Criminal Law Terminology

Issue

1. The disputed point between parties in a lawsuit; 2. To send out officially, as in a court issuing an order.

Impeachment

1. The process of calling a witness's testimony into doubt. For example, if the attorney can show that the witness may have fabricated portions of his testimony, the witness is said to be "impeached;" 2. The constitutional process whereby the House of Representatives may "impeach" (accuse of misconduct) high officers of the federal government, who are then tried by the Senate.

Grand jury

A body of 16-23 citizens who listen to evidence of criminal allegations, which is presented by the prosecutors, and determine whether there is probable cause to believe an individual committed an offense. See also indictment and U.S. attorney.

Litigation

A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.

Lien

A charge on specific property that is designed to secure payment of a debt or performance of an obligation. A debtor may still be responsible for a lien after a discharge.

Subpoena

A command, issued under a court's authority, to a witness to appear and give testimony.

Injunction

A court order preventing one or more named parties from taking some action. A preliminary injunction often is issued to allow fact-finding, so a judge can determine whether a permanent injunction is justified.

Joint administration

A court-approved mechanism under which two or more cases can be administered together. (Assuming no conflicts of interest, these separate businesses or individuals can pool their resources, hire the same professionals, etc.)

Capital offense

A crime punishable by death.

Petty offense

A federal misdemeanor punishable by six months or less in prison.

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)/Racketeering

A federal statute enacted in 1970 and subsequently copied in many state statutes (informally called "Little Rico" statutes), designed to attack organized crime by providing special criminal penalties and civil liabilities for persons who engage in, or derive money from, repeated instances of certain types of crime. Racketeering is is when organized groups run illegal businesses, known as "rackets," or when an organized crime ring uses legitimate organizations to embezzle funds.

Interrogatories (Interrogation)

A form of discovery consisting of written questions to be answered in writing and under oath.

Sexual Harassment

A form of unlawful employment discrimination consisting of harassment of an employee or group of employees, usually women. This may take the form of requiring or seeking sexual favors as a condition of employment (quid pro quo harassment) or otherwise subjecting an employee to intimidation, ridicule, or insult because of her sex, whether or not the harassing conduct is sexual in nature.

Information

A formal accusation by a government attorney that the defendant committed a misdemeanor. See also indictment.

Hate Crimes

A hate crime, generally, refers to a crime committed not out of animosity toward a victim as an individual, but out of hostility toward the group to which the victim belongs.

Marital Rape

A husband's sexual intercourse with his wife by force or without her consent.

Jury instructions

A judge's directions to the jury before it begins deliberations regarding the factual questions it must answer and the legal rules that it must apply.

Conviction

A judgment of guilt against a criminal defendant.

Acquittal

A jury verdict that a criminal defendant is not guilty, or the finding of a judge that the evidence is insufficient to support a conviction.

Fraud

A knowing misrepresentation of the truth or concealment of a material fact to induce another to act to his or her detriment.

Class action

A lawsuit in which one or more members of a large group, or class, of individuals or other entities sue on behalf of the entire class. The district court must find that the claims of the class members contain questions of law or fact in common before the lawsuit can proceed as a class action.

Lawsuit

A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty which resulted in harm to the plaintiff.

Bankruptcy

A legal procedure for dealing with debt problems of individuals and businesses; specifically, a case filed under one of the chapters of title 11 of the United States Code (the Bankruptcy Code).

Docket

A log containing the complete history of each case in the form of brief chronological entries summarizing the court proceedings.

Pretrial conference

A meeting of the judge and lawyers to plan the trial, to discuss which matters should be presented to the jury, to review proposed evidence and witnesses, and to set a trial schedule. Typically, the judge and the parties also discuss the possibility of settlement of the case.

Depraved-heart murder

A murder resulting from an act so reckless and careless of the safety of others that it demonstrates the perpetrator's complete lack of regard for human life.

Wage garnishment

A nonbankruptcy legal proceeding whereby a plaintiff or creditor seeks to subject to his or her claim the future wages of a debtor. In other words, the creditor seeks to have part of the debtor's future wages paid to the creditor for a debt owed to the creditor.

Witness

A person called upon by either side in a lawsuit to give testimony before the court or jury.

Plaintiff

A person or business that files a formal complaint with the court.

