alternative pleading
A legal fiction in which a party to a lawsuit or a defendant charged with a crime can plead two ways which are inconsistent with each other.

ambiguity
When language has more than one meaning. If the ambiguity is obvious it is called "patent," and if there is a hidden ambiguity it is called "latent."

amend
To alter or change by adding, subtracting, or substituting. One can amend a statute, a contract or a written pleading filed in a law -suit. The change is usually called an amendment.

amended complaint
What results when the party suing (plaintiff or petitioner) changes the complaint he/she has filed. It must be in writing, and can be done before the complaint is served on any defendant, by agreement between the parties (usually their lawyers), or u ...

amended pleading
A changed written pleading in a lawsuit, including complaint or answer to a complaint.

american bar association
The largest organization of American lawyers, which has no official standing, but is prestigious in formulating guidelines for the practice of law, giving direction to legislation, lobbying for the law profession, and evaluating federal judges.

american civil liberties union
A membership organization founded in 1920 to defend and protect "the rights of man set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution."