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probatio viva (pra-bay-shee-oh vi-va). [Latin] Living proof; that is, proof by the mouth of a witness.

probation 1. A court-imposed criminal sentence that, subject to stated conditions, releases a convicted person into the community instead of sending the criminal to jail or prison. Cf. PAROLE. probationary, adj.

probation before judgment See deferred judgment under JUDGMENT.

probation officer A government officer who supervises the conduct of a probationer.

probation officer See OFFICER (1)

probation termination The ending of a person s status as a probationer by (1) the routine expiration of the probationary period, (2) early termination by court order, or (3) probation revocation.

probation without judgment See deferred judgment under JUDGMENT.

probationary employee A recently hired employee whose ability and performance are being evaluated during a trial period of employment.

probationary employee See EMPLOYEE.

probationer A convicted criminal who is on probation.

probation-violation warrant See violation warrant under WARRANT (1).

probative (proh-ba-tiv), adj. Tending to prove or disprove. Courts can exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. Fed. R. Evid. 403. - probativeness, probativity, n.

probative evidence (proh-ba-tiv). Evidence that tends to prove or disprove a point in issue. Cf. relevant evidence.

probative evidence See EVIDENCE.

probative fact See FACT.

probative fact (proh-ba-tiv). A fact in evidence used to prove an ultimate fact, such as skid marks used to show speed as a predicate to a finding of negligence.

probative similiarity See substantial similarity under SIMILARITY.

probator (proh-bay-tar), An accused person who confesses to a crime but asserts that another also participated in the crime. The probator had to undertake to prove the supposed accomplice s guilt.

probatory term See term probatory (2) under TERM (5).

probatum (proh-bay-tam), n. [Latin] Something conclusively established or proved; proof. PI. probata. Cf. ALLEGATUM.

problem-oriented policing A method that law-enforcement officers use to reduce crime by identifying and remedying the underlying causes of criminal incidents rather than merely seeking basic information (such as the identity of the perpetrator) about the crime being investigated.

problem-solving court A specialized court that matches community resources to litigants whose problems or cases may benefit from those resources. In criminal cases, a problem -solving court endeavors to promote solutions to underlying behavior problems that may lead to misconduct by providing treatment rather than imprisonment. For example, it may match of Fenders with resources for drug-abuse or mentalhealth treatment, often with close court supervision. In civil cases, a problem-solving court may help the parties try to resolve disputes through counseling or mediation rather than litigation. Cf. drug court.

problem-solving court See COURT.

probus et legalis homo (proh-bas et la-gay-lis hoh-moh). [Law Latin] A good and lawful man. This phrase referred to a juror who was legally competent to serve on a jury. PI. probi et legales homines.

procedendo (proh-sa-den-doh). [Latin] A higher court s order directing a lower court to determine and enter a judgment in a preViously removed case.

procedendo ad judicium See DE PROCEDENDO AD JUDICIUM.

procednrallaw The rules that prescribe the steps for having a right or duty judicially enforced, as opposed to the law that defines the specific rights or duties themselves. Also termed adjective law. Cf. SUBSTANTIVE LAW.

procedural consolidation See JOINT ADMINISTRATION.

procedural consolidation See JOINT ADMINISTRATION.

procedural due process See DUE PROCESS.

procedural due process The minimal requirement of notice and a hearing guaranteed by the Due Process Clauses of the 5th and 14th Amendments, esp. If the deprivation of a significant life, liberty, or property interest may occur. The Supreme Court has ruled that the fundamental guarantees of due process apply to chlidren as well as to adults and that they apply in situations in which a juvenile may be deprived of liberty even thought the juvenile proceeking may be labeled civil rather then criminal.

procedural law See PROCEDURAL LAW.

procedural main motion See incidental main motion under MOTION (2).

procedural motion See MOTION (2).

