Vocabulary from SSCG21 and SSCG22

White Collar Crimes Nonviolent crimes by office workers for personal or business gain.

burglary When a person breaks into a building and plans to do something illegal inside.

assault Placing someone in fear without actual physical contact.

battery Harming someone through physical contact, as with a weapon or a fist.

embezzlement Stealing money that has been entrusted to one’s care.

treason Betraying one’s country by helping its enemies or by making war against it.

terrorism Crimes in which people or groups of people use, or say they will use, violence in order to get what they want from the government or society.

Plea bargain When a defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for a lesser charge or a lighter sentence.

Probable cause Good reason to believe that a suspect has been involved in a crime.

warrant Legal paper, issued by a court, giving police permission to make an arrest, search, or seizure.

bail Money that a defendant gives the court as a kind of promise that he or she will return for the trial.

indictment Formal charge against the accused.

arraignment Court hearing in which the defendant is formally charged with a crime and enters a plea of guilty, not guilty, or no contest.

parole Letting an inmate go free to serve the rest of his or her sentence outside of prison.

Status offender Youth who is judged to be beyond the control of his or her parents or guardian.

delinquent Juvenile who is found guilty of a crime.

misdemeanor A minor crime for which the penalty is often a fine.

felony Serious crime for which the penalty can be imprisonment for more than one year.