Chapter 8 - Pretrial Procedures and the Criminal Trial

Question 1

initial appearance

Answer 1

an accused’s first appearance before a judge or magistrate following arrest

Question 2

bail

Answer 2

the dollar amount or conditions set by the court to ensure that an individual accused of a crime will appear for further criminal proceedings

Question 3

preventive detention

Answer 3

the retention of an accused person in custody due to fears that she or he will commit a crime if released before trial

Question 4

release of recognizance (ROR)

Answer 4

a judge’s order that releases an accused from jail with the understanding that he or she will return of his or her own will for further proceedings

Question 5

property bond

Answer 5

an alternative to posting bail in cash, in which the defendant gains pretrial release by providing the court with property valued at the bail amount as assurance that he or she will return for trial

Question 6

bail bond agent

Answer 6

a businessperson who agrees, for a fee, to pay the bail amount if the accused fails to appear in court as ordered

Question 7

preliminary hearing

Answer 7

an initial hearing in which a magistrate decides if there is probable cause to believe that the defendant committed the crime with which he or she is charged

Question 8

discovery

Answer 8

formal investigation by each side prior to the trial

Question 9

grand jury

Answer 9

the group of citizens called to decide whether probable cause exists to believe that a suspect committed the crime with which she or he has been charged

Question 10

information

Answer 10

the formal charge against the accused issued by the prosecutor after a preliminary hearing has found probable cause

Question 11

indictment

Answer 11

a charge or written accusation, issued by a grand jury, that probably cause exists to believe that a named person has committed a crime

Question 12

case attrition

Answer 12

the process through which prosecutors, by deciding whether to prosecute each person arrested, effect an overall reduction in the number of persons prosecuted

Question 13

arraignment

Answer 13

a court proceeding in which the suspect is formally charged with the criminal offense stated in the indictment

Question 14

nolo contendere

Answer 14

latin for “I will not contest it.” A criminal defendant’s plea, in which he or she chooses not to challenge, or contest, the charges brought by the government

Question 15

plea bargaining

Answer 15

the process by which the accused and the prosecutor work out a mutually satisfactory conclusion to the case, subject to court approval

Question 16

statute of limitations

Answer 16

a law limiting the amount of time prosecutors have to bring criminal charges against a suspect after the crime has occurred

Question 17

jury trial

Answer 17

a trial before a judge and a jury

Question 18

bench trial

Answer 18

a trial conducted without a jury, in which a judge makes the determination of the defendant’s guilt or innocence

Question 19

acquittal

Answer 19

a declaration following a trial that the individual accused of the crime is innocent in the eyes of the law and thus is absolved from the charges

Question 20

master jury list

Answer 20

the list of citizens in a court’s district from which a jury can be selected; compiled from voter-registration lists, driver’s license lists, and other sources

Question 21

venire

Answer 21

the group of citizens from which the jury is selected

Question 22

voir dire

Answer 22

the preliminary questions that the trial attorneys ask prospective jurors to determine whether they are biased or have any connection with the defendant or a witness

Question 23

challenge for a cause

Answer 23

a voir dire challenge for which an attorney states the reason why a prospective juror should not be included on the jury

Question 24

peremptory challenges

Answer 24

voir dire challenges to exclude potential jurors from serving on the jury without any supporting reason or cause

Question 25

opening statements

Answer 25

the attorneys’ statements to the jury at the beginning of the trial

Question 26

evidence

Answer 26

anything that is used to prove the existence or nonexistence of a fact

Question 27

testimony

Answer 27

verbal evidence given by the witnesses under oath

Question 28

real evidence

Answer 28

evidence that is brought into court and seen by the jury, as opposed to evidence that is described for a jury

Question 29

lay witness

Answer 29

a witness who can truthfully and accurately testify on a fact in question without having specialized training or knowledge

Question 30

expert witness

Answer 30

a witness with professional training or substantial experience qualifying her or him to testify on a certain subject

Question 31

direct evidence

Answer 31

evidence that establishes the existence of a fact that is in question without relying on inference

Question 32

circumstantial evidence

Answer 32

indirect evidence that is offered to establish, by inference, the likelihood of a fact that is in question

Question 33

relevant evidence

Answer 33

evidence tending to make a fact in question more or less probable than it would be without the evidence. Only relevant evidence is admissible in court

Question 34

direct examination

Answer 34

the examination of a witness by the attorney who calls the witness to stand to testify

Question 35

confrontation clause

Answer 35

the part of the Sixth Amendment that guarantees all defendants the right to confront witnesses testifying against them during the criminal trial

Question 36

cross-examination

Answer 36

the questioning of an opposing witness during trial

Question 37

hearsay

Answer 37

an oral or written statement made by an out-of-court speaker that is later offered in court by a witness (not the speaker) concerning a matter before the court

Question 38

rebuttal

Answer 38

evidence given to counteract or disprove evidence presented by the opposing party

Question 39

closing arguments

Answer 39

arguments made by each side’s attorney after the cases for the plaintiff and defendant have been presented

Question 40

charge

Answer 40

the judge’s instructions to the jury following the attorneys’ closing arguments

Question 41

verdict

Answer 41

a formal decision made by the jury

Question 42

hung jury

Answer 42

a jury whose members are so irreconcilably divided in their opinions that they cannot reach a verdict

Question 43

allen charge

Answer 43

an instruction by a judge to a deadlocked jury with only a few dissenters that asks the jurors in the minority to reconsider the majority opinion

Question 44

appeal

Answer 44

the process of seeking a higher court’s review of a lower court’s decision for the purpose of correcting or changing the decision

Question 45

double jeopardy

Answer 45

to twice place at risk (jeopardize) a person’s life or liberty. Constitutional law prohibits a second prosecution in the same court for the same criminal offense

Question 46

habeas corpus

Answer 46

an order that requires corrections officials to bring an inmate before a court or a judge and explain why he or she is being held in prison

Question 47

wrongful conviction

Answer 47

the conviction, either by verdict or by guilty plea, of a person who is factually innocent of the charges