chapter 8 vocab

Question 1

Initial Appearance

Answer 1

an accused first appearance before a judge or magistrate following arrest

Question 2

During the initial appearance the defendant is informed of

Answer 2

1the charges that have been brought against him or her
2 constitutional rights are explained—particularly, the right to remain silent (under the Fifth Amendment)
3 the right to be represented by counsel (under the Sixth Amendment).

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

Bail

Answer 4

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 5

Bail is provided under the

Answer 5

the Eighth Amendment.

the admendement does not guarantee the right to bail instead it states that excessive bail shal not be required

Question 6

Release on Recognizance (ROR)

Answer 6

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 7

Property Bond:

Answer 7

Property provided to the court by the defendant as an assurance that he or she will return for trial; an alternative to cash bail.

Question 8

Bail Bond Agent:

Answer 8

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

Question 9

How Does a Prosecutor Link a Defendant to a Crime?

Answer 9

establish probable cause.

Question 10

The Preliminary Hearing Process

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Answer 10

The preliminary hearing is conducted in the manner of a minitial
police report of the arrest is presented by a law enforcement officer, supplemented with evidence provided by the prosecutor.
During this hearing, the defendant has a right to be represented by counsel, who may cross-examine witnesses and challenge any evidence offered by the prosecutor.

Question 11

The Grand Jury determines

Answer 11

Determines whether the evidence presented by the prosecution is sufficient to provide probable cause that a crime occurred.

Question 12

If a majority of the jurors find sufficient evidence

Answer 12

the grand jury will issue an indictment.

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 consent”

Question 15

alford plea

Answer 15

defendant is pleading guilty but claims his or hers innocence

Question 16

Motivations for Plea Bargains

plea bargening

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Motivations for Plea Bargains

defense attorney

Answer 17

Often favorable terms that are seen as the best that can be done for client.

Question 18

Motivations for Plea Bargains

Defendants

Answer 18

Allows the defendant a measure of control over his or her fate.

Question 19

Motivations for Plea Bargains

Prosecutor

Answer 19

A win/conviction

Question 20

Pleading Not Guilty

Answer 20

Generally, a not guilty plea in the face of strong evidence is part of a strategy to do one of the following:

1. Gain a more favorable plea bargain.
2. Challenge a crucial part of the evidence on constitutional grounds.
3. submit one of the justifications/excuses defense

Question 21

Statute of Limitations:

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Jury Trial:

Answer 22

a trial before a judge and a jury

Question 23

Bench Trial:

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Acquittal:

Answer 24

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 25

Special Features of a Trial

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Answer 25

Assumption of innocence
Beyond a reasonable doubt
6th Amendment:
 right to attorney
Right to speedy trial
Right to be judged by impartial jury
Confrontation Clause 
5th Amendment:
Privilege against self-incrimination
Double jeopardy
 Due process

Question 26

How is a Jury Selected?

Answer 26

1. Citizens of the United States.
2. Eighteen years of age or older.
3. Free of felony convictions.
4. Healthy enough to function in a jury setting.
5. Sufficiently intelligent to understand the issues of a trial.
6. Able to read, write, and comprehend the English language

Question 27

Master Jury List:

Answer 27

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 28

Venire

Answer 28

the group of clients from which the jury is selected

Question 29

Voir Dire:

Answer 29

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 30

Challenge for Cause

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Peremptory Challenges:

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Opening Statements:

Answer 32

The attorneys’ statements to the jury at the beginning of the trial.
In these opening statements, the attorneys give a brief version of the facts and the supporting evidence that they will present during the trial.

Question 33

Evidence

Answer 33

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

Question 34

Testimony

Answer 34

Verbal evidence given by witness under oath

Question 35

Relevant Evidence:

Answer 35

Evidence tending to make a fact in question more or less probable than it would be without the evidence.

Question 36

Real Evidence:

Answer 36

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

Question 37

Exculpatory Evidence:

Answer 37

Evidence that tends to excuse, justify, or absolve the alleged fault or guilt of a defendant.

Question 38

Prejudicial Evidence:

Answer 38

Evidence may be excluded if it would tend to distract the jury from the main issues of the case, mislead the jury, or cause jurors to decide the issue on an emotional basis.

