Bell Ringer Instructions

1. Bell Ringer Instructions • Each day you will have vocabulary words to copy when the bell rings to start class. • Copy each word onto a list in your notebook. These should be on loose-leaf paper. • LISTEN to the definitions of the words as I go over them in class each day. • There will be a QUIZ on the words at the end of each list—Every 25 words • You will turn in your Bell Ringer words on the QUIZ day for a grade.

2. Bell Ringer Vocabulary WordsList 1-1 • Accelerant--A substance, chemical, or compound that speeds the combustion process • Accessory--One who assists in a subordinate capacity in the commission of an offense; one who aids and assists • Accomplice--A partner in a given crime; one who knowingly and voluntarily assists another in the commission of an unlawful act • Accountability--The state of being culpable, answerable, liable, or responsible

3. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 1-2 • Acquittal--A setting free, absolving, release, or discharge of a defendant from a formal accusation • Admissibility of evidence--The ruling by the trial judge as to whether evidence is admissible at trial • Admission--A voluntary acknowledgment made by a suspect to the existence of a fact or facts at issue in an investigation. • Affidavit--A written statement of facts voluntarily made under oath.

4. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 1-3 • Age of accountability--The minimal age at which one is legally considered to have the mental capacity to be held accountable for his or her actions or inactions in a criminal context • Age of consent--The minimal age at which a female may legally consent to sexual intercourse without placing her sexual partner in criminal jeopardy for charges of statutory rape or some like offense. • Aiding and abetting--The affirmative assistance of facilitation in the commission of a crime through various forms of encouragement or support

5. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 1-4 • Alibi--An excuse or explanation that the accused was elsewhere or otherwise could not have committed the alleged offense • Altercation--A heated dispute, often ending in an assault or a battery • Annulment--Invalidation or cancellation of something; the make void or abrogate • Appeal--A review of the decision by a lower court by a higher court

6. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 1-5 • Appellant--The person who initiates and carries forward an appeal from a lower court to a higher court • Apprehension--The physical seizure, taking, or arresting of a person for violation of a law • Arbitrator--A neutral person chosen to settle disputes, outside of the formal justice system • Arrest--The deprivation of one’s liberty through legal authority, usually for the purpose of formally charging him or her with a crime

7. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 1-6 • Arson--The intentional and malicious burning or explosion of another’s building, vehicle, or property or the burning or explosion of one’s own for the purpose of insurance fraud • Assault--A willful and lawful attempt to deliver a battery or a gesture that places another in the position to reasonably expect to receive a battery • Attorney-Client Privilege--A client’s privilege to disallow disclosure of any confidential communications between himself/herself and the attorney of record

8. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 1-7 • Authenticating witness--One who testifies that a written document is what it purports and that it was generated by the party to whom it is attributed • Automated Fingerprint Identification System--a relatively recent computer-based fingerprint recording and classification technology • Autopsy--The physical examination and surgical dissection of a body in order to determine the cause of death Quiz Tomorrow!

9. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 2-1 • Bail--The surety or sureties, deposited with the court, procuring the release of a person under pretrial custody, for the purpose of ensuring the defendant’s appearance at trial • Bailiff--An officer of the court responsible for the custody of prisoners while in court, the security of the court, as well as the protection of its personnel, property, and processes • Battery--The unlawful use of force upon another, that which follows an assault

10. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 2-2 • Bench Trial--A trial before a judge without a jury; a trial where a jury waiver has been granted • Benzidine Test--A preliminary chemical field test used on stains to detect the presence of blood • Best-evidence rule--This rule requires the original or “best evidence” to be produced in court. • Beyond a reasonable doubt--That level of proof required for a conviction for the violation of a criminal statute

11. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 2-3 • Bias--The influence, prejudice, inclination, or predisposition of opinion that does not leave the mind open to fully and fairly consider all facts in a legal controversy • Bill of Indictment--A legal document of accusation, often drafted by a prosecutor charging an individual with the commission of a crime (usually a felony). • Bill of Rights--The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution • Blackmail--Extorted payment made to prevent the disclosure of information that could bring about public disgrace

12. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 2-4 • Bond--An obligation imposed by money or other assets, which is deposited with the clerk of the court by the defendant, to secure temporary release from custody • Booking--The administrative processing of an arrested person • Bounty--An award or premium offered and authorized by the government for the carrying out of a particular act • Bribe--Anything offered with the intention of inducing another to do something illegal, morally, or ethically wrong

13. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words 2-5 • Brief--A written document prepared by an attorney representing a condensed statement of a larger document of facts and circumstances • Burden of proof--The legal duty or responsibility to affirmatively establish a fact at issue • Burglary--The unlawful entry of the dwelling of a place of another with the intent of committing a crime • Cadaver--A dead human body

14. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 2-6 • Caliber--The size of a firearm projectile, bullet, or shell casing according to its diameter • Capacity--A legal qualification, ability, competency, or disability • Capital offense--Any offense punishable by death

15. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 2-7 • Career criminal--A person with a history of criminal arrests and convictions for various offenses • Cease-and-desist order--A formal order issued by a court forbidding a person, persons, organization, or business to continue a specific act, actions, or course of conduct. • Chain of command--An organizational hierarchy through which information and orders flow QUIZ TOMORROW!

16. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 3-1 • Chain of custody--A formal accounting for the security of evidence to be used by the prosecution at trial to ensure the integrity of the evidence • Change of venue--The movement of a case from one judicial venue to another, often granted when one of the parties to the case demonstrates that an impartial trial cannot be had in the original district • Character evidence--Evidence concerning one’s reputation or moral standing in the community.

17. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 3-2 • Charge--An allegation of a criminal act or acts against an individual, appearing in a formal complaint in misdemeanor cases or information or an indictment in a felony case. • Child abuse--Acts or omissions endangering a child’s physical or emotional well-being. • Child molester--One, often a pedophile, who in some capacity knowingly assaults a child sexually. • Child neglect--The willing failure to adequately provide a minor child with the basic necessities of life, including but not limited to nutrition, clothing, housing, education, and adult supervision.

18. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 3-3 • Chronic offender--One who continues to violate the law long-term. • Circumstantial evidence--Evidence, often testimonial, establishing facts from which a jury may make inferences regarding other facts at hand. • Citation--A written order executed by a police agency to appear before a judge at a specified date and time

19. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 3-4 • Citizen’s arrest--A warrantless arrest executed by a private citizen for a violation of a serious breach of peace. • Civil commitment--A civil detention or confinement of individuals who are disordered, alcoholically or chemically dependent, or insane. • Civil death--The act of losing certain privileges such as the right to vote, litigate, hold public office, because of a felony conviction

20. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 3-5 • Civil disobedience--A method of drawing attention to perceived injustice, condition, or law by purposely breaking another law. • Civil law--That body of law dealing exclusively with private wrongs between individuals • Civil liberties--Those liberties enumerated in the first ten amendments of the US Constitution that expressively states what the government can and cannot do to its people

21. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 3-6 • Civil rights--Those privileges to which a citizen may lawfully request affirmative governmental assistance, such as the right to vote. • Clemency--A form of final nonjudicial relief for alleged crimes, generally issued by a governor of a state • Coercion--Any compulsion or constraint, whether physical, psychological, direct or indirect, that compels one to act against their will

22. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 3-7 • Competency--Those factors that make a witness legally qualified or disqualified to give testimony or evidence to be admitted or excluded from trial • Complaint--A formal written accusation, made under oath and providing facts required to support a criminal charge • Condemn--To pass judgment or pronounce guilty

23. Bell Ringer Vocabulary List 3-8 • Confession--A statement that is usually recorded in some fashion, being composed of a number of admissions concerning the commission of a crime or crimes • Confiscation--The authorized seizure of property without compensation • Conflict of interest--A condition arising from decisions and actions by officials when they have a vested interest in the outcome of a controversy and cannot act in a neutral capacity QUIZ TOMORROW!

24. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 4-1 • Constitutional right--A right or a protection granted to the citizens of a commonwealth in the law of the sovereign • Continuance--The postponement of a court proceeding for cause • Contraband--Any property, material, object, or substance that is unlawful to possess, transport, or manufacture • Convict--To find one guilty of a criminal offense

25. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 4-2 • Conviction--The affirmative determination or judgment of a court arising from a jury verdict or the decision of a judge at a bench trial • Copycat Syndrome--The committing of an act, often criminal, in imitation of what others have recently done • Coroner--An elected county-level criminal justice official charged with the duty of determining the cause of death where suspicious circumstances are present

26. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words list 4-3 • Correctional institution--A facility dedicated to administering the sanctions pronounced by the criminal courts following guilty verdicts • Counselor--A licensed member of the legal profession who renders legal advice on issues of the law • Count--A synonym for “charge” in criminal proceedings • Court order--Any command or directive issued under the authority of a judicial officer

27. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 4-4 • Crime--Any act that a reasonable person would or should have known intuitively was a wrong • Criminal contempt--The willful vilification of the court in the presence of the court • Criminal intent--An element inherent in all crimes that must be proven in order to achieve a criminal conviction • Criminalist--A forensic scientist who is employed by a crime laboratory

28. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 4-5 • Cross-examination--The reexamination of a witness by a party other than the original examiner • Cruel and unusual punishment--Punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution • Curfew--A law, rule, or regulation establishing a time at which all persons of a specified age or class must be out of public places • Custody--The legal detention of a person or thing

29. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 4-6 • Deadly weapon--Any weapon, instrument, tool, object, material, or substance used in a manner intended to cause death or great bodily harm to another • Death penalty--The imposition or sanction of death upon a criminal conviction for a small band of criminal offenses that meet special circumstances • Decedent--The deceased or a dead person

30. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 4-7 • Defendant--One who is civilly sued or is criminally accused • Defense--The defendant and his or her attorney collectively • Delinquent--A juvenile offender QUIZ TOMORROW!

31. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 5-1 • Demeanor--Conduct or outwardly observable behavior • Deportation--The banishment of a person to another nation state, often accompanied by confiscation of properties and the withdrawal of civil rights and liberties • Detain--To restrain, delay, or keep in custody • Detention--A noninvasive technical arrest where the decision to charge has not formally been made

32. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 5-2 • Direct evidence--Evidence proving the existence of facts at issue deriving from the testimony of a first-hand witness • Direct examination--The first examination of a witness by the party who summoned him or her • Discretion--A legally recognized prerogative granted to public functionaries to make their own judgments and to act in an official capacity in situations that are ambiguous

33. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 5-3 • Disorderly conduct--Any act against public morals, peace, and safety • DNA fingerprinting--A metaphor for the unique identification rendered through biological processes, where comparisons are made upon a probability estimate • Docket--The formal register in which the proceedings of the significant acts done in a court of justice are recorded

34. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 5-4 • Doe, John--A fictitious name given to a party in a legal action where his or her name is unknown or where he or she wishes to remain anonymous • Domain--The sovereign authority of a state, allowing for public control, usage, or ownership of private property • Domestic violence--An assault or battery upon a member of the household including a spouse, parent, child or other blood-related family member, or others living in the house

35. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 5-5 • Double jeopardy--A prohibition found in common-law and the Fifth Amendment against a second prosecution for the same offense • Due process clause--Found in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments—individuals are guaranteed fundamental fairness in legal proceedings and the right to prevent government interference • Duress--The unlawful influence inducing one to commit an act or crime otherwise not contemplated by the actor

36. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 5-6 • Embezzlement--The unlawful appropriation and or conversion of money or other assets places in one’s care to his or her gain • Eminent domain--A legal document granting the state the right to seize private property for public interests with adequate compensation to the owner • Entrapment--The act of the government inducing one to violate a criminal statute for the express purpose of arresting him or her

37. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 5-7 • Evidence--Something presented at trial with probative value, providing information to the court regarding matters in controversy, including documents, objects, substances, and testimony • Examination--An investigation, search, or interrogation of a subject • Exclusionary rule--A court-generated rule holding that evidence obtained in violation of the U.S. Constitution becomes tainted and thus, is inadmissible at trial

38. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 5-8 • Execution--The lawful putting to death of a person thus sentenced • Executive order--Any order or regulation issued by the president or administrative agency of government by the president’s authority to interpret or carry out a law • Exemplar--A form on nontestimonial evidence taken from or produced by the defendants QUIZ TOMORROW!

39. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 6-1 • Exhibit--Any physical object offered in evidence at a trial • Exhumation--The digging up of a corpse • Exonerate--To free one from the verdict of guilt • Extortion--the exacting of something of value from another through threats, violence, or the law

40. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 6-2 • Extradition--The process of formally surrendering a person wanted on criminal charges by one nation to another • Eyewitness--One offering direct testimony concerning something that he or she has observed first-hand. • Felony--A crime of greater gravity than a misdemeanor • Finding--A decision on a question of fact by a jury, court, or other tribunal

41. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 6-3 • Fine--A sanction imposed by the court on a convicted person, stipulating a specific sum of money to be paid to the court • Flight--The act of knowingly and voluntarily escaping or fleeing from justice • Forgery--The unlawful act of imitating or counterfeiting documents or personal signatures for the purpose of deception with the intent to knowingly injure or defraud another • Fraud--The knowing and unlawful deception of another with the intent to cause him or her to unwillingly surrender property, rights, or money

42. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 6-4 • Fugitive--One who knowingly and intentionally flees from justice • Gag order--An order issued by the court to attorneys and witnesses that prevents them from discussing a trial with the media in attempt to assure the defendant a fair trial • Grandfather clause--A policy exempting those already vested under a preexisting rule to continue to do what a new rule disallows

43. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 6-5 • Grand jury--A group of citizens judicially impaneled for the purpose of determining whether there is sufficient cause to bind a criminal defendant over for trial • Grievance--A formal complaint filed by the proper union representative with an organization regarding an issue covered under a collective bargaining agreement • Hate crimes--Acts of violence or intimidation intended to victimize, terrorize, or frighten unpopular groups or individuals as a result of the ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation

44. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 6-6 • Hearing --A proceeding, generally before a trial, where facts, evidence, witnesses and arguments are reviewed or heard by a judge without a jury • Hearsay--Out-of-court statements offered with the intent of proving the truth of a matter • Hijacking--Taking control of any vehicle and/or the driver and passengers through the use of force or intimidation

45. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 6-7 • Hit and run--The unlawful flight by the operator of a motor vehicle from the scene of an accident resulting in death, injury, or damage to the property of another • Homicide--The killing of a human being by another • Hostage--One confined or offered as a pledge for the attainment of specified agreements or conditions • House arrest--The monitored restriction of a subject to his or her residence before a hearing QUIZ TOMORROW!

46. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 7-1 • Hung jury--A jury that is so irreconcilably divided as to be unable to come to a decision • Immunity--Exemption, release, or freedom from legal obligations, duties, and requirements • Impoundment--The confiscation or seizure by police or law enforcement authorities of evidence or materials used in the commission of a crime • Inadmissibility--The inability to gain admittance into evidence for trial, under recognized rules or evidence and procedure

47. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 7-2 • Inalienable rights--Those rights that are not capable of surrender or transfer without the express consent of the person in possession of such rights • Incapacitation--The lack of legal, physical, moral, or mental capacity • Incarceration--An imprisonment or confinement in a penal, correctional, or custodial facility • Incendiary--A type of device used to set a fire

48. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 7-3 • Incriminate--To blame, accuse, or suggest culpability in crime • Indictment--A formal written accusation presented to the court by a grand jury, charging one or more persons with the violation of a statute after examination of facts • Informant--One who provides information and is used as a source • Injunction--A judicial order directed to a person, requiring that a person do or refrain from doing a particular act or thing

49. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 7-4 • Insanity--A term indicating the necessary degree of mental illness or capacity to negate one’s legal culpability, responsibility, or capacity • Intelligence--The acquisition of information relative to crime • Intent--The state of mind behind a criminal act • Internal Affairs Division (IAD)--A unit within a police agency charged with investigating police wrongdoing

50. Bell Ringer Vocabulary Words List 7-5 • Interrogation--A forceful questioning or examination of a suspect in a criminal investigation • Intrinsic evidence--The evidence garnered from a document needing no explanation • Involuntary manslaughter--An unlawful homicide committed unintentionally • Jeopardy--Exposure danger in legal process, criminal conviction and punishment • Judgment--A judicial or other legal decision, decree, order, sanction, or sentence