Police Blotter Law and Legal Definition

Police blotter is a slang term that is used in police practice and procedures. It
refers to a book that records arrests and other facts and events in a police
station, on a daily basis. Arrests are recorded in a police blotter as they occur.
Details such as name, age, and address of the suspect/person arrested, time
and place of an incident, name of the officer who responded to the incident, and
name of the victim/complaining person should be included in a police blotter.

Federal and state Freedom of Information laws mandate police agencies to keep
a record of daily activities at the police station. Such records are known as police
blotters. These records can be inspected by the public. Local newspapers review
these blotters to print arrests or notable activities.

The following is an example of a state statute (Pennsylvania) defining the term.

According to 18 Pa.C.S. 9102, "police blotter" means a a chronological listing

of arrests, usually documented contemporaneous with the incident, which may
include, but is not limited to, the name and address of the individual charged and
the alleged offenses.

deposition

n. the taking and recording of testimony of a witness under oath before a court reporter in a place away
from the courtroom before trial. A deposition is part of permitted pre-trial discovery (investigation), set up
by an attorney for one of the parties to a lawsuit demanding the sworn testimony of the opposing party
(defendant or plaintiff), a witness to an event, or an expert intended to be called at trial by the opposition.
If the person requested to testify (deponent) is a party to the lawsuit or someone who works for an
involved party, notice of time and place of the deposition can be given to the other side's attorney, but if
the witness is an independent third party, a subpena must be served on him/her if he/she is reluctant to
testify. The testimony is taken down by the court reporter, who will prepare a transcript if requested and
paid for, which assists in trial preparation and can be used in trial either to contradict (impeach) or refresh
the memory of the witness, or be read into the record if the witness is not available.

Disposition Law and Legal Definition

The term 'disposition' has two distinct legal meanings:
 when used in the context of litigation it refers to a court's final determination of a
case or issue;
when used in relation to property it refers to the act of transferring or relinquishing
of that property to another's care or possession usually by deed or will.
What is the difference between the plaintiff and the defendant in small claims court?

The plaintiff is the person who is filing the suit. The person being sued is the defendant.

Civil Cases
A civil case begins when a person or entity (such as a corporation or the
government), called the plaintiff, claims that another person or entity (the
defendant) has failed to carry out a legal duty owed to the plaintiff. Both the
plaintiff and the defendant are also referred to as "parties" or "litigants." The
plaintiff may ask the court to tell the defendant to fulfill the duty, or make
compensation for the harm done, or both. Legal duties include respecting rights
established under the Constitution or under federal or state law.

Criminal Cases
A person accused of a crime is generally charged in a formal accusation called
an indictment (for felonies or serious crimes) or information (for misdemeanors).
The government, on behalf of the people of the United States, prosecutes the
case through the United States Attorney's Office if the person is charged with a
federal crime. A state's attorney's office prosecutes state crimes.