What does it mean if a case is trailed?
“Trailing” a case for trial means to re-set the trial date within the statutory time period. Misdemeanors – Defendant in custody – trial must begin within 30 days of arraignment or plea.
What does it mean when a hearing is trailed?
A court trial, also called a bench trial or a jury trial, is when all the facts of a case are heard, and a judge or jury makes the final decision about the court case.
What is a judge’s final decision called?
verdict
In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. In a bench trial, the judge’s decision near the end of the trial is simply referred to as a finding.
What is the legal terminology?
Specialized terminology refers to words that are specific to the legal profession. Some specialized terms originated within the legal system for the purpose of conveying meanings specific to law.
How do juries work?
In California criminal cases, a jury trial is where 12 members of the community are assembled to hear the evidence and decide whether or not a defendant is guilty of the crime or crimes with which he or she is charged. The jurors must unanimously agree upon guilt before the defendant can be found guilty and convicted.
Can a public defender get a case dismissed?
Many are resolved with plea deals before the case heads to court. Of course, a defense lawyer can never make a prosecutor dismiss a criminal case. Instead, a good defense attorney can present the facts prosecutors need to see in order to come to their own decision to dismiss the case.
Who writes the federal rules of evidence?
The Federal Rules of Evidence are a set of rules that governs the introduction of evidence at civil and criminal trials in United States federal trial courts. The current rules were initially passed by Congress in 1975, after several years of drafting by the Supreme Court.
Is an acquittal the same as not guilty?
At the end of a criminal trial, a finding by a judge or jury that a defendant is not guilty. An acquittal signifies that a prosecutor failed to prove his or her case beyond a reasonable doubt, not that a defendant is innocent.
What is the full meaning of acquittal?
1 : release or discharge from debt or other liability. 2 : a setting free or deliverance from the charge of an offense by verdict of a jury, judgment of a court, or other legal process — see also implied acquittal, judgment of acquittal at judgment sense 1a — compare conviction.
What does the Seventh Amendment protect?
Amendment VII In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
What is acquittals in law?
Acquittals in law take place by operation of law such as when a person has been charged as an Accessory to the crime of Robbery and the principal has been acquitted. West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. n. what an accused criminal defendant receives if he/she is found not guilty.
What does sanction mean in law?
Legal Definition of sanction (Entry 1 of 2) 1 : a punitive or coercive measure or action that results from failure to comply with a law, rule, or order a sanction for contempt 2 : explicit or official approval
What does it mean to be acquitted?
The legal and formal certification of the innocence of a person who has been charged with a crime. Acquittals in fact take place when a jury finds a verdict of not guilty. Acquittals in law take place by operation of law such as when a person has been charged as an Accessory to the crime of Robbery and the principal has been acquitted.
What is acquitment?
3. Acquittals are of two kinds, in fact and in law. The former takes place when the jury upon trial finds a verdict of not guilty; the latter when a man is charged merely as an accessary, and the principal has been acquitted. 2 Inst. 384. An acquittal is a bar to any future prosecution for the offence alleged in the first indictment.