The Law and Order Code of the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Appendix A

APPENDIX A - GLOSSARY OF LEGAL TERMS Informational Only; Not Part of The Law And Order Code

Abet	To encourage, incite, or assist another to commit a crime

Abortion	The illegal procuring of a miscarriage.

Abrogate	To annul, repeal, or cancel, such as to repeal a former law by legislative act or by usage.

Abscond	To depart from the jurisdiction of the courts; to hide, conceal, or absent oneself with the intent of avoiding legal process.

Accessory	Any person who, while not actually present, assists in a criminal act or one who aids or shelters an offender in order to defeat justice.

Accomplice	One who is involved in the commission of a crime, though not as a principal.

Acquittal	The dismissal of a criminal charge resulting from a verdict of Not Guilty.

Acquitted	Set free, discharged, found not guilty of a crime.

Ademption	Withdrawal of a gift by some act of the person making the will equivalent to or indicating an intent to make a withdrawal.

Administrator	The person who has authority to administer the estate of a deceased person.

Admission	A statement made by a person that can be used in evidence against him.

Adultery	The act of sexual intercourse between two people, at least one of who is married to someone else.

Advancement	Property given in advance of death in anticipation of a share of an inheritance and intended to be deducted from the donee's share of the inheritance.

Affidavit	A sworn statement made before a person who has the legal authority to administer an oath.

Affirmation	A solemn declaration made before an authorized magistrate by persons who conscientiously decline taking an oath. In law, it is equal to an oath.

Affray	The fighting of two or more persons in a public place, to the terror of others.

Alias	A name used instead of the real name of the person.

Alibi	An excuse in which the accused insists that he was in another place at the time an alleged crime was committed.

Amend	To correct an error or deficiency.

Annulment	A judicial declaration that a marriage has been invalid from the beginning. (Compare with divorce.)

Appeal	A complaint to an appellate or superior court of an injustice or error committed by an inferior court. The superior court above is called upon to correct or reverse the judgment or decision of the inferior court.

Appraisement	A just and true valuation of property.

Arbitrary	Not done according to logic, reason or judgment.

Arraignment	A legal procedure whereby a court informs a defendant of the charges against him, ascertains if defendant is the person wanted, advises defendant of his legal rights, and asks for his plea.

Arrest	The taking of a person into custody in a manner authorized by law.

Arson	The malicious and intentional burning of property.

Assault	An unlawful attempt coupled with the present ability to commit violent injury on the person of another.

Attempt	A try to commit a crime.

Attestation	The act of witnessing the signature or execution of a deed or other instrument and of subscribing the name of the witness in testimony of such fact.

Autopsy	The dissection of a dead human body by an authorized person in order to determine the cause of death.

Bail	Security required to guarantee appearance of a person for trial at a later date so that he can be released from jail.

Bail Bond	Bond given by the defendant with one or more sureties conditioned on the appearance of the defendant at a specified time.

Bailee	One to whom goods are given or entrusted upon conditions which include the return or other specified disposal of the goods following fulfillment of the conditions

Bailor	The person who delivers goods to a Bailee.

Ballistics	The science of projectiles. The use of guns, shells, powder marks, and bullets in tests as a means of criminal identification.

Battery	The unlawful use of force by one person upon another; this includes beating, wounding, and touching, no matter how trifling, of another's person or clothes in an angry, insolent or hostile manner. Legally, the offense may be an civil wrong, a tort, or a criminal offense.

Bench Warrant	A warrant issued by a court of law. Generally issued by the judge when an individual fails to appear in answer to a court request.

Beneficiary	One for whose benefit a trust is created or to whom an insurance policy is payable.

Bequeath	To leave or to give personal property by will.

Bias	To foster prejudice; also the tendency to favor and support a certain point of view.

Bigamy	The act of marrying one person while married to another.

Blackmail	To extort money by threats of exposure to a public accusation, censure, or disgrace; also, money extorted from one by threats of exposure, force, and fear.

Bona Fide	In good faith or with good faith.

Bond	A certificate or evidence of debt.

Bribery	Act of giving or taking a favor with a view to corrupting the conduct of a person in a position of trust.

Burglary	Forcible entry into any house, store, or building with intent to commit larceny or felony.

Calendar	A list of cases scheduled for trial.

Circumstantial Evidence	Conditions and surroundings from which the existence of the main fact may be inferred logically and reasonably.

