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| The two-sided structure under which American criminal trial courts cooperate. The adversarial system pits the prosecution against the defense. In theory, justice is done when the most effective adversary is able to convince the judge or jury that his or her perspective on the case is the correct one. |
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| A document guaranteeing the appearance of a defendant in court as required & recording to the pledge of money or property to be paid to the court if he or she does not appear, which is signed by the person to be released & anyone else acting on his or her behalf. |
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| Evidence that requires interpretation or that requires a judge or jury to reach a conclusion based on what the evidence indicates. From the proximity of the defendant to a smoking gun, for example, the jury might conclude that he or she pulled the trigger. |
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| An oral summation of a case presented to a judge, or to a judge & a jury, by the prosecution or by the defense in a criminal trial. |
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| A finding by a court that the defendant has sufficient present ability to consult with his or her attorney with a reasonable degree of rational understanding & that the defendant has a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him or her. |
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| The release by executive decision of a prisoner form a federal or state correctional facility who has not served his or her full sentence & whose freedom is contingent on obeying specified rules of behavior. |
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| A law intended to prevent the pretrial release of criminal defendants judge to represent a danger to others in the community. |
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| Evidence that, if believed, directly proves a fact. Eyewitness testimony & videotaped documentation account for the majority of all direct evidence heard in the criminal courtroom. |
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| Anything useful to a judge or jury in deciding the facts of a case. Evidence may take the form of witness testimony, written documents, videotapes, magnetic media, photgraphs, physical objects, & so on. |
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| An appearance before a magistrate during which the legality of the defendant's arrest is initially assessed & the defendant is informed on the charges on which he or she is being held. At this stage in the criminal justice process, bail may be set or pretrial release arranged. |
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| Something that is not based on the personal knowledge of a witness. Witnesses who testify about something they have heard, for example, are offering hearsay by repeating information about a matter of which they have no direct knowledge. |
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| The long-standing precedent that hearsay cannot be used in American courtrooms. Rather than accepting testimony based on hearsay, the court will ask that the person who was the original source of the hearsay information be brought in to be questioned & cross-examined. Exceptions to the hearsay rule may occur when the person with direct knowledge is dead or is otherwise unable to testify. |
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| The process whereby, according to law & precedent, members of a trial jury are chosen. |
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| A plea of "no contest." A no contest plea is used when the defendant does not wish to contest conviction. The plea does not admit guilt, however, it cannot provide the basis for later suits that might follow criminal conviction. |
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| The initial statement of the prosecutor or the defense attorney, made in a court of law to a judge or jury, describing the facts that he or she intends to present during trial to prove the case. |
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| The right to challenge a potential juror without disclosing the reason for the challenge. Prosecutors & defense attorneys routinely use peremptory challenges to eliminate from juries individuals who, although they express no obvious bias, are thought to be capable of swaying the jury in an undesirable direction. |
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| The intentional making of a false statement as part of the testimony by a sworn witness in a judicial proceeding on a matter relevenat to the case at hand. |
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| In criminal proceedings, the defendant's formal answer in court to the charge contained in a complaint, information, or indictment that he or she is guilty of the offense charge, is not guilty of the offense charged, or does not contest the charge. |
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| The process of negotiating an agreement among the defendant, the prosecutor, & the court as to an appropriate plea & associated sentence in a given case. Plea bargaining circumvents the trial process & dramatically reduces the time required for the resolution of a criminal case. |
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| The release of an accused person from custody, for all or part of the time before or during prosecution, on his or her promise to appear in court when required. |
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| The degree to which a particular item of evidence is useful in, & relevant to, proving something important in a trial. |
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| The setting of bail in the form of land, houses, stocks, or other tangible property. In the event that the defendant absconds prior to trial, the bond becomes the property of the court. |
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| Evidence that consists of physical material or traces of physical activity. |
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| Release on Recognizance (ROR) |
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| The pretrial release of a criminal defendant on his or her written promise to appear in court as required. No cash or property bond is required. |
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| Court rules that govern the admissibility of evidence at criminal hearings & trials. |
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| Scientific Jury Selection |
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| The use of correlational techniques from the social sciences to gauge the likelihood that potential jurors will vote for conviction or for acquittal. |
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| A jury that is isolated from the public during the course of a trial & throughout the deliberation process. |
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| A 1974 federal law requring that proceedings against a defendant in a federal criminal case begin within a specified period of time, such as 70 working days after indictment. Some states may also have speedy trial requirements. |
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| Oral evidence offered by a sworn witness on the witness stand during a criminal trial. |
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| The decision of the jury in a jury trial or of a judicial officer in a nonjury trial. |
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