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Act
A bill which has passed through the various legislative steps required
for it and which has become law, as in “an Act of the Commonwealth of
Australia.” Synonymous to statute, legislation or law.
Adjudication
The determination of a controversy and a pronouncement of a judgment
based on evidence presented. Implies a final judgment of the court or
other body deciding the matter, as opposed to a proceeding in which the
merits of the cause of action were not reached.
Affidavit
A statement which before being signed, the person signing takes an
oath that the contents are, to the best of their knowledge, true. It is
also signed by a notary or some other judicial officer that can administer
oaths, to the effect that the person signing the affidavit was under oath
when doing so. These documents carry great weight in Courts to the extent
that judges frequently accept an affidavit instead of the testimony of the
witness.
Appearance
The act of showing up in court as either plaintiff, defendant, accused
or any other party to a civil or criminal suit. It implies that you accept
the power of the court to try the matter (i.e. “jurisdiction”).
Appearances are most often made by lawyers on their clients behalf and any
appearance by a lawyer binds the client. You can make a limited appearance
called a “special appearance” in which your presence is not to imply
acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction but, rather, to challenge the
jurisdiction of the court. An example of the usefulness of a “special
appearance” would be where you want to raise the fact that you were never
properly served with the court papers.
Arraignment
In USA criminal law, the formal appearance of an
accused person to hear, and to receive a copy of, the charge against him
or her, in the presence of a judge, and to then enter a plea of guilty or
not guilty. The arraignment is the final preparatory step before criminal
trial.
Arrest
Take a person into custody. The person is no longer free to go and is
going to be charged for a crime.
Arson
Some countries define “arson” as the intentional setting of a fire to
a building in which people live; others include as “arson” the
intentionally setting of a fire to any building. In either case, this is a
very serious crime and is punishable by a long jail sentence.
Assault
The touching of another person with an intent to harm, without that
person’s consent.
Attorney
An alternate word for lawyers or “barrister & solicitor”, used mostly
in the USA. A person that has been trained in the law and that has been
certified to give legal advice or to represent others in litigation.
Bench Warrant
Warrant issued by a judge during a criminal proceeding, normally
issued when a defendant fails to appear in court.
Case File
The collection of documents comprising information concerning a
particular investigation. (This collection may be kept in case jackets,
file folders, ring binders, boxes, file drawers, file cabinets, or rooms.
Sub-files are often used within case files to segregate and group
interviews, media coverage, laboratory requests and reports, evidence
documentation, photographs, videotapes, audiotapes, and other documents.)
Case Identifiers
The alphabetic and/or numeric characters assigned to identify a
particular case.
Charge
Accusation of wrongdoing, especially an official statement accusing
someone of committing a crime.
Circumstantial
Evidence
Evidence which may allow a judge or jury to deduce a certain fact from
other facts which have been proven. In some cases, there can be some
evidence that can not be proven directly, such as with an eye-witness. And
yet that evidence may be essential to prove a case. In these cases, the
lawyer will provide the judge or juror with evidence of the circumstances
from which a juror or judge can logically deduct, or reasonably infer, the
fact that cannot be proven directly; it is proven by the evidence of the
circumstances; hence, “circumstantial” evidence. Fingerprints are an
example of circumstantial evidence: while there may be no witness to a
person’s presence in a certain place, or contact with a certain object,
the scientific evidence of someone’s fingerprints is persuasive proof of a
person’s presence or contact with an object.
Conviction
The formal decision of a criminal trial which finds the accused
guilty. It is the finding of a judge or jury, on behalf of the state, that
a person has, beyond reasonable doubt, committed the crime for which he,
or she, has been accused. It is the ultimate goal of the prosecution and
the result resisted by the defense. Once convicted, an accused may then be
sentenced.
Criminal Law
That body of the law that deals with conduct considered so harmful to
society as a whole that it is prohibited by statute, prosecuted and
punished by the government.
Death Penalty
Also known as capital punishment, this is the most severe form of
corporal punishment as it is requires law enforcement officers to kill the
offender. Forms of the death penalty include hanging from the neck,
gassing, firing squad and has included use of the guillotine.
Defendant
The person, company or organization who defends a legal action taken
by a plaintiff and against whom the court has been asked to order damages
or specific corrective action redress some type of unlawful or improper
action alleged by the plaintiff.
Deferred
Adjudication
A type of community supervision. If all the conditions of supervision
are met for the allotted time handed down by the court, not exceeding two
years, no permanent record of the crime will be made.
Deposition
The official statement by a witness taken in writing (as opposed to
testimony which where a witnesses give their perception of the facts
verbally). Affidavits are the most common kind of depositions.
Docket
An official court record book which lists all the cases before the
court and which may also note the status or action required for each case.
Evidence
Proof of fact(s) presented at a trial. The best and most common method
is by oral testimony; where you have an eye-witness swear to tell the
truth and to then relate to the court (or jury) their experience. Evidence
is essential in convincing the judge or jury of your facts as the judge
(or jury) is expected to start off with a blank slate; no preconceived
idea or knowledge of the facts. So it is up to the opposing parties to
prove (by providing evidence), to the satisfaction of the court (or jury),
the facts needed to support their case. Besides oral testimony, an object
can be deposited with the court (e.g. a signed contract). This is
sometimes called “real evidence.” In other rarer cases, evidence can be
circumstantial.
Expunge
To physically erase; to white or strike out. To “expunge” something
from a court record means to remove every reference to it from the court
file.
Felony
A serious crime for which the punishment is prison for more than a
year or death. Crimes of less gravity are called misdemeanors. This term
is no longer used in England or other Commonwealth countries but remains a
major distinction in the United States. Historically, in England, the term
referred to crimes for which the punishment was the loss of land, life or
a limb.