Coercion	The act of forcing someone to commit a crime or some other act.

Collusion	A deceitful agreement or compact between two or more persons for one party to bring an action against another for some evil purpose or to defraud a third person of his rights.

Commitment	A court order that officially directs the taking of a person to a jail, prison, or institution.

Common Law	Unwritten law is derived chiefly from the laws of England. The common law has been superseded by statute in most of our states.

Competent	Duly qualified, either legally or naturally.

Complaint	A charge made to a court of law that a crime or civil wrong has been committed. A police citation is considered a complaint.

Compounding	An act by which a person having knowledge of the actual commission of a crime takes some reward or forbears to assist in the prosecution of a criminal or allow him to escape.

Concurrent	Existing at the same time. For example, if two courts each have jurisdiction of an action, it may be said that they have concurrent jurisdiction.

Confession	A voluntary statement by an accused person acknowledging the he committed a crime.

Consent	Agreement; the act or result of coming into accord.

Conspiracy	A criminal partnership wherein two or more persons agree to commit a crime.

Construction	The process of determining the real meaning of words in cases in which such meaning is not clear.

Contempt	Willful disrespect or disregard of the order or process of the Court. It is an offense against the dignity of the Court.

Continuance	A postponement of any specific step in any judicial proceeding.

Contraband	Goods which the law forbids to be processed, sold, or purchased, imported or exported.

Conveyance	A carrier such as a taxi, bus, or private vehicle. Also, in law, an instrument in writing by which property or title to property is transferred from one person to another.

Conviction	A ruling by a court that a person is guilty of the crime alleged.

Coroner	An officer whose duty is to determine the cause of violent or unusual death.

Corpus Delicti	The basic facts necessary to prove the commission of a crime.

Corroboration	Additional evidence to confirm or support the testimony of a witness.

Counterfeit	To make an imitation of something genuine, such as a coin, without lawful authority and with intent to deceive.

Credibility	The extent of worthiness of belief.

Crime	A public offense against the government, punishable upon conviction.

Criminal Negligence	An aggravated form of negligence. It is conduct which shows a wanton or reckless disregard for the safety of others.

Cross-Examination	The questioning of a previously examined witness by the side that did not produce him as a witness.

Culpability	Guilt; blame.

Custody	The care and keeping of anything.

Decedent	One who has died.

Decree	A declaration of the Court announcing the legal consequences of the facts found to be true.

Defamation	Injuring one's reputation, fame or character by false and malicious statements.

Default	An omission to do that which should be done.

Defendant	The party against whom a court action is maintained.

Deposition	A written statement signed and sworn to and obtained through questions and answers.
Devisee	The person to whom lands or other real property are given by will.

Direct Examination	The examination of a witness by the party producing the witness.

Direct Verdict	In jury trials, an order by the judge to the jury to find a certain fact or result.

Disbarrment	To take away an attorney's authority to practice law.

Discovery	Obtaining disclosure of facts not previously known.

Discretion	Power or privilege to act unhampered by fixed legal rules.

Divorce	A dissolving of the marriage contract by judicial order.

Docket	A book kept by the Clerk of the Court containing a list of the cases to be tried.

Donee	One to whom a gift or power is given.

Donor	One who makes a gift or confers a power.

Double Jeopardy	The danger which a person is exposed to when being tried the second time for the same offense.

Duress	Restraint bye force on a person to do something against his will.

Embezzlement	The taking by a person of money or other property entrusted to him.

Entrapment	The act by police of inducing a person to commit a crime not contemplated by him for purpose of prosecuting him. The idea of the crime originates with the police.

Estate	The interest which one has in property.

Evidence	All the means by which an alleged fact is established or disproved. Evidence consists of testimony of witnesses, documents, and other physical matter that can be seen. Evidence may be direct, real, and circumstantial.

Exception	A formal objection to an action of the court.

Execution	The act of complying with court orders against a person or his property. Also, the death of a person by the government for a capital offense.

Exoneration	The act of removing a debt or obligation which is charged against certain property.

Ex Post Facto	After the fact; pertains to a law that is designed to punish acts that were committed before the passage of the law.

Extradition	The process of returning an accused or convicted person to a jurisdiction in which he is wanted by another jurisdiction.

False Imprisonment	An unlawful violation of the personal liberty or freedom of another.

False Pretense	A deceitful and fraudulent act used to gain money or other property owned by another unlawfully.

