An inquisitorial system is a legal system where the court or a part of the court is actively involved in investigating the facts of the case, as opposed to an adversarial system where the role of the court is primarily that of an impartial referee between the prosecution and the defense.
Alibi
An alibi is a form of defense used in criminal procedure wherein the accused attempts to prove that he or she was in some other place at the time the alleged offense was committed.
Jury trial
A jury trial or trial by jury is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact, which then direct the actions of a judge.
Informant
An informant (also called an informer) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency.
Sentence (law)
A sentence is a decree of punishment.
Citizen's arrest
A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a person who is not acting as a sworn law-enforcement official.
Detention (imprisonment)
Detention is the process when a state or private citizen lawfully holds a person by removing his or her freedom of liberty at that time.
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving people of their liberty, usually in relation to an investigation or prevention of a crime, and thus detaining the arrested person in a procedure as part of the criminal justice system.
Criminal investigation
Criminal investigation is an applied science that involves the study of facts, used to identify, locate and prove the guilt of an accused criminal.
Probable cause
In United States criminal law, probable cause is the standard by which police authorities have reason to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal.
Indictment
An indictment (/ɪnˈdaɪtmənt/ in-DYT-mənt), in the common law system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime.
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system.
Jury duty
Jury duty or jury service is service as a juror in a legal proceeding.
Voir dire
Voir dire (/ˈvwɑːr ˌdiər/) is a legal phrase that refers to a variety of procedures connected with jury trials.
Remand (detention)
Remand or pre-trial detention is the process of keeping a person who has been arrested in custody before conviction.
Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia
The Public Defender Service (PDS) for the District of Columbia provides defense on a court-appointed basis for criminal (trial and appellate) and delinquency cases in which the defendants and respondents are indigent adults and juveniles.
Self-incrimination
Self-incrimination is the act of exposing oneself (generally, by making a statement) "to an accusation or charge of crime; to involve oneself or another [person] in a criminal prosecution or the danger thereof.
Double jeopardy
Double jeopardy is a procedural defence that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges in the same case following a legitimate acquittal or conviction.