The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary

In foreign and modem civil law. That quality of a law which concerns the condition, state, and capacity of persons. By the personality of laws, foreign jurists generally mean all l

Knowledge derived at first hand from actual sight or hearing of the matter in question, and not from hearsay.

As opposed to territorial law, personal law is the law applicable to persons not subject to the law of the territory in which they reside. It is only by permission of the territori

The right or power of locomotion, of changing situation, or moving one's person to whatsoever place one's own inclination may direct, without imprisonment or restraint, unless by d

Chattels iq. v.)

A proceeding which succeeded to the court de homine replegiando, and was in turn succeeded by the writ of habeas corpus.

The executors or administrators of the person deceased. 6 Mod. 155; 5 Ves. 402; 1 Madd. 108. In wills, these words are sometimes construed to mean "next of kin." 2 Jarm. Wills, 28;

The right of personal security, comprising those of life, limb, body, health, reputation, and the right of personal liberty. Wharton.

A person's legal and uninterrupted enjojraient of his life, his limbs, his body, his health, and his reputation. 1 Bl. Comm. 129.

Service of process on one by actual delivery thereof to him, as distinguished from substituted service at his residence or constructive service by publication.

Servitudes in gross; i. e., belonging to a person, and not appurtenant to an estate.

^ law whose principal, direct, and immediate object is to regulate the condition of persons. The term is not properly in use in the common law, although Lord Mansfield, in 2 W. Bl.

In the old books, include personal rights and duties. PERSONALIA PERSONAM SEQUUNtur. Personal things follow the person. 10 Cush. 516.

Personal property.

A person not acceptable. Applied to diplomatic representatives who are not acceptable at the court to which they are accredited. PERSONA REGIS MERGITUR PERSONA

Capacity of_ standing in court or in judgment; capacity to be a party to an action; capacity or ability to sue. A phrase probably derived from Bracton (folios 155b, 196). See 15 Jo

The offense of falsely representing one's self as another person, and thereby obtaining some material advantage. The offense of personating a voter is complete as soon as a person

To belong or pertain, whether by right of nature, appointment or custom; to rdate, as "things pertaining to life." 174 111. 182.

PERTICATA, or PARTICATA (Law Lat. from pertica). In old Scotch law. A perch. Skene de Verb. Sign. PERTINENT (from Lat. pertineo, belonging to). Belonging to or related to the subje

In Scotch law. Appurtenances. "Parts and pertinents," "parts pendicles and pertinents," are formal words in old deeds and charters. 1 Forbes, Inst, pt. 2, pp. 112, 118.

By the whole court. PER TOUT ET NON PER MY (Law Pr.) By the whole, and not by the moiety. 2 Bl. Comm. 182. See "Per My et per Tout." PER UNIVERSITATEM (Lat. by the whole). Used of

This is a technical word which signifies disturbance or infringement of a right. It is usually applied to the disturbance of pews or seats in a church. In the ecclesiastical courts

A woman who breaks the peace.

In old practice. By gage and ■safe pledge. Words in the old writ of attachment or pone commanding the sheriff to summon the defendant by gage (taking of his goods) and safe pledges

LEGEM EXPERIentia faclt. By various acts experience frames the law. 4 Inst. 50.

By words of the future (tense). 1 Bl. Comm. 439; 2 Kent, Comm. 87.

By words of the present (tense). 1 Bl. Comm. 439.

or PARVISE. The palace yard at Westminster. A place where counsel used to advise with their clients. An afternoon exercise or moot for the instruction of students. Cowell; Blount.

In old English law. By view of the church; under the supervision of the church. The disposition of by King John's Magna Charta. 3 Bl. Comm. 96. PER VIVAM VOCEM (Law Lat.) In old En

In England, a toll charged for weighing avoirdupois goods other than wool. 2 Chit. Com. Law, 16.

In Spanish law. Coroner. White, New Recop. bk. 1, tit. 1, § 3.

