Courtroom Procedures

verb to call or bring someone before a court to answer a criminal charge

• The defendant will be arraigned in court tomorrow.
• They're arraigning him for that incident last week.
• They're gonna arraign him for that mess he got into.
• The public arraigned the politician for his dishonesty.

noun an objection raised; demur

• The defense attorney filed a demurrer challenging the sufficiency of the plaintiff's evidence.
• The lawyer said 'I'm gonna file a demurrer' to try and get the case thrown out.
• The attorney pulled a slick move and hit 'em with a demurrer right out the gate.
• In life, sometimes you have to raise a demurrer when faced with baseless accusations.

noun information that is not based on personal knowledge or observation, but rather on what someone else has said

adjective related to or consisting of hearsay

• The judge ruled that the evidence presented was hearsay and therefore inadmissible in court.
• I wouldn't trust that information, it's just hearsay from someone who heard it from someone else.
• Don't believe everything you hear, it's probably just hearsay.
• The rumors spreading around the office were like a game of telephone, turning into exaggerated hearsay.

noun a person whose job is to transcribe spoken or recorded speech into written form, typically using a shorthand or typing machine

• The stenographer transcribed every word spoken during the court proceedings.
• The stenographer has to type really fast to keep up with the speaker.
• I heard the stenographer is a pro at shorthand.
• As a stenographer of memories, she captured every detail of the event in her mind.

noun a legal term referring to a group of people who are summoned to court for jury duty

• The judge issued a subpoena for the witness to venire to court.
• Hey, don't forget to venire to the party tonight!
• I'll venire over to your place after work.
• The opportunity to venire into a new career path was too good to pass up.

noun a right in jury selection for each party to request that a potential juror be dismissed without having to give a reason

• The defense attorney used a peremptory challenge to dismiss a potential juror without needing to provide a reason.
• The lawyer got rid of that guy with a peremptory challenge.
• The attorney pulled a fast one with a peremptory challenge.
• Using a peremptory challenge is like playing a strategic card game in court.

noun a rule or principle that requires barristers to accept any client who seeks their services, regardless of the client's identity or the nature of the case

• The cab rank rule ensures that all taxis must pick up passengers in the order they arrive at a designated rank.
• The cab rank rule means the first taxi in line gets the next customer.
• You gotta follow the cab rank rule if you want to get a fare.
• In life, sometimes we have to abide by the cab rank rule and wait our turn for opportunities to come our way.

noun A person who assesses or evaluates something

• The adsessor carefully reviewed the legal documents before making a decision.
• I heard the adsessor is a stickler for details, so make sure everything is in order.
• The adsessor is known as the rule enforcer around here.
• The adsessor's sharp eye caught every discrepancy in the report.