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...
THE LEGAL PROCESS
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...
Past Recollection Recorded
Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, a hearsay exception exists that allows a witness to read a writing to the jury if: (1) the witness once had personal knowledge of the writing; (2) if the witness now forgets the writing and showing the writing to...
pat-down
A pat-down or frisk is a type of limited inspection where an officer checks an individual for weapons, while not conducting a full search of that individual's person.
A frisk involves a patting-down of a person's outer...
Pat-Down Search
A pat-down search is when a police officer pats down the outer surfaces of a person’s clothing in an attempt to find weapons. A pat-down search constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. Pat-down searches, incident to an investigatory...
Patriot Act
The Patriot Act is a shorthand name for The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. The Act was passed shortly after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. It was signed...
payment into court
1) Money or property that is given to the court clerk to be distributed after a lawsuit is concluded. Typically, the person making payment into court is a defendant who may be found liable to the plaintiff; the payment into court is meant to satisfy...
peace bond
A peace bond is a court-required surety bond or conditional fine, criminal or quasi-criminal in nature, that an individual must pay to guarantee that he or she will not commit a breach of the peace, be it through threats, public disturbance,...
peculation
Peculation is the wrongful appropriation of public property, money, or goods entrusted to another’s guardianship, typically a public official, for personal use. Depeculation, a related phrase, is used to specify an act of peculation which...