criminal cases
Courts trying lawbreakers
Criminal cases are legal proceedings in which the government prosecutes someone for violating criminal law—offenses like theft, assault, or murder.
Distinguished from civil cases, where private parties sue each other over disputes.
In criminal cases, the state brings charges, and conviction can result in imprisonment, fines, or other penalties: The district attorney handles all criminal cases in the county.
- defendantParty facing charges
- judgeOne who decides
- probationSupervised trial period
- trialJudicial examination of claims
- juryLegal decision-making body
witness stand · defense attorney · acquittal · prosecutor · indictment · conviction · sentencing · felony · murder · Miranda rights · incarceration · arraignment · bail hearing · search warrants · theft · plea bargain · parole · forensic analysis
- legallawyer, judge, jury, trial, verdict
- court casestrials, murder trials, court cases, verdicts, civil cases
- legal systemattorney, landmark cases, lawyers, legal precedents, civil cases
- court recordscourt documents, court transcripts, court records, court cases, court record
- criminal trialstrials, accused, verdicts, convictions, charges
- legal casescourt cases, landmark cases, civil cases, lawsuit, federal cases
criminal casescivil cases
Non-criminal legal disputes
civil litigation · civil suits · civil proceedings · contract disputes · family law cases