criminal law and procedure

opening statement

Overview

The opening statement is a lawyer’s first opportunity to address the jury in a trial. Generally, the party who bears the burden of proof (plaintiff in a civil case or prosecution in a criminal case) begins the opening statements,...

order to show cause

An order to show cause (O.S.C.), is a court order or the demand of a judge requiring a party to justify or explain why the court should or should not grant a motion or a relief. For example, if a party requests a restraining order from a...

outlaw

Historically, the term “outlaw” was used to refer to a person who was outside of the protection of the law. An accused criminal who refused to submit to legal process was declared to be an outlaw through a process called “outlawry.” As a...

overt act

Generally, an overt act refers to a specific and observable action or conduct that is taken by an individual, typically in furtherance of a particular purpose or intent. While the term "overt act" has different legal meanings depending on the...

parole

Parole is the conditional release of prisoners before the full completion of their sentence. The condition of the release of paroled prisoners is supervision by a public officer. The parole officer takes the role of supervising the parolee....

parolee

A parolee is a prisoner who is released on parole.

[Last updated in November of 2023 by the Wex Definitions Team]

partial defense

A partial defense is a type of defense that mitigates the defendant’s culpability. An example is the provocation defense in criminal law. If the defendant can prove that they were provoked to commit the crime, they can reduce their liability...

Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003

The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 is a federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1531, that bans partial-birth abortion, also referred to as intact dilation and extraction, to terminate a pregnancy. In passing the statute, Congress found that “[a...

peculator

A peculator (also referred to as an embezzler) refers to a person who steals money that was under their supervision, by utilizing the benefit or convenience created by their position. The money is not limited to cash, and can include vouchers...

pen register

A pen register is a device or process that traces outgoing signals from a specific phone or computer to their destination; it is often used by law enforcement as the advanced counterpart of an outgoing call log. A pen register produces a list...

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