Court reporter

A person who makes a word-for-word record of what is said in court, generally by using a stenographic machine, shorthand or audio recording, and then produces a transcript of the proceedings upon request.

Arraignment

A proceeding in which a criminal defendant is brought into court, told of the charges in an indictment or information, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.

Chapter 11

A reorganization bankruptcy, usually involving a corporation or partnership. A Chapter 11 debtor usually proposes a plan of reorganization to keep its business alive and pay creditors over time. Individuals or people in business can also seek relief in Chapter 11.

Motion

A request by a litigant to a judge for a decision on an issue relating to the case.

Appeal

A request made after a trial by a party that has lost on one or more issues that a higher court review the decision to determine if it was correct. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the "appellant;" the other party is the "appellee."

Appeal

A request to a higher (appellate) court for that court to review and change the decision of a lower court.

Felony

A serious crime, usually punishable by at least one year in prison.

Home confinement

A special condition the court imposes that requires an individual to remain at home except for certain approved activities such as work and medical appointments. Home confinement may include the use of electronic monitoring equipment - a transmitter attached to the wrist or the ankle - to help ensure that the person stays at home as required.

Community service

A special condition the court imposes that requires an individual to work - without pay - for a civic or nonprofit organization.

Admissible

A term used to describe evidence that may be considered by a jury or judge in civil and criminal cases.

Sodomy

A term varying in meaning from state to state, but generally referring to any type of sex act regarded by a legislature as "unnatural" or "perverted" In the narrowest and most traditional sense, the term refers to anal sexual intercourse between men, but it may extend to those or other acts between men and women (sometimes exemption married couples, sometimes not), or women and women, or people and animals. Also called a crime against nature, or an unnatural act.

Bench trial

A trial without a jury, in which the judge serves as the fact-finder.

Record

A written account of the proceedings in a case, including all pleadings, evidence, and exhibits submitted in the course of the case.

Writ

A written court order directing a person to take, or refrain from taking, a certain act.

Affidavit

A written or printed statement made under oath.

Brief

A written statement submitted in a trial or appellate proceeding that explains one side's legal and factual arguments.

Complaint

A written statement that begins a civil lawsuit, in which the plaintiff details the claims against the defendant.

Transcript

A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial, or during some other formal conversation, such as a hearing or oral deposition

Appellate

About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgment of a lower court (trial court) or tribunal. For example, the U.S. circuit courts of appeals review the decisions of the U.S. district courts.

Temporary restraining order

Akin to a preliminary injunction, it is a judge's short-term order forbidding certain actions until a full hearing can be conducted. Often referred to as a TRO.

Wire Fraud

An act of fraud using electronic communications, as by making false representations on the telephone to obtain money.

Mail Fraud

An act of fraud using the U.S. Postal Service, as in making false representations through the mail to obtain an economic advantage.

Voluntary manslaughter

An act of murder reduced to manslaughter because of extenuating circumstances such as adequate provocation (arousing the "heat of passion") or diminished capacity.

Assault With A Deadly Weapon

An aggravated assault in which the defendant, controlling a deadly weapon, threatens the victim with death or serious bodily injury.

Federal public defender

An attorney employed by the federal courts on a full-time basis to provide legal defense to defendants who are unable to afford counsel. The judiciary administers the federal defender program pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act.

Defendant

An individual (or business) against whom a lawsuit is filed. In a civil case, the person or organization against whom the plaintiff brings suit; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.

Civil Fraud

An intentional-but not willful-evasion of taxes.

Mistrial

An invalid trial, caused by fundamental error. When a mistrial is declared, the trial must start again with the selection of a new jury.

Misdemeanor

An offense punishable by one year of imprisonment or less. See also felony.

Indecent Exposure

An offensive display of one's own body in public, especially of the genitals.

Judge

An official of the Judicial branch with authority to decide lawsuits brought before courts. Used generically, the term judge may also refer to all judicial officers, including Supreme Court justices.

Deposition

An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial. See discovery.

Writs

An order from a higher court to a lower court or to a government official, such as a prison warden.

Obscenity

Any form of expression, such as a book, painting, photograph, movie, or play, that deals with sex in a way that is regarded as so offensive as to be beyond the protection of the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech. Under the most recent of the Supreme Court's efforts to define obscenity, the term applies to material that appeals to prurient interest, depicts, or describes sexual conduct in a way that is patently offensive, and lacks "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."

