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Accused: formally charged
but not yet tried for committing a crime; the person who has been charged
may also be called the defendant.
Acquittal: a
judgment of court, based on the decision of either a jury or a judge,
that a person accused is not guilty of the crime for which he has been
tried.
ADA: Assistant
district attorney. An assistant district attorney works for the elected
District Attorney. An ADA will review and prosecute cases as assigned.
ADA's meet with law enforcement, witnesses, and victims. They generally
have authority to dispose of those cases assigned to them.
Adjournment: putting off or postponing
business or a session of court until another time or place.
Adjudication: the judicial decision
that ends a criminal proceeding by a judgment of acquittal, conviction,
or dismissal of the case.
Affidavit: a written statement
that the writer swears is true.
Aggravating factors: factors that make a crime worse than most
similar crimes. Aggravating factors are often defined by law and include
such things as: victim very old, gang related, done for hire, especially
cruel, defendant does not support his family, or took advantage of a
position of trust.
Aggravated range: When a person is
sentenced, this indicates a sentence that is more severe than the “presumed”
sentence for a given crime. A defendant may receive more time if the
judge finds aggravating factors. If no aggravating factors are found,
the sentence will come from either the “presumptive” or
“mitigated” range.
Alleged: said to be true,
but not yet proven to be true; until the trial is over, the crime may
be called the “alleged crime.”
Appeal: a request by either
the defense or the prosecution that a higher court review the results
of a decision on certain motions or in a completed trial. This can be
an appeal from superior court to an appeals court, or an appeal from
district court to superior court for a trial.
Arraignment: to bring a prisoner before a judge to ask how
he pleads to the charges against him.
Arrest warrant: A written order
issued by the District court or magistrate including a statement of
the crime of which the person to be arrested is accused, and directing
that the person be arrested and held to answer the accusation before
a magistrate or other judge.
Assailant: person identified
as the attacker.
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Bail: an amount of money
set by the court that allows a person charged with a crime to be released
from custody. The purpose of bail is to insure that the offender will
return to court.
Bailiff: a uniformed officer
who keeps order in the courtroom.
Bench: how the judge is
sometimes referred to as in “the bench;” also where the
judge sits during the proceedings.
Bench warrant: an order
issued by a judge to bring to court an accused person who has been released
before trial and does not return to court when ordered to do so; or
a witness who has failed to appear when ordered to do so.
Beyond a reasonable doubt: the degree of proof
needed for a jury or judge to convict an accused person of a crime.
Bond: in
criminal court, a term meaning the same thing as “bail;”
generally a certificate or evidence of a debt.
Bond Forfeiture: a hearing to determine
if the bond on a defendant is to be forfeited after a defendant fails
to show for court. Forfeited bond money goes to the public schools.
Bondsman: (also Bail Bondsman)
a licensed person or person working for a licensed company, who will
post bond for a defendant upon payment of a fee. The fee is generally
fifteen per cent (15%) of the bond.
Booking: an official police
record of the arrest of a person accused of committing a crime which
identifies the accused, the time and place of arrest, the arresting
authority, and the reason for the arrest.
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Calendar: a document listing
cases for hearing before a court. Calendars may be for district court,
superior court, motions, forfeitures, criminal docket management, plea,
or trials.
Capital Case: This is a first-degree
murder case in which the jury can impose either a life sentence or the
death penalty. If a person is guilty of first-degree murder and there
are any statutory aggravating factors then the State has to seek the
death penalty.
Charge: the formal accusation filed by the prosecutor’s
office that a specific person has committed a specific crime; the filing
may be called “pressing charges.”
Clerk of Court: an officer of a
court of justice who has charge of the clerical part of its business--
who keeps its records and seal, issues process, enters judgments and
orders, gives certified copies from the records, etc.
Commitment: the warrant or order
by which a court or magistrate directs an officer to take a person to
prison.
Complaint: a term in civil
cases that signifies a filing of a suit. In criminal court, the complaint
is the reporting of a crime to authorities.
Concurrent sentence: running together;
when two or more sentences are served at the same time. Opposite of
consecutive sentence.
Consecutive sentence: successive; succeeding
one another in regular order; one sentence beginning at the completion
of another.
Continuance: postponement of
a court hearing; putting it off until another day.
Criminal Court: a court that hears
cases concerned with the alleged violation of criminal law.
Criminal Docket Management: A system used to
review cases that have been taken to criminal superior court. Generally,
an ADA meets with defense attorneys and reviews the strengths and weaknesses
of a case. If no plea is worked out during CDM, cases are set for trial
during CDM.
Criminal Justice System: the government agencies
charged with law enforcement, prosecution of alleged violations of the
criminal law, the court hearing of charges against the accused, and
the punishment and supervision of those convicted.
