30 Legal Terms Every Future Criminal Justice Professional Should Know

Legal terms every criminal justice pro should know

Habeas corpus. Subpoena. Modus operandi. Law can seem like an ongoing Latin class, with terminology that goes over many people’s heads. While you don’t want to have to open a textbook every time you watch your favorite true crime TV shows, you also want to be knowledgeable and educated in the basics of “legalese” so you can fully understand what’s going on.

We’re here to help. We rounded up some of the most common legal terms used by both court professionals and law enforcement, so you can understand two sides of the criminal justice field. So next time you are hours-deep into a Law & Order marathon, you can rest easy knowing you’ve got a solid handle on the legal terminology used throughout the justice system.

Legal terms for paralegals

Affidavit

An affidavit is a voluntary written statement of fact authorized by a notary or public official. It is a legal statement that can be used in court.

Allegation

An allegation is any formal accusation, claim or statement about the activities of a person (or organization). An allegation is not necessarily true—they are just a statement of behavior that needs to be verified. For example, you can allege the mailman kicked your dog, but evidence will be needed to prove the allegation.

Acquittal

Acquittal is the term used to certify that the accused is not guilty and free from all charge.

Arraignment

An arraignment is the first instance in which the defendant is presented in court. In an arraignment, the rights of the accused are read, the defendant enters a plea of either guilty or not guilty and bail is set. Arraignments usually occur within 48 hours of an arrest.

Defendant

A term used in court, a defendant is the person or party who is being accused of a crime. Some jurisdictions may use “accused” instead.

Deposition

Depositions are used by lawyers to obtain additional information before presenting in court; they are statements made under oath that are recorded by officials such as court reporters.

Extradition

In cases of extradition, one state or country gives over an individual who has been accused of committing a crime in another state or country. Extradition laws and agreements vary between states and countries.

Expungement

Expungement occurs when the court orders an arrest or conviction to be erased in the eyes of the law. The conviction may still be accessible to government agencies, but will not be available to the public.

Habeas Corpus

Issues of habeas corpus focus on allowing those who are imprisoned or detained to petition the judiciary for a time to appear in court and challenge the legality of their imprisonment.

Indictment

An indictment is a formal written accusation of a crime. It can occur before an arrest is made, and is usually for felony charges. Once someone has been indicted, the next course of action is for the individual to be arraigned and brought to court.

Litigation

Litigation is the process of bringing a case to court. It is a broad term that covers many areas of law.

Perjury

Perjury is the crime of providing false or misleading statements under oath. It is considered a felony and carries a prison sentence of up to five years.

Prosecutor

The prosecutor is the person or party seeking charges against the defendant.

Punitive damages

This refers to the damages paid by the defendant as recompense for their crime. They go above and beyond compensatory damages in order to serve as an example or deterrent to others.

Subpoena

A subpoena is a legal notice that a person has to appear before court. Failure to show up in court can result in a charge of contempt.

Legal terms for law enforcement

Accessory

An accessory to a crime is someone who is present during a crime or may aid and abet a criminal, but does not actually commit the crime. For example, you can be charged as an accessory after the fact if you provide cover for a criminal act by lying to investigators.

Alibi

An alibi is evidence that a defendant was not at the scene of the crime at the time that the crime occurred. Alibis may be used as defense in court.

Battery

Battery is the act of causing harmful or offensive contact with another person. When done with the intent to cause serious harm, it may be known as aggravated battery.

Delinquency

Delinquency has two meanings. First, it can refer to a debt on which payments are overdue. Second, it can refer to juveniles who commit crimes.

DUI/DWI

DUI stands for driving under the influence, and DWI is driving while impaired (or intoxicated). The definitions of these vary per state and are sometimes used interchangeably. In some states, tickets can be given even if a person’s blood alcohol limit is under the legal limit—if you fail a sobriety test or show signs of impairment you can be charged.

Extortion

Extortion is the crime of obtaining something, usually money, through force, damage, threats or coercion. Theft crimes can also be felonies or misdemeanors, depending on the amount of money or value of property extorted.

