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Today's Terms
Mitigating circumstance
Definition:
A circumstance that may be considered to reduce the degree of moral culpability, although it does not entirely justify or excuse an offense.
Redirect examination
Definition:
A kind of bail, consisting of a written promise to appear in court when required. Generally, when there is no good reason to suppose the accused in a criminal case will not appear when required or the accused is not a significant risk to the community, he or she will be released on his or her own recognizance.
Peremptory challenge
Definition:
Each party to a suit tried to a jury has the right to peremptorily "challenge" (reject) a certain number of prospective jurors without giving a reason. By contrast, the parties have unlimited rights to challenge jurors for good cause, but the judge must approve "for cause challenges." Parties may not exercise peremptory challenges on the basis of race or gender.
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