Glossary
This glossary may be used to find the definitions of many legal terms.
In many instances, there are synonyms and plain language options provided for the terms.
You may search within this glossary:
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A combination of these search options can be used to provide a more defined result.
Note that this glossary may not contain all legal terms.
| Term | Definition | Plain Language | Synonyms | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petition | 1. Written application to a court requesting a remedy available under law. 2. In a civil case, a court paper that asks the court to take some kind of action. 3. In Juvenile cases - A written document filed by the prosecutor specifying which subdivision of § 43-247 is alleged and requesting that the child be corrected and cared for pursuant to law. |
request, application | written request to a court, Application, request, plea | Court Reporting, General Terms, Juvenile, News Reporter Guide | |
| Petition for respondent to Show Cause | Let the court know that you think a person isn't following a court order. | General Terms | |||
| Petition to Modify; Motion to Modify | 1. Ask the court to change an agreement for custody, child support, or visitation. 2. Ask the court to modify a protection order. | request to change a court order | General Terms | ||
| Petitioner | A party who presents a petition to a court or other official body (This term is used only in protection order cases)Person who files a case or petition with the court. | person requesting | applicant, person asking a court to do something | General Terms, Domestic Relations | |
| Petty offense | A federal misdemeanor punishable by six months or less in prison. | minor offense | minor offense | General Terms | |
| Physical custody | Authority and responsibility granted by the court to the custodial parent regarding the child's place of residence and the physical care and supervision of a child for significant periods of time. (§ 43-1231) |
daily caretaking | Domestic Relations, General Terms | ||
| Plaintiff | The person who files a lawsuit. The person who brings an action; the party who complains or sues in a personal action and is so named on the record. | accuser, suer | accuser, complainant | General Terms, Domestic Relations, Small Claims, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | |
| Plea | 1. Document presented to a court by a plaintiff which cites alleged wrong-doing on the part of a defendant and requests specific relief. 2. A defendant's official statement of "guilty" or "not guilty" or to the charges made against them. | answer, response | application, claim, pleading | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Plea bargaining (or negotiation) | Negotiation between the prosecuting attorney and the person accused of a crime or that person's lawyer to exchange a guilty plea for conviction of a lesser charge, if the court approves. | agreement | agreement | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Plead | In a criminal case, to formally answer the charges filed by saying "guilty", "not guilty," or "no contest." | answer | declare, answer | General Terms | |
| Pleading | 1. Written statement filed with the court that describes a party's legal or factual claims about the case and what the party wants from the court. 2. The process by which the parties in a suit or action alternately present written statements of their contentions, each responsive to that which precedes, and each serving to narrow the field of controversy, until there evolves a specific point or points, affirmed on one side and denied on the other, called the "issue" upon which they then go to trial. | complaint | formal statement, complaint | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | |
| Plessy v. Board of Education | 1896 Supreme Court opinion establishing the "separate but equal" doctrine in matters of race; overturned in 1954, Brown v. Board of Education. | General Terms, Court Reporting | |||
| Points and authorities | Also called "P's and A's." "Points and authorities" refers to the written legal argument given to support or oppose a motion. | written legal argument | General Terms | ||
| Polling of jury | Judge asks individual jurors whether they agree with the final verdict in the case just decided. | General Terms | |||
| Portion | A part of any whole. | part | share, cut, ration, part, piece, section | General Terms | |
| Positive law | Law enacted by a legislature. | statutes | General Terms, Court Reporting | ||
| Possess | To have as belonging to one; have as property; own. | have | have, obtain, acquire, own, retain | General Terms | |
| Possession | Any article, object, asset, or property that someone owns or controls. | belongings | belongings, assets, estate | General Terms | |
| Post | A prefix meaning "after," as in "post-trial" matters. | after | General Terms | ||
| Post conviction | In criminal cases those matters occurring after conviction. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |||
| Post hac | After this; after this time, hereafter. | After | General Terms, Court Reporting | ||
| Post mortem | After death; postmortem (autopsy) by a corner. | after death | General Terms, Court Reporting | ||
| Power of appointment | The actual power or legal authority given by the deed or will of one person (the donor of the power) to a second person (the donee of the power) which enables the second person to sell, transfer, contribute, mortgage, or dispose of property owned by the first person. A power of appointment may be general or special. General power: Enables the second person to do all those acts for the first person relating to creditors, estate, creditors of the estate, or any other person. Special power: Limits the second person as to the persons to whom he or she can transfer the property over which he or she has a power of appointment. | Power to dispose of property | General Terms, Guardian and Conservator, Estates | ||
