List of basic criminal justice topics

This list is not necessarily complete or up to date - if you see an article that should be here but isn't (or one that shouldn't be here but is), please update the page accordingly. Remember that Wikipedia is not a dictionary, if you are looking for the most basic definitions of legal terms you might consider a specialized legal dictionary such as Black's Law Dictionary.

See the general list of legal topics regarding any legal topics outside of the area of criminal justice.

See also List of criminal justice notables.

Please see the legal disclaimer if you are looking for legal advice.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Abuse defense -- Actus reus -- Administrative law -- Affray -- Arraignment -- Arrest warrant -- Arson -- Assault -- Attendant circumstances

B

Bail -- Bias crime -- Booking -- Burglary

C

Case law -- Causation -- Chain of custody -- Citizen's arrest -- Civil law -- Clearance rate -- Common law -- Concurrence -- Concurrent sentence -- Conflict model -- Consecutive sentence -- Consensus model -- Corpus delicti -- Corrections -- Creative lawyering -- Crime -- Crime control -- Crime index -- Criminal justice -- Criminology

D

Death penalty -- Defense (legal) -- Defense of property -- Denial of a speedy trial -- Deterrence -- Diminished responsibility -- Double jeopardy -- Due process

E

Embezzlement -- Entrapment -- Espionage -- Evidentiary hearing -- Excuse -- Execution warrant -- Extortion

F

Felony -- Forgery

G

H

I

Ignorance of the law -- Inchoate offense -- Indictable offence -- Indictment -- Individual rights -- Infraction -- Innovative defense -- Insanity defense -- Islamic law

J

Jurisprudence -- Jury instructions -- Jury nullification -- Jury trial -- Justice -- Justification

K

Kangaroo court -- Kidnapping

L

Larceny -- Law -- Liability

M

Mafia -- manslaughter -- McNaghten rule -- Mens rea -- Miranda Warning -- Misdemeanor -- Mistake -- Motive -- Motor vehicle theft -- Murder

N

O

Obscenity -- Offense -- Organized crime

P

Pardon -- Penal law -- Peremptory pleas -- Perjury -- Plea bargain -- Precedent -- Predator -- Preliminary hearing -- Probable cause -- Probation -- Procedural defense -- Prosecutorial misconduct -- Prostitution -- Provocation -- Public order

Q

R

Rape -- Resisting unlawful arrest -- Robbery

S

Selective prosecution -- Self-defense -- Sentence -- Sharia -- Shoplifting -- Social control -- Stare decisis -- Star Chamber -- Statutory law -- Suicide -- Summary offence

T

Terrorism -- Theft -- Treason -- Trespass -- Trial -- Trial by jury -- Trial de novo

U

V

W

War crime -- Warrant -- Writ -- Writ of Habeas Corpus

X

Y

Z