PARTE NON COMPARENTE

parte non comparente (pahr-tee non kom-p[schwa]-ren-tee). Hist. The party not having appeared. • In civil cases, a party’s failure to appear usu. resulted in a default judgment against the defendant. But in criminal cases, the accused’s failure to appear raised no presumption of guilt; still, the offender was cited for contempt and made an outlaw. […]