Criminal Defense Terms and Definitions

Levy A seizure; the obtaining of money by legal process through seizure and sale of property. 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. Felony A felony is a major crime for which the maximum imprisonment is more than one year in a state correctional institution. The court may also impose a fine. Felonies are classified into four categories: capital, 1st degree, 2nd degree, and 3rd degree 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. Admissible evidence Evidence which can legally and properly be used in court. Fourth Amendment The 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects every person against unreasonable search and seizure by government officials. Fraud An intentional perversion of truth; deceitful practice or device resorted to with intent to deprive another of property or other right. Bench warrant An order issued by the court for the arrest of a person Embezzlement The fraudulent appropriation by a person to his own use or benefit of property or money entrusted to him by another. 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)

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	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.