During her interview with Entertainment Tonight, Foster was also asked about Usher's alleged relationship with one of her bridesmaids. (During the Scream singer's interview with Oprah Winfrey, 58, he insisted nothing physical happened until after he and Foster were separated.).
Search Legal Terms and Definitions. dismissal. n. 1) the act of voluntarily terminating a criminal prosecution or a lawsuit or one of its causes of action by one of the parties. 2) a judge's ruling that a lawsuit or criminal charge is terminated. 3) an appeals court's act of dismissing an appeal, letting the lower court decision stand. 4) the act of a plaintiff dismissing a lawsuit upon settling the case.
Sometimes jurors or lawyers are recused, and in either case, excused may be a more appropriate term. Recuse is based on the Latin word recusare, which roughly translates as refuse from a cause.. Recusal is the noun form of this word. Judges are expected to recuse themselves if they have any personal interest in a case or decision that influences their ability to judge it fairly.