age
A person is considered to have full legal capacity on attaining the age of 18 years (see adult). Generally a child is understood to be a person under 18. The ...
antecedents
(From Latin antecedere, to go before)Going before, prior, preceding; something earlier in time. The term used particularly in criminal law for prior behaviour and convictions (the offender's ...
appellate jurisdiction
The power of a judge to hear appeals from a previous court decision. See feature The Appeals System.
arrest of judgment
A motion by a defendant in criminal proceedings on indictment, between the conviction and the sentence, that judgment should not be given on the ground of some objection arising on the face of the ...
arson
N.The intentional or reckless destruction or damaging of property by fire without a lawful excuse. There are two forms of arson corresponding to the two forms of criminal damage in the Criminal ...
assault by penetration
A criminal offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, in which a person (A) intentionally penetrates the vagina or anus of another person (B) with part of his body or anything else, where the ...
bail
N.The release by the police, magistrates' court, or Crown Court of a person held in legal custody while awaiting trial or appealing against a criminal conviction. Conditions may be imposed on a ...
committal
A pretrial proceeding held in the Magistrates' Court to determine ‘whether there is evidence of sufficient weight to support a conviction for the offence charged’ and thus send the matter ...
committal for sentence
The procedure whereby a person convicted in a magistrates' court is sent to the Crown Court for sentencing when the sentencing powers of the magistrates' court are not considered sufficient.
community sentence
A sentence defined in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 as one that consists of or includes a community order or a youth community order.
concurrent
Occurring at the same time. concurrent ownershipsee co-ownership; concurrent sentencessee sentence.
concurrent sentence
A sentence to be served at the same time as one or more other sentences, when the accused has been convicted of more than one offence. Concurrent sentences are usually terms of imprisonment, and in ...
consecutive sentences
Punishments for multiple offences dealt with by a court together and ordered to be served cumulatively, one after the other (consecutively) rather than together (concurrently). The totality principle ...
conviction
(1) A finding of guilt made by a court. Cf acquittal.(2) The court's order and notation on the record of the finding of guilt, and the sentence imposed. See also guilty client.[...]
court martial
The former name for a military court applying defence service law (military law). Now replaced by a new disciplinary regime, with an Australian Military Court in place of courts martial and Defence ...
Criminal Cases Review Commission
(CCRC)An independent public body set up in 1997 to investigate possible miscarriages of justice. It can refer cases to the appeal courts.http://www.ccrc.gov.uk/ Website of the CCRC
criminal conviction
Conviction is the key decision in the criminal process. Coming from the Latin convincere, it is the act of demonstrating that a person is guilty of an offence before a ...
Criminal Defence Service
(CDS)The Criminal Defence Service for England and Walesa was created by the Access to Justice Act 1999 to replace the previous system of criminal legal aid provided for by the Legal Aid Act 1988. The ...
criminal injuries compensation
Payments made under state or territory statutory schemes as compensation to victims of reported offences. Generally a table of standard payments applies to injuries assessed by a court or tribunal. ...
criminal trials
In criminal procedure, a ‘trial’ is the formal procedure by which, where an accused person contests his guilt by pleading ‘not guilty’, the accusation brought against him is ‘tried’, ie ...