| Power of Attorney | A document where a person authorizes someone else to take care of business for him or her, either generally or within a set of terms and limitations. The person who acts on behalf of someone else is called the agent or an attorney-in-fact (not an attorney at law). | authority | authority, appointment | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Praecipe | 1. A request directed to the court clerk, requesting issuance of a particular writ. 2. An original writ commanding the defendant to do the thing required; an order addressed to the clerk of a court, requesting him or her to issue a particular writ. | written request | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, District Court Civil, County Court Civil, Court Reporting | ||
| Prayer | Document presented to a court by a plaintiff which cites alleged wrong-Doing on the part of a defendant and requests specific relief. | request | what relief is being asked for Specific request | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Pre | A prefix meaning "in front of" or "before," as in "pretrial" hearing. | before | General Terms | ||
| Pre-dispositional investigation (PDI) | Report prepared by a Juvenile Probation Officer by court order, to help the judge make decisions concerning rehabilitation plans which are in the juvenile's best interest. | General Terms, Juvenile | |||
| Pre-hearing Conference (PHC) | A facilitated meeting with a defined agenda, set by protocol, held prior to appearing in court to clarify placement, parenting time, ICWA determination, and services. | General Terms, Office of Dispute Resolution | |||
| Pre-Hearing Permanency Review (PHPR) Conference | A facilitated meeting focusing on critical questions, outlined in protocol, to be answered at the upcoming permanency hearing, with the goal of developing a permanency plan to propose to the court. | General Terms, Office of Dispute Resolution | |||
| Pre-Hearing Termination of Parental Rights (PHTPR) Conference | A facilitated meeting focusing on critical questions, outlined in protocol, to be answered at the upcoming termination hearing, with the goal of determining if the case is ready for trial and explore non-trial alternatives. | General Terms, Office of Dispute Resolution | |||
| Pre-sentence Investigation (PSI)/ Pre-sentence Report (PSR) | Investigation of defendant completed by probation; contains personal information, criminal history, and screenings; designed to provide information to the Court for sentencing purposes. The PSI is confidential. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide | |||
| Precedent | A court decision made in an earlier case which establishes a rule that judges will typically follow when deciding a similar current case. | prior reported opinion | instance, model, prior reported opinion | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Predecease | To die before someone else. | die before | General Terms | ||
| Prejudice | Bias court ruling or opinion, whether formed before the evidence is heard. | bias, distort, unfairness | General Terms, Court Reporting | ||
| Preliminary | Introductory, preparatory, preceding, or leading up to the main matter of business. | initial event | prior, first, qualifying, initial | General Terms | |
| Preliminary hearing | A court proceeding to determine whether there is enough criminal evidence to hold a trial against someone. | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |||
| Prenuptial agreement | An agreement made before marriage that says how issues of support and property will be resolved when the marriage ends by death or divorce. | General Terms | |||
| Prepayment penalty | A fee charged to a borrower who pays off a loan before its due date. | General Terms | |||
| Preponderance of evidence | Greater weight of evidence or evidence which is more credible and convincing to the mind, not necessarily the greater number of witnesses; the standard of proof usually required in civil actions. | prove more likely than not | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | ||
| Preserve | Keep; maintain | keep | keep, save, protect | General Terms | |
| Presiding judge/justice | In a court with more than one judicial officer, the judge/justice that acts as administrator of the court's business. | General Terms | |||
| Presumption | A rule of law that permits a court to assume a fact is true based on other proven evidence. | belief | belief, grounds, reason | General Terms | |
| Presumption of innocence | In a criminal matter is considered innocent of crime until sufficient evidence to the contrary has been presented at court. | innocent until proven guilty | innocent until proven guilty | General Terms, Court Reporting | |
| Pretrial conference | A meeting of the judge and lawyers before a trial, to plan what should be addressed in the trial, to review proposed evidence and witnesses, to set a trial schedule, and discuss the possibility of settling the case without going to trial. | General Terms | |||
| Pretrial hearing (juvenile) | The pretrial hearing (continued from first hearing) is after arraignment but before adjudication (trial). The attorneys involved in the case meet to outline the issues. | General Terms, Juvenile | |||
| Pretrial services | A function of the federal courts that takes place at the very start of the criminal justice process after a person has been arrested and charged with a federal crime and before he or she goes to trial. | General Terms | |||
| Prima facie | 1. first appearance; at first sight, on the fact of it, it appears to be so 2. So far as can be judged from the disclosure; presumably; a fact presumed to be true unless disproved by some evidence to the contrary. | clear | clear, obvious, plain, appearing | General Terms, News Reporter Guide, Court Reporting | |
| Primary caretaker | The parent who spends the most time with the child, and is the parent the child first turns to if they need something. | General Terms | |||
| Primary physical custody | A court order that says a child lives with one parent more than the other parent. | General Terms |