GLOSSARY OF TERMS IN CJS

1. ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY - Exemption from civil liability given to certain public officials while they
are discharging their duties. For example, a judge has complete immunity from civil liability
while presiding over a civil case.

2. ABUSE - Any psychological or physical harm caused by one person and inflicted on another with or
without intention.

3. ACCES TO THE COURTS - A prisoner’s fundamental right that is the key element for enforcement
of other right since it is the mechanism for gaining judicial protection of constitutional rights. The
right includes protected contacts with lawyers and provision of legal resources for case
preparation.

4. ACCUSATION - A formal allegation of a crime or tort. Felony accusations may follow grand jury
indictments or presentments, information filed by prosecutors, or a coroner’s intuition into a
homicide. Misdemeanor accusations may result from a sworn complaint or affidavit by a private
citizen or police officer.

5. ACCUSED - A criminal defendant.

6. ACQUITTAL - the legal pronouncement that a defendant has been found not guilty, usually as the
result of a jury verdict.

7. ADJUDICATE - To judicially settle a case.

8. ADJUDICATION - The judicial process of resolving or deciding a case.

9. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE - College courses which cover the operation and management of
the criminal justice system.

10. ADMISSION - the voluntary confession of facts which can be used against a person in court.

11. AFFIDAVIT - A sworn, written statement made in the presence of an authorized official, such as an
attorney.

12. ALIBI - A defense that shows that a person could have not been present during the crime, because he
or she was at a different location when the crime occurred.

13. ALLEGATION - Legally, a formal declaration that a statement is a fact before it has been proven.

14. ALLEGED OFFENDER - A suspect who has been arrested and charged, but not yet convicted.

15. ANARCHY - A state of lawlessness; having no government.

16. APPEAL - A legal proceeding in which a higher court is asked to review the decision of a lower
court. The request for appellate review may be made by the defense or prosecution.

17. ARBITRATOR - A person who has been designed to mediate a dispute between two parties.

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18. ARRAIGNMENT - A legal hearing or proceeding in which the defendant must appear in court to
hear charges against him or her and must then enter a plea. It is the first phase in a prosecution. In
addition to the defendant hearing the charges, being informed of his or her rights, and entering a
plea, the date for trial is set.

19. ATTORNEY - Lawyer; a person trained in the law and legally approved to represent clients in court.

20. BAIL - Property or money deposited as a surety that a person granted temporary release from jail will
return to answer charges pending against him or her.

21. BAIL BOND - A written guarantee accompanied by money or property that is given to the court by
the defendant’s surety (bail bondsperson) stating that a person will return to the court’s
jurisdiction at the time of trial.

22. BAIL BONDSPERSON - The person who posts bail for criminal suspects and defendants. He or she
usually charges a fee added to what they pay for the suspect to be released on bail. The bail
bondsperson then becomes responsible for assuring that the defendant will make the required
appearance in court.

23. BAIL REVOCATION - The process by which an offender violates a condition of release while
awaiting trial by either committing new crimes or making contact with those he or she may have
originally committed crimes against, resulting in the court’s decision to terminate the release on
bail.

24. BANISHMENT - Exile of a person from their long-term home or country.

25. BENCH TRIAL - A trial in which the judge decides the case, rather than a jury.

26. BENCH WARRANT - A warrant which has been issued by a judge to a police officer directing the
officer to arrest a person who has not made a required appearance at a legal proceeding, has not
complied with a court order, or has been indicted.

27. BENEFIT OF THE CLERGY - In the Middle ages, clergy members or others who could read could
avoid a felony trial in a King’s Court and be tried in a church court, thereby escaping harsh
sentences, including execution.

28. BEST EVIDENCE RULE - Applies to written works, photographs, and recordings and says that
original works should be used as evidence if possible, but if they are not available, copies can be
used.

29. BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT - The degree of certainty required in all criminal cases to
convict the accused. A judge or jury must be 95 % certain that the defendant is connected to the
evidence.

30. BOARD OF PARDONS - A state council that assists in clemency cases or, depending on the state,
may grant clemency without the involvement.

31. BODY SEARCH - The external examination of prisoners with their clothes removes for contraband.

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32. BOND - A promise to perform an act. A bail bond promises that a criminal defendant will appear in
court. If the appearance is not made, money or assets pledged to assure the appearance are
forfeited.

