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Click on the first letter of the
word from the list above to go to the appropriate section of the glossary.
- L -
Lapsed Gift: A
gift made in a will to a person who has died prior
to the will-makers death.
Larceny: Obtaining
property by fraud or deceit.
Law: The
combination of those rules and principles of conduct
promulgated by legislative authority, derived from
court decisions and established by local custom.
Law Clerks:
Persons trained in the law who assist judges in
researching legal opinions.
Lawsuit or Suit:
Generally, a court action brought by one person, the
plaintiff, against another, the defendant , seeking
compensation for some injury or enforcement of a
right.
Leading Case:
Case regarded as having determined the law on a
particular point, thus becoming a guide for later
decisions.
Leading Question:
A question that suggests the answer desired of the
witness. A party generally may not ask one's own
witness leading questions. Leading questions may be
asked only of hostile witnesses and on
cross-examination.
Legal Aid:
Professional legal services available usually to
persons or organizations unable to afford such
services.
Legal Cause:
Substantial factor in bringing about the harm. See
also proximate cause.
Legal Fiction:
Assumption of a fact that may or may not be true
made by a judge to decide a legal question.
Leniency:
Recommendation for a sentence less than the maximum
allowed.
Letters of
Administration: Legal document issued by a court
that shows an administrator's legal right to take
control of assets in the deceased person's name.
Letters
Testamentary: Legal document issued by a court
that shows an executor's legal right to take control
of assets in the deceased person's name.
Liability: An
obligation that one is bound in law to perform;
usually involves the payment of money damages.
Liable:
Legally responsible.
Libel:
Published words or pictures that falsely and
maliciously defame a person. Libel is published
defamation; slander is spoken.
Liberal
construction: Judicial interpretation of the law
whereby the judge expands the literal meaning of the
statute to meet cases that are clearly within the
spirit or reason of the law. Compare with strict
construction whereby the judge adheres to the
literal meaning of the words.
Licensee: In
civil law, a person who enters land with consent,
but nothing more.
Lien: A legal
claim against another person's property as security
for a debt. A lien does not convey ownership of the
property, but gives the lien holder a right to have
his or her debt satisfied out of the proceeds of the
property if the debt is not otherwise paid.
Limine: A
motion requesting that the court not allow certain
evidence that might prejudice the jury.
Limited tort
option: In Pennsylvania, purchasers of motor
vehicle insurance can choose "limited
tort," which restricts their right to seek
money damages for an accident caused by another
driver. Under limited tort, the insured can only
seek money damages for economic loss, including
medical bills. The insured is prohibited from
seeking damages for pain and suffering, except under
certain limited circumstances. Compare with full
tort option.
Limited
Jurisdiction: Refers to courts that are limited
in the types of criminal and civil cases they may
hear. For example, traffic violations generally are
heard by limited jurisdiction courts.
Litigant: A
party to a lawsuit. Litigation refers to a case,
controversy, or lawsuit.
Living Trust:
A trust set up and in effect during the lifetime of
the grantor. Also called inter vivos trust.
Loss of
consortuium: Damages awarded to a family member
(usually a spouse) for loss of companionship.
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