| A | B |
|---|
| arraignment | Pretrial court appearance during which a judge reads the charges against a defendant and asks the defendant to state his or her plea |
| booking | Process in which the police make a formal record of a person’s arrest a the police station |
| burden of proof | The prosecutor’s responsibility to prove that the defendant is guilty |
| capital punishment | A sentence of death for especially serious crimes |
| count | Item on the list of charges |
| criminal procedure | Process by which suspected criminals are identified, arrested, accused, and tried in court |
| defendant | A suspect that has been charged with a crime |
| determinate sentence | Prison term that states a range of time, such as 5 to 10 years or 20 years to life |
| deterrence | A goal of punishment that seeks to discourage a criminal from committing crimes again |
| grand jury | group of citizens who decide whether there is enough evidence to bring a defendant |
| incapacitation | A goal of punishment that prevents a criminal from committing more crimes by locking he criminal in prison |
| incarceration | Confinement to jail or prison |
| indeterminate sentence | Prison term that states a fixed-length sentence, such as 15 years |
| indictment | List of charges when a probable cause hearing is held by a grand jury |
| information | List of charges when there is no probable cause hearing or a when a hearing is held by a judge |
| plea bargaining | A deal in which a defendant’s sentence is reduced in exchange for pleading guilty and avoiding a trial |
| preliminary hearing | Hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to charge the defendant with the crime |
| probation | A sentence that involves no jail time but consists of rules hat must be followed by the person who is sentenced |
| probation officer | Social service professional who supervises criminal defendants and helps witth their rehabilitation |
| prosecutor | A lawyer, sometimes called the district attorney or the state’s attorney, who represents the government |
| presentence report | Document with background information about a particular defendant prepared by the probation officer at the request of the judge |
| rehabilitation | A goal of punishment that seeks to help an offender become a law-abiding member of society |
| restitution | Repayment by a criminal to victims for property taken or damaged done |
| retribution | A goal of punishment that seeks to “get back” at the criminal |
| suspended sentence | A sentence that allows the offender to stay out of prison with no special conditions or requirement for a fixed amount of time as long as they do not commit another crime during that time |