Child Molestation

Any indecent or sexual activity on, involving, or surrounding a child, usually under the age of 14.

Assault With Intent

Any of several assaults that are carried out with an additional criminal purpose in mind, such as assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to rob, assault with intent to rape, and assault with intent to inflict great bodily injury.

Health Care Fraud

Any scheme involving the health care industry that is designed for illegal financial gain, including: Billing for services not rendered, inflating the cost of the service provided, the deliberate sale of medically unnecessary services, and the payment of "kickbacks," or illegal payments designed to guarantee awarding of a contract or the exclusive right to provide a service.

Child Pornography

Any visual depiction of actual or simulated sexual conduct by an individual under the age of 18 or lascivious exhibition of the pubic area of such an individual. Courts have held that such material may be banned even if it is not legally obscene and does not involve nudity.

Federal public defender organization

As provided for in the Criminal Justice Act, an organization established within a federal judicial circuit to represent criminal defendants who cannot afford an adequate defense. Each organization is supervised by a federal public defender appointed by the court of appeals for the circuit.

Assault and Battery

Assault in conjunction with actual battery.

Child Enticement

Attempting to entice, lure, tempt, or persuade any child to enter, leave, or stay in any building, vehicle, or place if such act is done with the use of force or with the intent to commit rape, indecent assault, battery, dissemination of material harmful to children, unnatural and lascivious acts, indecent exposure, or other sexual offenses.

Dismissal without prejudice

Court action that allows the later filing.

Dismissal with prejudice

Court action that prevents an identical lawsuit from being filed later.

Warrant

Court authorization, most often for law enforcement officers, to conduct a search or make an arrest.

Cybercrime

Crimes committed electronically

Aggravated Assault

Criminal assault accompanied by circumstances that make it more severe, such as the use of a deadly weapon, the intent to commit another crime, or the intent to cause serious bodily harm.

Mayhem

Dismemberment or permanent disfigurement.

Inculpatory evidence

Evidence indicating that a defendant did commit the crime.

Exculpatory evidence

Evidence indicating that a defendant did not commit the crime.

Hearsay

Evidence presented by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. With some exceptions, hearsay generally is not admissible as evidence at trial

Testimony

Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.

Credit Card Fraud

Examples of Credit Card Fraud include: Illegal counterfeiting of credit cards, the use of lost or stolen credit cards, and obtaining credit cards fraudulently through the mail.

Failure To Register

Failure to register as a sex offender.

Insurance Fraud

Fraud committed against an insurer, as when an insured lies on a policy application or fabricates a claim.

Abuse

General term for physical or mental mistreatment.

Sexual Offense

General term used to describe a crime of a sexual nature.

Lewdness

Gross, wanton, and public indecency that is outlawed by many state statutes; a sexual act that the actor knows will likely be observed by someone who will be affronted or alarmed by it.

Possession

Having drugs or drug paraphernalia on one's person.

Involuntary Manslaughter

Homicide in which there is no intention to kill or do grievous bodily harm, but that is committed with criminal negligence or during the commission of a crime not included within the felony-murder rule.

Criminal Homicide

Homicide prohibited and punishable by law, such as murder or manslaughter.

Excusable Homicide

Homicide resulting from a person's lawful act, committed without intention to harm another.

Negligent Homicide

Homicide resulting from the careless performance of a legal or illegal act in which the danger of death is apparent; the killing of a human being by criminal negligence.

Identity Theft

Identity Theft primarily involves either "true name" or "account takeover" fraud. With "true name" someone uses a consumer's personal information to open new accounts in his or her name. With "account takeover" someone gains access to a person's existing account(s) and makes fraudulent charges. Another form of identity theft occurs when a criminal provides a victim's personal information to law enforcement when the criminal gets arrested. The victim may then have a criminal record or outstanding warrants attached to their name without even realizing it.

Plea

In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges. See also nolo contendere.

Due process

In criminal law, the constitutional guarantee that a defendant will receive a fair and impartial trial. In civil law, the legal rights of someone who confronts an adverse action threatening liberty or property.

Affirmed

In the practice of the court of appeals, it means that the court of appeals has concluded that the lower court decision is correct and will stand as rendered by the lower court.

