Declaratory judgment - A judge's statement about someone's rights. For example, a plaintiff may seek a declaratory judgment that a particular statute, as written, violates some constitutional right.⏎
Defendant - An individual (or business) against whom a lawsuit is filed.⏎
Court - Government entity authorized to resolve legal disputes. Judges sometimes use "court" to refer to themselves in the third person, as in "the court has read the briefs."⏎
Common law - The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States, which relies on the articulation of legal principles in a historical succession of judicial decisions. Common law principles can be changed by legislation.⏎
Docket - A log containing the complete history of each case in the form of brief chronological entries summarizing the court proceedings.⏎