P

A legal action that has been filed but has not yet begun to proceed in court. … [Read more...] about PENDING ACTION

In Mexico. A debtor held by his creditor in a qualified servitude to work out the debt; a serf. Webster. In India. A footman; a soldier; an inferior officer; a servant employed in the business of the revenue, police, or judicature. … [Read more...] about PEON

A term used in criminal law, and denoting (In cases of alleged rape) the insertion of the male part into the female parts to however slight an extent; and by which insertion the offense is complete without proof of emission. Brown. … [Read more...] about PENETRATION

The state or condition of a peon as above defined; a condition of enforced servitude, by which the servitor is restrained of his liberty and compelled to labor in liquidation of some debt or obligation, real or pretended, against his will. Peonage Cases (D. C.) 123 Fed. 671; In re Lewis (C. C.) 114 Fed. 963; U. S. v. McClel lan (D. C.) 127 Fed. 971; Rev. St. U. S. … [Read more...] about PEONAGE

Those which inflict a penalty for the violation of some of their provisions. 2. It is a rule of law that such statutes must be construed strictly. They cannot, therefore, be extended by their spirit or equity to other offences than those clearly described and provided for. … [Read more...] about PENAL STATUTES