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Our Oakland criminal lawyer can help you with your criminal case. We handle misdemeanors and felonies including DUI, theft, burglary, shoplifting.

Contact Phan, Nguyen, & Associates LLP for a free consultation today.

Criminal Law Definitions, Criminal Court Definitions, Criminal Legal Definitions:


Arraignment: The preliminary step taken by the court in a
criminal prosecution, when a criminal defendant is brought
before the court to hear the charges, be advised of his
rights, and enter a plea.


Arrest Warrant: Criminal court order directing a lawenforcement
officer to arrest and bring a criminal defendant
to court.


Commitment: Criminal court order directing an officer to
bring an incarcerated criminal defendant to court.


Mistrial: A trial that the judge brings to an end without a
determination on the merits because of a procedural error
or serious misconduct during the proceedings. In a criminal
trial, when the jury cannot agree on a verdict unanimously,
the judge usually rules that there is a mistrial.


Indictment: Formal written statement of a crime and
presentation of the charges made by a grand jury, indicating
that the case should be tried, also called a “true bill.”
Information: Formal written criminal charge made by the
prosecution without a grand-jury indictment, pursuant to a
holding order by a criminal court. See preliminary hearing.


Plea: Response of a criminal defendant to the charges.
Possible pleas include “Not Guilty,” “Guilty,” “No Contest,”
“Jeopardy,” or “ Not guilty by reason of insanity.” A
defendant may enter a “No Contest” plea without admitting
guilt if he does not wish to contest the charges. For criminal
court purposes, a “No Contest” plea has the same effect as
a “Guilty” plea.


Preliminary Hearing: Criminal court hearing to determine
whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute a felony.
The prosecution presents evidence to show that there is
probable cause that a public offense occurred and that the
defendant probably committed the offense. At the
conclusion of the preliminary hearing, the defendant may be
“held to answer,” i.e., required to answer the charges.


Pretrial Conference: Meeting in criminal court before trial
at which opposing attorneys confer, usually with the judge,
to work toward the disposition of the case.

Portions of these definitions were adapted in part from Black's Law
Dictionary (7th ed. 1999).
 

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We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

From law offices in Oakland, California, and San Jose, California attorneys from the law firm of Phan, Nguyen and Associates LLP handles cases throughout the East Bay Area, including Alameda County, Contra Costa County, San Francisco County, and San Mateo County. We serve the people of Alameda, Oakland, Piedmont, Oakland Claremont area, Oakland Lake Merritt area, Richmond, Albany, El Cerrito, Hercules, Berkeley, San Leandro, Castro Valley, Hayward, Hercules, El Cerrito, Fremont, Newark, Santa Clara, San Jose, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Martinez, Richmond, Hercules, Concord.

NOTE: This website content is purely for informational purposes only. It is intended to give you a general idea as to these legal issues and to give you a representative example of what we can do to assist you. Any and all content is purely for informational purposes. As we are unable to continuously update our website as the law quickly changes, we do not claim that any information given is up to date, legal advice, current law and/or applicable to your case. Please contact us for a free consultation.