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- 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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