33. BREACH OF THE PEACE - A crime consisting of any public disturbance which destroys the
tranquillity of a neighborhood, such as loud noises.

34. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT - The imposition of death as the ultimate sanction. It is either given by
the electric chair, lethal injection, poisonous gas, hanging, or firing squad.

35. CITIZEN ARREST - An arrest of a person by a civilian, usually because the person is suspected to
have committed a felony. Any person without official governmental arresting authority who
witnesses a crime, such as a murder, may perform a citizen’s arrest in order that the suspect’s
answer to charges.

36. CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES - Crimes are divided into the categories of misdemeanors and
felonies. Misdemeanors are crimes punishable by less than one year in prison and felonies are
punishable by one or more years of incarceration.

37. CLASSIFICATION OF PRISONERS - A placement of offenders into categories by the seriousness

of the crime committed, possible future dangerousness, and in some facilities, participation in
training, education, or treatment programs.

38. CODE OF SILENCE - Informed rule in police culture that prevents officers from turning in or
testifying against other officers.

39. COMUNITY-BASED CORRECTIONS - Programs located outside prison serving probationers and
parolees. Work release and halfway houses are examples, and participation is limited to low-risk
offenders. The programs offer a supervised transition back into the community.

40. COMMUNITY REINTEGRATION - The transition phase for an offender to make adjustment to
living in the community again. Halfway houses are one strategy to provide a supervised transition
from prison to the outside world.

41. COMMUTATION OF SENTENCE - A form of executive clemency resulting in the replacement of

a convicted criminal’s sentence with a less severe one.

42. COMPLAINT - The initial filing in a civil lawsuit the present allegations about the defendant’s legal
responsibility for harm suffered by the claimant.

43. COMPUTER HACKER - As a negative term, a person who breaks into data banks out of
maliciousness or for the thrill of the accomplishment. Computer enthusiasts use the term
“cracker” to refer to this type of hacker.

44. CONDEMN - 1. To find a person guilty.

45. CONDITIONAL PARDON - An exoneration that carries with it certain requirements that must be
fulfilled by the prisoner, or one that can be cancelled if the person commits an act that is
prohibited.

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46. CONDITIONAL RELEASE - Early release from prison which is dependent on the offender meeting
certain requirements.

47. CONFINEMENT - Loss of liberty by being in a place, such as a jail or prison.

48. CONGREGATE SYSTEM - A correctional system allowing prisoners to have contact with other
prisoners, such as during work hours or at mealtime. The system originated at Auburn State
penitentiary in New York.

49. CONSENT - Voluntary agreement or approval of or about some act.

50. CONTEMPT OF COURT - Behavior which is disrespectful or in defiance of the power of a court.

51. CONTRABAND - An item, such as a weapon, drugs, or money, that prisoners are not allowed to
possess and that officials seek to discover and seize in searches and mail inspections.

52. CONVICT - An adult who has received a guilty verdict for the commission of a crime.

53. CONVICTED OFFNDER - A criminal who has been found guilty of an offense.

54. CORONER - A public official responsible for diagnosing the cause of death in corpses through
examination and autopsy.

55. CORRECTIONS - A term used to describe the programs, facilities, agencies and personnel
associated with the confinement, supervision, and treatment of convicted offenders.

56. COURT - A public judiciary body, with a judge or judges who have the authority to hand down
rulings and decisions on legal conflicts and issues through the application of law, and oversee the
administration of justice; place where the legal questions are decided.

57. COURT JURISDICTION - The authority of a court to hear cases in a certain geographical area, or
to hear cases of a certain subject matter.

58. CRACKDOWN - A policing strategy designed to have a rapid impact on criminal groups or specific
crime in a targeted area. The police stop and arrest offenders for as many violations as possible to
remove them from the streets and to increase deterrence.

59. CRIME ANALYSIS - An examination of crime in a specific jurisdiction. For example, crime in one
area of a city may be studied to ascertain what type of crime is most common, when it occurs, and
what age group is committing the crime.

60. CRIME PREVENTION - Proactive strategies to discourage criminal activity, such as directed
patrols by police in hot spot areas.

61. CRIME RATE - The number of crimes per 100,000 of the entire population per year.

62. CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR - Any action pertaining to the attempt or completion of a crime.

63. CRIMINAL INCIDENT - A criminal episode with at least one victim and one offender.

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64. CRIMINAL INTENT - The mental element of a crime. The required state to commit a criminal act,
without justification.