Manufacturing

Includes the creation of synthetic drugs and the act of isolating drug compounds from organic sources.

Evidence

Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case in favor of one side or the other.

Internet Fraud

Internet fraud generally refers to any type of fraudulent use of a computer and the Internet, including the use of chat rooms, email, message boards, discussion groups and web sites, to conduct fraudulent transactions, transmit the proceeds of fraud to financial institutions, or to steal, destroy or otherwise render unusable (the proliferation of viruses for example) computer data vital to the operation of a business.

Habeas corpus

Latin, meaning "you have the body." A writ of habeas corpus generally is a judicial order forcing law enforcement authorities to produce a prisoner they are holding, and to justify the prisoner's continued confinement. Federal judges receive petitions for a writ of habeas corpus from state prison inmates who say their state prosecutions violated federally protected rights in some way.

In camera

Latin, meaning in a judge's chambers. Often means outside the presence of a jury and the public. In private.

Counsel

Legal advice; a term also used to refer to the lawyers in a case.

Arson

Malicious burning to destroy property.

Damages

Money that a defendant pays a plaintiff in a civil case if the plaintiff has won. Damages may be compensatory (for loss or injury) or punitive (to punish and deter future misconduct).

Second-degree murder

Murder that is not aggravated by any of the circumstances of first-degree murder.

First-degree murder

Murder that is willful, deliberate, or premeditated, or that is committed during the course of another serious felony (often limited to rape, kidnapping, robbery, burglary, or arson). All murder perpetrated by poisoning or by lying in wait is considered first-degree murder.

Felony Murder

Murder that occurs during the commission of a felony.

Nolo contendere/No Contest

No contest. A plea of nolo contendere has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.

Extortion

Obtaining money or property by threat to a victim's property or loved ones, intimidation, or false claim of a right (such as pretending to be an IRS agent).

Probation officer

Officers of the probation office of a court. Probation officer duties include conducting presentence investigations, preparing presentence reports on convicted defendants, and supervising released defendants.

Settlement

Parties to a lawsuit resolve their dispute without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in at least partial satisfaction of the other party's claims, but usually do not include the admission of fault.

Pornography

Pictures and/or writings of sexual activity intended solely to excite lascivious feelings of a particularly blatant and aberrational kind, such as acts involving children, animals, orgies, and all types of sexual intercourse.

Terrorism

Politically motivated violence or intimidation directed against a civilian population by a subgroup within a population, by an outside group, or by clandestine agents of another country.

Concurrent sentence

Prison terms for two or more offenses to be served at the same time, rather than one after the other. Example Two five-year sentences and one three-year sentence, if served concurrently, result in a maximum of five years behind bars.

Consecutive sentence

Prison terms for two or more offenses to be served one after the other. Example Two five-year sentences and one three-year sentence, if served consecutively, result in a maximum of 13 years behind bars.

Assets

Property of all kinds, including real and personal, tangible and intangible.

Collateral

Property that is promised as security for the satisfaction of a debt.

Pyramid Schemes

Pyramid Schemes may involve a structure that is laid out like a pyramid, with one person at the top, two persons on the next level, four on the next and eight on the next. The structure may also be circular with one person at the center, two on the next, four on the next and eight persons on the outer circle. The circular structure is merely a view of a pyramid looking from the top down. The key is that the persons below (or in the outer circles) cannot make more money than the persons above them.

Date Rape

Rape committed by someone known to the victim, especially by the victim's social companion.

Pro se

Representing oneself. Serving as one's own lawyer.

Probation

Sentencing option in the federal courts. With probation, instead of sending an individual to prison, the court releases the person to the community and orders him or her to complete a period of supervision monitored by a U.S. probation officer and to abide by certain conditions.

Sexual Assault

Sexual intercourse with another person without that person's consent. 2. Offensive sexual contact with another person, exclusive of rape.

Mental health treatment

Special condition the court imposes to require an individual to undergo evaluation and treatment for a mental disorder. Treatment may include psychiatric, psychological, and sex offense-specific evaluations, inpatient or outpatient counseling, and medication.

Telemarketing Fraud

Telemarketing Fraud is a term that refers generally to any scheme to deprive victims dishonestly of money or property or to misrepresent the values of goods or services.

Pro tem

Temporary.

