In the fall of 2024, the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) mailed letters to parents who once had an open dependency and/or severance case.
Did you receive a letter? Visit the DCS letter page for more information.
Family Law
Glossaries
| Term | Main definition |
|---|---|
| Plea Agreement | A process between the accused and the prosecution to negotiate a mutually satisfactory outcome of the case. |
| Pleading | The process by which people file things in court, including beginning a case, responding to issues in court, and counterclaims. Eventually, only one or a few issues exist that the people disagree on, and these are the issues that the court decides upon. |
| Points of Law | The legal questions that a case may raise. |
| Pre-Filing Conference | A meeting intended to resolve issues in lieu of court action. |
| Precinct | Geographic subdivision of city, town or county, used to describe the jurisdiction of a Justice of the Peace or for election purposes. |
| Preliminary Hearing | Court proceeding used to determine whether there is enough evidence against a person charged with a felony to proceed to trial. |
| Presiding Judge | See Judge in this Glossary. |
| Presumed Father | A presumed father is a person the law has states is legal father of a child because of his legal relationship to the mother during the pregnancy. There are several ways a man can be considered a presumed father, the most common of which is being married to the mother. |
| Presumptive Termination Date | Upon entry of an initial or modified child support order, the court shall, or in any subsequent action relating to the child support order, the court may, establish a presumptive termination date (PTD) for the termination of current child support obligation. The presumptive termination date shall be the last day of the month of the 18th birthday of the youngest child included in the order unless the court finds that it is projected that the youngest child will not complete high school by age 18. In that event, the presumptive termination date shall be the last day of the month of the anticipated graduation date or age 19, whichever occurs first. |
| Pro Bono Publico | "For the public good." When a lawyer takes a legal case without being paid, and without expecting payment. |
| Pro Per | A Latin phrase meaning, "For oneself." A person appearing without benefit of an attorney, appearing for him/herself in court. |
| Pro Tem | A person appointed as a judicial officer on a temporary basis. |
| Probable Cause | Reasonable cause; there is more evidence for an argument than against it. |
| Probation | A conditional suspension of the sentence given by a court in a criminal case. If the terms of probation are violated, probation may be revoked and the sentence carried out. |
| Prosecutor | Attorney representing the citizens of a particular community or the state in a criminal case. This may be the city attorney, county attorney or attorney general. |
| Putative Father | A person who has been named as the father of a child born out of wedlock, but for whom paternity has not yet been established. |