65. CROSS EXAMINATION - Questions directed at the other party’s witness by the opposing attorney.
For example, the questioning of the prosecutor’s witness by defense counsel.

66. DE FACTO (Latin) - In fact. Actual, real. Having to do with the reality of the situation.

67. DE JURE (Latin) - In law, having to do with a matter of law.

68. DEADLY FORCE - The use of violence by one person against another that would likely result in
death.

69. DEATH ROW - The unit of cells in a prison reserved for inmates convicted of capital crimes and
awaiting execution.

70. DECISION - A court judgment on an issue before the court.

71. DECOY - A person who distracts another so that a crime can be committed. Also, a police officer,
disguised as a citizen, who is a lure to criminals. Surveillance allows them to catch criminals in
the act as they attempt to victimize the decoy. An example may be a female police officer
portraying a prostitute to catch men who try to purchase sex.

72. DEFENDANT - A person who is facing a criminal procedure.

73. DEFENSE - 1. The reasons given by the defendant to refute the claims or charges of the plaintiff or
prosecution. 2. The tactics used, the defendant, and the attorney involved in the effort to counter
the claims of the prosecutor.

74. DEFENSE ATTORNEY - One trained in the law and legally approved to represent defendants in
court.

75. DEPOSITION - A written record of testimony which was given outside the courtroom.

76. DESERTION - Abandonment of spouse, family, or duties that is intentional and unjustified.

77. DETAINEE - A person who is being held in confinement pending arraignment or pre-trial.

78. DISCLAIMER - A statement designed to limit the legal rights or claims of another.

79. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE - Acts directed at family or household members that can injure to kill.
These acts may be directed towards one’s spouse, from parents toward children, or from children
toward parents.

80. DOUBLE JEOPARDY - Trying a person twice for the same crime in the same jurisdiction.

81. DUE PROCESS - The protection of the rights of the accused as or her she proceeds through the
criminal justice system adherence to the legal rules which govern proceedings.

82. EN BANC - “On the bench.” A court session in which all of the judges take part, such as U.S.
Supreme Court, where each member where present and participates.

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83. ENFORCEMENT - To compel people to comply with laws.

84. ENTRAPMENT - An overzealous attempt by law enforcement officers to apprehend criminals

whereby a person who would not have committed the crime otherwise has been persuaded or
tricked into it by the officers.

85. EXONERATE - To acquit or show that a person is not guilty of the accusation.

86. EXPERT TESTIMONY - Any verbal evidence given by an expert witness.

87. EXPERT WITNESS - A witness who, by virtue of education, training or experience is considered an
authority on a subject and qualified to give his or her opinion on a relevant issue in court.

88. EXTORTION - 1. The gain of an item from another through threat or by force. 2. The unlawful gain
of property by a public official through the use of force.

89. FRUIT OF THE POISONOUS TREE DOCTRINE - A fundamental policy of principle that holds
that illegally obtained evidence or evidence resulting indirectly from an illegal search, arrest, or
interrogation is inadmissible. For example, if information obtained from an illegal interrogation
leads to the discovery of evidence, the evidence would not be admissible.

90. GOOD BEHAVIOR POINTS - Merit incentives used by correctional institutions to reward
conformity, which may help reduce a long sentence.

91. GRAFFITI - Any unauthorized writing, spraying or painting on public property. An activity in which
gang members are notorious for engaging as an attempt to make identifiable turf.

92. GRAFT - Gratuities offered and accepted by law enforcement officials for granting favors or looking
the other way while illegal activities occur.

93. GROSS NEGLIGENCE - Wilful negligence. Failure to comply with a illegal obligation or duty,
either by wilful disregard, or a lack of care.

94. GUILTY PLEA - An admission in court by a defendant that the charges against him or her are true.

95. HABEAS CORPUS - A writ or written order, that literally means produce the body of the intimate or
prisoner who is challenging the legality of his or her confinement.

96. HABITUAL OFFENDER - Any offender who has committed and has been convicted of more than
two felonies. Such person automatically qualifies to receive long term imprisonment.

97. HACKER - One who illegally breaks into another’s computer and disrupts his or her system.

98. HALFWAYHOUSE - A community-based correctional sentence that provides food, clothing,

shelter, counselling and a job assignment to offenders who are released from prison and are trying
to reintegrate or transmission back into the free community.

99. HEARSAY RULE - Hearsay evidence is not allowed in court unless the person who is the source of
the evidence has died or is unavailable to testify.