Child Procurement

The act of arranging or instigating a meeting with a child for the purpose of having sexual relations.

Bankruptcy Fraud

The act of filing a false bankruptcy claim.

Forgery

The act of fraudulently making a false document or altering a real one to be used as if genuine.

Prescription Fraud

The act of obtaining prescription (legal) drugs through forged or stolen prescriptions.

Theft Of Services

The act of obtaining services from another by deception, threat, coercion, stealth, mechanical tampering, or using a false token or device.

Email Interception

The act of reading, storing, or intercepting email intended for another person without that person's permission.

Cybersquatting

The act of reserving a domain name on the Internet, especially a name that would be associated with a company's trademark, and then seeking to profit by selling or licensing the name to the company that has an interest in being identified with it.

Cyberstalking

The act of threatening, harassing, or annoying someone through multiple email messages, as through the Internet, especially with the intent of placing the recipient in fear that an illegal act or an injury will be inflicted on the recipient or a member of the recipient's family or household.

Stalking

The act of threatening, harassing, or annoying someone, especially with the intent of placing the recipient in fear that an illegal act or an injury will be inflicted on the recipient or a member of the recipient's family or household.

Trafficking

The act of transferring drugs from one location to another, usually on behalf of a second party.

Cybertheft

The act of using an online computer service, such as one on the Internet, to steal someone else's property or to interfere with someone else's use and enjoyment of property.

Perjury

The act or an instance of a person's deliberately making material false or misleading statements while under oath.

Pandering

The act or offense of recruiting a prostitute, finding a place of business for a prostitute, or soliciting customers for a prostitute. The act or offense of selling or distributing textual or visual material openly advertised to appeal to the recipient's sexual interest.

Subordination

The act or process by which a person's rights or claims are ranked below those of others.

Distribution

The act selling or trading drugs.

Battery

The application of force to another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact.

Chapter 7

The chapter of the Bankruptcy Code providing for "liquidation," that is, the sale of a debtor's nonexempt property and the distribution of the proceeds to creditors. In order to be eligible for Chapter 7, the debtor must satisfy a "means test." The court will evaluate the debtor's income and expenses to determine if the debtor may proceed under Chapter 7.

Chapter 13

The chapter of the Bankruptcy Code providing for the adjustment of debts of an individual with regular income, often referred to as a "wage-earner" plan. Chapter 13 allows a debtor to keep property and use his or her disposable income to pay debts over time, usually three to five years.

Bribery

The corrupt payment, receipt, or solicitation of a private favor for official action.

Clerk of court

The court officer who oversees administrative functions, especially managing the flow of cases through the court. The clerk's office is often called a court's central nervous system.

Prostitution

The crime of engaging in sexual intercourse or other sexual activity for hire.

Tax Fraud

The crime of intentionally filing a false tax return or making other false statements under penalties of perjury to taxing authorities.

Bank Fraud

The criminal offense of knowingly executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme or artifice to defraud a financial institution, or to obtain property owned by or under the control of a financial institution, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representation, or promises.

Verdict

The decision of a trial jury or a judge that determines the guilt or innocence of a criminal defendant, or that determines the final outcome of a civil case.

Burden of proof

The duty to prove disputed facts. In civil cases, a plaintiff generally has the burden of proving his or her case. In criminal cases, the government has the burden of proving the defendant's guilt. (See standard of proof.)

Money Laundering

The federal crime of transferring illegally obtained money through legitimate persons or accounts so that its original source cannot be traced.

Theft

The felonious taking and removing of another's personal property with the intent to permanently deprive the true owner thereof; larceny. Broadly, any act or instance of stealing, including larceny, burglary, embezzlement, and false pretenses.

Counterfeiting

The forging, copying, or imitating of something (usually money) without a right to do so and with the purpose of deceiving or defrauding.

Indictment

The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies. See also information.

Venue

The geographic area in which a court has jurisdiction. A change of venue is a change or transfer of a case from one judicial district to another.

Jury

The group of persons selected to hear the evidence in a trial and render a verdict on matters of fact. See also grand jury.

Cultivation

The growing of organic drugs or their precursors, e.g. marijuana, coca, opium poppies, etc.

Child Exploitation

The hiring, employment, persuasion, inducement, or coercion of child to perform in obscene exhibitions and incident shows, whether live, on video or film, or to pose or act as a model in obscene or pornographic materials, or to sell or distribute said materials.

