A brief statement that contains the important items that appear in another document of greater length.
Law Dictionary – Alternative Legal Definition
(noun) – An abridgment; brief; compendium; also a short application to a court or judge, without the formality of a full proceeding. Wharton.
(adjective) – Immediate; peremptory ; off-hand ;without a jury; provisional; statutory. Summary actions. In Scotch law. Those which are brought into court not by summons, but by petition, corresponding to summary proceedings in English courts. Bell; Brown. Summary conviction. See CONVICTION. Summary jurisdiction. See JURISDICTION. Summary procedure on bills of exchange. This phrase refers to the statute 18 section 19 Vict. c. 67, passed in 1855, for the purpose of facilitating the remedies on bills and notes by the prevention of frivolous or fictitious defenses. By this statute, a defendant in an action on a bill or note, brought within six months after it has become payable, is prohibited from defending the action without the leave of the court or a judge.