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100. HUE AND CRY - Hist. In common law, an obligation of the public after seeing a crime to raise an
alarm by yelling and calling out to others so that persons suspected of serious crimes would be
pursued.

101. HUMAN RIGHTS - The contemporary sets of privileges considered to be basic to human dignity
and welfare and applying to all human beings. The universal Declaration of Human Rights was
created by the United Nations in 1948, and contains a list of fundamental human rights.

102. ILLEGAL DETENTION - Being held by the law enforcement even though the officer has no
reasonable suspicion or probable cause to justify an arrest.

103. INADMISSIBLE - An article, fact, or any other type of evidence that is not allowed. For example,
hearsay evidence inadmissible in court.

104. INCONSISTENT DEFENSE - A defense that conflicts with another defense to the degree that one
of them has to be dropped. For example, the alibi that the defendant is sick in bed at the time of a
robbery could not be used along with the defense that the crime was committed under duress.

105. IN FLAGRANTE DELICTO - [Latin] The criminal was caught in the act of committing the crime.

106. INFRACTION - A minor offense which is not penalized by incarceration, but by fine or other
punishment.

107. IRISH SYSTEM - Prison incentive system developed by Sir Walter Crofton, which allowed
prisoners to gain early release by earning good behavior “tickets of leave.”

108. JAIL - A city or country run holding place where offenders serve less than one year. Jail sentence is
typically given to those who have committed the less serious crimes. They also hold juvenile’s
offenders who have violated probations or parole, and those awaiting transfer to prison. They are
sometimes considered more dangerous than prison because they lack a classification system.

109. JUDGE -. An elected or appointed judicial official who presides over the court and decides legal
issues.

110. JUDGMENT - A final decision by a court or agency.

111. JUDICAL NOTICE - A court’s acceptance or authority to accept certain well known facts to be
true without requiring either party to a case to present evidence supporting the facts. For example,
a court could accept a state law as facts without the production of evidence.

112. JUDICAL POWERS - The authority to administer the law, interpret the law, and hear and decide
case or issues.

113. JUDICAL REPRIEVE - A temporary delay in a sentence being carried out.

114. JUMP BAIL - To leave the jurisdiction and fail to appear in court as promised so as to escape
prosecution.

115. JURIST - A judge or other person trained in law

116. JURY - A panel of citizens selected to render a verdict in a legal case.

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117. JUSTICE - The fair and the equitable application of the law.

118. KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY - Being killed during the course of one’s occupation. In law
enforcement this does not necessarily mean that the police officer died as the result of the
violence, since deaths from other causes, such as heart attacks or traffic accidents are included.

119. KLEPTOMANIAC - A person with a neurosis that compels him or her to steal.

120. LAW ENFORCEMENT - Agents and activities of the government authorized to enforce the laws
and maintain order.

121. LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY - An agency which is authorized to use force to bring
compliance with the laws.

122. LEGAL ETHICS - A code of ethics for attorneys which set norms for conduct between attorney in
court, and between attorneys and client.

123. LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY - 1. The accountability to which a person may be held under the law.
2. The adequate mental health of a person required to be held accountable in court for his or for
her actions.

124. LEGALIZATION - A process by which a crime is no longer considered criminal or punished as a

crime.

125. LEGITIMATE POWER - The authority to use power based on the assumption that a person in a
superior position should be able to force person with less power to obey commands.

126. LEX NON SCRIPTA -(Latin). Laws arising from customs, such as common law.

127. LINE FUNCTIONS - The purposes and duties of police officers, including patrol, investigation and
traffic control.

128. LINE UNITS - The various unit of a police department which carry out line functions, such as a
vice squad or as juvenile unit.

129. LOCKUPS - Jail cells or quarters from confining prisoners who have been arrested for public
drunkenness.

130. LOITERING - The crime of ‘hanging around “an area with no apparent purpose.

131. MAFIA - A secret organization, typically thought to be of Sicilian decent, united in criminal
activities for economic and political profits.

132. MAGISTRATE - A civil officer charge with the administration of the law. A lower level judge who
handles cases in the pretrial stage.

133. MANDATORY CONDITIONAL RELEASE - An early release from confinement required by law
after a prisoner has earned a specified amount of good time credit.

