These hearings are precided by administrative law judges.

Joint Tenancy - A form of legal co-ownership of property also known as survivorship. When one of the co-owners dies, the surviving co-owner becomes sole owner of the property. Tenancy by the entirety is a special form of joint tenancy between a husband and wife.

Judgment on the Pleadings - Judgment based on the pleadings alone. It is used when there is no dispute as to the facts of the case and one individual is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.

Clemency or Executive Clemency - Act of grace or mercy by the president or governor to ease the consequences of a criminal act, accusation, or conviction. It may take the form of commutation or pardon.

Commit - To send a person to prison, asylum, or reformatory by a court order.

Common Law - The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It derives legal principles from the statements by judges in their written opinions, rather than from statutes enacted by legislative bodies.

Commutation - The reduction of a sentence, as from death to life imprisonment.

Rehearing - Another hearing of a civil or criminal case or motion by the same court in which the matter was originally decided in order to bring to the court's attention an error, omission, or oversight in the first consideration.

Release - Discharge from confinement or custody.

Closing Argument - The closing statement, by counsel, to the judge or jury after all parties have concluded their presentation of evidence.

Codicil - An amendment to a will.

Collateral Estoppel - Rule barring relitigation between the same parties of a particular issue or determinative fact when there is a prior judgment. Release On Own Recognizance - Release of a person from custody without the payment of bail or posting of bond, upon the promise to return to court.

Summary Judgment - Judgment given on the basis of pleadings, affidavits, and exhibits presented for the record without any need for a trial. As with Judgment on the Pleadings, it is used when there is no dispute as to the facts of the case and one individual is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.