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Petition
A petition is any formal, written request to the court for action. Unlike a complaint, which specifically asks for monetary damages and/or some type of action from the opposing party, a petition can cover a number of different areas.
A petition can be a demand for a writ (a formal written order) from the court which may consist of an arrest warrant, subpoena, demand for evidence or request for judicial review, among other matters. Until the passage of the Military Commissions Act by the 109th Congress in September 2006, a writ of habeus corpus (aw-bay-oose KAWR-poose) was required to justify the arrest and detention of a suspect. This has now been removed from federal law under the 2006 Military Commissions Act; additionally, the Attorney General of the U.S. has stated that the U.S. Constitution does not expressly guarantee right of habeus corpus to any U.S. resident or citizen.
A petition may also include a request for a continuance, or postponement of a legal proceeding; to modify a prior court order; for reduction of bail in a criminal case; or to appoint a guardian or executor.
"Petition" is used in a general sense in referring to a document signed by a number of people that asks some authority to take or refrain from taking action. For example, people of a community may petition the city council for the installation of speed bumps along a residential street. Petitions are also used in many states and communities in order to place some type of legislation on a ballot, or to nominate someone for public office.
A divorce is a specific kind of civil suit in which a legally married couple petitions the court to sever that legal bond. In such cases, the person who first files for divorce is called the petitioner, while the other is known as the respondent. Unlike a lawsuit, divorce proceedings are not held in the presence of a jury.