Legal Dictionary of Pakistan
Quick lookup for English, Urdu, and Latin legal terms used in Pakistani jurisprudence.
Director of Public Prosecutions
An officer (usu. a barrister or solicitor of ten years' standing) who advises the police and prosecutes criminal cases in England and Wales under the supervision of the Attorney General.
Prosecution
1 The commencement and carrying out of any action or scheme <the prosecution of along, bloody war>. 2. A criminal proceeding in which an accused person is tried <the conspiracy trial involved the prosecution of seven defendants>. - Also termed criminal prosecution.
criminal prosecution
See PROSECUTION (2).
deferred prosecution
See deferred judgment under JUDGMENT.
dismissal for want of prosecution
A court's dismissal of a lawsuit because the plaintiff has failed to pursue the case diligently toward completion. - Abbr. DWOP. -Also termed dismissal for failure to prosecute.
dismissed for want of prosecution
(Of a case) removed from the court's docket because the plaintiff has failed to pursue the case diligently toward completion. See dismissal for want of prosecution under DISMISSAL (1).
dual-prosecution rule
The principle that the federal and state governments may both prosecute a defendant for the same offense because both governments are separate and distinct entities. See DUAL-SOVEREIGNTY DOCTRINE.
flight from prosecution.
See FLIGHT,
lack of prosecution
See WANT OF PROSECU. TION.
malicious prosecution
1 The institution of a criminal or civil proceeding for an improper purpose and without probable cause. 2. The cause of action resulting from the institution of such a proceeding. ( Once a wrongful prosecution has ended in the defendant's favor, he or she may sue for tort damages. - Also termed (in the context of civil proceedings) malicious use of process. Cf. ABUSE OF PROCESS; VEXATIOUS SUIT. "The distinction between an action for malicious prosecution and an action for abuse of process is that a malicious prosecution consists in maliciously causing process to be issued, whereas an abuse of process is the employment of legal process for some purpose other than that which it was intended by the law to effect - the improper use of a regularly issued process. For instance, the initiation of vexatious civil proceedings known to be groundless is not abuse of process, but is governed by substantially the same rules as the malicious prosecution of criminal proceedings." 52 Am. Jur. 2d Malicious Prosecution ยง 2, at 187 (1970).
prosecution history
Patents. The complete record of proceedings in the Patent and Trademark Office from the initial application to the issued patent. - Also termed file wrapper.
prosecution-history estoppel
See PROSECUTION-HISTORY ESTOPPEL.
selective prosecution.
See SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT.
sham prosecution
A prosecution that seeks to circumvent a defendant's double jeopardy protection by appearing to be prosecuted by another sovereignty, when it is in fact controlled by the sovereignty that already prosecuted the defendant for the same crime. ( A sham prosecution is, in essence, a misuse of the dual-sovereignty rule. Under that rule, a defendant's protection against double-jeopardy does not provide protection against a prosecution by a different sovereignty. For example, if the defendant was first tried in federal court and acquitted, that fact would not forbid the state authorities from prosecuting the defendant in state court. But a sham prosecution - for example, a later state-court prosecution that is completely dominated or manipulated by the federal authorities that already prosecuted the defendant, so that the state-court proceeding is merely a tool of the federal authorities - will not withstand a double jeopardy challenge. See DUAL-SOVEREIGNTY DOCTRINE. 3. The government attorneys who initiate and maintain a criminal action against an accused defendant <the prosecution rests>.
stifling of a prosecution
An agreement, in exchange for money or other advantage, to abstain from prosecuting a person.
vindictive prosecution
. The practice of singling a person out for prosecution under a law or regulation because the person has exercised a constitutionally protected right. Cf. selective enforcement under ENFORCEMENT.
want of prosecution
Failure of a litigant to pursue the case <dismissal for want of prosecution. - Also termed lack of prosecution; no progress. - Abbr. w.o.p.