Also known as: legal processes · process of law
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A formal mechanism consisting of writs, summonses, orders, and related procedures by which a court compels a party's appearance, enforces judgments, or authorizes government action against persons or property. The mechanism supplies the notice and opportunity to be heard that prevent arbitrary deprivations of life, liberty, or property.
Federal prosecutors charge Lola Langley with a capital offense. Before trial can proceed, a grand jury must review the evidence and issue an indictment. The indictment constitutes the required legal process that authorizes the government to hold Langley to answer and protects her from unfounded prosecution.
State officials terminate Lillian Locke's need-based subsistence payments after new monitoring data suggests ineligibility. Locke receives no individualized notice or hearing before the cutoff. The absence of any pre-termination legal process violates the requirement that the state afford due process before depriving a person of a protected property interest.
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Legal process includes garnishment orders and similar writs that allow creditors to seize funds. Under the UCC, such process is one of the four legals that can prevent a bank from paying a check if received in time.
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A person who uses legal process primarily to achieve a purpose for which it was not designed is liable for abuse of process. The tort requires that the defendant invoked the process for an improper objective rather than to vindicate a legitimate claim.
Yes. A subpoena is legal process that compels a nonparty to appear, testify, and produce documents or electronically stored information at a specified time and place.
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Legal process served on a payor bank comes too late if a reasonable time for the bank to act expires after the bank has already accepted the item or taken other protected actions listed in UCC section 4-303.
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