Legal Definitions - perempt

The verb "to perempt" generally means to eliminate, nullify, or set aside something, often a legal right, action, or claim. In a more specific context, particularly during jury selection, it refers to the act of exercising a peremptory challenge, which allows a lawyer to remove a potential juror without stating a reason.

• Example 1 (Civil Law - Nullifying a Decision):

  Imagine a local zoning board approves a developer's plan to build a large commercial complex in a residential area. A group of concerned residents believes the board's decision was made without proper public notice, violating local ordinances. They file a lawsuit, and a judge reviews the process. If the judge agrees that the zoning board's approval was procedurally flawed, the judge might issue an order to perempt the board's decision. This action would effectively nullify the approval, requiring the developer to restart the application process correctly.

  Explanation: This illustrates "perempt" in its sense of a court "doing away with" or "extinguishing" a prior legal or administrative decision due to a legal flaw, rendering it invalid.

• Example 2 (Civil Law - Extinguishing a Right):

  Consider a software licensing agreement that states if the user modifies the software's core code without authorization, the company reserves the right to perempt any future warranty claims related to software performance. This means that by violating the terms, the user would lose their right to have the company address certain issues under warranty.

  Explanation: Here, "perempt" means to "extinguish" or "do away with" a specific contractual right or claim (the warranty) due to a failure to meet a condition set forth in the agreement.

• Example 3 (Jury Selection - Exercising a Peremptory Challenge):

  During the jury selection process for a civil lawsuit, a defense attorney observes a potential juror who expresses strong opinions about corporate responsibility that seem unfavorable to their client. Although the juror hasn't shown any disqualifying bias that would allow removal "for cause," the attorney decides to perempt that individual. This means the attorney uses one of their limited peremptory challenges to remove the potential juror from the panel without needing to provide a specific reason to the judge.

  Explanation: This example demonstrates the more specific usage of "perempt," referring to the act of exercising a peremptory challenge to remove a potential juror from consideration during jury selection.