Shropshire Routes to Roots

Someone who has been trained in the law. A barrister examines witness and evidence in court, in order to persuade a jury to reach a particular verdict.

A barrister for the prosecution is a prosecutor.

A barrister for the defence is known as the 'defence barrister'.

A case for the prosecution is the collection of evidence and witness testimony which proves the accused committed the crime. The case for the defence is evidence which suggests he or she is innocent of the crime.

A term used in court, meaning to do. If some one has committed a crime, this means they have done a crime.

'To convict' someone means to find them guilty. A convict is some one who has been found guilty.

A surgeon who examines the bodies of people who have been killed in suspicious circumstances. The coroner tries to work out how they were killed.

Where a trial takes place.

Once a person has been found guilty of a crime, they are a criminal. Until they are found guilty, they are simply 'accused'.

Something which suggests what happened.

Evidence might be hard evidence, such as a murder weapon which links the accused to the crime scene.

Or evidence might be witness evidence, something some one saw or knows about the crime.

Hard evidence is often more reliable than witness evidence.

If a person is found guilty, it is believed 'beyond reasonable doubt' that they did commit the crime which they were accused.

If a person is innocent, this means they did not commit the crimes of which they are accused. They have been found 'not guilty'.

The judge is in charge of the court. He or she decides what evidence is allowed, and maintains order.

After the jury has given a verdict, the judge passes sentence.

The jury is made up of 12 people chosen from anyone in society over the age of 18.

The jury listens to the evidence from the prosecution and from the defence. They then decide whether the accused is guilty or not guilty.

A system of rules. To break the law is to go against the rules. A person found guilty of breaking the law, becomes a criminal.

The person did not commit the crime of which he or she is accused. This makes them 'innocent'.

A phrase which some one says. In court, some one who swears an oath promises to follow the rules of that court.

The prosecution is the side who says the person on trial did commit the crime.

The barrister who represents the prosecution.

The prosecutor argues that the accused person did commit the crime.

The punishment that the guilty person receives.

Something which is said or written down. A witness statement is a speech made by a witness to the court. This is also known as testimony.

Something which seems unusual or strange. If someone acts suspiciously, this means they act in a way which seems out of the ordinary, perhaps because of something which has happened to them.

Testimony is evidence given by a witness. Also known as a statement.

A trial is the event at which evidence is heard by a jury and/or a judge. The aim of a trial is to decide whether the accused is guilty or not guilty.

The decision of 'guilty' or 'not guilty' made by a jury.

Someone who may have seen, heard or knows something about the crime. The witness speaks about the events in court. This is often known as 'making a statement' or 'testifying'.

It is important for a witness to tell the truth. For this reason, every witness who gives evidence at a trial has to swear an oath to tell the truth.