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Click
on the first letter of the word from the list
above to go to the appropriate section of the
glossary.
- L -
Lapsed
Gift: A gift made in a will to a person who
has died prior to the will-makers death.
Larceny: Obtaining property by fraud or
deceit.
Law: The combination of those rules and
principles of conduct promulgated by legislative
authority, derived from court decisions and
established by local custom.
Law Clerks: Persons trained in the law
who assist judges in researching legal opinions.
Lawsuit or Suit: Generally, a court
action brought by one person, the plaintiff,
against another, the defendant , seeking
compensation for some injury or enforcement of a
right.
Leading Case: Case regarded as having
determined the law on a particular point, thus
becoming a guide for later decisions.
Leading Question: A question that
suggests the answer desired of the witness. A
party generally may not ask one's own witness
leading questions. Leading questions may be asked
only of hostile witnesses and on
cross-examination.
Legal Aid: Professional legal services
available usually to persons or organizations
unable to afford such services.
Legal Cause: Substantial factor in
bringing about the harm. See also proximate cause.
Legal Fiction: Assumption of a fact that
may or may not be true made by a judge to decide a
legal question.
Leniency: Recommendation for a sentence
less than the maximum allowed.
Letters of Administration: Legal
document issued by a court that shows an
administrator's legal right to take control of
assets in the deceased person's name.
Letters Testamentary: Legal document
issued by a court that shows an executor's legal
right to take control of assets in the deceased
person's name.
Liability: An obligation that one is
bound in law to perform; usually involves the
payment of money damages.
Liable: Legally responsible.
Libel: Published words or pictures that
falsely and maliciously defame a person. Libel is
published defamation; slander is spoken.
Liberal construction: Judicial
interpretation of the law whereby the judge
expands the literal meaning of the statute to meet
cases that are clearly within the spirit or reason
of the law. Compare with strict construction
whereby the judge adheres to the literal meaning
of the words.
Licensee: In civil law, a person who
enters land with consent, but nothing more.
Lien: A legal claim against another
person's property as security for a debt. A lien
does not convey ownership of the property, but
gives the lien holder a right to have his or her
debt satisfied out of the proceeds of the property
if the debt is not otherwise paid.
Limine: A motion requesting that the
court not allow certain evidence that might
prejudice the jury.
Limited tort option: In Pennsylvania,
purchasers of motor vehicle insurance can choose
"limited tort," which restricts their
right to seek money damages for an accident caused
by another driver. Under limited tort, the insured
can only seek money damages for economic loss,
including medical bills. The insured is prohibited
from seeking damages for pain and suffering,
except under certain limited circumstances.
Compare with full tort option.
Limited Jurisdiction: Refers to courts
that are limited in the types of criminal and
civil cases they may hear. For example, traffic
violations generally are heard by limited
jurisdiction courts.
Litigant: A party to a lawsuit.
Litigation refers to a case, controversy, or
lawsuit.
Living Trust: A trust set up and in
effect during the lifetime of the grantor. Also
called inter vivos trust.
Loss of consortuium: Damages awarded to
a family member (usually a spouse) for loss of
companionship.
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