Criminal Law: the law whose violation
is considered an offense against the state and is punishable upon conviction
by imprisonment and other penalties for adult offenders and by action
of a juvenile court for juvenile offenders.
Cross examination: the examination
of a witness by the party opposed to the one who produced him during
a trial or hearing, or upon taking a deposition.
CRS: Initials
showing a case is in superior criminal court. CR is the designation
for a case still in district court.
CVAP: The
Child Victim Assistance Program is a joint effort of the Attorney General’s
Office and the office of selected District Attorneys. It is designed
to provide services and support to child victims and their families
during their involvement with the criminal court process.
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DA: Commonly
refers to an attorney for the community elected by the people in his
district to represent the interests of the general public, including
crime victims, in court proceedings against people accused of committing
crimes. Other jurisdictions use other terms: prosecutor, such as U.S.
Attorney (a federal prosecutor), solicitor, or state’s attorney.
Defendant: a person who has
been formally charged with committing a crime; the person accused of
a crime.
Defense Attorney: the lawyer who represents
the defendant in legal proceedings. Victims are usually not required
to speak with defense attorneys except in court, but may do so if they
choose.
Defensive driving school: an educational program
taught by the community colleges in Bladen, Brunswick, and Columbus
counties that allows drivers who violate specific laws to attend a four-hour
class designed to improve their driving skills. After completion of
the course violators are given a reduced plea.
Deferred prosecution: Prosecution that
the DA postpones for a certain period of time. The North Carolina Legislature
has authorized District Attorneys to place defendants who commit offenses
up to class H felonies on supervised probation with the agreement that
the charges will be dismissed if probation is successfully completed.
Defendants placed on deferred prosecution cannot have been on probation
before. They are subject to all the regular conditions of probation
such as paying restitution and community service. If the time elapses
with no problems, the D A will dismiss the case.
Deferred sentence: defendant enters
a guilty plea, receives probation for a certain amount of time, and
gives up the right to trial. The DA dismisses the case if the probation
is completed successfully.
Direct examination: the first
interrogation or examination of a witness during trial by the party
on whose behalf he is called.
Discovery: Process by which the DA provides to a Defense
Attorney information gathered during the investigation of a felony;
the ascertainment of that which was previously unknown.
Dismissal: a decision by the
prosecutor or other judicial officer to end a case for legal or other
reasons.
Disposition: the final judicial
decision which ends a criminal proceeding by a judgment of acquittal
or dismissal, or which states the sentence if the accused is convicted.
District Attorney: Commonly refers
to an official elected by the people of the community in his/her district
to represent the interests of the general public, including crime victims,
in court proceedings against people accused of committing crimes. Some
jurisdictions use other terms: such as prosecutor, U.S. Attorney (a
federal prosecutor), solicitor, or state’s attorney.
District Attorney’s
Report: A
report that is prepared by law enforcement in felony cases to inform
the District Attorney what the facts are in a case. This is also known
as a “felony report.”
District court: where misdemeanor
cases are heard concerning the violation of state statutes.
Double jeopardy: putting a person
on trial more than once for the same offense; double jeopardy is forbidden
by the U.S. Constitution.
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Electronic House Arrest: Defendants are placed
on supervised probation and monitored electronically twenty-four hours
a day. Defendants on this program must remain in their homes when not
at their employment or receiving treatment. A response team responds
to violations twenty-four hours a day.
Endorsement of witnesses: all prosecution
witnesses must be named.
Enhanced Intensive Probation: Intensive probation
with the added requirement of electronic monitoring of the defendant
similar to that used in electronic house arrest.
Exculpatory: clearing or tending
to clear from alleged fault or guilt.
Ex parte: on one side only, done for one party.
Expert witness: Woman/man of a science
educated in the art, or persons possessing special or peculiar knowledge
acquired from practical experience.
Extradition: the surrender by
one state to another of an individual accused or convicted of an offense
outside its own territory and within the territorial jurisdiction of
the other.
Evidence: testimony and objects
used to prove statements made by the victim and the accused.
Exceptional Case: a case designated
during Criminal Docket Management process as one so complicated as to
fall outside the time guidelines of the general CDM rules.
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Failure to appear (FTA): defendant does not
appear for court, order for arrest is issued.
Felony: a crime of graver or more atrocious nature than
those designated as misdemeanors, carrying more potential jail time
for an offender.
Felony diversion: DA does not file charges if certain conditions
are met.
First Setting: The initial hearing
for a case in the Criminal Docket Management process.
Final Setting: The final hearing
for a case in the Criminal Docket Management process. Cases not disposed
of during this setting are set for trial.
Fugitive: one who flees or
escapes from some duty or penalty.
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Grand Jury: a grand jury is composed of eighteen citizens
meet in felony cases to determine whether a crime probably occurred
and whether the defendant probably committed the crime. If twelve of
the eighteen jurors, agree then they return a true bill of indictment.