Of the worst example. PESSONA (Law Lat.) In old English law. Mast, including acorns, nuts, and other similar produce of trees. Bracton, fol. 222b. PETENS (Lat.; Fr. petere, to dema

A fraudulent auction sale. 27 Abb. N. C. (N. Y.) 378. PETIT (sometimes corrupted into "petty"). A French word signifying little, small. It is frequently used; as, petit larceny, pe

When the tenant is summoned on a plea of land, and comes on the summons, and his appearance is recorded, if at the day given him he prays the view, and, having it given him, makes

Used in contradistinction from the "grand assize," which was a jury to decide on questions of property. Petite assize, a jury to decide on questions of possession. Britt. c. 42; Gl

An instrument ot writing or printing, containing a prayer from the person presenting it, called the "petitioner," to the body or person to whom it is presented, for the redress of

The creditor at whose instance an adjudication of bankruptcy is made against a bankrupt. ticularly in an action in rem; a demandant. Calv. Lex. Actor est qui agit in personam, peti

In English law. A proceeding, in chancery by which a subject may recover property in the possession of the king. This is in the nature of an action against a subject, in which the

A parliamentary declaration of the liberties of the people, assented to by King Charles I. in 1629. It is to be distinguished from the bill of rights (1689), which has passed into

(Lat.) In old practice. Prays judgment. 6 Mod. 236. 10 Id. 210, 211. w\iich was of a larger number, and whose duty it was to find bills for the petit jury to try. 3 Bl. Comm. 351*.

That which demands or petitions; that which has the quality of a prayer or petition; a right to 'demand. A petitory suit or action is understood to be one in which the mere title t

A tenure by which lands are held of the crown by the service of rendering yearly some small implement of war, as a lance, an arrow, etc. 2 Bl. Comm. 82. Though St. 12 Car. II. took

Ojne who pretends to be a lawyer, but possesses neither knowledge of the law nor conscience. An unprincipled practitioner of law, whose business is confined to petty cases. See 40

Practicing the arts of a pettifogger, like the raising of unprofessional or dishonorable quibbles, practicing petty deceptions on the court, attempting to bring scandalous or imper

Small; inferior. A word framed from the Fr. petit, and sometimes used indiscriminately with it. PETTY AVERAGE (called, also, "customary average"). Several petty charges which are b

In English law. An office in the court of chancery, appropriated for suits against attorneys and officers of the court, and for process and proceedings by extent on statutes, recog

The ordinary constable, as distinguished from the high constable of the hundred. 1 Bl. Comm. 355; Bac. Law Tr. 181, "Office of Constable;" Willcock, Const, c. 1, § 1. See "Constabl

A seat in a church, separated from all others, with a convenient place to stand therein. It is derived from puye, and signifies primarily an inclosed seat in a church. L. R. 5 C. P

An alloy of lead and tin. 28 L. Cas. 326.

Pro hoc vice, for this occasion.

A fact the existence of whtch may be perceived by the senses, such as Ihe sound of a pistol shot, a man running, impressions of feet on the ground. Burrill, Circ( Ev. 180.

A person who has received the dtegree of doctor of medicine from an incorporated institution. One ^awfully engaged in the practice of medicine. The \erm is not limited to any of th

A pious fraud. A term applied to elusions of the statute of mortmain, and other frauds in the interest of religious institutions, PICCAGE (Law Lat. piccagium, from Fr. piquer, to p

In Scotch law. Stealing of trifles, punishable arbitrarily. Bell, Diet.; Tait, Inst. "Theft."

A relay of guards in front of a factory or place of business of an employer for the purpose of watching who enters or leaves it, or the establishment and maintenance of an organize

A thief; one who In a crowd or in other places steals from the pockets or person of another, without putting him in fear. This is generally punished as simple larceny, but by some

See "Court of Piepoudre."

Toll for using a marine pier. Webster; Smart. PIGNORATIO (Lat. from pignorare, to pledge). In civil law. The obligation of a pledge. L. 9 D. "De Pignor." Sealing up (obsignatio). A

See "Actio Pig-noraticia."

In civil law. A contract by which the owner of an estate engages it to another for a sum of money, bursed, voluntarily, that sum of money. Poth. Obi. PIGNORIS CAPTIO (Lat.) In Roma

Pilferage has but one meaning, and it is one form of stealing. 207 111. App. 492.

A robbery by force or violence; and not a simple larceny merely. 26 Wend. 573. The taking by violence of private property by a victorious army from the citizens or subjects of the

An instrument of punishment, consisting of a wooden machine, in which the neck of the culprit is inserted, he being ordinarily exposed in a public place while so secured.

An officer serving on board of a ship during the course of a voyage, and having the charge of the helm and of the ship's route. An officer authorized by' law, who is taken on board

The compensation given to a pilot for conducting a vessel in or out of port. Poth. des Avaries, note 147. Pilotage is a lien on the ship, when the contract has been made by the mas

A procurer; a panderer; a man who has intercourse with a loose woman, and usually she is taking care of him, — supporting him. The word has no technical meaning. 75 Mich. 131.

