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Executor
A person assigned to carry out the provisions of a will
Foundation
In a trial, a foundation must be laid to establish the basis for the admissibility of certain types of evidence. For example, expert witnesses' qualifications must be shown before expert testimony will be admissible.
Mistrial
A trial, which is void because of some error.
presentment
In felony cases, the first appearance before a judge at which the defendant is formally notified of the charges and a date is set for a preliminary hearing. No plea is entered at this stage. If, after the preliminary hearing, the case is bound over to the District Court, the defendant will enter a plea during arraignment in District Court. (Presentment is often incorrectly called arraignment.)
Fourteenth Amendment
Among other matters, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without adequate due process.
Circumstantial evidence
All evidence of an indirect nature. Testimony not based on actual personal knowledge or observation of the facts in controversy.
Probable cause
A judicial finding that there exists reasonable grounds for belief that a person should be arrested or searched.
prima facie
Literally, "on its face." A fact presumed to be true unless disproved by some other evidence. In a criminal case, when the prosecution rests, the state's case is said to be prima facie, if the evidence so far introduced is sufficient to convict.
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