Criminal Defense Terms and Definitions

Embezzlement The fraudulent appropriation by a person to his own use or benefit of property or money entrusted to him by another. Battery Actual physical violence, whether serious or minor, inflicted on a person. (A mere threat is called assault, whereas the completed act is called battery) Tort An injury or wrong committed, either with or without force, to the person or property of another, for which civil liability may be imposed. Dismissal without prejudice A dismissal which permits the plaintiff to sue again on the same cause of action or the state to proceed again. Dismissal with prejudice bars the right to subsequently bring an action on the same cause. Circumstantial evidence All evidence of an indirect nature. Testimony not based on actual personal knowledge or observation of the facts in controversy. Fraud An intentional perversion of truth; deceitful practice or device resorted to with intent to deprive another of property or other right. Restitution Court-ordered payment to restore goods or money to the victim of a crime by the offender. Allegation The assertion, declaration, or statement of a party to an action, made in a pleading, establishing what the party expects to prove. Subpoena An official order to appear in court (or at a deposition) at a specific time. Failure to obey a subpoena to appear in court is punishable as a contempt of court. Accessory A person who assists in the commission of a crime, either before or after the fact.

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	Did You Know?
	Res Ipsa Loquitur - Literally, "a thing that speaks for itself." In tort law, the doctrine which holds a defendant guilty of negligence without an actual showing that he or she was negligent. Its use is limited in theory to cases in which the cause of the plaintiff's injury was entirely under the control of the defendant, and the injury presumably could have been caused only by negligence.