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134. MANDATORY RELEASE - A release from confinement after a specific period of time served,
which is stipulated by law. It is the effect of determinate sentencing, which eliminates or reduces
the discretion of the parole boards by requiring release from incarceration after a specified period
of time has been served.

135. MARITAL RAPE - Modern crime in which a husband has intercourse with his wife without her
agreement or by force. In common law, a man could not be convicted of raping his wife.

136. MARK SYSTEM - The process by which prisoners incarcerated under sir Walter Crofton could
gain sentence reductions by accumulating credit for time served.

137. MARTIAL LAW - The authority of the army to govern the country during war time as a result of
the formal government deciding that military force is needed to ensure security.

138. MATERIAL WITNESS - A person who has evidence which may have positive or negative effect
on a criminal case.

139. MEDICAL EXAMINER - A public official who performs autopsies to determine the cause of
death and conducts investigation into suspicious deaths.

140. MISCARIAGE OF JUSTICE - An unfair court decision considered to be a mockery of justice. A

failure of justice.

141. MITTIMUS - (Law of Latin). A court order which commands that a person in jailed. We send.

142. MIXED SENTENCE - A sentence that combines two types of sentences. An example of mixed
sentence may be the combination of shock incarceration followed by probation.

143. MOONLIGHTING - Working a second job. Police officers often work a civilian job, such as
security position, to supplement their police salary.

144. MORAL TURPITUDE - Extreme depravity or degenerate of behavior.

145. MORES - The accepted ways of a particular group of society.

146. MOTION OF DISMISS - A request that the court end a case or claim without proceeding further.
A case may be dismissed because a settlement has been reached, there has been error in the
procedure such as improper venue, or because one of the parties has voluntarily withdrawn from
the action.

146. NEIGHGBORHOOD POLICING - An integrative program that decentralizes police patrols by

creating neighborhood command stations and promotes better police-community relations.

147. NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH - A strategy that is part of a comprehensive crime prevention

strategy requiring full participation from residents to rid the community of crime and restore
safety.

148. NEPOTISM - The hiring of an individual or an appointment to a job based on favoritism or kinship.
The term is typically used to characterized the employment of an individual such as a family
member or relative, who received employment despite adequate qualifications.

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149. NEW TRIAL - A trial that has been ordered by a judge after finding some procedural violation or
impropriety during an earlier trial. A trial de novo.

150. NOLLE POSEQUI - Not wishing to prosecute. A prosecutor’s notice that charges will be dismissed
or a prosecution will be abandoned.

151. NORM - Agreed upon standards of values and behavior viewed as a principles of the acceptable
course of action to follow. A failure to act accordingly is usually followed by a reprimand that
could include punishment.

152. OPEN COURT - A court that is not closed to the media. It allows the media full access to present
the proceeding to the public.

153. OPINION - The rationale given by a court for deciding a case in a particular manner.

154. OVERRULE - To reject, as when judge overrules an attorney’s objections. Also, to reverse or
overturn a previous ruling by a lower court.

155. PARALEGAL - One who has some training on conducting legal research, such as retrieving and
briefing cases, or conducting interviews and interrogation. They assist attorneys by helping them
prepare for criminal and civil trials.

156. PARDON - An executive action that sets aside punishment for a crime. Such action mitigates the
punishment the law demands for an offense and reinstate the rights and privileges forfeited after
the commission of a felony.

157. PAROLE - A status attained by incarcerated prisoners who serve most of their sentences in prison
before being granted release into the remainder of their sentence in the community under
restrictive conditions and the supervision of a parole officer.

158. PAROLE OFFICER - An agent who provides supervision over an offender who has been released
from a sentence of imprisonment. In some jurisdictions, parolees must make regular visits with
their parole officers. They are instrumental in the revocation process.

159. PAROLE SUPERVISION - Guidance and treatment provided by a parole agency to the released
offender while he or she is in the free community.

160. PAROLEE - A person who has been released into the free community subject to the conditions of
parole.

161. PARTISAN ELECTION -The political campaign or election influenced by one’s political
affiliation usually republican or democrat.

162. PLEA BARGAINING - The practice of a prosecutor accepting a plea of “guilty” in exchange for a
less serious crime than the one originally charged. Such a practice allows the state to save money
and time. It is normally used when the state’s evidence is weak.

163. PRETRIAL CONFERENCE - A meeting with of the opposing parties in a case with the judicial
officers before trial. The meeting includes the presence of the defense attorney, prosecutor, and
judge. At the meeting, discussions take place over the evidence, witnesses, and motion to be
filed.

