Criminal Justice Terms
criminal law: those statutes dealing with crimes against the public and members of the public, with penalties and all the procedures connected with charging, trying, sentencing and imprisoning defendants convicted of crimes.
criminal case: legal action brought by a prosecutor employed by the federal, state or local government that charges a person with the commission of a crime.
crime: a type of behavior that has been defined by the state as deserving of punishment, which may include fines and imprisonment. Crimes and their punishments are defined by congress and legislative bodies.
attorney: an agent or someone authorized to act for another.
defense attorney: the attorney representing the defendant in a lawsuit or criminal prosecution; a lawyer who regularly represents criminal defendants.
prosecutor: the government's attorney in a criminal case, including District Attorney, States Attorney, U.S. Attorney, Attorney General, Solicitor General, or special prosecutor. A special prosecutor may be assigned to investigate as well as prosecute if necessary when a government official is involved directly or indirectly in the possible criminal activity.
charge: in a criminal case, the specific statement of what crime the party is accused or charged with contained in the indictment or criminal complaint.
citation: a notice to appear in court due to the probable commission of a minor crime such as a traffic violation, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, and possession of a small amount of marijuana.
misdemeanor: a lesser crime punishable by a fine and/or county jail time for up to one year. Misdemeanors are distinguished from felonies, which can be punished by a state prison term. They are tried in the lowest local court such as municipal, or mayor’s courts. "High crimes and misdemeanors" referred to in the U.S. Constitution are felonies.
felony: a crime sufficiently serious to be punishable by death or a term in state or federal prison, as distinguished from a misdemeanor which is only punishable by confinement to county or local jail and/or a fine. Felonies are sometimes referred to as "high crimes" as described in the U.S. Constitution.
arraignment: the hearing in which a person charged with a crime is arraigned in his or her first appearance before a judge. This is the initial appearance of a criminal defendant, unless continued from an earlier time, in which all the preliminaries are taken care of.
discovery: the prosecutor must turn over to the defense information such as any witness statements and any evidence that might tend to exonerate the defendant. The defendant may also be obliged to share evidence with the prosecutor.
motion: a formal request made to a judge for an order or judgment. Motions are made in court all the time for many purposes such as: to continue a hearing to a later date, to get a modification of an order, to suppress evidence, to dismiss a case.
court or bench trial: ("non-jury trial"): a trial with a judge but no jury.
jury trial: a trial in which the case is presented to a jury and the factual questions and the final judgment are determined by a jury.
sentence: the punishment given to a person convicted of a crime. A sentence is ordered by the judge, based on the verdict of the jury, or the judge's decision if there is no jury, within the possible punishments set by law.
appeal: to ask a higher court to reverse the decision of a trial court after final judgment or other legal ruling.
sealing of records: trial and records and decisions which a judge orders kept secret.
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