A paralegal is a qualified person employed by a lawyer, law office, corporation, or agency and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work. To be certified as a paralegal, a person must complete the voluntary certification...
THE LEGAL PROCESS
pardon
A pardon is the use of executive power that exempts the individual to whom it was given from punishment. The president’s pardon power is based on Article II of the Constitution which says, “…he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons...
Parental neglect
A parent or legal guardian’s failure to provide a child with necessities. Often considered a type of child abuse, and also referred to as child neglect. For example, California Penal Code § 270 states that “[i]f a parent of a...
parol evidence
In contract disputes, parol evidence is any agreement that is not contained within the written contract. Under the parol evidence rule, these agreements made outside of the contract are inadmissible in court, unless there is evidence of fraud...
parol evidence rule
Overview
In contract disputes, parol evidence is any agreement that is not contained within the written contract. Under the parol evidence rule, these agreements made outside of the contract are inadmissible in court unless there is evidence...
Parole
Parole is the conditional release of prisoners before they complete their sentence. Paroled prisoners are supervised by a public official, usually called a parole officer. If paroled prisoners violate the conditions of their release, they may be...
Parolee
A prisoner released on parole.
partial verdict
The term “partial verdict” is used here to refer to the situation in which the jury after some deliberation returns a verdict as to only some of the counts or some of the defendants prior to the remaining matters before it. In the federal...
partition
A partition is a division of concurrent interests in land. Such types of concurrent ownerships are usually either joint tenancies or tenancies in common. The purpose of a partition proceeding is to eliminate a present concurrent interest in...
party
In legal parlance, a party is a person or entity who takes part in a legal transaction, for example a person with an immediate interest in an agreement or deed, or a plaintiff or a defendant in a lawsuit. A “third party” is a person who is a...