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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.
- P -
Pardon: A form
of executive clemency preventing criminal
prosecution or removing or extinguishing a criminal
conviction.
Parens Patriae:
The doctrine under which the court protects the
interests of a juvenile.
Parole: The
supervised conditional release of a prisoner before
the expiration of his or her sentence. If the
parolee observes the conditions, he or she need not
serve the rest of his or her term.
Party: A
person, business, or government agency actively
involved in the prosecution or defense of a legal
proceeding.
Partial
Disability: In a workers' compensation case,
this refers to any disability that is less than
total. Workers' compensation benefits are generally
measured by earning power in this situation.
Patent: A
government grant giving an inventor the exclusive
right to make or sell his or her invention for a
term of years.
Peremptory
Challenge: A challenge that may be used to
reject a certain number of prospective jurors
without giving a reason.
Perjury:
Intentional false statement of material importance
made under oath; lying 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.
Person:
Generally, a human being. Legally, a
"person" may statutorily include a
corporation, partnership, trustee, legal
representative, etc.
Personal Property:
Tangible physical property (such as cars, clothing,
furniture, and jewelry) and intangible personal
property. This does not include real property such
as land or rights in land.
Personal
Jurisdiction: The power of a court over a
person. Compare with subject matter jurisdiction.
Personal
Recognizance: In criminal proceedings, the
pretrial release of a defendant without bail upon
his or her promise to return to court. See also own
recognizance.
Personal
Representative: One who stands in the place of
another..
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.
Typical status offenses are habitual truancy.
violating a curfew, or running away from home. These
are not crimes, but they might be enough to place a
child under supervision. In different states, status
offenders might be called children in need of
supervision or minors in need of supervision.
Petition: A
formal request that the court take some action; a
complaint.
Petitioner:
The person filing an action in a court of original
jurisdiction. Also, the person who appeals the
judgment of a lower court. The opposing party is
called the respondent.
Petition to
Terminate, Modify or Suspend Benefits: In a
workers' compensation case, this is the petition
filed by the employer/insurance carrier in an
attempt to modify, suspend or terminate an injured
employee's compensation.
Plaintiff: In
civil law, the person who brings an action or starts
a lawsuit.
Plea: In a
criminal proceeding, it is 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.
Plead: In
civil law, a defendant's formal answer to a
plaintiff's complaint.
Plea Bargaining or
Plea Negotiating: The process through which an
accused person and a prosecutor negotiate a mutually
satisfactory disposition of a case. Usually it is a
legal transaction in which a defendant pleads guilty
in exchange for some form of leniency. It often
involves a guilty plea to lesser charges or a guilty
plea to some of the charges if other charges are
dropped. Such bargains are not binding on the court.
Pleading: A
document filed in a court that pertains to a case.
Pleadings: The
written statements of fact and law filed by the
parties to a lawsuit.
Polling the Jury:
The act, after a jury verdict has been announced, of
asking jurors individually whether they agree with
the verdict.
Possessor of Land:
A person who occupies land and intends to control
it. Most often, it is the owner of the property.
Pour-Over Will:
A will that leaves some or all estate assets to a
trust established before the will-maker's death.
Power of Attorney:
Written document authorizing one person to take
certain legal actions on behalf of the person giving
the power of attorney..
Precedent:
Decision by a court that provides an example or
authority for later cases involving a similar
question of law. See binding authority.
Preliminary
Hearing: Another term for arraignment.
Pre-Injunction:
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.
Preponderance of
the Evidence: The amount of evidence needed for
a plaintiff to win in a civil action. A
preponderance of the evidence is the greater weight
of the evidence or the more convincing evidence in
comparison to the evidence offered in opposition. A
plaintiff can win by a preponderance of the evidence
even if plaintiff's evidence merely tips the scales
in plaintiff's favor.
Presumptively
Capable of Negligence: Pennsylvania law places
minors in three categories based on age. Minors
under 7 are conclusively presumed incapable of
negligence. Simply put, under the law, they cannot
commit torts. Minors between 7 and 14 are presumed
incapable of negligence, but the presumption is
rebuttable or disputable, and the presumption grows
weaker as the child nears his or her 14th birthday.
Minors over 14 are presumptively capable of
negligence. Simply put, under the law they are
presumed as being able to commit torts. The burden
is on the minor to prove incapacity.
Pre-Sentence
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 borne 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.
Pre-Trial
Conference: A meeting between the judge and the
lawyers involved in a lawsuit to narrow the issues
in the suit, agree on what will be presented at the
trial, and make a final effort to settle the case
without a trial.
Prevailing Party:
Generally, the winning party in a lawsuit.
Prima Facie:
Literally means "at first sight" or
"on the face of it." "Prima facie
evidence" is evidence that is good and
sufficient on its face. A plaintiff makes out a
"prima facie case" when he or she presents
"prima facie evidence," which means that
the plaintiff is permitted to prevail on that
evidence alone, unless the defendant can put forth
sufficient evidence to overcome it.
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.
Primary Care
Physician (PCP): A physician that is employed by
or contracts with a managed health care system like
an HMO that coordinates all of the member's medical
care. A PCP is usually afamily practitioner . PCP's
are also known as "gatekeepers" because
they control a member's access to medical care
within a health plan.
Privileged
Communication: Statement protected from forced
disclosure in court because the statement was made
within a "protected" relationship such as
attorney/client. See attorney-client privilege.
Probable Cause:
A reasonable belief that a crime has or is being
committed; the basis for all lawful searches,
seizures, and arrests.
Probate: The
court-supervised process by which a will is
determined to be the will-maker's final statement
regarding how the will-maker wants his or her
property distributed. It also confirms the
appointment of the personal representative of the
estate. Probate also means 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.
Probate Court:
The court with authority to supervise estate
administration.
Probate Estate:
Estate property that may be disposed of by a will.
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.
Procedural Law:
Generally, the body of law establishing the method
or procedure of enforcing rights or obtaining
redress for invasion of rights. Compare with
substantive law which establishes rights.
Process Serving:
The method by which a defendant in a lawsuit is
notified that a plaintiff has filed a suit against
him.
Products
Liability: Area of the law involving the
liability of manufacturers and sellers of dangerous
or defective goods or products.
Promulgate: To
officially announce.
Property Damage
Liability Coverage: Automobile insurance
coverage required under Pennsylvania law that
provides money to pay claims if your car damages the
property of another person.
Pro Bono:
(Latin: "for the good") Used to describe
the provision of services free of charge.
Pro Bono Publico:
For the public good. Lawyers representing clients
without a fee are said to be working pro bono
publico.
Pro Se: A
Latin term meaning "on one's own behalf";
in courts, it refers to persons who present their
own cases without lawyers.
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 proximate cause of an injury is the primary or
moving cause that produces the injury and without
which the accident could not have happened, if the
injury is one which might be reasonably anticipated
or foreseen as a natural consequence of the wrongful
act.
Public Defender:
Government lawyer who provides free legal defense
services to a poor person accused of a crime.
Punitive Damages
or Exemplary Damages: Compensation greater than
is necessary to pay a plaintiff for a loss. These
damages are awarded because the loss was aggravated
by violence, oppression, malice, fraud or wanton and
wicked conduct on the part of the defendant. Such
damages are intended to punish the defendant for his
evil behavior or make an example of him or her.
Purchaser: In
products liability law, a person who buys a product.
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