Glossary: A

AA. [Acronym]. Atomic absorption. 

AACAP [Acronym].  American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.  See also the AACAP website.

ABA [Acronym].  American Bar Association. See also the ABA website. 

Aberrant. Something that deviates from what is considered normal.

Aberration.  An abnormal condition. 

ABFO. [Acronym]. American Board of Forensic Odontology.  See also the ABFO website. 

ABFO Scale.  An L-shaped scale of measurements used in forensic photography.

Abolitionists.  Those who want to see an end to the use of capital punishment.

Accreditation.  Voluntary rating of criminal justice agencies by professional organizations that is designed to increase professionalism. 

Accused. The defendant in a criminal case; person alleged to have committed a crime.

Accessory.  Party liable for separate, lesser offenses following indirect (aid, abet, harbor, etc.) participation in the commission of a crime.

Accessories After the Fact.  Those who give aid and comfort to persons known to have committed crimes, such as harboring fugitives. 

Accessories Before the Fact.  Those who aid and abet but are not present when the crime is committed. 

Accomplices.  Parties liable as principals before and during the commission of a crime.

Acid Phosphatase. [Forensics].  An enzyme found in semen that works with certain reagents to allow forensic analysts to detect the presence of semen.

ACJS [Acronym].  Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.  See also the ACJS website.   

ACLU [Acronym].  American Civil Liberties Union.  See also the ACLU website.

Acquittal.  A judgment by a criminal court of not guilty.

Action. A court proceeding; applies to both civil and criminal proceedings.

Actus Reus. [Latin]. The overt act involved in a crime; most crimes are defined by a guilty act, the actus reus, and a guilty state of mind.

ADAM [Acronym].  Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring.  See also the ADAM website. 

ADD [Acronym].  Attention Deficit Disorder.  See also the ADD Association website. 

Adequate Provocation Rule.  The rule that only certain legally defined circumstances can reduce murder to voluntary manslaughter. 

Adjudicate. To decide a case or conclude a legal matter.

Adjudication Hearing.  The phase of the juvenile process where evidence is heard and the judge decides the juvenile's status.

ADMAX [Acronym].  Administrative Maximum. 

Administrative Law. The body of laws, rules, and regulations created by an administrative agency.

Admissible.  A term describing evidence (both physical and testimonial) that may be legally presented to the finders of fact in a case (jury or judge).

Admission.  A confession.

Admit.  An acknowledgement of facts, up to and including guilt.

Adversarial System.  A legal system where all cases are resolved by contest between two parties with a judge as an impartial referee; a pillar of the American legal system.

AEDPA [Acronym].  Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (1996) See also Summary on the  Federation of American Scientists website. 

AFDA. [Acronym].  Association of Federal Defense Attorneys.  See also the AFDA website. 

Affiant.  The person who makes a affidavit.

Affidavit.  A written statement given under oath before someone who is authorized to administer an oath.

Affirm.  An action of an appellate court where the opinion of the lower court is upheld.

Affirmation.  A declaration to tell the truth; used in place of an oath by those whose religious beliefs prohibit oath taking.

Affirmative Defense. A defense which will negate criminal blameworthiness even if it is proven that the defendant committed the alleged acts. (e.g., self-defense, insanity, and necessity); the defendant bears the burden of production.

AFIS [Acronym]. Automated Fingerprint Identification System.  See also the FBI's IAFIS Project website. 

Age of Majority.  The legal age of adulthood, usually 18 or 21; also the age at which juveniles are no longer under the jurisdiction of the juvenile courts.

Aggravated Rape.  A rape occurring with an aggravating circumstance, such as the use of weapons or physical injury to the victim. 

Aggravating Circumstances.  Characteristics of a criminal act that intensify the severity of the punishment; things that make a particular crime more offensive than the usual crime of that type.

AJA [Acronym].  American Jail Association.  See also the AJA website. 

Alabama v. White [496 U.S. 325 (1990)].  Revised the totality of the circumstances test in reasonable suspicion to detain situations.  See also Adams v. Williams and Illinois v. Gates.

ALI [Acronym].  American Law Institute.  See also the ALI website. 

Alibi.  Defense to a criminal allegation based on the fact that the defendant was not present at the location where the crime took place when the crime occurred.

Allegation. Claim made by a party to a legal action.

Allege.  To assert or claim; generally refers to certain facts claimed to be true by the prosecution.

Allocution.  The right of a convicted person to address the court directly prior to the imposition of sentence.

Alternate Jurors.  Persons selected to replace any of the regular jurors who may become ill or for some other reason not attend a trial.