procedural point A request that raises a personal privilege relating to a member s ability to participate effectively in the meeting, such as the member s ability to see or hear the proceedings. See personal privilege under PRIVILEGE (5). 3. One percent of the face value of a loan (esp. a mortgage loan), paid up front to the lender as a service charge or placement fee <the borrower hoped for only a two-point fee on the mortgage>. Also termed mortgage point. See MORTGAGE DISCOUNT. 4. A unit used for quoting stock, bond, or commodity prices <the stock closed up a few points today>. 5. A payment to secure a loan, stated as a percentage of the loan s face amount.

procedural point See POINT.

procedural presumption A presumption that may be rebutted by credible evidence.

procedural presumption See PRESUMPTION.

procedural right A right that derives from legal or administrative procedure; a right that helps in the protection or enforcement of a substantive right. Cf. substantive right.

procedural right See RIGHT.

procedural unconscionability See UNCONSCIONABILITY.

procedural-default doctrine The principle that a federal court lacks jurisdiction to review the merits of a habeas corpus petition if a state court has refused to review the complaint because the petitioner failed to follow reasonable state-court procedures.

procedure 1. A specific method or course of action. 2. The judicial rule or manner for carrying on a civil lawsuit or criminal prosecution. Also termed rules of procedure. See CIVIL PROCEDURE; CRIMINAL PROCEDURE.

proceeding 1. The regular and orderly progression ofa lawsuit, including all acts and events between the time ofcommencement and the entry ofjudgment. 2. Any procedural means for seeking redress from a tribunal or agency. 3. An act or step that is part of a larger action. 4. The business conducted by a court or other official body; a hearing. 5. Bankruptcy. A particular dispute or matter arising within a pending case as opposed to the case as a whole. Proceeding is a word much used to express the business done in courts. A proceeding in court is an act done by the authority or direction of the court, express or implied. It is more comprehensive than the word action, but it may include in its general sense all the steps taken or measures adopted in the prosecution or defense of an action, including the pleadings and judgment. As applied to actions, the term proceeding may include-(l) the institution of the action; (2) the appearance of the defendant; (3) all ancillary or provisional steps, such as arrest, attachment of property, garnishment, injunction, writ of ne exeat; (4) the pleadings; (5) the taking of testimony before trial; (6) all motions made in the action; (7) the trial; (8) the judgment; (9) the execution; (10) proceedings supplementary to execution, in code practice; (11) the taking of the appeal or writ of error; (12) the remittitur, or sending back of the record to the lower court from the appellate or reviewing court; (13) the enforcement of the judgment, or a new trial, as may be directed by the court of last resort." Edwin E. Bryant, The Law of Pleading Under the Codes of Civil Procedure 3-4 (2d ed. 1899).

proceeding in rem A proceeding brought to affect all persons interests in a thing that is subject to the power of a state.

proceeding quasi in rem A proceeding brought to affect particular persons interests in a thing.

proceedings below See STATEMENT OF THE CASE (1).

proceeds (proh-seedz). 1. The value of land, goods, or investments when converted into money; the amount of money received from a sale <the proceeds are subject to attachment>. 2. Something received upon selling, exchanging, collecting, or otherwise disposing of collateral. UCC § 9-102(a)(67). Proceeds differ from other types of collateral because they constitute any collateral that has changed in form. For example, if a farmer borrows money and gives the creditor a security interest in the harvest, the harvested wheat is collateral. If the farmer then exchanges the harvest for a tractor, the tractor becomes the proceeds of the wheat.

proceeds and avails The cash-surrender value of a life-insurance policy, together with values built up since the policy s issue date and the benefits payable on maturity and at the death of the insured.

proceres (pros-a-reez). [Latin] Nobles; lords. See DOMUS PROCERUM.