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164. PRETRIAL RELEASE - The act of releasing or granting bail to the accused on the promise that he
or she will return to answer charges filed against him or her.

165. PRIMA FACIE CASE - A case that has proceeded with sufficient evidence in favor of a
proposition= is sufficient to support a finding in its favor.

166. PRISONERS - Convicted offenders sentence to state or federal confinement facilities.

167. PRISONIZATION - the process by which inmates are socialized into both the formal rules and
regulations of the penal setting and the informal values, customs, and norms that regulate life in
his or her interactions with others.

168. PROACTIVE POLICE WORK - Policing strategies that seek to prevent crime rather than reactive
policing, which reacts to crimes that have already occurred. For example, assigning a task force to
determine factors that contribute to crime min hot spot, and then addressing those factors in order
to deter future crime would be a proactive strategy.

169. PROBABALE CAUSE - The level of belief that a police officer needs to effect certain procedures,
such as an arrest, a search, or to procure a valid warrant from a judge or magistrate; a set of facts
that would make a reasonable man believe that a certain individual has or is about to engage in a
specific action.

170. PROBATION - A sentence that is considered a reprieve since it does not require the offender to be
removed from the community and incarcerated for any duration. While on probation, the offender
must adhere to certain conditions of release so as not to be returned to the sentencing court to
have a traditional sentence imposed.

171. REAL EVIDENCE - Physical evidence directly connected to the case, such as weapon.

172. REASONABLE DOUBT - The level of evidence required in a criminal case to grant the defendant
an acquittal occurs when the prosecutor is unable to connect the defendant to a crime.

173. RECIDIVISM - Re-engaging in crime (being arrested or convicted) after an offender has been
released from confinement. The offender’s re-involvement in crime constitutes recidivism.

174. RECOGNIZANCE - A promise or bond delivered in court to assure that a person will do
something such as make a scheduled court appearance without being jailed. Personal
recognizance is a promise to the court without paying a bond that a defendant will appear.

175. REFORMATORY - A penal institution that is used to house young offenders or juveniles for law
violations. The philosophy behind such institutions is to change the individual for the betterment
of himself and society.

176. REINCARCERATION - The state of being imprisoned again as the result of another conviction, or
a probation or parole violation.

177. REINFROCEMENT - Refers to incentives to continue in a certain type of behavior or activity.

178. REINTEGRATION - In corrections, it refers to the release of an offender from a place of

incarceration back into society of the general public.

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179. RELEASE ON RECOGNIZANCE (ROR) - The pre-trial release of the arrested person on his or
her promise to return for trial at a later date.

180. REPRIEVE - A temporary delay of the execution of a sentence.

181. RESPONSE TIME - The period that it takes police officers to arrive at the scene of the dispute or
crime after being dispatched.

182. RESTITUTION - The type of punishment that requires the offender to repay the victim with
compensation or an area of community service that is equivalent to the harm done.

183. RESTORATION - A sentencing program with the mission of bringing back the offender to a
positive, law-abiding state of being.

184. RESTORATIVE JUSTICE - The theoretical philosophy that advocates reduced formal processing
of offenders. The model argues for informal reconciliations from the offenders and victims of
crime. The aim is for communities to solve its own crimes without invoking formal mechanisms
of social control.

185. RETRIBUTION - A type of punitive punishment or punishment for the sake of punishment. This
occurs when offenders get their just deserts for the crime that they have committed.

186. REVIEW - The action of a higher court to reconsider the decision of a lower court; the authority of
a court to review legislative or executive acts in order to rule on their constitutionality.

187. REVOCATION - The process by which one’s status as a free person is removed followed by
incarceration will follow the termination of a licensee’s privilege to drive a motor vehicle.

188. SANCTION - The penalty or punishment one faces after violating an existing rule or law.

189. SECURITY - The restriction of an inmate’s movement within a place of confinement. Such places
are usually distinguished as either maximum, medium, and minimum levels.

190. SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT - Bias law enforcement practices that disproportionately

concentrate on criminal activity that occur in minority communities. This term is also referred to
as “discriminative police practices” or “racial profiling.”

191. SELF-DEFENSE - Protecting one’s self or property against some injury attempted at the hands of
another.

192. SELF-INCRIMINATION - The act of implicating one’s self in the commission of a crime when
such evidence will be used against the person at trial.

