- P -
Paperbound supplement - A
temporary supplement to a book or books to update the serve.
Paralegal - Also, legal
assistant. A person with legal skills who works under the
supervision of a lawyer.
Pardon - An act of grace
from governing power which mitigates punishment and restores
rights and privileges forfeited on account of the offense.
Parol evidence - Oral or
verbal evidence; evidence given by word of mouth in court.
Parole - Supervised
release of a prisoner from imprisonment on certain prescribed
conditions which entitle him to termination of his sentence.
Party - A person,
business, or government agency actively involved in the
prosecution of defense of a legal proceeding.
Patent - A grant to an
inventor of the right to exclude others for a limited time from
make, using, or selling his invention in the United States.
Patent and Trademark Office
- The federal agency which examines and issues patents and
registers trademarks.
Peremptory challenge -
Request by a party that a judge not allow a certain prospective
juror as a member of the jury. No reason or cause need be stated.
(See challenge for cause.)
Periodical - A publication
which appears regularly but less often than daily.
Perjury - The criminal
offense of making a false statement under oath.
Permanent injunction - A
court order requiring that some action be taken, or that some
party refrain from taking action. It differs from forms of
temporary relief, such as a temporary restraining order or
preliminary injunction.
Per se doctrine - Under
this doctrine an activity such as price fixing can be declared as
a violation of the antitrust laws without necessity of a court
inquiring into the reasonableness of the activity.
Personal property -
Anything a person owns other than real estate.
Personal recognizance - In
criminal proceedings, the pretrial release of a defendant without
bail upon his or her promise to return to court. (See also
recognizance.)
Personal representative -
The person who administers an estate. If named in a will, that
person's title is an executor. If there is no valid will, that
person's title is an administrator.
Person in need of supervision
- Juvenile found to have committed a "status offense"
rather than a crime that would provide a basis for a finding of
delinquency. (See status offense.)
Petitioner - The person
filing an action in a court of original jurisdiction. Also, the
person who appeals the judgment of a lower court. (See
respondent.)
Plaintiff
- A person who brings an action; the party who complains or
sues in a civil action. (See complainant.)
Plea - The first pleading
by a criminal defendant, the defendant's declaration in open court
that he or she is guilty or not guilty. The defendant's answer to
the charges made in the indictment or information.
Plea bargaining - Process
where the accused and the prosecutor in a criminal case work out a
satisfactory disposition of the case, usually by the accused
agreeing to plead guilty to a lesser offense. Such bargains are
not binding on the court. Also referred to as plea negotiating.
Pleadings
- The written statements of fact and law filed by the parties to a
lawsuit.
Pocket parts - Supplements
to law books in pamphlet form which are inserted in a pocket
inside the back cover of the books to keep them current.
Polling the jury - The
act, after a jury verdict has been announced, of asking jurors
individually whether they agree with the verdict.
Post-trial - Refers to
items happening after the trial, i.e., post-trial motions or
post-trial discovery.
Pour-Over will - A will
that leaves some or all estate assets to a trust established
before the will-maker's death.
Power - Authority to do.
One has the power to do something if he is of legal age. Also,
used as "powers," the term refers to authority granted
by one person to another, i.e., powers given an executor in a will
or an agent in a power of attorney.
Power of attorney - An
formal instrument authorizing another to act as one's agent or
attorney.
Precedent - Laws
established by previous cases which must be followed in cases
involving identical circumstances. (See stare decisis in Foreign
Words Glossary.)
Preinjunction - Court
order requiring action or forbidding action until a decision can
be made whether to issue a permanent injunction. It differs from a
temporary restraining order.
Preliminary hearing -
Also, preliminary examination. A hearing by a judge to determine
whether a person charged with a crime should be held for trial.
(See arraignment.)
Preponderance of the proof - Greater
weight of the evidence, the common standard of evidence in civil
cases.
Presentence report - A
report to the sentencing judge containing background information
about the crime and the defendant to assist the judge in making
his or her sentencing decision.
Presentment - Declaration
or document issued by a grand jury that either makes a neutral
report or notes misdeeds by officials charged with specified
public duties. It ordinarily does not include a formal charge of
crime. A presentment differs from an indictment.
Pretermitted child - A
child born after a will is executed, who is not provided for by
the will. Most states have laws that provide for a share of estate
property to go to such children.
Pretrial
conference - Conference among the opposing attorneys and the
judge called at the discretion of the court to narrow the issues
to be tried and to make a final effort to settle the case without
a trial.
Prima facie case - A case
that is sufficient and has the minimum amount of evidence
necessary to allow it to continue in the judicial process. (See
prima facie in the Foreign Words Glossary.)
Primary authority - Constitutions,
codes, statutes, ordinances, and case law sources.
Private law - That law,
such as a contract between two persons or a real estate
transaction, which applies only to the persons who subject
themselves to it.
Privilege - A benefit or
advantage to certain persons beyond the advantages of other
persons, i.e., an exemption, immunity, power, etc.
Probable cause - A
reasonable belief that a crime has or is being committed; the
basis for all lawful searches, seizures, and arrests.
Probate
- Court proceeding by which a will is proved valid or invalid.
Term used to mean all proceedings pertaining to the administration
of estates such as the process by which assets are gathered;
applied to pay debts, taxes, and expenses of administration; and
distributed to those designated as beneficiaries in the will.
Conducted in states courts.
Probate court - The court
with authority to supervise estate administration.
Probate estate - Estate
property that may be disposed of by a will. (See estate.)
Probation - An alternative
to imprisonment allowing a person found guilty of an offense to
stay in the community, usually under conditions and under the
supervision of a probation officer. A violation of probation can
lead to its revocation and to imprisonment.
Product liability - Legal
responsibility of manufacturers and sellers to buyers, users, and
bystanders for damages or injuries suffered because of defects in
goods.
Promisee - An individual
to whom a promise is made.
Promisor - An individual
who makes a promise.
Promissory estoppel - A
promise which estops the promisee from asserting or taking certain
action.
Property tax - A tax
levied on land and buildings (real estate) and on personal
property.
Proprietor - Owner; person
who has legal right or title to anything.
Prosecutor A trial lawyer
representing the government in a criminal case and the interests
of the state in civil matters. In criminal cases, the prosecutor
has the responsibility of deciding who and when to prosecute.
Proximate cause - The last
negligent act which contributes to an injury. A person generally
is liable only if an injury was proximately caused by his or her
action or by his or her failure to act when he or she had a duty
to act.
Proxy - The instrument
authorizing one person to represent, act, and vote for another at
a shareholders' meeting of a corporation.
Public law - That law such
as traffic ordinances or zoning ordinances which applies to the
public.
Public defender -
Government lawyer who provides free legal defense services to a
poor person accused of a crime.
Public Service Commission
- Also, Public Utilities Commission. A state agency which
regulates utilities.
Punitive damages - Money
award given to punish the defendant or wrongdoer.
Purchase agreement or purchase
offer - Also, sales agreement and earnest money contract.
Agreement between buyer and seller of property which sets forth in
general the price and terms of a proposed sale.
Putative - Alleged;
supposed; reputed.