process 1. The proceedings in any action or prosecution <due process of law>. 2. A summons or writ, esp. to appear or respond in court <service of process>. Also termed judicial process; legal process. "Process is so denominated because it proceeds or issues forth in orderto bring the defendant into court, to answer the charge preferred against him, and signifies the writs or judicial means by which he is brought to answer." 1 Joseph Chitty, A Practical Treatise on the Criminal Law 338 (2d ed. 1826). "The term process is not limited to summons. In its broadest sense it is equivalent to, or synonymous with, procedure: or proceeding. Sometimes the term is also broadly defined as the means whereby a court compels a compliance with its demands. Process and writ or writs are synonymous, in the sense that every writ is a process, and in a narrow sense of the term process is limited to judicial writs in an action, or at least to writs or writings issued from or out of a court, under the seal thereof and returnable thereto; but it is not always necessary to construe the term so strictly as to limit it to a writ issued by a court in the exercise of its ordinary jurisdiction." 72 CJ5 Process § 2, at 589 (l987).

process agent A person authorized to accept service of process on behalf of another.

process agent See AGENT (2).

process by foreign attachment See FACTORIZING PROCESS.

process claim See PATENT CLAIM.

process claim A patent claim that describes by steps what is done to the subject matter, usu. a substance, in order to achieve a useful result. A process claim is the same thing as a method claim, but process is used more often in applications for chemical patents.

process patent A patent for a method of treating specified materials to produce a certain result; a patent outlining a means of producing a physical result independently of the prodUcing mechanism. The result might be brought about by chemical action, by applying some element or power of nature, by mixing certain substances together, or by heating a substance to a certain temperature. See method patent.

process patent See PATENT (3).

process server A person authorized by law or by a court to formally deliver process to a defendant or respondent. See SERVICE (1).

process, abuse of See ABUSE OF PROCESS.

processioning The survey and inspection of land boundaries, performed esp. in the former English colonies along the southeastern seaboard, and analogous to the English perambulation.

processum continuando (pra-ses-am kan-tin-yoo-an¬doh). [Latin "for continuing process"]. A writ for the continuation of process after the death of a justice authorized to review cases by a commission of oyer and terminer.

proces-verbal (proh-say-vair-bahl). [French "official record of oral proceedings"] Civil & int l law. A detailed, authenticated written report of a proceeding, esp. of an international conference; PROTOCOL (3). A prods-verbal may be cast in various forms, according to the style a country prefers.

prochein ami (proh-shen a-mee). [Law French] See NEXT FRIEND.

proclaim To declare formally or officially.

proclamation A formal public announcement made by the government.

proclamation by lord of manor A proclamation (repeated three times) made by the lord of a manor requiring an heir or devisee of a deceased copyholder to pay a fine and be admitted to the estate, failing which the lord could seize the lands provisionally.

proclamation of exigents (eks-a-j;lnts). Repeated proclamations by the sheriff of an imminent outlawing of a person in the county where the person lived. See EXIGENT.

proclamation of rebellion A proclamation made by the sheriff, warning a person who failed to obey a Chancery subpoena or attachment that a commission of rebellion would issue if the person continued to resist the Chancery process. See COMMISSION OF REBELLION.

proclamation of recusants (rek-ya-zants). A proclamation by which persons who willfully absented themselves from church could be convicted on nonappearance at the assizes.

proclamator (prok-la-may-tar). An official at the English Court of Common Pleas responsible for making proclamations.

procompetitive adj. Increasing, encouraging, or preserving competition. Cf. ANTICOMPETITIVE.

pro-con debate A debate that adheres to the parliamentary principle that speeches should alternate between opposing viewpoints. Sometimes those seeking the floor on one side outnumber those on the other side, in which case the chair may allow two (or more) speeches in a row on the same side of the question.

pro-con debate See DEBATE.

pro-con divorce An uncontested divorce granted after only the plaintiff appears at the proceeding (since the defendant contests nothing).

pro-con divorce See DIVORCE.

proconsul (proh-kon-sal), n. [Latin] Roman law. 1. An ex-consul whose consular powers were extended by the Senate or emperor after leaving office. 2. The governor of certain senatorial provinces.

proctor 1. One appointed to manage the affairs of another. 2. An advocate who represents clients in ecclesiastical courts; PROCURATOR (4). 3. DIVORCE PROCTOR. 4. An advocate who represents a party in the admiralty side of a district court. - Also termed (in sense 4) proctor in admiralty.

proctorship See PROCURATORIUM.