193. SENTENCE - The penalty imposed by a court on the accused after guilt has been established.

194. SENTENCING DISPOSITION - The final settlement conducted by the court after a conviction has
been achieved to express penalties such as imprisonment, fines, or an alternative to actually
execute penalties.
195. SEPARATE CONFINEMENT - A prison system that keeps each inmate isolated from other
prisoners for the purpose of preventing evil association.

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196. SHAKEDOWN - Forms of extortion in which law enforcement officials accept money from citizens
in lieu of enforcing the law.

197. SHOCK PROBATION - A correctional practice whereby a judge sentences an offender to an

extended jail or prison term and then, before the expiration of the specified period, adjusts the
incarceration to a much shorter period to be followed by probation.

198. SILENT SYSTEM - The Auburn Prison System in New York in 1823. Auburn’s prisoners were
confined in small cells, worked in congregated shops, were forced into absolute silence at all
times, and with solitary confinement at night.

199. SOCIAL CONTROL - The process by which people conform their behaviors to standards required
by law.

200. SOCIAL INJUSTICE - Any act of desperate treatment given to an member or group of people
based on race, class, or gender that fundamentally denies him or her equality under the law or
fundamental fairness.

201. SOCIAL ISOLATION - The process by which one retreats from social life and refuses to integrate
into conventional activities.

202. SOCIAL JUSTICE - A perspective that evaluates how a society distributes equality under the law
and fundamental fairness to all of its members regardless of diversity.

203. SOCIAL NORM - A code of acceptable behavior that defines what is and what is not acceptable to
conventional society.

204. SOLITARY CONFINEMENT - The separate confinement of a prisoner completely segregated

from others used at the discretion of a jailer or prison administrator. The practice is seen as a way
of disciplining a prisoner for a rule infraction.

205. STEREOTYPE - A generalization about a group of people, often based on myths or inaccurate
perceptions.

206. STIGMATIZATION - Negative labelling affecting those who have had contact as offenders or
alleged offenders with the criminal justice system.

207. STREET JUSTICE - Vigilante justice whereby citizens take matters into their own hands and serve
as judge, jury, end executioner because they lack confidence that the legal system can mete out
punishment and dispense justice.

208. SUBPOENA - A writ ordering a person to appear before the court. If the person does not comply, a
penalty results.

209. SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM - A court order for the production in court of material items, such as
documents or papers.

210. SUMMONS - A written order that notifies an individual that he or she has been charged with an
offense.

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211. SURETY BOND - An instrument used as a certificate of debt that promises to pay the lender a
series of interest payments, in addition to returning the principal.

212. SUSPENDED SENTENCE - The accused is not required to serve a sentence after a pronouncement
of guilt, but instead the sentence could be set aside and probation imposed.

213. SUSPENSION - The temporary withdrawal of a licensee’s privilege to drive a motor vehicle.

214. SUSTAIN - In a court of law, to carry on or to maintain. Sometimes when appellant judges sustain a
decision of the lower court, it upholds the decision.

215. TESTIMONY - Verbal evidence that is provided by a witness to the crime given under oath.

216. TICKET-of- LEAVE - A phrase that was originally created by Sir Walter Crofton to mean a system
of conditional release from prison that is essentially the same as parole.

217. TRIAL - A judicial hearing to decide legal disputes opposing parties. Some trials are criminal while
others are civil in subject matter jurisdiction.

218. UNSOLVED CRIME - Crime that law enforcement officers are either working on to connect a
suspect with its commission or criminal activity that does not afford officers much physical
evidence or eye witnesses. These crimes whose motive and perpetrators allude law enforcement.

219. VENUE - The proper or possible place for the trial of a lawsuit, usually because the place has some
connection with the events that have given rise to the lawsuit. In a pleading, the statement
establishing the place for trial.

220. VICTIMILOGY - The scientific study of victims, offenders, and how society reacts and responds
to victims, offenders, and levels of victimization through punishment, treatment, and public
policy, respectively.

221. VIOLENT CRIME - Criminal activity that typically requires the use of physical force, such as
murder, forcibly rape, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Such crime could carry
severe penalties, including life imprisonment and capital punishment.

222. WAIVE - To give up or relinquish.

223. WITNESS - An individual who may be able to provide testimonial evidence connecting an alleged
perpetrator to a crime based on what he or she saw. It could also be the victim of a crime.

224. WRIT - A written order or prohibition issued by a court.

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