Pander: To provide products or services that caters to the sexual gratification of others.

Pandering: To entice another into prostitution.

Parole: In criminal law, a conditional release from imprisonment that entitles the person receiving it to serve the remainder of his/her term outside prison if he/she complies with all conditions connected with his/her release. Compare to probation.

Parole Violation: An act that violates or does not conform to the terms of probation.

Perjury: Making false statements under oath. This is a criminal offense.

Petit (Petty) Jury: Ordinary trial jury, whose function is to determine issues of fact in civil and criminal cases and to reach a verdict in conjunction with those findings. While the numbers of jurors has historically been twelve, many states now permit six-member juries in civil cases, and some states permit six-member juries to hear criminal cases as well.

Pjin: Personal Injury.

Plaintiff: Civil: The party who is complaining, suing. The Plaintiff has the burden of proof to state their claim against the defendant.

Plea: The defendant’s formal answer to a charge.

Plea Bargain: A plea of guilty to a lesser offense in return for a lighter sentence.

Pray for Judgment, 1st Offense; North Carolina: Juveniles only, can use once every three years. Waives all fines/costs/penalties, etc.

Pre-Adverse Action Notice: A letter or other document informing the job applicant that the employer intends to take an adverse action against the applicant based upon information contain in a consumer report. The notice will provide the applicant with a copy of the consumer report, a summary of the applicant’s rights under the FCRA, and is intended to provide the applicant a meaningful opportunity to review, reflect, and respond to the consumer report if the applicant believes it is inaccurate or incomplete.

Preliminary Hearing: In criminal law: 1. A hearing, before indictment, to determine whether probable cause for the arrest of a person exists. 2. A hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant the defendant’s continued detention and whether submission of such evidence to the grand jury is warranted.

Premeditation: Forethought. As one of the elements of first-degree murder, the term is often equated with intent and deliberateness.

Preponderance of the Evidence: Standard of proof in civil cases. The fact in issue is more probably than not.

Pre-Sentence Investigation (PSI): Usually conducted by a probation officer after a plea or verdict of guilt. Done before sentencing and includes information about the defendant’s criminal history and personal background.

Pre-Trial Intervention (PTI): A remedial program by which first-time or criminal offenders are not subjected to the regular judicial process, but rather are immediately placed under probationary supervision for a period usually no longer than one year. The program allows persons accused of a crime to avoid the stigma of conviction and a permanent criminal record by correcting their criminal behavior during the period of probation. Pre-conviction probationary programs divert persons from the ordinary criminal process without the admission of guilt or a conviction, and for this, they are called diversionary programs.

Prison: A state or federal facility of confinement for convicted criminals, especially felons.

Probably Cause: Degree of proof needed to arrest.

Probate: Act of proving that an instrument purporting to be a will was signed and otherwise executed in accordance with the legal requirements for a will, and of determining it’s validity.

Probation: Procedure where by a defendant is found guilty of a crime, upon a verdict of plea of guilty, is released by the court without imprisonment, subject to conditions imposed by the court, under the supervision of a probation officer. Compare to parole.

Probation before Judgment (PBJ): Violation of probation terms may result in an entry of a conviction.

Prosecution:
1. The act of pursuing a lawsuit or criminal trial.
2. The party initiating a criminal suit, i.e. the state. If the civil litigant or the state in a criminal trial, fails to move the case towards final resolution or trial as required by the court schedule, the matter may be dismissed for want of prosecution or for failure to prosecute.

PSE; South Carolina: Public service employment.