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.
