Terms

Question 1

Ad litem

Answer 1

Latin meaning “for the purposes of the legal action only”

Question 2

Accessory

Answer 2

Someone who assists, procures, encourages, or counsels the offender prior to or following to the commission or concealment of a crime.

In most jurisdictions the accessory must perform an act of assistance, and evidence of intention to facilitate the crime must be present.

2 Types
1.) Accessory before-the-fact
2.) Accessory after-the-fact

Differs from an accomplice in that the person does not need to have been actually or constructively present during the commission or concealment of a crime.

Question 3

Accomplice

Answer 3

A person who becomes equally guilty in the crime of another by knowingly, voluntarily, or intentionally giving assistance to another (or in some cases failing to prevent another from) the commission of a crime.

Can be either an accessory or an abettor. The accessory aids the offender prior to or following the crime, an abettor aids the offender during the crime itself.

Question 4

Abet

Answer 4

Criminally assisting another person in the commission of a crime including planning a crime, escaping from a crime, or in the actual commission of a crime

Verb form of abettor, which is one of the two types of accomplice.

Question 5

Acquittal

Answer 5

A judgement that a person is not guilty of the crime with which the person has been charged

Does not mean the defendant is innocent of the charges - only that the prosecutor failed to prove the defendant was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt

Question 6

Actus reus

Answer 6

The act or omission that comprise the physical elements of a crime as required by statute. Includes only a voluntary affirmative act, or an omission (when the person had a duty to act and failed to do so), causing a criminally proscribed result

Includes only bodily movements, particularly one which society has an interest in preventing

An involuntary act (i.e., reflex) does not satisfy the actus reus requirement

Question 7

Adjudicated

Answer 7

To make a formal judgement or decision regarding a problem or disputed matter

Question 8

Adverse Witnesses

Answer 8

AKA hostile witness; a witness who identified with the opposing party because of a relationship or a common interest in the outcome of the litigation

Question 9

Affidavit

Answer 9

Sworn statement a person makes before a notary or officer of the court outside of the court asserting that certain facts are true to the best of that person’s knowledge

Question 10

Aggravating Circumstances

Answer 10

Set of factors that increase the severity or culpability of a criminal act

Question 11

Amicus Curiae

Answer 11

AKA amicus brief, friend of the court, the “friend” is a person or organization offering the court additional information or perspective about the case

Question 12

Appellant

Answer 12

The party who appeals a lower court’s judgement or order to a higher court

Question 13

Arraignment

Answer 13

First step in a criminal proceeding where the defendant is brought in front of the court to hear the charges against them and enter a plea

Question 14

Attorney-Client Privilege

Answer 14

Protects confidential communications between a lawyer and their client that relate to the client’s seeking of legal advice or services

Question 15

Automatism

Answer 15

Behavior that occurs when a person is unconscious and unaware that the act is taking place

Question 16

Best Interests

Answer 16

The course of action that maximizes what is best for a ward, including consideration of the least intrusive, most normalizing, and least restrictive course of action possible given the needs of the ward

Question 17

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Answer 17

There is no other reasonable explanation that can come from the evidence presented at a trial

Question 18

Bifurcated Trial

Answer 18

Trial is conducted in two stages, common arrangement is to determine liability or guilt in the first and damages or penalties in the second