Lien - A charge on specific property that is designed to secure payment of a debt or performance of an obligation. A debtor may still be responsible for a lien after a discharge.⏎
Lawsuit - A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty which resulted in harm to the plaintiff.⏎
In forma pauperis - "In the manner of a pauper." Permission given by the court to a person to file a case without payment of the required court fees because the person cannot pay them.⏎
Judicial Conference of the United States - The policy-making entity for the federal court system. A 27-judge body whose presiding officer is the Chief Justice of the United States.⏎
Habeas corpus - Latin, meaning "you have the body." A writ of habeas corpus generally is a judicial order forcing law enforcement authorities to produce a prisoner they are holding, and to justify the prisoner's continued confinement. Federal judges receive petitions for a writ of habeas corpus from state prison inmates who say their state prosecutions violated federally protected rights in some way.⏎