Frivolous

From RationalWiki

Frivolous means silly, and usually also wasteful. Then we get into the legal meaning.

Frivolity is a concept with two meanings when discussing the law. One definition applies most notably to personal injury lawsuits with seemingly outrageous payouts (the canonical example being the woman who spilled overheated McDonald's coffee in her lap and won a seven-figure payout). Corporations would love to see these lawsuits reduced, so they are often fans of "tort reform", which generally amounts to restricting peoples' rights to sue. Trial lawyers hate this because it takes away from business, and consumer advocates hate this because it denies a victim of negligence the right to redress of grievances. Yes, such lawsuits can be used to game the system, but really, that's a different subject.

"Frivolous" also has a meaning as a legal term of art. Dan Evans' Tax Protester FAQ lays it out fairly bluntly -- if a judge calls a lawsuit or argument frivolous, it is in the judge's opinion a blatantly false argument and a waste of the court's time. A lawsuit deemed frivolous in the public media merely gets ridicule; a frivolous lawsuit in a courtroom can lead to contempt citations and fines or jail time.

Make sure you know the difference. Hint: if it's a reporter saying it, feel free to argue the case. If it's a judge saying it, shut up, apologize, and walk away.