Embezzlement

The illegal transfer of money or property that, although possessed legally by the embezzler, is diverted to the embezzler personally by his or her fraudulent action.

Murder

The killing of a human being with malice aforethought.

Justifiable Homicide

The killing of another in self-defense when faced with the danger of death or serious bodily injury. (same as excusable homicide)

Vehicular Homicide

The killing of another person by one's unlawful or negligent operation of a motor vehicle

Homicide

The killing of one person by another. This is the generic legal term for killing a person, whether lawfully or unlawfully. Unlawful homicide comprises the two crimes of murder and manslaughter.

Case law/Common Law

The law as established in previous court decisions. A synonym for legal precedent. Akin to common law, which springs from tradition and judicial decisions.

Jurisdiction

The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a certain type of case. It also is used as a synonym for venue, meaning the geographic area over which the court has territorial jurisdiction to decide cases.

Expungement

The legal procedure for sealing a record of an arrest and/or criminal conviction from public view.

Common law

The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States, which relies on the articulation of legal principles in a historical succession of judicial decisions. Common law principles can be changed by legislation.

Chambers

The offices of a judge and his or her staff.

Judgment

The official decision of a court finally resolving the dispute between the parties to the lawsuit.

Appellant

The party who appeals a district court's decision, usually seeking reversal of that decision.

Molestation

The persecution or harassment of someone, as in the molestation of a witness. The act of making unwanted and indecent advances to or on someone, especially for sexual gratification.

Possession for Sale

The possession of drugs in quantities sufficient for resale.

Sentence

The punishment ordered by a court for a defendant convicted of a crime.

Parole

The release of a prison inmate - granted by the U.S. Parole Commission - after the inmate has completed part of his or her sentence in a federal prison. When the parolee is released to the community, he or she is placed under the supervision of a U.S. probation officer. The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 abolished parole in favor of a determinate sentencing system in which the sentence is set by sentencing guidelines. Now, without the option of parole, the term of imprisonment the court imposes is the actual time the person spends in prison.

Bail

The release, prior to trial, of a person accused of a crime, under specified conditions designed to assure that person's appearance in court when required. Also can refer to the amount of bond money posted as a financial condition of pretrial release.

Liquidation

The sale of a debtor's property with the proceeds to be used for the benefit of creditors.

Jurisprudence

The study of law and the structure of the legal system

Assault

The threat or use of force on another that causes that person to have a reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact; the act of putting another person in reasonable fear or apprehension of an immediate battery by means of an act amounting to an attempt or threat to commit a battery.

Statute of limitations

The time within which a lawsuit must be filed or a criminal prosecution begun. The deadline can vary, depending on the type of civil case or the crime charged.

Manslaughter

The unlawful killing of a human being without malice aforethought.

Reckless Homicide

The unlawful killing of another person with conscious indifference toward that person's life.

Theft By False Pretext

The use of a false pretext to obtain another's property.

Theft By Deception

The use of deception to obtain another's property.

Self-Defense

The use of reasonable force against an aggressor by one who reasonably believes it necessary in order to avoid imminent bodily harm. Self-defense is a justification for conduct that would otherwise be a crime.

Tax Evasion

The willful attempt to defeat or circumvent the tax law in order to illegally reduce one's tax liability.

Criminal Fraud

The willful evasion of taxes accomplished by filing a fraudulent tax return.

Investment Fraud

This form of fraud occurs when an adviser, stockbroker, or brokerage firm offers investors biased, unfounded, or contradictory investment advice out of a conflict of interest.

Prosecute

To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government

File

To place a paper in the official custody of the clerk of court to enter into the files or records of a case.

Sequester

To separate. Sometimes juries are sequestered from outside influences during their deliberations.

Double Jeopardy

Trying a person twice in the same jurisdiction for the same crime, a practice prohibited by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

Rape

Unlawful sexual activity with a person without consent and usually by force or threat of injury.

Statutory Rape

Unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under the age of consent, regardless of whether it is against that person's will.

Domestic Violence

Violence between members of a household, usually spouses; an assault or other violent act committed by one member of a household against another.

Pleadings

Written statements filed with the court that describe a party's legal or factual assertions about the case.