Module 1 Vocab

Question 1

adjudication

Answer 1

the act or process of making an official decision about who is right in (a dispute) : to settle judicially

Question 2

arrest

Answer 2

seize, capture, to take or keep in custody by authority of the law

Question 3

common law

Answer 3

the body of law developed in England primarily from judicial decisions based on custom and precedent, unwritten in statute or code, and constituting the basis of the English legal system and of the system in all of the U.S. except Louisiana

Question 4

bill of rights

Answer 4

a summary of fundamental rights and privileges guaranteed to a people against violation by the state —used especially of the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution

Question 5

Corpus Delicti

Answer 5

the substantial and fundamental fact necessary to prove the commission of a crime

Question 6

crime

Answer 6

an act that violates the law and is punishable if the offender intended to have done the act without legally acceptable defense or justification

Question 7

criminal complaint

Answer 7

an official document that charges the defendant with a crime

Question 8

due process

Answer 8

(substantive): a judicial requirement that enacted laws may not contain provisions that result in the unfair, arbitrary, or unreasonable treatment of an individual
(procedural): a course of formal proceedings (such as legal proceedings) carried out regularly and in accordance with established rules and principles

Question 9

grand jury

Answer 9

a jury that examines accusations against persons charged with crime and if the evidence warrants makes formal charges on which the accused persons are later tried

Question 10

indictment

Answer 10

a formal written statement framed by a prosecuting authority and found by a jury (such as a grand jury) charging a person with an offense

Question 11

individual rights

Answer 11

those considered so essential that they warrant specific statutory protection from interference

Question 12

precedent

Answer 12

something done or said that may serve as an example or rule to authorize or justify a subsequent act of the same or an analogous kind
a person or thing that serves as a model

Question 13

presumption of innocence

Answer 13

a rebuttable presumption in the favor of the defendant in a criminal action imposing on the prosecution the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt

Question 14

probable cause

Answer 14

a reasonable ground for supposing that a charge is well-founded

Question 15

Texas Penal Code

Answer 15

the principal criminal code of the U.S. state of Texas