Felony	A major crime that is punishable by death or imprisonment in a state or Federal prison.

Fence	A person who knowingly receives stolen property to aid in its disposition.

Fiduciary	One who holds property or goods in trust for another or has a special obligation to another.

File	To deliver to the Court or Clerk something to be kept in the Court files.

Finding	A decision on an issue of fact.

Fine	A money penalty for committing an unlawful act, such as a traffic violation.

Foreclosure	A termination of debtor's rights in property given to secure an obligation.

Forfeiture	The loss of goods or other property as a punishment for a criminal act.

Forgery	The like making or altering of a writing, such as a check or other instrument with intent to defraud.

Fornication	Unlawful sexual intercourse on the part of an unmarried person.

Forum	A court of justice.

Fraud	A false or misleading representation of a factual matter which intentionally deceives another so that he will act upon it to his legal injury.

Gaming	A contract between persons by which they gamble with dice, cards, or other contrivances.

Garnishee	A party in whose hands money or property is attached by the creditor of another and who has had warning of garnishment not to pay or deliver it to the defendant.

Garnishment	A warning to a person who holds the attached property or money of another not to pay or deliver it to the defendant but to appear and answer the plaintiff's suit.

Gross Negligence	Obvious failure to exercise care demanded by circumstances

Guardian	A person lawfully given the power and charged with the duty of taking care of the person and managing the property of another, who, for some reason is considered incapable of administering his own affairs.

Habeas Corpus	A writ commanding a person having another in his custody to produce the detained person before a court.

Habitual Criminal	A person sentences to prison for a long term or for life because of multiple previous convictions.

Hearsay	Information received indirectly such as evidence which a witness had heard from others but which did not originate with him.

Heir	One who inherits property.

Holographic Will	A will written entirely in the handwriting of the person making the will.

Homicide	The killing of a human being by another human being.

Incarceration	Imprisonment; confinement in jail.

Incest	The offense of intermarriage or sexual relations between persons closely related.

Inchoate	Begun but not completed.

Indictment	An indictment is a formal charge of crime based on legal testimony of witnesses and the concurring judgment of the Grand Jury.

Information	An accusation or complaint of a felony crime, presented by the prosecuting attorney to the court. The Grand Jury is not involved.

Injunction	A judicial order requiring a person to whom it is directed to do or refrain from doing a particular thing.

Inquest	A judicial inquiry by a court or coroner into the cause of sudden or unusual death.

Interrogatory	A written question.

Intestate	One who dies without making a will.

Jeopardy	See Double Jeopardy.

Joinder	Joining together.

Joint	United; combined; undivided.

Judgment	The sentence or final order of a court in a civil or criminal proceeding. The official declaration by a court of the result of a lawsuit.

Judicial Notice	The notice a judge takes of facts of common knowledge which it is not necessary to prove.

Jurisdiction	The power and authority by which judicial officials recognize and decide cases; also used to indicate a government having jurisdiction.

Juvenile	An offender under a specified age; usually tried under special procedures.

Kidnapping	The forcible stealing, taking, enticing or carrying away of a human being for the purpose of extorting money or property.

Kleptomaniac	A person with an uncontrollable, morbid impulse to steal.

Larceny	The crime of intentionally taking and carrying away the property of another pares against his will.

Libel	A malicious defamation expressed in writing or by signs or pictures tending to blacken the memory of a dead person or the reputation of a living person.

Lottery	A scheme or device for the distribution of prizes by chance among the buyers of the chances.

Magistrate	A judge, usually of a lower court.

Malice	A wish to vex, annoy, or injure another. An evil state of mind leading to the intentional performance of a wrongful act.

Mischief	Maliciously injuring or destroying any real or personal property.

Manslaughter	The unlawful killing of a person without malice, usually through negligence or in heat of passion.

Mayhem	The maiming of a person by maliciously and willfully depriving him of the use of a part of his body, such as putting out an eye.

Misdemeanor	Any crime not a felony is a misdemeanor. This is a lesser crime, usually punishable by county jail sentence and/or a money fine.

Misprision	The concealment of a crime, especially of treason or a felony.

Mistrial	Where the judge orders the trial to be discontinued, either because of some prejudicial event during the trial or because the jury cannot agree on a verdict.

Modus Operandi	The method operation of a criminal.

Motion	A written or oral request to the Court for a specified order or other relief in an existing action.

