Court Systems And Practices

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Clerk of Court

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An elected or appointed court officer responsible for maintaining the written records of the court and for supervising or performing the clerical task necessary to conduct judicial business.

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Assembly Line Justice

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The operation of any segment of the criminal justice system in which excessive workload results in decision being made with such and impersonality that defendants are treated as objects to be processed rather than as individuals.

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Court Room Work Group

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The regular participants in the day to day activities of a particular courtroom; judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney interacting on the basis of shared norms.

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Delay

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Post ponement or adjournment of proceedings in a case; lag in case-processing time.

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Discretion

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The lawful ability of a agent of government to exercise choice in making a decision.

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Legal Ethics

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Code of conduct governing how lawyers practice law and how judges administer justice.

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Local Prosecutors

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General term for lawyers who represent local government in the lawyer courts; often called city attorneys or solicitors.

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Officer of the Court

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Lawyers are officers of the court and as such must obey court rules, be truthful in court, and generally serve the needs of justice.

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Prosecutor

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A public official who represent the state in a criminal action.

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State Attorney General

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The chief legal officer of a state, representing that in civil and under certain circumstances, criminal cases.

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U.S. Attorney General

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Head of the Department of Justice; nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

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U.S. Attorneys

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Official responsible for the prosecution of crimes that violate the laws of the the United States; appointed by the president and assigned to a U.S. district court.

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Assigned Counsel System

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Arrangement that provides attorney for persons who are accused of crimes and are unable to hire their own lawyers. The judge assigns a member of the bar to provide counsel to a particular defendant.

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Contract System

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Method of providing counsel for indigent under which the government contracts with a law firm to represent all indigents for the year in return for a set fee.

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Indigents

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Defendents who are too poor to pay lawyer and therefore are entitled to a lawyer for free.

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Privileged Communication

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A recognized right to keep certain communications confidential or private.

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Public Defender

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An attorney employed by the government to represent indigent defendents.

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Pro Se

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Acting as one's own attorney in court; representing oneself.

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Right to Counsel

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Right to the accused to the services of a lawyer paid for by the government, established by the Sixth Amendment and extended by the Warren Court to indigent defendants in felony.

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American BarAssociation

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The largest voluntary organization of lawyers in the United States.

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Chambers

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The private office of a judge

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Gubernatorial Appointment

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Method of judicial selection in which the governor appoints a person to a judicial vacancy without an election.

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Impeachment

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Official accusation against a public official brought by a legislative body seeking his or her removal.

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Judicial Conduct Commission

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An official body whose function is to investigate allegations of misconduct by judges.

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Judicial election

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Method of judicial selection in which the voters choose judicial candidates in a partisan or nonpartisan election.

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Judicial Independence

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Normative value that stresses a judge should be free from outside pressure in making a decision.

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Removal

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To dismiss a person from holding office.

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Career Criminals

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Those people who commit a sequence of delinquent and criminal acts across the lifespan from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood.

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Civil Protection Order

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Court order requiring a person to stay away from another person.

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Defendant

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The person or party against whom a lawsuit or prosecution is brought.

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Standby/Shadow Counsel

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The lawyer appointed by the court to shadow a pro se defendant. The defendant may consult with the lawyer while representing himself or herself. The lawyer may also take over the case if the court revokes the defendant's right to self presentation either because emerging questions of mental incompetence or if the defendant is abusive, threatening, obstructionist, or the cause repeated, unnecessary delays.

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Victim Impact Statement

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Written or oral statements communicating information about how a crime impacted the victim and the victim's family.

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Arraignment

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The stage of the criminal process in which the defendant is formally told the charges and allowed to enter a plea.

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Arrest

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The act of depriving a person of his or her liberty, most frequently accomplished by physically taking the arrestee into police custody for a suspected violation of criminal law.

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Arrest Warrant

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A document issued by a judicial officer authorizing the arrest of a specific person.

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Bail

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The security (money or bail bond) given as a guarantee that a release prisoner will appear at trail.

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Bail Agent

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A person whose business it is to effect release on bail for persons held in custody by pledging to pay a sum of money if a defendant fails to appear in court as required.

