Vocab
An agreement in a criminal case where a defendant pleads guilty or no contest to a charge, often a lesser one, in exchange for a more lenient sentence.
Plea Bargains
These are rarely wailed in. Offer more educational and treatment programs for inmates. Less restrictive movement. Houses 45% of the total inmate population in the US.
Medium Security Prisons
A place for the confinement of people accused or convicted of a crime. Short time for minor crimes. No more than a year.
Jail
Process at a police station or jail following an arrest, where suspect information, charges, fingerprints, and photographs (mug shots) are officially recorded.
Booking
legal process where a convicted defendant asks a higher court to review a lower court's decision due to alleged legal errors.
Appeals
Is the conditional release of prisoners before the full completion of their sentence. Often supervised
Parole
Most do not have armed guards. Known as a cupcake facility. It may seem like a college campus. Holds 20% of the inmate population in the US.
Minimum Security Prisons
They are intermediate federal courts that review decisions from U.S. District Courts (trial courts) and federal agencies to ensure the law was applied correctly.
US Courts of Appeal
accused must be brought in front of a judge or magistright to be notified of your charge.
Initial appearance
A court of general jurisdiction that handles serious criminal cases, primarily felonies, and serves as a trial-level court in many U.S. states.
Superior Court
A court-ordered criminal sentence allowing a convicted individual to remain in the community under supervision instead of serving jail time.
Probation
Intermediate federal appellate courts are situated between district courts and the Supreme court. Divided into 13 circuits.
Circuit court of appeals
The highest federal court in the United States and the final arbiter of law. It holds final authority over appellate cases involving federal law or the Constitution.
Supreme Court of the US
A formal written accusation issued by a grand jury charging a person with a crime, marking the beginning of a felony prosecution.
Indictment
the general trial courts of the federal judiciary, responsible for hearing federal criminal cases involving violations of federal law
US District Courts
Reserved for the “worst of the worst”. Always in a consent state of lockdown. Confined 23 hours a day. Designed to inflict the most possible control over inmates. Has shot to kill orders.
SuperMax Prison
A government attorney who represents the state or federal government in criminal cases. Responsible for initiating charges and presenting evidence to prove a defendant's guilt. No law degree required
Prosecutor
Specialized lower-level courts with legal authority restricted to specific, minor types of cases, such as traffic violations, misdemeanors, small claims, or family disputes.
Trial courts of limited jurisdiction
Executive clemency issued by the President of Governor. It forgives the criminal offense and relieves the offender from the legal consequences of the conviction.
Pardon
Designed for violent offenders with the potential to escape. Inmates’ lives are programmed in a militaristic fashion. Inmates are subject to constant searches and pat-downs to check for contraband.
Maximum Security Prison
defend the person being tried for crimes, must have a law degree.
Defense Attorney
The temporary release of an accused person awaiting trial, sometimes on condition that a sum of money be lodged to guarantee their appearance in court. At the initial appearance, they can only be released on bail. Just under 2/3 of felony convictions actually get through
Bail
A formal, temporary suspension or delay in the execution of a criminal sentence, most commonly used to postpone the death penalty.
Reprieve