Glossary

• Jurisdiction: United States

Glossary

Accessory A person who assisted in the preparation of the crime but was not present when it was actually carried out.

Accessory after the fact A person who first aided the principal after the commission of the crime.

Accomplice A person who assists the principal with the crime or with the preparation of the crime.

Actus reus A Latin term referring to a person's wrongful conduct that resulted in an illegal act.

Address block The portion of a court document that identifies the attorney responsible for the preparation of the document, the party that the attorney represents, the address, and the telephone number. The address block is also known as the preparer's data.

Administrative law Rules and regulations created by administrative agencies.

Adversary system A judicial system in which judges are supposed to act as passive, neutral decisionmakers, while the attorneys for the litigants are responsible for presenting the evidence and arguments that favor their clients.

Adverse witness A witness who is either the opposing party in the case or a witness who is closely affiliated with the opposing party.

Affiant The person who signs an affidavit under oath or under penalty of perjury.

Affidavit A voluntarily written declaration of facts signed under oath or under penalty of perjury.

Alibi defense A criminal defense requiring proof that the defendant could not have been at the scene of the crime.

Allocution The defendant's statement in mitigation of the sentence.

American Bar Association The largest voluntary association of attorneys in the United States. As the national representative of the legal profession, the ABA's stated mission is to serve the public and the profession by promoting justice, professional excellence, and respect for the law.

Appeal A formal request for review of an order or judgment entered by another court that seeks to reverse or modify the other court's decision.

Appellant The party initiating the appeal.

Appellant-cross appellee The party defending the trial court's decision on appeal and initiating the cross appeal.

Appellee The party defending the trial court's decision on appeal.

Appellee-cross appellant The party initiating the appeal and defending the trial court's decision on appeal.

Application for search warrant A motion presented to the court that specifies the reasons that a search warrant should be issued. The application for search warrant is typically in affidavit form or accompanied by an affidavit.

Arraignment The court proceeding at which the judge informs the defendant of the charges filed by the government.

Arrest The act of physically apprehending and taking into custody a person who is suspected of committing a crime,

Arrest warrant A court order issued at the request of the prosecutor and/or law enforcement that authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.

Arson An act of starting a fire or causing an explosion with the purpose of destroying or damaging the property of another; or to collect insurance for such loss.

Assault An act that causes or attempts to cause serious bodily harm to another individual.

Assessment The charge imposed upon a specified group (i.e., users of the court system) for the purpose of funding specified services (e.g., women's shelters or legal aid programs).

Asset forfeiture The process used by law enforcement officers to keep and take ownership of seized property that was obtained either through criminal activities or purchased with money from a specific crime.

Assigned counsel A lawyer in private practice appointed by the court to handle an indigent client's criminal case.

Attorney A lawyer; a person licensed by a state to practice law.

Attorney-client privilege The rule of evidence that forbids an attorney, or the attorney's employees, from testifying about communications with the client.

Attorney's trust fund A special account holding money on behalf of the client.

Attorney work product Trial preparation materials consisting of the attorney's mental impressions, conclusions, opinions, and legal theories about a case.

Authentication of evidence The process of establishing that the objects being introduced into evidence are what they are claimed to be.

Back strike A practice that allows a party's attorney to exercise a peremptory challenge of a juror who was part of a panel that had previously been accepted.

Bail Money or something else of value that is pledged to guarantee that the accused will appear in court for scheduled proceedings.

Bailiff A court employee who is responsible for maintaining order in the courtrooms and watching over juries when they are in recess or when they have been sequestered.

Bates numbering An organizational method used to label documents by assigning a number (or alphanumeric designation) to each document (or page), thereby creating a unique identifier for each.

Battered woman's or spouse's syndrome A syndrome of being the victim of repeated attacks; self-defense is sometimes allowed to the victim even when the victim is not in immediate danger.

Battery An act of intentional physical contact that is either offensive or harmful to another person.

Bench trial A non-jury trial at which the judge decides all questions of fact.

Bench warrant A court order that authorizes the arrest of someone for failing to show for a court appearance.

Best evidence rule An evidentiary rule requiring that the original document be produced at trial.

Beyond a reasonable doubt The standard of proof used in criminal trials. The evidence presented must be so conclusive and complete that all reasonable doubts regarding the facts are removed from the jurors' minds.

Bill of Attainder A law that imposes criminal penalties on a single person or small, select group of people.

Bill of particulars A supplementary document that gives the specifics of a charge that were not set forth in the original charge.

Black letter law Widely used, generally accepted, basic legal principles.

Blood alcohol concentration (BOC) The percentage of alcohol in a person's blood.

Boilerplate language Model sentences that include standardized legal terms and phrases.

Burglary An act of entering into a building for the purpose of committing a crime.

Bystander's report A statement approved by the trial judge as to what happened in court.

Capital crimes Crimes for which the death penalty is an authorized punishment.

Capital offense A special type of felony that is punishable by death.

Capital punishment Punishment by death. It is also referred to as the death penalty.

Caption The section of a court document containing the names of the parties, case number, name of the court it is being filed in, and a title that identifies the type of document being filed.

Chain of custody A record of who possessed an object being presented as evidence from the time it came into possession of government agents until it is presented in court.

Challenge for cause A method for removing a prospective juror based on a finding by the judge that the juror has some sort of bias or has another disqualifying factor for serving on the jury for this specific case.

Change of venire The process of selecting jurors from a different location than the place of the trial.

Change of venue An action taken by the judge to move a trial to an alternative location.

Character evidence Evidence of a person's reputation in the community as to a particular trait, such as honesty or chastity.

Charge bargaining A plea bargain in which the prosecution dismisses a more serious charge in exchange for the defendant's pleading guilty to the lesser offense.

Charging the jury A process in which the judge instructs the jurors as to their responsibilities and presents the laws that they are supposed to apply.

Chilling effect doctrine A principle of constitutional law that invalidates statutes that are worded in such a way as to make people fearful of engaging in legitimate, constitutionally protected First Amendment activities.

Circumstantial evidence Evidence that permits the inference of the existence or nonexistence of a fact or event that a party seeks to prove.

Civil law The body of law defining actions for which individuals can use the courts to seek remedies for violations of their private rights, establishing procedural requirements for using the courts, and establishing remedies for violations of those rights.

CJA panel attorney An attorney in private practice who is appointed in federal cases to represent indigent defendants for a fixed hourly fee.

Clearly erroneous The standard used by appellate courts when reviewing a trial court's findings of fact, in which appellate judges defer to conclusions reached by the trial judge or jurors unless the appellant demonstrates that those findings were certainly unreasonable.

Clemency The power to pardon a crime, commute a sentence, or grant a reprieve.

Closing argument An oral presentation made to the jury, after all of the evidence has been presented, for the purpose of convincing the jury to find in favor of the side that is presenting the argument.

Code A compilation of statues, ordinances, or administrative regulations that is organized by subject matter rather than by the date of its enactment.

Collateral consequences (of a conviction) The legal and regulatory sanctions and restrictions that limit or prohibit people with criminal records from accessing employment, occupational licensing, housing, voting, education, and other opportunities.

Collateral remedies Actions designed to challenge judgments of conviction that have otherwise become final in the normal appellate review process.

Common law Legal principles that have evolved over time from the analysis of court decisions made in the absence of constitutional, statutory, and administrative law.

Common law record All documents contained in the case file in the trial court, including the docketing statement, exhibits, and jury instructions.

Commutation An official action that lessens the penalty without...