The office of the District Attorney prepares indictments.
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Hung jury: a jury whose members
cannot agree whether the accused is guilty or not; mistrial.
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Impeach: to discredit the
truthfulness of a witness.
Indictment: a formal written accusation, made by a grand
jury after submission by the prosecutor and filed in a court, alleging
that a specific person committed a specific crime. The office of the
District Attorney prepares indictments.
Indigent: an accused person
who has been found by the court to be too poor to pay for his/her own
attorney.
Infraction: minor violations
of the law that do not rise to the level of misdemeanor. Driving offense
make up the bulk of charges designated as infractions.
Innocent: free from guilt; free from legal fault.
This should not be confused with the term “not guilty.”
Not guilty is a verdict by a judge or a jury that a person accused of
a crime did not commit it or that there is not enough evidence to prove
beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused committed the crime.
Intensive Probation: Defendants are on
supervised probation, have curfews, and see probation officer at least
once a week.
Investigation: the gathering of
evidence by law-enforcement officials (and in some cases prosecutors)
for presentation to a grand jury or in a court, to prove that the accused
did commit the crime.
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Jail: a
confinement facility. Technically, a jail is administered by a local
law-enforcement agency for adults and sometimes juveniles who have been
accused of committing a crime but whose trials are not yet over, and
persons who have been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for one
year or less; (see prison).
Judge: a judicial officer
who has been elected or appointed to preside over a court of law.
Judgment: a court’s
final determination of the rights and obligations of the parties in
a case. This may be in answer to a motion or trial.
Jury: a group of citizens who decide whether
the accused is guilty or not. They are selected by law and sworn to
determine certain facts by listening to testimony in order to reach
a decision as to guilt or innocence.
Jury selection: the process by which
the judge, the prosecutor, and the defense attorney screen citizens
who have been called to jury duty to determine if they will hear the
evidence and decide guilt or innocence in a particular trial.
Juvenile: a person accused
of an offense who is too young at the time of the alleged offense to
be subject to criminal court proceedings as an adult and is therefore
handled in the juvenile justice system.
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Magistrate: person who can issue
warrants when a person is accused of a crime. The are clothed with power
as a public civil officer and have additional duties such as setting
bond, hearing small claims, and accepting payment for certain infractions
and misdemeanors.
Misdemeanor: offenses lower than felonies and generally
those punishable by fine or imprisonment otherwise than in penitentiary.
These crimes are generally punishable by no more than 150 days in jail.
Mitigating Factor: a factor
that make a crime less deserving of punishment than most similar crimes.
Mitigating factors are often defined by law and include such things
as: defendant was very young; the person was honorably discharged from
the armed forces, etc. A comprehensive list can be found in North Carolina
General Statute 15A-131340.16(e).
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Not guilty: a verdict by a judge
or a jury that a person accused of a crime did not commit it or that
there is not enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that
the accused committed the crime.
Not guilty plea: a formal response
by a person accused of committing a specific crime in which the accused
says that the charges are not true and he did not commit the crime.
Notice: a written order
to appear in court at a certain time and place.
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Offender: an adult who has
been convicted of a crime.
Offense: a crime; technically, in some jurisdictions,
only the most minor crimes are called offenses.
Opening statement: an outline of anticipated
proof. Its purpose is to advise the jury prior to testimony of the facts
relied upon and of issues involved; and to give the jury a general picture
of the facts and the situations so that the jury will be able to understand
the evidence.
Order
of Arrest: an
order for the arrest of a defendant following the filing of charges
or failure to appear when required by the court.
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Parole: the conditional release of a convicted
offender from a confinement facility before the end of his sentence
with requirements for the offender’s behavior set and supervised
by a parole agency.
Penitentiary: a state or federal prison.
Perjury: deliberate false testimony under oath involving
a material fact.
Perpetrator: a person who actually commits a crime.
Personal
recognizance: the promise of an accused person to the court that he will return to
court when ordered to do so; given in exchange for release before and
during his trial.
Petition: a document filed in juvenile court alleging that
a juvenile should come under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court
for some offense or asking that the juvenile be transferred to criminal
court for prosecution as an adult.
Plea: a defendant’s formal answer in court to the charge that he has
committed a crime. Some possible pleas include: guilty, not guilty,
no contest, or not guilty by reason of insanity.
Plea
bargain (agreement): a plea agreed to
by a defendant and the prosecutor; a negotiated plea that may set out
exact terms relating to punishment and disposition of a case.
Pre-sentence investigation
(PSI): report
compiled by the Probation Department after plea and before sentencing
to make sentencing recommendations to the judge.
Probation: conditional freedom granted to an offender by
the court after conviction or guilty plea with requirements for the
offender’s behavior set and supervised by the court.
