Mock Trial Vocabulary, Cheat Sheet of Law

Download Mock Trial Vocabulary and more Cheat Sheet Law in PDF only on Docsity! TRIAL VOCABULARY (1 of 3) Attorney — A person who practices law. Bailiff — An officer who is in charge of maintaining order in a court of law. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt — The Burden of proof in a criminal case required to establish the guilt of a person charged with a crime. Civil Case — A case in which both the plaintiff and the defendant are private individuals and which is a legal proceeding to resolve a private dispute among people. Civil Justice System — The network of courts and tribunals which deal with disputes involving one person complaining about something another person did or failed to do. Closing Arguments — The final statements by an attorney to jury, summarizing the evidence, and arguing what the evidence has or has not established. Contracts An agreement between two or more parties to do or not to do a certain thing, whether written or oral. Convict - To prove that someone is guilty as a matter of law. Court — A place where justice is administered. Crime — An act or an action that is against the criminal law, or a failure to do what the criminal law requires. Criminal Case — A case in which the State is the plaintiff and in which the defendant is a person charged with having committed a crime. Criminal Justice System — The network of courts and tribunals which deal with criminal law and its enforcement. Cross-examine — To question a witness called by the opposing side, or a hostile or other adversarial witness called by a party. Damages — A loss, detriment, or injury to one’s person, property or rights, through the unlawful act or omission or negligence of another. Defendant — A person against whom a criminal charge or civil claim is brought in a court of law. TRIAL VOCABULARY (2 of 3) Deliberations — The act of jurors talking to each other and coming to a decision on the charges or crimes of a trial. Evidence - Something that gives proof ofa contested. fact. Foreman/Foreperson — The presiding member of a jury who speaks or answers for the jury. Guilty— Having been convicted by a jury of having done something wrong. Indictment — A serious charge of criminal wrongdoing which must later be proved at trial beyond a reasonable doubt before a defendant may be convicted. Injunction — A court order prohibiting a party from a specific course of action. Innocent — Not guilty of a crime or fault. Instructions On The Law — A direction given by the judge to the jury concerning the law of the case, usually at the end of the case and just before jury deliberations. Irrelevant — Not important, pertinent to the matter at hand or to any issue before the court. Judge — An official who can conduct hearings and decide on cases in a court of law. Jury - A certain number of persons selected according to law and sworn in to inquire into matters of fact and declare the truth about matters of fact before them. Law — A rule made by a country, state, or town for the people there. Negligence — Acting in a way that fails to conform with a specific standard of conduct, thereby putting others at risk for injury. Negligent Homicide — A criminal offense that is committed by a person whose negligence is the direct cause of another person’s death. Objection — A lawyer's protest about the legal propriety of a question which has been asked of a witness by the opposing attorney, with the purpose of making the trial judge decide if the question can be asked.