damages (plural, uncountable)
n. Money that the losing side in a lawsuit must pay to the winning side to make up for losses or injuries.

There are several kinds of damages:

(1) compensatory - US (or compensatory - UK) - meaning money to pay for the actual cost of an injury or loss; and

(2) punitive (usually US) or exemplary (usually UK) - meaning an amount of money that's more than the actual damages - punishment for willful or malicious acts.
Punitive damages, also commonly called in English exemplary damages, are designed to punish, not to compensate. In general, punitive damages are awarded for socially deplorable conduct, such as fraud or malicious, reckless, or abusive action.

  As he often does, Bush suggested that limiting non-economic damages would sharply reduce health care costs for most Americans. Analysis by the Congressional Budget Office found that legislation capping damage awards to $250,000 would lower physician malpractice premiums by 25 percent to 30 percent.

n.b. (US) damage (not damages) award

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decision

n. A court's judgment or decree that settles a dispute. — see judgment

  The decision upholds the second-degree murder conviction of a Los Angeles County man who was 17 at the time of the crime.

 

defendant

n. In a civil case, the person or organization sued by the plaintiff or claimant. In a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  Those of us who practise in the criminal courts are aware of the adverse feeling which can be generated against a defendant before a trial starts.

defence UK defense US
n. countable - the things that are said in a court of law to prove that someone is not guilty of a crime

  One of his defences was that he had been provoked.

the defence UK defense US
n.– the lawyers working for the defendant
  The defence proved that he could not have been present at the scene of the crime.

  A witness for the defence provided an alibi.

 

dissent
n. (US) A judge's disagreement with the majority of the court. Appellate court cases are heard by a panel of judges which can vary in number depending on the jurisdiction. A judge who disagrees with the majority ruling and opinion will often write a dissenting opinion explaining his or her reasons for disagreement.
  "We are encouraged by the strong dissent of Judge May who clearly recognized that the state cannot trump a patient's right to privacy in medical matters," Mr. Black continued. "We will be seeking further appellate review of this decision."

v. for a judge, to disagree with the majority of the judges on the court

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dock (the) (UK)

n. an enclosure in a court of law where the defendant sits during the trial

  Missing from the dock was the chief accused. Jean-Francois Filippi, the former president of the Bastia Sporting Club, was shot dead on December 26.

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duty n.
1) work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons

  The common law approach to rescue is clear and straightforward. Absent a limited number of narrow exceptions, there is no duty to rescue, regardless of the ease of rescue and the consequences of non- rescue.
2) a tax on imports imposed by the customs authority of a country.

  Generally, non-European Union nationals are permitted 200 cigarettes, duty-free.

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