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A
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F G
H I
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O P
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U V
W X Y Z #
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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