courts and procedure

The term penitentiary is derived from the Latin term paenitentia, meaning repentance.

• lawsuits-court
• criminal law

People often appears as the title given in a case name to stand for the government party, with the idea that the government is representing the public in the case. For example, the title in the case People v. Thomas is representing the people of New York State. Often, government names in cases appear either as the state name, simply “State,” or “United States” when the federal government is a party. 

Per Curiam is a judicial opinion by a court with multiple judges without citing any single judge as the author. 

• courts
• judicial opinions
• appellate jurisdiction
• COURTS OF APPEALS
• Supreme Court

Perjury is a criminal offense that occurs when a witness knowingly and intentionally makes a false statement while under oath about a material issue.

A permissive counterclaim is a claim brought by a defendant against a plaintiff that does not arise from the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff’s claim.

• civil procedure

Personal jurisdiction refers to the court’s authority to issue a decision regarding the party being sued in a case.

• jurisdiction
• civil procedure
• Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
• SERVICE OF PROCESS
• subject matter jurisdiction

Plaintiff is the party who initiates a lawsuit in a civil case by filing a complaint against the 

Overview

Many successful criminal prosecutions in the United States end not with jury trials, but with plea bargains. Plea bargains are agreements between defendants and prosecutors in which defendants agree to plead guilty to some or all of the charges against them in exchange for concessions from the prosecutors.

• criminal law
• criminal procedure
• prosecutorial discretion
• prosecutorial misconduct
• federal criminal prosecution
• malicious prosecution
• retaliatory prosecution
• guilty plea
• PLEA AGREEMENTS
• PLEA BARGAIN
• PLEA-BARGAINING
• PLEA NEGOTIATIONS
• plea bargaining
• PLEADING
• right to jury trial
• jury

Political question is a subject matter that the Supreme Court deems to be inappropriate for judicial review because discretionary power over it should be left to the politically accountable branches of government (i.e., the President and Congress). Thus, the courts will leave constitutional questions on such matters to be resolved in the political process.

• lawsuits-court

Overview

Political Question doctrine is the rule that Federal courts will refuse to hear a case if they find that it presents a political question. This doctrine refers to the idea that an issue is so politically charged that federal courts, which are typically viewed as the apolitical branch of government, should not hear the issue.

• federal courts
• Supreme Court
• standing
• Congress
• executive branch