criminal-justice system. The collective institutions through which an accused offender passes until the accusations have been disposed of or the assessed punishment concluded. • The system typically has three components: law enforcement (police, sheriffs, marshals), the judicial process (judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers), and corrections (prison officials, probation officers, and parole officers). — Also termed law-enforcement […]
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criminology (krim-[schwa]-nol-[schwa]-jee), n. The study of crime and criminal punishment as social phenomena; the study of the causes of crime and the treatment of offenders, comprising (1) criminal biology, which examines causes that may be found in the mental and physical constitution of an offender (such as hereditary tendencies and physical defects), and (2) criminal
A lawyer whose primary work is to represent criminal defendants. • This term is rarely if ever applied to prosecutors despite their integral involvement in the criminal-justice system.
lawyer, n. One who is licensed to practice law. Cf. ATTORNEY. [Cases: Attorney and Client 9. C.J.S. Attorney and Client §§ 24–25.] — lawyerly, lawyerlike, adj. — lawyerdom, n. certified military lawyer. A person qualified to act as counsel in a general court-martial. • To be qualified, the person must be (1) a judge advocate
juvenile (joo-v[schwa]-n[schwa]l or -nIl), n. A person who has not reached the age (usu. 18) at which one should be treated as an adult by the criminal-justice system; MINOR. [Cases: Infants 68. 5. C.J.S. Infants §§ 43–45.] — juvenile, adj. — juvenility (joo-v[schwa]-nil-[schwa]-tee), n. certified juvenile. A juvenile who has been certified to be tried
The scholarly study of the similarities and differences between the criminal-justice systems of different nations.
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