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Glossary

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Paralegal - Also, legal assistant. A person with legal skills who works under the supervision of a lawyer.

Pardon - An act of grace from governing power which mitigates punishment and restores rights and privileges forfeited on account of the offense.

Parole - Supervised release of a prisoner from imprisonment on certain prescribed conditions which entitle him to termination of his sentence.

Party - A person, business, or government agency actively involved in the prosecution of defense of a legal proceeding.

Patent - A grant to an inventor of the right to exclude others for a limited time from make, using, or selling his invention in the United States.

Patent and Trademark Office - The federal agency which examines and issues patents and registers trademarks.

Peremptory challenge - Request by a party that a judge not allow a certain prospective juror as a member of the jury. No reason or cause need be stated. (See challenge for cause.)

Periodical - A publication which appears regularly but less often than daily.

Perjury - The criminal offense of making a false statement 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.

Per se doctrine - Under this doctrine an activity such as price fixing can be declared as a violation of the antitrust laws without necessity of a court inquiring into the reasonableness of the activity.

Personal property - Anything a person owns other than real estate.

Personal recognizance - In criminal proceedings, the pretrial release of a defendant without bail upon his or her promise to return to court. (See also recognizance.)

Personal representative - The person who administers an estate. If named in a will, that person's title is an executor. If there is no valid will, that person's title is an administrator.

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. (See status offense.)

Petitioner - The person filing an action in a court of original jurisdiction. Also, the person who appeals the judgment of a lower court. (See respondent.)

Plaintiff - A person who brings an action; the party who complains or sues in a civil action. (See complainant.)