Grand Jury
An American criminal justice procedure whereby, in each court
district, a group of 16-23 citizens hold an inquiry on criminal complaints
brought by the prosecutor and decide if a trial is warranted, in which
case an indictment is issued. If a Grand Jury rejects a proposed
indictment it is known as a “no bill”; if they accept to endorse a
proposed indictment it is known as a “true bill”.
Habitual offender
A person who is convicted and sentenced for crimes over a period of
time and even after serving sentences of incarceration, such as
demonstrates a propensity towards criminal conduct. Reformation techniques
fail to alter the behavior of the habitual offender. Many countries now
have special laws that require the long-term incarceration, without
parole, of habitual offenders as a means of protecting society in the face
of an individual that appears unable to comply with the law.
Hearing
Preliminary judicial review of an accused person to ascertain whether
the case should proceed to trial.
Homicide
The word includes all occasions where one human being, by act or
omission, takes away the life of another. Murder and manslaughter are
different kinds of homicides. Executing a death-row inmate is another form
of homicide, but one which is excusable in the eyes of the law. Another
excusable homicide is where a law enforcement officer shoots and kills a
suspect who draws a weapon or shoots at that officer.
Indictment
USA: a formal accusation returned by a Grand Jury, that charges a
person with a serious crime. It is on the basis of an indictment that an
accused person must stand trail.
Jury
A group of citizens randomly selected from the general population and
brought together to assist justice by deciding which version, in their
opinion, constitutes “the truth” given different evidence by opposing
parties.
Larceny
An old English criminal and common law offence covering the unlawful
or fraudulent removal of another’s property without the owner’s consent.
The offence of theft now covers most cases of larceny. But larceny is
wider than theft as it includes the taking of property of another person
by whatever means (by theft, overtly, by fraud, by trickery, etc.) if an
intent exists to convert that property to one’s own use against the wishes
of the owner.
Law
All the rules of conduct that have been approved by the government and
which are in force over a certain territory and which must be obeyed by
all persons on that territory (e.g. the “laws” of Australia). Violation of
these rules could lead to government action such as imprisonment or fine,
or private action such as a legal judgment against the offender obtained
by the person injured by the action prohibited by law. Synonymous to act
or statute although in common usage, “law” refers not only to legislation
or statutes but also to the body of unwritten law in those states which
recognize common law.
Lawyer
A person that has been trained in the law and that has been certified
to give legal advice or to represent others in litigation. Also known as a
“barrister & solicitor: or an attorney.
Legislation
Written and approved laws. Also known as “statutes” or “acts”. In
constitutional law, one would talk of the “power to legislate” or the
“legislative arm of government” referring to the power of political bodies
(e.g.: house of assembly, Congress, Parliament) to write the laws of the
land.
Manslaughter
Accidental homicide or homicide which occurs without an intent to kill and
which does not occur during the commission of another crime or under
extreme provocation.
Minor
A person who is legally underage. It varies between 21 and 18 years of
age. Each state sets an age threshold at which time a person is invested
with all legal rights as an adult. For many new adults, this may mean
access to places serving alcohol and the right to purchase and consume
alcohol, smoke cigarettes and drive a car. But there are many other legal
rights which a minor does not have such as, in some states, the right to
own land, to sign a contract or to get married.
Misdemeanor
A crime of lesser seriousness than a felony where the punishment might
be a fine or prison for less than one year.
Murder
Intentional homicide (the taking of another person’s life), without
legal justification or provocation.
Nolo contendere
Latin for “I will not defend it.” Used primarily in criminal
proceedings whereby the defendant declines to refute the evidence of the
prosecution. In some jurisdictions, this response by the defendant has
same effect as a plea of guilty.
Offense
A crime; any act which contravenes the criminal law of the state in
which it occurs.
Pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person who has been
convicted of a crime, to be free and absolved of that conviction, as if
never convicted. It is typically used to remove a criminal record against
a good citizen for a small crime that may have been committed during
adolescence or young adulthood. Although procedures vary from one state to
another, the request for a pardon usually involves a lengthy period of
time of impeccable behavior and a reference check. Generally speaking, the
more serious the crime, the longer the time requirement for excellent
behavior. In the USA, the power to pardon for federal offenses belongs to
the President.
Parole
An early release from incarceration in which the prisoner promises to
heed certain conditions (usually set by a parole board) and under the
supervision of a parole officer. Any violation of those conditions would
result in the return of the person to prison.
Pedophile
A person afflicted with “pedophilia”, a sexual perversion in which
children are preferred as sexual partner.
Probation
An alternative to prison or jail that allows offenders to remain in
the community under court supervision.
Prosecute
To bring judicial proceedings against a person and to administer them
until the conclusion of the court proceedings. Lawyers are hired by the
government to administer the prosecution of criminal charges in the
court.
Rape
Sex with a woman, other than a wife, without her consent. But many
states have changed this basic definition to include sex with a minor
(with or without consent; also known as statutory rape), sex, with a man
without his consent, or exempting men who force their wives to have sex.
Recidivism
Committing new offenses after being punished for a crime.
Search warrant
A court order (i.e. signed by a judge) that gives a police the
permission to enter private property and to search for evidence of the
commission of a crime, for the proceeds of crime or property that the
police suspect may be used to commit a crime. These court orders are
obtained on the basis of a sworn statement by the requesting law
enforcement officer and will precisely describe the place to be searched
and, in some cases, the exact property being sought.
Sentence
The punishment given to a person who has been convicted (i.e. found to
be guilty) of a crime. It may be time in jail, community service or a
period of probation.
Statutes
The written laws approved by legislatures, parliaments or houses of
assembly (i.e., politicians). Also known as “legislation”.
Warrant
Document that gives law enforcement particular rights or powers, i.e.,
the right to search or arrest someone.
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