A very singular and odious kind of tenure mentioned by the old writers, "Wilhelmus Hoppeshort tenet dimidiam virgatam terrae per servitium custodiendi sex damisellas, scil. meretri

Money allowed by a man to his wife to spend for her own personal comforts. 9 Beav. 65; 2 Clark & F. 654. It has been conjectured that the term "pin money" has been applied to signi

A liquid measure, containing half a quart, or the eighth part of a gallon.

See "Charitable Uses."

In English law. The name of a roll in the exchequer, otherwise called the "Great Roll" or "pipe roll." Spelman. A measure, containing two hogsheads. One hundred and twenty-six gall

A line or series of pipes designed for the transportation of water, gas, etc.

or PIEPOUDRE (Ft. pteipoudre). In English law. The name of a court held for fairs and markets. See "Court of Piepoudre." Pipowder courts were formerly appointed to be held at fairs

In Criminal Law. A robbery or forcible depredation on the high seas, without lawful authority, done animo furandi, in the spirit and intention of universal hostility. 3 Wheat. (U.

A sea robber, who, to enrich himself, by subtlety or open force, setteth upon merchants and others trading by sea, despoiling them of their loading, and sometimes bereaving them of

In pleading. This Is a technical word, essential to charge the crime of piracy in an indictment, which cannot be supplied by another word or any circumlocution. Hawk. P. C. bk. 1,

The right of fishing in the waters of another. Bac. Abr.; 5 Comyn, Dig. 366. See "Fishery."

A small Spanish coin. It is not made current by the laws of the United States. 10 Pet. (U. S.) 618.

A hole dug in the earth, which was filled with water, and in which women thieves were drowned, instead of being hung. The punishment of the pit was formerly common in Scotland. PIT

See "Venue."

(Law Lat.) In old records. A place.

By place of abode is usually meant the place of residence. A man's residence, where he lives with his family and sleeps at night, is always his place of abode in the full sense of

The place where a man usually transacts his affairs or business. A place of business is a place actually occupied, either continually or at regular intervals, by a person, or those

See "Lex Loci."

The convening order of the court. 63 111. 497. PLACITA COMMUNIA (Lat.) Common pleas. All civil actions between subject and PLACITA CORONAE (Lat.) Pleas of the crown. All trials for

The act of appropriating the ideas and language of another, and passing them for one's own. When this amounts to piracy, the party who has been guilty of it will be enjoined when t

One that may be readily understood, not merely by lawyers, but by all who are sufficiently acquainted with the language in which it is written. 6 Sandf. Ch. (N. Y.) 557, 564.

In EInglish law. The exhibiting of any action, real or personal, in writing. The party making his plaint is called the plaintiff.

He who complains. He who, in a personal action, seeks a remedy for an injury to his rights. 3 Bl. Comm. 25. In Code Practice. The person by whom a civil action is brought.

A party who sues out a writ of error; and this, whether in the court below he was plaintiff or defendant.

The fixtures and tools necessary to carry on any trade or mechanical business. 77 Ga. 748.

In English Law. Colonies; dependencies. 1 Bl. Comm. 107. If this use of the term was ever current in America, it is now obsolete. See 7 Conn. 201. In England, this word, as it is u

A map of a piece of land, on which are marked the courses and distances of the different lines, and the quantity of land it contains. Such a plat may be given in evidence in ascert

(Latin.) A wide place; a court yard; a barn-yard. In old English law. A clear or open space of ground; a plat or plot of ground.

(Spanish derivation.) A plat of ground in a city or village dedicated to the use of the general public for a market place, a common or a park. 79 111. App. 441.

— —In Chancery Practice'. Consists in making the formal written allegations or statements of the respective parties on the record to maintain the suit, or to defeat it, of which, w

SPECIAL. By special pleading is meant the allegation of special or new matter, as distinguished from a direct denial of matter previously alleged on the opposite side. Gould, PI. c

In Chancery Practice. The written allegations of the respective parties in the suit. The pleadings in equity are less formal than those at common law. The parts of the. pleadings a

To interpose a general plea after a special plea or demurrer has been disposed of. PLEADER (Law Fr. pleador, pledor; old Fr. pleideoir; Law Lat. placitans advocatus). A person prof

See "Plea."