Allocution n. 1 The procedure during sentencing when a judge gives a convicted defendant the opportunity to make a personal statement on his own behalf to mitigate the punishment that is about to be imposed. 2. A similar procedure where the victim of a crime is given in some states the opportunity to personally speak, before punishment is imposed, about the pain and suffering suffered or about the convicted defendant. 3. The procedure by which a guilty plea can be accepted in a criminal action.

Allodium n. Real property owned absolutely and free of any obligation to another with a superior vested right.

Allowance n. 1 A portion or share, especially of money. 2 A portion of a decedent's estate awarded by statute to the decedent's survivors for support during the administration of the estate, regardless of whether they have any rights to the estate or any testamentary disposition or competing claims to the estate. 3 The court-ordered financial award to a fiduciary for services rendered. 4 A deduction.

Alluvion n. The creation of land caused by the gradual depositing, either by artificial or natural forces, of earth, sand, gravel, and similar materials along the shoreline of a river or ocean by running water. The new land becomes the property of the owner of the property to which it is attached, provided that it cannot be visibly perceived from moment to moment.

Alluvium n. The land created by alluvion.