click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Street Law Chapt13
Vocabulary
Question | Answer |
---|---|
the formal process of making a police record of an arrest | booking |
a court session at which a defendant is charged and enters a plea; for a misdemeanor this is also the defendant's initial appearance, at which the judge informs him or her of the charges and sets the bail | arraignment |
money or property put up by the accused or his or her agent to allow release from jail before trial; the purpose of this is to assure the court the defendant will return for trial; if the defendant is present for trial, the money or property is returned | bail |
a release from legal custody based on a defendant's promise to show up for trial; an alternative to cash bail, this practice is used if the judge decides that the defendant is likely to return | personal recognizance |
a prosecuting attorney's formal accusation of the defendant, detailing the nature and circumstances of the charge | information |
pretrial proceeding at which the prosecutor must prove that a crime was committed and establish the probable guilt of the defendant; if the evidence presented does not show probable guilt, the judge may dismiss the case | preliminary hearing |
a group of 16 to 23 people who hear preliminary evidence to decide if there is sufficient evidence to decide if there is sufficient reason to formally charge a person with a crime | grand jury |
a grand jury's formal charge or accusation of criminal action | indictment |
Latin phrase meaning "no contest"; a defendant's plea to criminal charges that does not admit guilt but also does not contest the charges; it is equal to a guilty plea, but can't be used as evidence in a later civil trial for damages (using same facts) | nolo contendere |
a document by which a party asks the judge to make a decision or take some action before the trial begins | pretrial motion |
a request by the defendant to examine, before trial, certain evidence possessed by the prosecution | motion for discovery of evidence |
a request to postpone a lawsuit to gain more time to prepare the case | motion for a continuance |
a request to change the location of a trial to avoid community hostility, for the convenience of a witness, or for other reasons | motion for a change of venue |
a motion filed by a criminal defense attorney, asking the court to exclude any evidence that was illegally obtained from the attorney's client | motion to suppress evidence |
as used in discussing search and seizure, this is an argument for the use of the exclusionary rule, which emphasizes that courts should not permit lawbreaking by the police | judicial integrity |
measures taken to discourage criminal actions; usually some form of punishment; it is the belief that punishment will discourage the offender from committing future crimes and will serve as an example to keep others from committing crimes | deterrence |
in a criminal case, the negotiations between the prosecutor, defendant, and defendant's attorney; in exchange for the defendant agreeing to plead guilty, the prosecutor agrees to charge the defendant with a less serious crime | plea bargaining |