, minus any net loss from self-employment for the same taxable year. See 20 CFR 404.429
• En banc: In the bench or "full bench." Refers to court sessions with the entire membership of a court participating rather than the usual quorum. U.S. courts of appeals usually sit in panels of three judges, but may expand to a larger number in certain cases. They are then said to be sitting en banc.
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.