Justice System Jargon

noun a person or group of people who are charged with or on trial for a crime

verb past tense of accuse, meaning to charge someone with a crime or wrongdoing

• The accused will have the opportunity to present their defense in court.
• Did you hear about the accused in the news?
• I can't believe they accused me of stealing!
• His guilty conscience accused him in the dead of night.

verb to declare someone not guilty of a criminal offense after a trial

adjective having been declared not guilty of a criminal offense

• The defendant was acquitted of all charges after a thorough trial.
• They let him go because they couldn't prove anything. He was acquitted.
• He got off scot-free, they acquitted him.
• Her conscience was finally acquitted of guilt after years of torment.

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 A word used to name a person, place, thing, or idea. 'Charges' is a noun referring to the formal accusations made against someone in a legal context.

verb A word used to describe an action or state of being. In this case, 'bring' is the verb indicating the action of bringing charges.

• The prosecutor has decided to bring charges against the suspect for embezzlement.
• They finally decided to press charges against him for stealing from the company.
• They're gonna slap charges on him for that stunt he pulled.
• Her words were like a weapon, ready to bring charges against anyone who dared to challenge her.

noun an immoral or wicked act

• The accused was charged with committing a serious misdeed against the company.
• I heard that John got in trouble for some misdeed at work.
• She's always up to some misdeed, trying to get away with things.
• The misdeed of cheating on the exam will haunt her conscience forever.

noun the party instituting a legal action in a court of law

• The prosecution presented strong evidence against the defendant in court.
• The prosecution is really going after that guy in the trial.
• The prosecution is gunning for a conviction in this case.
• The prosecution of corrupt officials is like a game of chess, with each move carefully planned out.