Legal Terms Beginning with P
Paralegal
A person who is not a lawyer or is not acting in that capacity but who provides a limited number of legal services. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person who has been convicted of a crime, to be free and absolved of that conviction, as if never convicted. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Parens patriae
Parens patriae (Latin): A British common law creation whereby the courts have the right to make unfettered decisions concerning people who are not able to take care of themselves. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pari delicto
Latin for of equal fault. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pari passu
Latin: Equitably and without preference. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Parole
An early release from incarceration in which the prisoner promises to heed certain conditions (usually set by a parole board) and under the supervision of a parole officer. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Parol Evidence Rule
Verbal evidence is inadmissible to vary or contradict the terms of a written agreement. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Parricide
Killing one's father or another a family member or close relative. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Partnership
A business organization in which two or more persons carry on a business together. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Par value shares
Shares issued by a company which have a minimum price. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Passing-Off
The Tort of Passing-Off - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Patent
An exclusive privilege granted to an inventor to make, use or sale an invention for a set number of years (eg. in Canada, 17 years). - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Patentee
Patentee: a person to whom a patent has been granted; who appears on the official government registry of patent owners. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Paternity
Being a father. Paternity suits are launched when a man denies paternity of a child born out of wedlock. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pauper's Oath
An affidavit of indigence, of poverty. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Payee
The person to whom payment is addressed or given. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Payor
The person who is making the payment(s). - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pedophile
A person afflicted with pedophilia, a sexual perversion in which children are preferred as sexual partner. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pen register
An electronic surveillance device which attaches to a phone line and which registers every number dialed from a specific telephone. This surveillance device is not as effective as wire-tapping. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pendente lite
Latin: during litigation. For example, if the validity of a will is challenged, a court might appoint an administrator pendente lite with limited powers to do such things as may be necessary to preserve the assets of the deceased until a hearing can be convened on the validity of the will. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Percolating water
Water which seeps or filters through the ground without any definite channel and not part of the flow of any waterway. The best example is rain water. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Peremptory
Final or absolute or not open to challenge. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Perjury
An intentional lie given while under oath or in a sworn affidavit. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Permanent Resident
An individual who has status in a country usually less than citizenship but more than just a visitor. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Perpetuating testimony
The recording of evidence when it is feared that the person with that evidence may soon die or disappear and that this person's evidence, if recorded, could then be used in the future to prevent a possible injustice or to support a future claim of property. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Perpetuity
Forever; of unlimited duration. There is a strong bias in the law against things that are to last in perpetuity. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Person
An entity with legal rights and existence including the ability to sue and be sued, to sign contracts, to receive gifts, to appear in court either by themselves or by lawyer and, generally, other powers incidental to the full expression of the entity in law. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Personal representative
In the law of wills, this is the general name given to the person who administers the estate of a deceased person. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Petition
The formal, written document submitted to a court, and which asks for the court to redress what is described in the petition as being an injustice of some kind. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pettifogger
A petty or underhanded lawyer or an attorney who sustains a professional livelihood on disreputable or dishonorable business. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Petty offense
A minor crime and for which the punishment is usually just a small fine or short term of imprisonment. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Physical custody
A child custody decision which grants the right to organize and administer the day to day residential care of a child. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Picket
To object publicly, on or adjacent to the employer's premises, to an employer's labor practices, goods or services. The most common form of picketing is patrolling with signs. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pillory
A medieval punishment and restraining device made of moveable and adjustable boards through which a prisoner's head or limbs were pinned. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Plaintiff
The person who brings an case to court; who sues. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Plea bargaining
Negotiations during a criminal trial, between an accused person and a prosecutor in which the accused agrees to admit to a crime (sometimes a lesser crime than the one set out in the original charge), avoiding the expense of a public trial, in exchange for which the prosecutor agrees to ask for a more lenient sentence than would have been recommended if the case had of proceeded to full trial. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pleadings
That part of a party's case in which he or she formally sets out the facts and legal arguments which support that party's position. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Poach
To kill or take an animal or fish from the property of another. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Polygamy
Being married to more than one person. Illegal in most countries. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Polygraph
A lie-detector machine which records even the slightest variation in blood pressure, body temperature and respiration as questions are put to, and answers elicited from a subject. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pornography
The portrayal of sexual acts solely for the purpose of sexual arousal. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Postal rule
A rule of contract law that makes an exception to the general rule that an acceptance is only created when communicated directly to the offeror. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Postnuptial agreement
A separation agreement. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Power of attorney
A document which gives a person the right to make binding decisions for another, as an agent. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Præcipe or precipe
Latin: used to refer to the actual writ that would be presented to a court clerk to be officially issued on behalf of the court but now mostly refers to the covering letter from the lawyer (or plaintiff) which accompanies and formally asks for the writ to be issued by the court officer. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Praemunire
An offence against the King or Parliament, in old English law, which led to serious penalties but not capital punishment. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Precatory words
