Pre-trial Vocab

the formal process of making a police record of an arrest

• booking

• arraignment

• bail

• indictment

a court proceeding in which the suspect is formally charged with the criminal offense stated in the indictment. The suspect enters a plea (guilty, not guilt or nolo contendere) in response.

• bail

• plea bargaining

• public prosecutors

• arraignment

Most criminal cases end in

• a trial

• a guilty verdict

• a mistrial

• a plea bargain

a court session at which a defendant is charged and enters a plea:

• booking

• arraignment

• bail

• indictment

money or property put up by the accused or his or her agent to allow release from jail before trial:

• booking

• arraignment

• bail

• indictment

a grand jury’s formal charge or accusation of criminal action:

• booking

• arraignment

• bail

• indictment

a release from legal custody based on a defendant’s promise to show up for trial:

• personal recognizance

• Bail

• Information

• judicial integrity

used in discussing search and seizure, this is an argument for the use of the exclusionary rule, which emphasizes that courts should not permit lawbreaking by the police

• personal recognizance

• Bail

• Information

• judicial integrity

a prosecuting attorney’s formal accusation of the defendant, detailing the nature and circumstances of the charge

• personal recognizance

• Bail

• Information

• judicial integrity

a group of 16 to 23 people who hear preliminary evidence to decide whether there is sufficient reason to formally charge a person with a crime

• plea bargaining

• deterrence

• pretrial motion

• grand jury