Judicial Terms
What is an acquittal?
A judgment that a person is not guilty of the crime with which they have been charged.
What is the job of the court-reporter?
A person who makes a written verbatim record using a unique shortened writing style called "steno" on a steno machine.
What is a jury?
A group of people who have been chosen to listen to all the facts in a trial in a law court and to decide if a person is guilty or not guilty.
What is a verdict?
A decision on a disputed issue in a civil or criminal case or an inquest.
The defendants in the trial are...
Roy Bryant and JW Milam
What is a subpoena?
A writ ordering a person to attend court
What is the plaintiff in a case?
The party who brings a legal action or in whose name it is brought.
What is a jury foreman?
The first juror selected; delivers the verdict.
What does double jeopardy refer to?
The prosecution of a person twice for the same offense.
The defense lawyer for Bryant and Milam is...
JJ Breland
What does indictment mean?
A formal charge or accusation of a serious crime.
What is the defendant in a trial?
An individual, company, or institution sued or accused in a court of law.
What is voir dire?
A preliminary examination of either a juror or a witness to deem them credible to serve on the court.
What is reasonable doubt?
The district attorney in the trial is...
Gerald Chatham
What is a rabble rouser?
A person who speaks with the intention of inflaming the emotions of a crowd of people; typically for political reasons. A trouble-maker.
What does a district attorney do?
A public official who acts as a prosecutor for the state of the federal government in court.
What is cross-examination?
The examination of a witness who has already testified in order to check or discredit the witness's testimony, knowledge, or credibility.
What does it mean if a ruling is sustained?
The objection is agreed with by the judge, the questioning cannot be continued.
Emmett Till's mother's name is....
Maimie Till-Bradley
What is the role of a bailiff?
An official in a court of law who keeps order.
What is an objection in court?
An expression or feeling of disapproval or opposition; a reason for disagreeing.
What does "murder in the first" mean?
The personal willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation kills another person.
What does it mean if a ruling is overruled?
This woman accused Emmett Till of touching her and saying lewd remarks to her.
Carolyn Bryant