Words that express a wish or a desire rather than a clear command. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Precedent
A case which establishes legal principles to a certain set of facts, coming to a certain conclusion, and which is to be followed from that point on when similar or identical facts are before a court. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Preferred shares
A share in a company that has some kind of special right or privilege attached to it, such as that it is distinguished from the company’s common shares. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Preponderance
A word describing evidence that persuades a judge or jury to lean to one side as opposed to the other during the course of litigation. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Prescription
A method of acquiring rights through the silence of the legal owner. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Presumption of Advancement
A presumption in trust, contract and family law which suggests that property transferred from a parent to a child, or spouse to spouse, is a gift and would defeat any presumption of a resulting trust. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Presumption of Death
A presumption such that after a number of years, or events, an individual is presumed dead and his estate managed accordingly. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Presumption of Fact
A conclusion of fact constructed logically from other proven facts. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Presumption of Innocence
A legal presumption that benefits a defendant in a criminal case and which results in acquittal in the event that the prosecutor does not prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Prima facie
(Latin) A legal presumption which means on the face of it or at first sight. Law-makers will often use this device to establish that if a certain set of facts are proven, then another fact is established prima facie. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Primogeniture
Primogeniture - oldest son inherits. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Principal
An agent’s master; the person for whom an agent has received instruction and to whose benefit the agent is expected to perform and make decisions. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Private law
Law which regulates the relationships between individuals. Family, commercial and labor law are examples of private law because the focus of those kinds of laws is the relationships between individuals or between corporations or organizations and individual, with the government a bystander. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Privilege
A special and exclusive legal advantage or right such as a benefit, exemption, power or immunity. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Probate
The formal certificate given by a court that certifies that a will has been proven, validated and registered and which, from that point on, gives the executor the legal authority to execute the will. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Probation
A kind of punishment given out as part of a sentence which means that instead of jailing a person convicted of a crime, a judge will order that the person reports to a probation officer regularly and according to a set schedule. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pro bono
Provided for free. Pro bono publico means for the public good. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Profit à prendre
A servitude which resembles an easement and which allows the holder to enter the land of another and to take some natural produce such as mineral deposits, fish or game, timber, crops or pasture. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pro forma
As a matter of form; in keeping with a form or practice. Something done pro forma may not be essential but it facilitates future dealings. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Prohibition
A legal restriction against the use of something or against certain conduct. For example, in the 1920s, both the USA and Canada enacted liquor prohibitions, outlawing the manufacture or use of alcoholic beverages. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Promisee
A person whom is to be the beneficiary of a promise, an obligation or a contract. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Promisor
The person who has become obliged through a promise (usually expressed in a contract) towards another, the intended beneficiary of the promise being referred to as the obligor - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Promissory Estoppel
A promise made to another party to a contract that the contract will not be enforced in whole or in part and which, once acted upon, prevents subsequent proceedings to enforce the contract as against the person who relied on the promise. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Promissory note
An unconditional, written and signed promise to pay a certain amount of money, on demand or at a certain defined date in the future. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Property
Property is commonly thought of as a thing which belongs to someone and over which a person has total control. But, legally, it is more properly defined as a collection of legal rights over a thing. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Propinquity
Nearness in place; close-by. Also used to describe relationships as synonymous for kin. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pro possessore
As a possessor. For example, a person may exercise certain rights over a thing not as owner but pro possessore: as a person who possesses, but does not own, the thing. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Propound
To offer a document as being authentic or valid. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pro rata
Latin: to divide proportionate to a certain rate or interest. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Proprietor
Owner. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pro se
Latin: in one’s personal behalf. Contrast with pro socio. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pro socio
Latin: on behalf of a partner; not on one's personal behalf. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Prosecute
To bring judicial proceedings against a person and to administer them until the conclusion of the court proceedings. Lawyers are hired by the government to administer the prosecution of criminal charges in the courts. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Prospectus
A document in which a corporation sets out the material details of a share or bond issue and inviting the public to invest by purchasing these financial instruments. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Prostitute
Prostitute: A person who engages in prostitution; who offers lewd acts for the gratification of the customer and in exchange for payment. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Pro tempore
Latin: something done temporarily only and not intended to be permanent. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Proxy
A right which is signed-over to an agent. Proxies are used frequently at annual meetings of corporations where the right to exercise a vote is 'proxied' from the shareholder to the agent. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Public Defender
An attorney in the USA paid for by the state but representing an indigent individual in a criminal matter. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Public domain
A term of American copyright law referring to works that are not copyright protected, free for all to use without permission. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Public law
Those laws which regulate (1) the structure and administration of the government, (2) the conduct of the government in its relations with its citizens, (3) the responsibilities of government employees and (4) the relationships with foreign governments. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Puisne
Junior or lower in rank, as opposed to the chief justice. For example, there are 8 puisne judges on the Supreme Court of Canada and a chief justice. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
Punitive damages
special and highly exceptional damages ordered by a court against a defendant where the act or omission which caused the suit, was of a particularly heinous, malicious or highhanded nature. - (see expanded definition at duhaime.org)
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