Question 39

The corpus delicti:

Answer 39

a legal term that refers to substantial facts that show a crime has been committed

Question 40

The Prosecution’s Case

Answer 40

The prosecutor attempts to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt by presenting the corpus delicti of the crime to the jury.

Question 41

Direct Examination of Witnesses

Answer 41

The prosecutor will call witnesses to the stand and ask them questions pertaining to the sequence of events that the trial is addressing.

Question 42

During direct examination,

Answer 42

the prosecutor will usually not be allowed to ask leading questions.

Question 43

Leading Question:

Answer 43

one that leads witness to an answer, by either suggesting the answer or by substituting the words of the questioning attorney for those of the witness

Question 44

Competence and Reliability of Witnesses

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Answer 44

Witnesses must have sufficient mental competence to understand the significance of testifying under oath.
They must also be reliable in the sense that they are able to give a clear and reliable description of the events in question.

Question 45

Cross-Examination is

Answer 45

the questioning of an opposing witness during trial.

Question 46

cross ecamination gives the accused?

Answer 46

This confrontation clause contained in the Sixth Amendment gives the accused, through his or her attorneys, the right to cross-examine witnesses.

Question 47

Rebuttal

Answer 47

After the defense closes its case, the prosecution is permitted to bring new evidence forward that was not used during its initial presentation to the jury.

Question 48

Surrebuttal

Answer 48

The defense is given the opportunity to cross-examine the prosecution’s new witnesses and introduce new witnesses of its own.

Question 49

Rebuttal Evidence:

Answer 49

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

Question 50

Closing Arguments:

Answer 50

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

Question 51

In their closing arguments

Answer 51

the attorneys summarize their presentations and argue one final time for their respective cases.

Question 52

What Happens at the End of a Criminal Trial?

Answer 52

Jury instructions are usually prepared during a special charging conference involving the judge and the trial attorneys.

Question 53

Jury Deliberation slide 30

Answer 53

One of the most important instructions that a judge normally gives the jurors is that they should seek no outside information during deliberation.

Question 54

The most common Verdict

Answer 54

The most common verdicts are guilty and not guilty.

Question 55

Hung jury

Answer 55

when a jury in a criminal trial is unable to agree on a unamimous verdict or a majority in certain states it returns withno decision

Question 56

in extreme cases the judge will order that the jury be

Answer 56

sequestered or isolated from the public during the trial and deliberated stages of the proceeding

Question 57

Allen Charge:

Answer 57

If there are only a few dissenters to the majority view, a judge can send the jury back to the jury room under a set of rules set forth by the Supreme Court in Allen v. United States (1896).

Question 58

Appeals

Answer 58

An appeal is the process of seeking a higher court’s review of a lower court’s decision for the purpose of correcting or changing the lower court’s judgment.

Question 59

A defendant who loses a case in a trial court cannot

Answer 59

automatically appeal the conviction.

Question 60

The defendant normally must first be able to

Answer 60

show that the trial court acted improperly on a question of law.

Question 61

But what if a defendant who is factually innocent has been found guilty at trial?

Answer 61

For the most part, such wrongful convictions can be righted only with the aid of new evidence suggesting that the defendant was not, in fact, guilty.

Question 62

The five most common reasons for wrongful convictions eventually overturned by DNA evidence are

Answer 62

1. Eyewitness misidentification
2. False confessions
3. Faulty forensic evidence
4. False informant testimony
5. Law enforcement misconduct

Question 63

There are several circumstances in which, for practical purposes, a defendant can find herself or himself back in court after a jury has failed to find her or him guilty of committing a particular crime:

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Answer 63

One state’s prosecution will not prevent a different state or the federal government from prosecuting the same crime.
Acquitted defendants can be sued in civil court.
A hung jury is not an acquittal for purposes of double jeopardy.

Question 64

Habeas corpus is a

Answer 64

a judicial order that commands a corrections official to bring a prisoner before a federal court so that the court can hear the convict’s claim that he or she is being held illegally.

Question 65

A writ of habeas corpus is used

Answer 65

to bring a prisoner or other detainee (e.g. institutionalized mental patient) before the court to determine if the person’s imprisonment or detention is lawful.