Criminal Defense Terms and Definitions

Fourth Amendment The 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects every person against unreasonable search and seizure by government officials. 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. 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) Bench warrant An order issued by the court for the arrest of a person Allegation The assertion, declaration, or statement of a party to an action, made in a pleading, establishing what the party expects to prove. Manslaughter A person recklessly causes the death of another, or acting under extreme emotional disturbance, causes the death of another, or acting under circumstances when a person reasonably believes the circumstances provide a legal justification or excuse for his conduct constitutes manslaughter. Search warrant An order issued by a judge or magistrate commanding a sheriff, constable, or other officer to search a specified location. Embezzlement The fraudulent appropriation by a person to his own use or benefit of property or money entrusted to him by another. Accessory A person who assists in the commission of a crime, either before or after the fact.

Contact us now to obtain a free case review or more information on our Thousand Oaks Criminal Defense Lawyers.

	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.