Felony

A felony is a type of crime that is ranked more serious than a misdemeanor. Examples of felonies are murder, arson and kidnapping.

Homicide

Homicide is a broad term that encompasses any reference of a human killing. It includes murder, manslaughter and justified homicide (such as in self-defense).

Infraction

Also known as a violation, infractions are lesser offenses that are usually punishable by fines. Examples are speeding tickets and tickets for running through a stop sign.

Larceny

Larceny is theft without violence. It can be classified as a general theft crime, grand larceny or petty larceny. The penalty for larceny can vary and is often tied to the value of the items stolen—after a certain dollar value threshold is reached, suspects may be accused of the more severe grand larceny charge.

Manslaughter

Manslaughter is criminal homicide, which means the act of killing another person without malice. It differs from murder in that murder is the act of killing with malice and is a more serious crime.

Modus operandi

Commonly known as an M.O., this term describes how a particular crime was committed. It does not have to be proven in court at any time. Often this is used for cases where the accused appears to follow a pattern of behavior each time a crime is committed. For example, a thief consistently posing as a utility worker to gain access to multiple houses.

Parole

Parole occurs when prisoners are released early and sent to serve the remainder of their sentence in the community.

Probation

Probation occurs when convicted offenders are not sent to prison. Instead, they are sent into the community, but are supervised by a probation officer. Those on probation must follow the terms of their probation, which may include community service and counseling, or they may end up facing prison time.

Search warrant

A search warrant is a document signed by a judge or magistrate that allows law enforcement to search a place, thing or person. The warrant must also list the evidence law enforcement are seeking.

What’s the verdict?

This is only a sampling of thousands of legal terms, but learning the basics is a good first step before diving headfirst into the world of criminal justice. If you’re interested in the world of courtroom justice, find out what some common jobs are in our infographic, “Order in the Court! A Visual Guide to Courtroom Jobs.”

If you are leaning more toward the world of law enforcement and criminal catching, check out who’s who on a crime scene in “CSI Simplified: Your Visual Guide to Crime Scene Jobs.”

RELATED ARTICLES:

About the author

Anna Heinrich

Anna is a Copywriter at Collegis Education who researches and writes student-focused content on behalf of Rasmussen University. She believes the power of the written word can help educate and assist students on their way to a rewarding education.

female writer

Related Content

Related Content

This piece of ad content was created by Rasmussen University to support its educational programs. Rasmussen University may not prepare students for all positions featured within this content. Please visit www.rasmussen.edu/degrees for a list of programs offered. External links provided on rasmussen.edu are for reference only. Rasmussen University does not guarantee, approve, control, or specifically endorse the information or products available on websites linked to, and is not endorsed by website owners, authors and/or organizations referenced. Rasmussen University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

