Important Legal Vocabulary for Monster Felony A serious

Important Legal Vocabulary for Monster

Felony • A serious crime that can be punished by jail time

Accomplice • Helper in a crime or attempted crime

Motions • Arguments or proposals for action by a judge in a trial

Prosecutor • Lawyer who represents the court for the government; is responsible for proving someone is guilty

Defendant • In a court proceeding, the person who is charged with the a crime

Defense Attorney • Lawyer representing the person charged with a crime

Admissible • Evidence or testimony that is allowed in court

Episode • An event or incident in the course of a larger series (section)

First person narrative • A story where the main character is the narrator

Characterization • Describes the characters physically and internally

Testimony • The statement or declaration of a witness under oath.

Appeal • A legal step taking a case from lower court to a higher court for review

Affidavit • A sworn statement made by someone who will not be at the trial

Cross examines • Questions a witness a second time to discredit earlier answers

Stoolies • Slang for police officer

Hostile • An unfriendly, or non-cooperating witness; a witness called by the other side

Sustained • Allowed to stand in a court proceeding; evidence

Overruled • Not allowed to stand in a court proceeding

Alibi • An excuse, defense, or explanation for the defendant’s whereabouts at the time of the crime. • “Where were you on the night of January 11, 2012? ” asked the prosecutor. • “I was at my grandmother’s house, ” said the defendant. (this is the alibi)

Foreman • Head juror • The role of the foreman is to ask questions on behalf of the jury, facilitate jury discussions, and sometimes to read the verdict of the jury

Reasonable Doubt • Reasonable means sensible; not foolish • Reasonable doubt is the level of certainty a juror must have to find a defendant guilty of a crime • There must be no "reasonable doubt" in the mind of a juror that the defendant is guilty.

Deliberate • To consider carefully

Verdict • The jury’s final decision • The verdict is either “not guilty” or “guilty”

Acquitted • Declared NOT GUILTY • Example: He was acquitted of the murder charge because there wasn’t enough evidence against him.

Hung Jury • A jury that can’t come to an agreement on a verdict.