Street Law - Trial Vocabulary

person representing the government in a criminal case

person initiating the complaint in a civil trial

judge or jury

Proof; documents, items, testimony

brought by someone alleging another person did something harmful or failed to do something they had a duty to do

evidence showing defendant was not at crime scene

burden of proof in a criminal case

process of sharing information/evidence before trial

written statement made by witness before trial

the party accused of crime or subject of complaint in a lawsuit

Adversarial process to resolve conflict

BURDEN OF PROOF IN CIVIL CASE: The standard of proof in which a judge or jury must believe the plaintiff's story/evidence is stronger than defendant's version.

questioning the credibility of witnesses

brought by the government against a person accused of breaking a law

explanation of what witness said/heard/did/experianced