logo-accreditation-acen logo-accreditation-ccne chart-credential-laddering-associates-bachelors-masters 0 Credits 90 Credits 180 Credits 48 Credits Start Here HIGH SCHOOL GRADS Start Here TRANSFER STUDENTS Start Here SECOND DEGREE PURSUERS End Here ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE Start Here MASTER'S DEGREE PURSUERS End Here BACHELOR'S DEGREE End Here MASTER'S DEGREE chart-credential-laddering-associates-bachelors 0 Credits Start Here HIGH SCHOOL GRADS Start Here TRANSFER STUDENTS 90 Credits Start Here SECOND DEGREE PURSUERS End Here ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE 180 Credits End Here BACHELOR'S DEGREE chart-credential-laddering-msn chart-credential-laddering-nursing-programs chart-credential-laddering-nursing DNP MSN RN to BSN LPN to RN Bridge Accelerated BSN Professional Nursing ADN Practical Nursing Diploma Pre-Licensure Post-Licensure icon-colored-outline-bank icon-colored-outline-certificate icon-colored-outline-circle-dollar-sign icon-colored-outline-folder-search icon-colored-outline-hand-heart icon-colored-outline-head-blocks icon-colored-outline-head-cog icon-colored-outline-head-heart icon-colored-outline-health-plus-leaves icon-colored-outline-hospital icon-colored-outline-lifelong-learning icon-colored-outline-light-bulb-analytics icon-colored-outline-location-pin icon-colored-outline-magnifying-glass icon-colored-outline-monitor-healthcare icon-colored-outline-monitor-paper-search icon-colored-outline-nurse-rays icon-colored-outline-padlock-shield icon-colored-outline-person-presenter-screen icon-colored-outline-scales ras-logo-flame ras-logo-horizontal ras-logo-stacked icon-colored-advance icon-colored-arrows-cross-curve icon-colored-briefcase-star icon-colored-build icon-colored-bulb-analytics icon-colored-certificate icon-colored-continual-development icon-colored-duo-chatbox icon-colored-folder-mortarboard icon-colored-forward-ribbon icon-colored-gears-clock icon-colored-globe-pen icon-colored-growth icon-colored-hand-bubble icon-colored-hand-stars icon-colored-hands-gear icon-colored-head-blocks icon-colored-head-cog icon-colored-health-plus-leaves icon-colored-hospital-building icon-colored-laptop-cbe-skyscraper icon-colored-laptop-checkmark icon-colored-laptop-webpage icon-colored-location-map icon-colored-location-pin icon-colored-monitor-paper-scan icon-colored-mortarboard-dollar icon-colored-national icon-colored-people-chat-bubbles icon-colored-person-cheer-star icon-colored-person-laptop-checkboxes icon-colored-person-screen-instructor icon-colored-person-whiteboard icon-colored-phone-chatbox icon-colored-police-light icon-colored-prep icon-colored-presenter icon-colored-regional icon-colored-save-time icon-colored-shirt-hat icon-colored-skyscraper icon-colored-state icon-colored-student-centered icon-colored-support icon-colored-world-experience icon-triangle-arrow-up-plant icon-triangle-calendar-pencil icon-triangle-clock-rotating-arrows icon-triangle-display-gears icon-triangle-hand-right-speech-bubble icon-triangle-laptop-coding-brackets icon-triangle-mortarboard icon-triangle-paper-ribbon icon-triangle-person-cheer-star icon-triangle-person-juggle icon-triangle-triple-people-chat-bubble icon-modality-campus icon-modality-field icon-modality-online icon-modality-residential icon-arrow icon-bank icon-camera icon-filter icon-general-chart icon-general-connect icon-general-degree icon-general-discuss icon-general-email icon-general-find icon-general-hat icon-general-heart icon-general-laptop-building icon-general-laptop icon-general-leader icon-general-map icon-general-money icon-general-paperwork icon-general-people icon-general-phone icon-general-speak-out icon-head-heart icon-info-circle icon-mail-forward icon-mglass icon-play-solid icon-quote-mark-left icon-quote-mark-right icon-scales icon-share-square-o icon-simple-chat icon-simple-desktop icon-simple-find icon-simple-hamburger icon-simple-phone icon-spinner icon-tag icon-testimonial-quotes icon-util-checkbox-white icon-util-checkbox icon-util-checked-white icon-util-checked icon-util-chevron-down icon-util-chevron-left icon-util-chevron-right icon-util-chevron-up icon-util-circle-arrow-down icon-util-circle-dot icon-util-language-switch icon-util-loading icon-util-open-window-link icon-util-pdf-link icon-util-refresh icon-util-x rebrand-arrows icon-social-facebook-colored icon-social-facebook-square-colored icon-social-facebook-square icon-social-facebook icon-social-google-plus-square icon-social-google-plus icon-social-instagram-colored icon-social-instagram icon-social-linkedin-square-colored icon-social-linkedin-square icon-social-linkedin icon-social-pinterest-p-colored icon-social-pinterest-p icon-social-twitter-colored icon-social-twitter-square icon-social-twitter icon-social-youtube-play-colored icon-social-youtube-play graduate-cap-star-coin hand-coin hand-heart nurse-stethoscope-rays card-send-smile person-yoga-pose suitcase-star