procuracy (prok-ya-ra-see). The document that grants power to an attorney-in-fact; a letter of agency.

procurare (prok-ya-rair-ee), vb. [Latin] To take care of another s affairs.

procuratio (prok-ya-ray-shee-oh). [Latin] Management of another s affairs; agency.

procuration (prok-ya-ray-shan). 1. The act of appointing someone as an agent or attorney-in-fact. 2. The authority vested in a person so appointed; the function of an attorney. 3. PROCUREMENT.

procuration fee A commission or brokerage allowed to a solicitor for obtaining a loan. - Also termed procuration money.

procurationes ad resignandum in favorem (prok-ya-ray-shee-oh-neez ad rez-ig-nan-dam in fa-vor-am). [Law Latin]. Procuratories of resignation in favor of the disponee of a vassal. The phrase referred to the rule requiring a vassal s resignation before a superior had to receive the disponee of a vassal to the property. See RESIGNATION (3).

procurator (prok-ya-ray-tar), 1. Roman law. A person informally appointed to represent another in a judicial proceeding. Cf. COGNITOR. 2. Roman law. A government official, usu. subordinate in authority to a provincial governor; one of several imperial officers of the Roman Empire entrusted with the management of the financial affairs of the province and often having administrative powers in a province as agents of the emperor. 3. English law. An agent, attorney, or servant. 4. Eccles. law. An advocate of a religious house; a lawyer who represents a cleric or religious society in legal matters. - Also termed proctor. 5. An agent or attorney-in-fact. 6. Scots law. A solicitor who represents clients in the lower courts; formerly, any law agent.

procurator fiscal The representative of the Lord Advocate in inferior courts, responsible for investigating sudden deaths and crimes and for prosecuting in the sheriff or district court.

procurator in rem suam (prok-ya-ray-tar in rem s[y] oo-am). [Latin] 1. Roman law. An assignee of a right of action. True agency did not exist in Roman law, so a principal whose agent had, for example, bought something on the principal s behalf would have to be made the agents procurator to claim under that sale. 2. Scots law. Procurator in his own affair. This phrase refers to a situation in which a person acts under a power of attorney with reference to property that the person has acquired.

procurator litis (prok-ya-ray-tar li-tis). [Latin] Roman law. A person who represents another in a lawsuit. Often shortened to procurator. Cf. DEFENSOR (1).

procurator negotiorum (prok-ya--ray-tar ni-goh-shee-or-am). [Latin] Civil law. An attorney-in-fact; a manager of business affairs for another.

procurator provindae (prok-ya-ray-tar pra-vin-shee-ee). [Latin] Roman law. See PROCURATOR (2).

procuratores ecclesiae parochialis (prok-ya-ra-tor-eez e-klee-z[h]ee-ee pa-roh-kee-ay-lis). [Latin]. A churchwarden; a representative of a parish church.

procuratorio nomine (prok-ya-ra-tor-ee-oh nahm-a¬nee). [Latin]. In the name and character of a procu¬rator. See PROCURATOR.

procuratorium (prok-ya-ra-tor-ee-am), n. [Law Latin]. The instrument by which a person appointed a procurator as the person s representative in litiga" tion. Also termed proctorship; proxy.

procuratory 1. Civil law. Authorization of one person to act for another. 2. Scots law. A mandate or commission for one person to act for another; POWER OF ATTORNEY. See PROCURATOR.

procuratory (prok-ya-ra-tor-ee), adj. Of, relating to, or authorizing a procuration. See PROCURATION.

procuratrix (prok-ya-ray-triks). [Latin]. A female agent or attorney-in-fact.

procurement (proh-kyoor-mant), 1. The act of getting or obtaining something or of bringing something about. Also termed procuration. 2. The act of persuading or inviting another, esp. a woman or child, to have illicit sexual intercourse. - procure, vb.

procurement contract A contract in which a government receives goods or services. A procurement contract, including the bidding process, is usu. subject to government regulation. Also termed government contract. See FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION.

procurement contract See CONTRACT.