Home › Law for Everybody › Dictionary of Law Terms: Process

Dictionary of Law Terms: Process

Plaint. Process by which actions are commenced in the inferior courts. Plaintiff. The complainant in an action or suit.

Plea. The defendant's answer to the plaintiff's declaration, Pleader. A lawyer, who draws the pleadings in actions. Pleadings. The mutual allegations or statements which are made by the plaintiff and defendant in an action.

J Plene administravit. A plea by an executor or administrator that he has fully administered. Plough bote. The wood which a tenant is entitled to take for the necessary reparation of his ploughs, carts, etc. Postea. The endorsement on the record of a cause heard at nisi prius, stating what had been done with respect to the record.

Pound breach. The indictable offence of breaking open a pound for the purpose of taking cattle therefrom.

Præcipe. An abstract of a writ left with the officer at the time of issuing it. Præmium Pubicitiæ. A bond or consideration given to a previously virtuous woman, by the person who has seduced her.

Pre-emption. The right of first buying.

Prescription. A title acquired by use and time, and allowed by law. Presentment. The notice taken by a grand jury or inquest of any offence, etc., from their own knowledge or observation.

Primogeniture. The right of the eldest son to inherit his ancestor's estate, to the exclusion of the younger son, where the ancestor has died intestate. Privilege. An exemption from the general rules of law. It is of two kinds-real, attaching to any place; or personal, attaching to persons, as ambassadors, etc. Probate. The copy of a will made out on parchment with a certificate of its having been proved. Process. A general term applied to formal judicial proceedings. Prohibition. A writ issuing out of the superior courts directing the judge of an inferior court not to proceed further in a suit. Pro Rata. In proportion.

Provisional Assignee. An officer (under a former system of bankruptcy) of the Insolvent Debtors' Court, in whom the estate of an insolvent vested. Proviso. A condition inserted in a deed, on the performance whereof the validity of the deed frequently depends.

Puisne. Younger, junior. The judges and barons of the superior courts, except the chiefs, are called puisne judges and puisne barons in England. Quamdiu se bene gesserit. A clause expressing that the party to whom an office is granted shall hold the same so long as he properly conducts himself. Quare impedit. The form of action now adopted to try a disputed title to an advowson in England. Quash. To annul or cancel.

Quasi Contract. An implied contract.

Quid pro quo. Giving one thing for another, being the mutual consideration in contracts.

Quietus. Freed or acquitted. A term used principally in proceedings on the revenue side of the Exchequer. Qui tam. Actions brought by common informers, and vulgarly called "qui tam " actions; because in the form in which they are conceived, the prosecutor declares that he prosecutes; "as well for our sovereign lord the king as for himself;" tam pro Domino Rege quam pro seipso.

Quit rent. A small rent payable by the tenants of manors, and which entitles them to be quit and free of all other services.

Quo warranto. A ancient writ still in use, directed against any person or corporation, who usurp any office, franchise, or liberty, calling upon them to show by what authority they support their claim.

Rack rent. A rent of the full annual value of the land, out of which it issues. Real estate, or Realty, is the term applied to land, in contradistinction to personality. Rebutter. The answer of the defendant to the surrejoinder of the plaintiff. Recaption. The act of the owner of real or personal property by which he peaceably retakes possession of his property of which he has been deprived. Recital. The formal statement of some matter of fact in any deed or writing. It usually commences with the formal word "Whereas."

Recognisance. An obligation of record which a man enters into, with condition to do some particular act; as, to appear at the assizes, to keep the peace, to pay a debt, or the like.

Record. An authentic testimony in writing, contained in rolls of parchment, and preserved in a court of record.

Rector. He who has the spiritual care or charge of a parish. Recusant. Used in old statutes for one who separates from the church as established by law. Redendum. The clause in a deed by which the grantor reserves something to himself. It usually begins with the words "yielding and paying." Re-entry, proviso for. A stipulation in a lease that, on non-payment of rent or nonperformance of the covenants, the lessor may re-enter. Reference. The submitting of any cause or matter to arbitration. Also the act of sending any matter by a court of equity to a master or other officer to ascertain facts and report to the court.

Register. A book wherein things are registered for preservation. Registrars. Officers having custody of a Registry, such as the registrars of births, marriages, and deaths.

Rejoinder. The answer of a defendant in an action to the plaintiff's reply. Release. A form of conveyance. Also, an acquittance under seal of a debt or other obligation.

Remainder. A vested or contingent estate or interest in land, limited to take effect and come into possession on the determination of a prior estate created at the same time.

Remanet. A term used when a cause set down for trial at a particular session or sittings is postponed. Rent. The annual return made by the tenant to his landlord, which may be either money, labor, or provisions.

Replevin. The name of the action brought to recover the possession of chattels which have been unlawfully taken from the plaintiff. Replication (now Reply). The plaintiff's answer to the defendant's defence. Reprieve. A suspension of the execution of sentence of death on a criminal. Rescue. A resistance against lawful authority, as, for instance, the violently taking away a man who is under legal arrest.