Adversary system

Our concepts of justice, in which one side represents the plaintiff or state and the other side represents the defendant, while the judge acts as the independent referee

Arraignment

a hearing before a court having jurisdiction in which the identity of the defendant is established, the defendant is informed of the charges and of his or her rights, and in some states the defendant is required to enter a plea.

Bail

A form of pretrial release in which the defendant is required to post money or property to insure his or her presence at trial.

Bench Trial 

a trial by a judge without jury.

Bench warrant

a warrant issued by the judge during a trial. It is issued from the judge’s bench

Booking

the process that officially records an entry into detention after an arrest.

Certiorari

a petition to an appeals court to invoke its jurisdiction.

Charging The Jury 

the act of a judge in instructing the jury.

Contempt 

the violation of court order or disruption of court proceedings.

Continuance

The delay of a trial at the request of one of the parties.

Cross examination

the examination of a witness by the party that did not call the witness; used to weaken the witness’s testimony.

Definite sentence

a sentence that has a specified period of confinement or definite terms.

Deposition 

a form of pretrial discovery in which a witness is questioned under oath and the other parties are given an opportunity to be present and ask questions. Used more in civil than in criminal cases.

Deterrence

 
Punishment based on the goal of deterring future criminal activity.

Direct Examination 

 
The initial questioning of a witness by the party that originally called the witness.

Due Process 

the procedures that effectively guarantee individual rights in the face of criminal prosecution and those procedures that are fundamental rules for fair and orderly legal proceedings.

Exclusionary

The rule used to exclude evidence that was obtained by the violation of a constitutional right such as an illegal search.

Extradition

The surrender by one state or nation to another state or nation of a person who is charged with a crime in the requesting state.

Fruit of the poisonous tree

Additional evidence discovered from information obtained as the result of a constitutional violation such as an illegal search.

Gag Order 

an order by the judge to the parties to a lawsuit to refrain from discussing the case with the press.

Habeas corpus

a writ that orders the custodian of a prisoner to appear in court and explain why the individual is being held in confinement.

Hung Jury 

a jury that cannot agree on a verdict.

Indeterminate sentence 

a sentence in which the period of confinement or other punishment is to be determined based on the need of the offender.

Indictment

a written statement charging the defendant or defendants named therein with the commission of an indictable offense presented to the court by a grand jury, endorsed “A True Bill.” and signed by the foreperson. The term indictment includes presentment

Indigent defendant

a defendant who lacks the resources to afford to hire his or her attorney.

Impeachment

the attempt to limit or discredit evidence that has been admitted.

Judicial notice

the act of a court in accepting certain facts without the necessity to present evidence to prove them, such as the fact that New York is a state, a fact that a court can take judicial notice of.

Jurisdiction

The power of a court to act in regard to the individual or subject matter.

Motion to suppress evidence

A motion presented prior to trial to determine the admissibility of certain items of evidence.

Negotiated plea

A plea that has been agreed upon by the defendant and the state; a plea bargain.

Peremptory challenge

a challenge that a party has to eliminate a potential juror. Each side has a limited number of peremptory challenges. While the party peremptorily challenging a potential juror normally is not required to provide a reason for the challenge, the challenge may not be used to exclude one gender or race from the jury.

Petty offenses

offenses which have a maximum jail time of six months and a fine of not more then $500.

Plain view doctrine

the concept that looking at items in plain view is not a search because there is no reasonable expectation of privacy concerning items in plain view.

Preliminary hearing

a proceeding before a judicial officer to determine if a crime has been committed, whether the crime occurred within the jurisdiction of the court, and whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that the defendant committed the crime.

Pretrial discovery 

the right of parties to obtain evidence from the other parties prior to the commencement of the trial.

Privileged communications

Communications between individuals that are protected from discovery or use in a trial. Generally, communications between a party and his or her attorney are privileged.

Reasonable Doubt 

the burden of proof that is required before a defendant may be convicted of a crime. The burden is on the prosecution to prove a fact with a high degree of certainty.

Reasonable suspicion

a suspicion based on facts or circumstances which by themselves do not give rise to the probable cause requisite to justify a lawful arrest, but which give rise to more than a bar suspicion, that is, a suspicion that is reasonable as opposed to imaginary or purely conjectural. A suspicion based on facts that would cause a reasonable person to conclude that criminal activity is ongoing or has occurred.

Rehabilitated

the conclusion that a defendant has reformed.

Relevant evidence

evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.

Restitution

court-ordered sanction that involves payment of compensation by the defendant to the victim for injuries suffered as a result of the defendant’s criminal activity. 

Self-representation

a defendant’s acting as his or her own attorney.

Sequestered Jury

A jury that has been secluded from the public and the press. Generally, a jury is sequestered during the deliberation phase of the trial.

Severance

the act of dividing multiple charges or defendants into separate trials.

Statute of limitation

the time within which criminal proceedings must commence after the commission of the crime. Some crimes, such as murder have no statue of limitations.

Stop and frisk

the act of stopping a person for investigative purposes and frisking him or her for the presence of a weapon.

Suspended sentence 

a adjudged sentence whose imposition is suspended under certain conditions, and upon compliance with the conditions the sentence is vacated. If the conditions are not complied with, the suspension is vacated and the sentence is imposed.

Venue 

the geographic location of the court.

Verdict 

A judgment by the court. In a criminal court it refers to the finding of guilty or not guilty.

Writ 

a mandatory precept (warrant), under seal, issued by a court and commanding a person to whom it is addressed to do or not to do some act.