Criminal Defense Terms and Definitions

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. Fourteenth Amendment Among other matters, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without adequate due process. Bench warrant An order issued by the court for the arrest of a person Restitution Court-ordered payment to restore goods or money to the victim of a crime by the offender. Fifth Amendment Among other rights, the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees that a person cannot be compelled to present self-incriminating testimony in a criminal (or juvenile) proceeding. Levy A seizure; the obtaining of money by legal process through seizure and sale of property. Accessory A person who assists in the commission of a crime, either before or after the fact. Assault A willful attempt to illegally inflict injury on or threaten a person. 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) Allegation The assertion, declaration, or statement of a party to an action, made in a pleading, establishing what the party expects to prove.

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	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.