Glossary

• Author: Loree Armstrong Beniuk, Jo-Anne Hughes, and Jack Reynolds
• Pages: 199-206

199

Glossary

Accused. A person who is charged with a crime.

Adjudication. The determination of guilt or innocence of the accused by

a judge.

Admissible evidence. Evidence that is relevant to the trial and that can be

presented to the court. In some situations, the judge can rule that certain

evidence is not admissible and should not be heard.

Af‌f‌idavit. A sworn wrien statement to be used as evidence.

Af‌f‌irmation. A legally binding promise to tell the truth. A person who does

not want to swear to tell the truth on a religious document makes a solemn

af‌f‌irmation to tell the truth.

Aggravating circumstances. Any circumstances accompanying the commis-

sion of a crime that may justify a harsher sentence.

Appearance notice. Issued to the accused requiring them to appear in court

on a specif‌ic date and time. An appearance notice is issued to the accused

instead of arresting them.

Arraignment. One of the “due process” constitutional rights is the right of an

accused person to be told exactly what the accusations are when the police

lay criminal charges. This happens during a procedure called the arraign-

ment. The judge reads the charges that have been f‌iled, asks if the accused

understands the accusations, and asks how they plead.