Alternate Light Source. [Forensics]. A high-intensity light source with filters of specific light wavelengths used by forensic analysts for the visualization of certain types of evidence, such as physiological fluids, fingerprints, fibers and so forth.

Alternative Dispute Resolution. (ADR). Refers to any means of deciding a case outside of court, most often by arbitration and mediation.        

Amendment.  The modification, addition, or deletion of something in a law; additions to the Constitution are known as Amendments and are referred to by number in the order in which they were passed.  See also constitutional amendments by number

American Bar Association.  A national association of lawyers in the United Sates, based in Chicago.

Amicus Curiae [Latin].  "A Friend of the Court." A person or group who is not a party to a case will often petition the court for permission to submit a brief in the case.

Amido Black. [Forensics].  A dye used to enhance fingerprints in blood. 

Anagen. [Forensics].  The growth phase in the hair growth cycle.

Analysis.  The separation of a whole into its parts for individual study.

Anomie.  A theory developed by Emile Durkheim; holds that normlessness and social isolation are symptoms of a dysfunctional society and the causes of deviant behavior. 

Answer. [Law].  A written response in relation to a filed complaint.  

AO [Acronym].  Administrative Office (of the United States Courts).  See also the AO webpage. 

APPA [Acronym].  American Probation and Parole Association.  See also the APPA website. 

Appeal. [Law].  A request by a losing party in a lower court case that a higher court review the case.

Appearance. The act of coming to court.

Appellant.  The person who initiates an appeal, usually the losing party in a lower court case.

Appellate Court.  A court that has the authority to hear appeals from lower courts.

Appellate Jurisdiction.  The authority to hear appeals.

Appellate Review.  A rehearing of a case in a court other than the one in which the case was originally tried.

Appellee.  Party who won in the lower court and argues to keep the appeals court from overturning the lower court's decision.

Applied Ethics.  See entry for the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 

Arbitrary Action.  Action that is unreasonable. 

Arbitration.   A process of dispute resolution where both parties agree to abide by the decisions of a neutral third party. 

Argersinger v. Hamlin.  [407 U.S. 25 (1972)].  Extended the Escobedo right to counsel to all cases where the possibility of jail time exists. 

Argument.  Any rationale provided by either side in a court case; also refers to any attempt to orally persuade a jury.  

Arizona v. Evans.   No. 93-1660 (1995).  Created a good faith exception to the search warrant requirement when officers conduct searches on warrants later found to be invalid due to clerical errors.

Arizona v. Hicks.  [480 U.S. 321 (1987)]. "A truly cursory inspection - one that involves merely looking at what is already exposed to view, without disturbing it - is not a "search" for Fourth Amendment purposes, and therefore does not even require reasonable suspicion."  If manipulation is required to bring something into view, then it is a search.   

Arraignment.  A proceeding in which the defendant is formally charged and enters a plea.

Arrest.  The taking of a person into custody and restraining them until they can be brought before a court to answer the charges against them. 

Arrestee.  A person who has been arrested by law enforcement. 

Arson. The malicious burning of a structure.  See full article titled Arson.

ASC [Acronym].  American Society of Criminology.  See also the ASC website. 

ASIS [Acronym].  American Society for Industrial Security.  See also the ASIS website. 

Asportation.  The carrying away of a person (such as in kidnapping) or property.

Assault.  The crime of willfully inflicting injury on another person. 

Assembly-line Justice.  A derogatory term applied to overworked courts that fail to provide adequate fairness to criminal defendants.

Assigned Counsel System.  A program that provides an attorney to indigent clients.

Assistant U.S. Attorney.  A government prosecutor who serves under the U.S. attorney and heads the prosecutor's office for each federal district.

Atavistic Stigmata.  A key element in early biological theories of criminality; physical characteristics, believed to represent an earlier stage of human evolution, which could be used to differentiate the criminal from normal people.

Atomic Absorption.  [Forensics]. A method used to analyze gunshot residue; detects barium and antimony commonly found in primer compounds.

Attempt.  An incomplete criminal act.

Attorney (also counsel, lawyer).  A person trained in law who has received a law degree and who is legally allowed to practice law in a particular jurisdiction.           

Attorney-client Privilege.  Attorneys are protected form disclosing information about their clients by this privilege.

Attorney Competence.  A set of standards for determining whether clients were intelligently and fairly represented by their attorney.

Attorney General. A cabinet member who heads the Justice Department. 

Automatic Waiver.  Laws the specify when juveniles are to automatically be tried as adults, usually based on age or the seriousness of the offense.

Automatism.  Actions taken during a state of unconsciousness; a rarely used criminal defense.

Autopsy.  The examination of a body to determine cause of death.  See also the Virtual Autopsy. 

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