Criminal Defense Terms and Definitions

Accessory A person who assists in the commission of a crime, either before or after the fact. Restitution Court-ordered payment to restore goods or money to the victim of a crime by the offender. Battery Actual physical violence, whether serious or minor, inflicted on a person. (A mere threat is called assault, whereas the completed act is called battery) Fraud An intentional perversion of truth; deceitful practice or device resorted to with intent to deprive another of property or other right. Assault A willful attempt to illegally inflict injury on or threaten a person. Search warrant An order issued by a judge or magistrate commanding a sheriff, constable, or other officer to search a specified location. Dismissal without prejudice A dismissal which permits the plaintiff to sue again on the same cause of action or the state to proceed again. Dismissal with prejudice bars the right to subsequently bring an action on the same cause. Miranda rule The rule, pronounced in Miranda v. Arizona, that confessions are inadmissible in a criminal prosecution if the police do not advise the suspect in custody of certain rights before questioning. Fourth Amendment The 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects every person against unreasonable search and seizure by government officials. Levy A seizure; the obtaining of money by legal process through seizure and sale of property.

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	Did You Know?
	Res Ipsa Loquitur - Literally, "a thing that speaks for itself." In tort law, the doctrine which holds a defendant guilty of negligence without an actual showing that he or she was negligent. Its use is limited in theory to cases in which the cause of the plaintiff's injury was entirely under the control of the defendant, and the injury presumably could have been caused only by negligence.