Legal Terms Chapter 2 - Criminal Trial Procedure

Question 1

Rules of criminal procedure

Answer 1

Regulations that govern the proceedings in criminal cases.

Question 2

Crime

Answer 2

A wrong against society.

Question 3

Guilty

Answer 3

The state of having committed a crime.

Question 4

Prosecution

Answer 4

A criminal action. The party by whom criminal proceedings are started or conducted.

Question 5

Arrest warrant

Answer 5

A written order of the court commanding law enforcement officers to arrest a person and bring him or her before the court.

Question 6

Custody

Answer 6

The care and keeping of anything.

Question 7

Probable cause

Answer 7

Reasonable belief, based on the then available facts, that a crime has been committed or that evidence of criminality exists.

Question 8

Search warrant

Answer 8

A written order of the court authorizing law enforcement officers to search for and seize certain property.

Question 9

Extradition

Answer 9

A process that permits the return of fugitives, to the state in which they are accused of having committed a crime, by the governor of the state to which they have fled.

Question 10

Citation

Answer 10

A written order by a judge (or a police officer) commanding a person to appear in court for a particular purpose.

Question 11

Criminal complaint

Answer 11

A written statement of the essential facts making up an offense charged in a criminal action.

Question 12

Probable cause hearing

Answer 12

A hearing before a judge to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to believe that the person has committed a crime.

Question 13

Bail

Answer 13

Money or property left with the court to ensure that the person will return to stand trial; nonrefundable if the person does not return.

Question 14

Personal recognizance

Answer 14

A personal obligation by a person to return to stand trial.

Question 15

Misdemeanor

Answer 15

A minor crime, not a felony.

Question 16

Felony

Answer 16

A major crime punishable by imprisonment in a state prison.

Question 17

Grand jury

Answer 17

A jury consisting of not more than 23 people who listen and see a prosecutor’s evidence and decide whether or not to charge someone with the commission of a crime.

Question 18

Prosecutor

Answer 18

The person representing the jurisdiction in which the crime has occurred, who brings charges against those the police have arrested.

Question 19

Information

Answer 19

A formal written charge of a crime made by a public official rather than by a grand jury.

Question 20

Nolo contendere

Answer 20

A plea in which the defendant neither admits nor denies the charges.

Question 21

Defense

Answer 21

Evidence or argument offered by the defendant to defeat a criminal charge or civil lawsuit.

Question 22

Plea bargaining

Answer 22

The working out of a mutually satisfactory disposition of a case by the prosecution and the defense.

Question 23

Bargain

Answer 23

Agreement.

Question 24

Fact finder

Answer 24

The jury in a jury trial, or the judge in a bench trial.

Question 25

Reasonable doubt

Answer 25

Doubt based on reason.

Question 26

Beyond a reasonable doubt

Answer 26

The condition that exists when the fact finder is fully persuaded that the accused has committed the crime.

Question 27

Intent

Answer 27

Mental desire and will to act in a particular way, including wishing not to participate.

Question 28

Acquitted

Answer 28

Discharged from accusation; to be found not guilty.

Question 29

Judgment

Answer 29

The decision of a court of law.

Question 30

Victim’s impact statement

Answer 30

A statement to the court, at the time of sentencing, relative to the impact the crime had on the victim or the victim’s family.

Question 31

Parole board

Answer 31

A group of people authorized to grant parole, also a parole commission.

Question 32

Parole

Answer 32

A conditional release from prison; allows the person to serve the remainder of a sentence outside of prison under specific terms.

Question 33

Parolee

Answer 33

A person placed on parole.

Question 34

Cumulative sentences

Answer 34

Two or more sentences imposed on a defendant to be served one after the other.

Question 35

Concurrent sentences

Answer 35

Two or more sentences imposed on a defendant to be served at the same time.

Question 36

Suspended sentence

Answer 36

A sentence that is given formally, but not actually served.

Question 37

Mandatory sentence

Answer 37

A fixed sentence that must be served with no room for discretion.

Question 38

Minimum sentence

Answer 38

The smallest amount of time that a prisoner must serve before being released or placed on parole.

Question 39

Commutation of sentence

Answer 39

The changing of a sentence to one that is less severe.

Question 40

Pardon

Answer 40

A setting aside of a punishment altogether by a government official.

Question 41

Miranda warnings

Answer 41

The constitutional rights given to people who are arrested.

Question 42

Seizure

Answer 42

The action of the police taking evidence of criminality from a person or from his or her property.

Question 43

Bifurcated trial

Answer 43

A trial that is divided into two parts, providing separate hearings for different issues in the same lawsuit.

Question 44

Liability

Answer 44

Legal responsibility, obligation, or duty.

Question 45

Damages

Answer 45

Money which is intended to compensate the injured party for losses caused by the tortious act of the tortfeasor.

Question 46

Severance of actions

Answer 46

The separation of lawsuits or prosecutions involving multiple parties into separate, independent cases, resulting in separate, final judgments.