Chapter2-trial process Flashcards
Jury voir dire
The process of questioning a panel of prospective jurors to select the final panel; roughly it means “to speak the truth”
Venire
The pool of prospective jurors from which the jury panel is selected.
Challenges for cause
The motion that a prospective juror should be excluded because he or she is incapable of being impartial.
Peremptory challenge
The motion that excludes a prospective juror from the jury panel without specific reason or justification.
Jury nullification
The power of a jury in a criminal case to acquit a defendant for any reason at all. When a jury on a criminal case exercises this power, its decision cannot be appealed.
Contempt
The power of a court to punish persons for failure to obey court orders it coerce them into obeying court orders
Exculpatory evidence
Any evidence that tends to prove the innocence if an accused.
Pretrial discovery
A reciprocal exchange of information between the prosecuting and defending attorneys, before trail, either as ordered by the court in a particular case or required by statue or rule.
Reasonable doubt
The standard of proof in a criminal case. A doubt based upon reason; that which would make a reasonable person hesitate to act in connection affairs if life.
Opening statement
A summary of how the prosecution expects its evidence to show the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. It is not an argument but rather a road map of the prosecution’s case-in-cheif.
Case-in-chief
The portion of the trial that comprises the Mai. Evidence for either the prosecution or the defense.
Corpus delicti
The requirement that the prosecution present sufficient evidence to establish that a crime has been committed by someone.
Prima facie case
The amount of proof the prosecution must present in its case-in-cheif-evidence sufficient to establish that a crime was committed and that the defendant probably did it.