Probation
hearing: a hearing before a judge to review the performance of a defendant while
on probation. Hearings are not generally held unless a probationer has
violated some term of their probationary sentence.
Prosecutor: an attorney for the community elected by the
voters of a district to represent the interests of the general public,
including crime victims, in court proceedings against people accused
of committing crimes. Some jurisdictions use other terms for the prosecutor,
such as U.S. Attorney (a federal prosecutor), district attorney, or
state’s attorney.
Public
defender: an
attorney employed by a government agency to represent defendants who
are unable to hire private counsel.
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Remand: to send back to a lower court. Typically
refers to a situation where a Defendant in Superior Court asks to return
a misdemeanor conviction to District Court for compliance with the judgment
of that court.
Restitution: State law allows the prosecutor to request restitution
(repayment for the victim’s losses) as part of the sentence of
any defendant who is found guilty of a crime. Reimbursable losses include
out-of-pocket expenses (such as repair costs, medical bills, and stolen
property) which have not previously been covered.
Retainer: the fee a defendant pays for an attorney to represent
him.
Rights
of the defendant: the powers and privileges which are constitutionally guaranteed to any
person arrested and accused of committing a crime including: the right
to remain silent; the right to an attorney at all stages of the proceedings;
the right to a court-appointed attorney if the defendant does not have
the financial means to hire her/his own counsel; the right to release
on reasonable bail; the right to a speedy public trial before a jury
or judge; the right to the process of the court to subpoena and produce
witnesses; the right to see, hear and question the witnesses during
the trial; and the right not to incriminate himself/herself.
Rule
24 hearing: a
hearing before a judge in first degree murder cases. The purpose is
to determine whether the State will be seeking the death penalty in
the case.
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SAVAN: The Statewide Automated
Victim Assistance & Notification system. SAVAN is a free, anonymous,
computer-based telephone program that provides victims of crime two
important services: court information and information from the jail
and the department of correction about defendants being held in custody.
Victims should contact the DA’s office for information on this
important service.
Search
warrant: an
order in writing, issued by a judge or magistrate, in the name of the
state, directed to a sheriff, or other officer, commanding him to search
a specific house, shop, or other premises, for specific property related
to a crime.
Second
Setting: the
second court hearing during the Criminal Docket Management process.
SIP: a screening and intake program used to review police reports and investigations
for the purpose of deciding how to dispose of mattes being investigated.
Statute: an act of the legislature declaring, commanding, or prohibiting something.
A law.
Subpoena: a court paper requesting the appearance of a
witness or documents to be present at a court proceeding.
Summons: a citation requiring
a defendant to appear in court to answer a suit to which has been brought
against him.
Superior
court: where
most felony cases are heard concerning violation of state statutes.
Supreme
court: a court of higher powers
and extensive jurisdiction; our state has supreme court and the United
States has a Supreme Court.
Suspect: a person who is believed by criminal justice
officials to be one who may have committed a specific crime, but who
has not been arrested or formally charged. Once arrested a suspect is
called a defendant.
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Testimony: statements made
in court by people who have sworn or affirmed to tell the truth.
Transcript: In court it is a verbatim writing of what was said in court during a
trial, or a paper writing setting out terms of a plea taken from a defendant.
Also a copy of an original writing or deed.
Trial: an examination of issues of fact and law before
a judge and sometimes a jury at which evidence is presented to determine
whether or not the accused person is guilty of committing a specific
crime.
Traffic
Court: an
administrative court that hears only traffic matters, usually uncontested.
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U.S.
Attorney: a
federal prosecutor.
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Venue: a neighborhood,
place, or county in which an injury or crime was done; or where a hearing/trial
is held.
Verdict: the decision of a judge or jury at the end of
a trial that the accused defendant is either guilty or not guilty.
Victim
Compensation Program: a
program of the state designed to provide compensation to victims of
certain crimes for their damages and expenses. Initial application for
funds is generally made through the office of the District Attorney
through the use victim impact statements.
Victim
Impact Statement: a
form provided to allow victims of crime to provide the court with their
comments about the impact the crime had on them.
Victim
Witness Assistant: Employees
of the District Attorney's Office that are assigned to provide information
and assistance to the victims of crime. They act as liaison between
the victim and the Assistant District Attorney assigned to a case.
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Waiver: the intentional or voluntary relinquishment
of a known right.
Warrant: see arrest warrant and bench warrant.
Watson
Hearing: a
procedure in death penalty cases where the defense attempts to require
the state specific what aggravating factors it will use in seeking a
death sentence.
Witness: a person who has directly seen an event, such
as a crime or who has other knowledge that is related to a court case;
or some thing, such as a piece of physical evidence.
Writ
of execution: a writ to put in force the judgment
of decree of a court.
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