Duhaime's Criminal Law Dictionary
Duhaime's Law Dictionary
Duhaime's Criminal Law Dictionary
Criminal Law is that body of the law that deals with conduct considered so harmful to society as a whole that it is prohibited by statute, prosecuted and punished by the government. This dictionary is a listing of the criminal law terms present in our main Legal Dictionary .
Absolute Liability
Offences in which it is not open to a person to avoid liability on the ground that she or he acted under a reasonable mistake of fact which, if the facts had been as the accused believed them to be, would have made his act innocent.
Alternative Measures
Canada; a much lighter disposition of a criminal charge regarding an adult accused who would be prepared to plead guilty and which does not result in a criminal record or incarceration but instead usually results in a mild penalty such as community service, an apology to the victim or counseling.
Defendant
The individual, company or organization who defends a legal action taken by a plaintiff and against whom the court has been asked to order damages or specific corrective action redress some type of unlawful or improper action alleged by the plaintiff.
Involuntary Manslaughter
A criminal offence contingent on language in any given jurisdiction but, generally, the unlawful killing of a human being without malice in the commission of an unlawful act or in the commission of an act which might produce death, in an unlawful manner, or without due caution and circumspection.
Miranda Warning
A requirement that police officers, in the U.S.A., before any questioning is so begun, warn suspects upon arrest that they have the right to remain silent, that any statement that they make could be used against them in a court of law, that they have the right to contact a lawyer and that if they cannot afford a lawyer, that one will be provided.
Plain Error
Limited grounds upon which an appeal alleging deficient jury instructions will be allowed, which were not objected to at the time they were presented to the jury: the error must be so obvious or serious that the public reputation and integrity of the judicial proceeding is impaired.
Plea Bargaining
Negotiations during a criminal trial in which the accused agrees to admit to a smaller crime  in exchange for which the prosecutor agrees to ask for a more lenient sentence than would have been recommended if the original charge had of been proceeded with.
Search Warrant
A court order that gives a police the permission to enter private property and to search for evidence of the commission of a crime, for the proceeds of crime or property that the police suspect may be used to commit a crime.
Suspended Sentence
A judicial prerogative retained by a sentencing judge on a person convicted of a crime by which the full sentencing of a convicted person is suspended or deferred until some future time commensurate with the convicted person’s compliance with the terms of an interim probation order.
Torture
The intentional infliction of pain or suffering on an animal or a person and as for the latter, even if for the purpose of obtaining information such as a confession or the names of accomplices, or as a punishment for crime.
Waterboarding
A criminal investigation interrogation technique whereby a person suspected of having or withholding relevant information is blindfolded and bound on their back, sometimes with the face covered with porous or nonporous material, and subjected to water poured over their mouth and nose such as to simulate drowning and to thus, under duress, elicit information.
Young persons who, in many states, are treated differently than adult criminals and are tried in special youth courts.
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Duhaime Lawisms
The cock (male) swan is an emblem or representation of an affectionate and true husband to his wife above all other fowls, for the cock swan holdeth himself to one female only, and for this cause nature has conferred on him a gift beyond all others; that is, to die so joyfully that he sings sweetly when he dies.
The Case of Swans, 7 Coke's Reports 16, at 17 (1592).
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Unless otherwise noted, this article was written by Lloyd Duhaime, Barrister, Solicitor, Attorney and Lawyer (and Notary Public!). It is not intended to be legal advice and you would be foolhardy to rely on it in respect to any specific situation you or an acquaintance may be facing. In addition, the law changes rapidly and sometimes with little notice so from time to time, an article may not be up to date. Therefore, this is merely legal information designed to educate the reader. If you have a real situation, this information will serve as a good springboard to get legal advice from a lawyer.