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Bench Warrant

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An order issued by the court itself, or from the bench, for the arrest of a person; it is not based, as in an arrest warrant, on a probable cause showing that a person has committed a crime, but only on the person's failure to appear in court as directed.

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Bind Over

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If at the preliminary hearing the judge believes that sufficient probable cause exist to hold a criminal defendant, the accused is said to be bound over for trial.

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Charging Document

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An information, indictment, or complaint that states the formal criminal charge against a named defendant.

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Complaint

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In civil law, the first paper filed in a lawsuit. In criminal law, a charge signed by the victim that a person named has committed a specified offense.

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Contempt (of court)

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The failure of refusal to obey a court order; may be punished by a fine or imprisonment.

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Grand Jury

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A group of citizens who decide whether persons accused of crimes should be indicted (true billed) or not (no true billed).

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Index Crimes

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The specific crimes used by the FBI when reporting the incidence of crime in the United States in the Uniform Crime Reports; also called Type I offenses.

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Indictment

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A formal accusation of a criminal offense made against a person by a grand jury.

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Initial Appearance

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Shortly after arrest, the suspect is brought before a judicial official, who informs the person of the reason for the arrest and makes an initial determination about whether there was probable cause for the arrest.

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No True Bill

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The decision of a grand jury not to indict a person for a crime.

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Nolle Prosequi

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The ending of a criminal case because the prosecutor decides or agrees to stop prosecuting. When this happens, the case is nollied, nolled or nol. prossed.

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Preliminary Hearing

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A pretrial hearing to determine whether there is probable cause to bind a defendant over for felony trail.

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Probable Cause

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Standard used to determine whether a crime has been committed and whether there sufficient evidence to believe a specific individual committed it.

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Property Bond

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Use of property as collateral for pretrial release.

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Release On Recognizance

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The release of an accused person from jail on his or her own obligation rather than on a monetary bond.

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Subpoena (power)

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An order from a court directing a person to appear before the court and to give testimony about a cause of action pending before it.

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Transactional Immunity

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Absolute protection against prosecution for any event of transaction about which a witness is compelled to give testimony or furnish evidence.

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True Bill

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A bill of indictment by a grand jury.

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Type I Offense

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Serious crimes of homicide, rape, arson, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, auto theft, and larceny, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports; also called "index crimes".

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Uniform Crime Reports

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A program conceived in 1929 by the International Association of Chiefs of Police to meet a need for reliable, uniform crime statistics for the nation.

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Affidavit

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A written statement of facts, which the signer swears under oath are true.

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Alibi Defense

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A defense alleging that the defendant was elsewhere at the time that the crime with which he or she is charged was committed.

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Consent Search

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A person, place, or movables may be lawfully searched by an officer of the law if the owner gives free and voluntary consent.

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Custodial Interrogation

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Any questioning by law enforcement offers after a suspect has been arrested or otherwise deprived of his or her freedom in any significant way, thereby requiring that the suspect be informed of his or her Fifth Amendment rights as set forth in Miranda.

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Discovery

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Pretrial procedure in which parties to a lawsuit ask for and receive information such as testimony, records, or other evidence from each other.

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Exclusionary Rule

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A rule created by judicial decisions holding that evidence obtained through violations of the constitutional rights of the criminal defendant must be excluded from trial.

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Exculpatory Evidence

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Evidence that cast doubt on the guilt of a criminally accused person.

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Opens Fields

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The doctrine that allows law enforcement to search open lands without a warrant.

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Plain View

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If police happens to come across something acting within their lawful duty, that item may be used as evidence in a criminal trial, even if the police did not have a search warrant.

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Search Incident to a Lawful Arrest

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The ability of law enforcement to conduct a warrantless search of a person and the area around the arrestee's immediate control when making a lawful arrest.

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Search Warrant

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A written order, issued by judicial authority, directing a law enforcement officer to search for personal property and, if found, to bring it before the court.

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Suppression Motions

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Request that a court of law prohibit specific statements, documents, or objects from being introduce into evidence in a trial.

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Warrantless Search

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Search without search warrant.