Murder	The unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought.

Negligence	The failure to use the degree of card that an ordinarily prudent man would use under similar circumstances.

Nolo Contendere	A plea by a defendant in a criminal action that he will not contest the accusation. It is not an admission of guilt.

Non Compos Mentis	Mentally unsound.

Notice	Knowledge or information of the existence of something.

Nuisance	A condition which annoys, vexes, or interferes with the use of property by others, such as smell, noise, or a health hazard.

Oath	A pledge of the truth of a statement which renders one purposely asserting untrue statements punishable for perjury.

Obstructing Justice	The crime of interfering with the activities of those who see justice in a court or of those who have the power or duty of administering justice or enforcing the law.

Ordinance	A law, order, or decree of a municipal body such as a city or county.

Overt Act	An open act from which intent to commit a crime can be implied.

Parole	The conditional release from prison of a person who has served part of his sentence in an institution.

Penal	A word pertaining to punishment for crime, e.g., penal institution or penal code.

Perjury	The criminal offense of willful giving of false testimony while under oath.

Perpetrator	The person who actually commits an act.

Petit Jury	A trial jury.

Petition	An application made to the Court in an action in which there are no opposing parties, asking for the exercise of the Court's judicial powers in relation to some matter which is not the subject of an existing action or for authority to do some act which requires the permission of the Court.

Plaintiff	Used in civil cases, the title of the party who commences an action. Used interchangeably with "complainant."

Plea	An allegation made by either party in a case. A criminal defendant may plead guilty or not guilty.

Pleadings	Papers filed with the Court containing the claims and defenses of the parties.

Police Power	The broad power under which the government can restrain private rights for the general welfare of the people. Authority delegated to the police by the people.

Posse	A force of men called by a sheriff to assist him in pursuing a criminal, quelling a riot, or making an arrest.

Post Mortem	After death; pertains to an expert examination, called an autopsy, to determine the cause of death.

Preliminary Examination	A hearing before a magistrate to decide if an accused person should be held on a criminal charge and whether or not a crime was actually committed.

Presumption	The inference of a fact. It is assumed that a fact is so until proved to the contrary. The presumtion of innocence is an example.

Pretermitted Child	A child not mentioned in the will of a testator.

Prima Facie	At first view; the evidence which, unless contradicted, is enough to establish a fact.

Prima Facie Evidence	Evidence which is sufficient to establish a particular fact unless rebutted or overcome by other evidence. For example, a blood test for alcohol of a given percentage is prima facie evidence, under most statues, of intoxication or being under the influence of alcohol.

Principal	Any person involved in the criminal act, whether it be a felony or a misdemeanor.

Privileged Communication	Conversation that may not be introduced in evidence, as communication between husband and wife or with a priest, doctor, or a lawyer.

Probable Cause	A finding that there is evidence that would lead a reasonable person to believe that a crime had been committed and that a certain person committed it.

Probate	The process of determining interests in the property of one who has died.

Probation	A method of permitting a convicted person to stay out of jail, instead of imprisoning him, on condition that he observe specific terms and conditions.

Process	A judicial writ or order issued by a court, such a a summons, citation, or subpoena.

Prosecution	Criminal proceedings in the court conducted by the attorney representing the government.

Rape	Act of sexual intercourse with a female, not the wife of the perpetrator, accomplished by force, fear, or deceit.

Receiver	A person who knowingly buys or receives stolen merchandise from a thief.

Recidivist	An habitual criminal; one who has been convicted more than once of a crime, misdemeanor, or delinquency; most aptly describes a confirmed criminal such as a repeater.

Recognizance	Formal proceedings whereby sureties agree to produce the defendant or pay the stated amount. In minor offenses, the Court may order defendant to recognize personally, in stated amount, where there is not a great danger of escape.

Redemption	Repurchase of an interest in property.

Referee	A person authorized to perform certain duties and powers of a judge.

Regulation	A rule or order prescribed for management or government.

Relevant	In the law of evidence, relevant means relating to the case at hand; pertinent, meaningful, and having to do with the matter before the Court.

Renunciation	Act of abandoning a right acquired without transferring it to another.

Replevin	The recovery of goods claimed to have been wrongfully seized. The owner gets the property back by a writ or court order.

Repression	The act of checking or keeping under restraint or control.

Reprieve	A delay in the execution of a sentence.