nota bene note well A term used to  

direct the reader

to cautionary or
qualifying
statements for
the main text.
nudum pactum naked An  
promise unenforceable
promise, due to
the absence of
consideration or
value
exchanged for
the promise.
nulla bona no goods Notation made  
when a
defendant has
no tangible
property
available to be
seized in order
to comply with a
judgement.
nulla poena no penalty One cannot be  
sine lege without a prosecuted for
law doing something
that is not
prohibited by
law.
nullum crimen, no crime, One cannot be  
nulla poena no prosecuted for
 sine praevia punishment doing something
lege poenali without a that was not
previous prohibited by
penal law law at the time
and place it was
committed,
notwithstanding
laws made since
that time. A form
of prohibition on
retroactive laws.
nunc pro tunc now for An action by a  
then court to correct
a previous
procedural or
clerical error.
obiter dictum a thing said in law, an  
in passing observation by a
judge on some
point of law not
directly relevant
to the case
before him, and
thus neither
requiring his
decision nor
serving as a
precedent, but
nevertheless of
persuasive
authority. In
 general, any
comment,
remark or
observation
made in passing
pacta sunt agreement A fundamental  
servanda s must be principle of law
kept
par delictum equal fault Used when both  
parties to a
dispute are at
fault
parens patriae parent of Refers to the  
the nation power of the
State to act as
parent to a child
when the legal
parents are
unable or
unwilling.
pater familias father of The head of  
the family household, for
purposes of
considering the
rights and
responsibilities
thereof.
pendente lite while the Court orders  
litigation is used to provide
pending relief until the
final judgement
 is rendered.
Commonly used
in divorce
proceedings.
per capita by head dividing money  
up strictly and
equally
according to the
number of
beneficiaries
per contra by that Legal shorthand  
against for "in contrast
to"
per curiam through the A decision /ˌpɜrr
court delivered by a ˈkjʊəri.æm/
multi-judge
panel, such as
an appellate
court, in which
the decision is
said to be
authored by the
court itself,
instead of
situations where
those individual
judges
supporting the
decision are
named.
per incuriam by their A judgement  
 neglect given without
reference to
precedent.
per minas through Used as a  
threats defense, when
illegal acts were
performed under
duress
per quod by which Used in legal  
documents in
the same sense
as "whereby".
A per
quod statement
is typically used
to show that
specific acts had
consequences
which form the
basis for the
legal action.
per se by itself Something that  
is, as a matter of
law.
per stirpes by branch An estate of a  
decedent is
distributed per
stirpes, if each
branch of the
family is to
receive an equal
 share of an
estate.
periculum in danger in A condition  
mora delay given to support
requests for
urgent action,
such as a
protective order
or restraining
order.
persona non unwelcome A person who is /pərˈsoʊnə
grata person officially nɒn
considered ˈɡrɑːtə/,
unwelcome by a /pərˈsoʊnə
host country in nɒn ˈɡreɪtə/
which they are
residing in a
diplomatic
capacity. The
person is
typically
expelled to their
home country.
posse power of A body of armed /ˈpɒsiː
comitatus the county citizens pressed ˌkɒmɨ
into service by ˈteɪtəs/
legal authority,
to keep the
peace or pursue
a fugitive.
post mortem after death Refers to an  
 autopsy, or as a
qualification as
to when some
event occurred.
post mortem after the Used in  
auctoris author's reference to
death intellectual
property rights,
which usually
are based
around the
author's lifetime.
praetor magistrate The Roman  
peregrinus of Praetor
foreigners (magistrate)
responsible for
matters
involving non-
Romans.
prima facie at first face A matter that /ˈpraɪmə
appears to be ˈfeɪʃi.iː/
sufficiently
based in the
evidence as to
be considered
true.
prior tempore earlier in A legal principle    
potior iure time, that older laws
stronger in take precedent
law over newer
ones. Another
 name for this
principle is lex
posterior.
prius quam before you    
exaudias ne hear, do
iudices not judge
probatio vincit proof    
praesumptione overcomes
m presumptio
n
pro bono For good Professional /ˈproʊ
work done for ˈboʊnoʊ/
free.
pro bono For the /ˈproʊ ˈboʊnoʊ
publico public good ˈpʌblɨkoʊ/
pro forma as a matter Things done as  
of form formalities.
pro hac vice for this turn Refers to a  
lawyer who is
allowed to
participate (only)
in a specific
case, despite
being in a
jurisdiction in
which he has
not been
generally
admitted
pro per Abbreviatio Representing
n of propria oneself, without
 persona, counsel. Also
meaning known as pro
"one's own se representatio
person" n.