The law can be confusing, but your favorite legal dramas shouldn’t be. Don’t worry – we’ve got this!
You thought we’d forgotten, didn’t you? Forgotten your next installment of legal jargon, when everyone knows it’s your favorite article series on this blog. Well, for goodness sake, why on earth would we go and do a thing like that? So…. tada! Here it is! The wait is over. You can now go back to stuffing your face with caramel corn and marathoning round-the-clock episodes of Crime & Punishment in the comfort of your newly acquired legal knowledge.
Missed out on our series from the start? No biggie, you can catch up here. But for those of you who’ve been with us from the start, perhaps you’re getting a little tired of Latin? Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us. So for this one we’re keeping it strictly English – ish. Mostly.
Motion in Limine:
Two out three isn’t bad, right? ‘Limine’ is a Latin word meaning “at the start” or directly translated – “on the threshold.” But the other two are, obviously, English. A motion in Limine means a motion filed by a party to a litigation. A motion is a request to the court to do something or to prevent something from being done.
So, if a woman in Detroit is accused of violently murdering her cheating husband with a hammer, her defense attorney may file a motion in the court to exclude the photographs of the crime scene. Although the pictures show the true nature of what happened, they might be so gruesome and disturbing that the defense attorney may be concerned that they could unduly prejudice the jury against his client. Therefore, not showing the pictures as evidence means that the jury is less likely to be emotionally influenced in their decision.
Inculpatory Evidence:
All English on this one. Not even a little bit of Latin. (And you thought we couldn’t deliver! Tsk tsk.) Anyway, inculpatory evidence means evidence that proves that a defendant did in fact commit the crime they are accused of. In other words, evidence that helps to establish guilt. So if a man from Grand Rapids is accused of shooting and killing his business partner, finding a gun in his nightstand that fires bullets with striations that match the one extracted from the dead partner would count as inculpatory evidence.
Exculpatory Evidence:
Yup, you guessed it. In the same way that ‘include’ and ‘exclude’ are opposites, ‘inculpatory’ and ‘exculpatory’ are opposing sides of the same coin. So while inculpatory evidence is evidence that goes toward proving a person’s guilt, exculpatory evidence goes toward proving their innocence. For example, let’s say a guy from Saginaw is accused of robbing a gas station at gunpoint in Battle Creek, at 10 pm on a Wednesday. However, the defense produces a witness that saw him drinking beer at a bar in Kalamazoo at 10 pm on that same night, the witness’ testimony would be exculpatory evidence.
Subpoena Duces Tecum:
Okay, so this one’s Latin… sorry, we couldn’t help it! But we bet you don’t know what it means. Literally translated, subpoena duces tecum means “under [threat of] penalty [of punishment] you will bring [it] along with you.” In other words, not something to be taken lightly, if you’re on the receiving end.
The word ‘subpoena’ is a commonly used term, that many people know means a command, issued under the authority of the court, for a witness to appear before the court and provide testimony. A subpoena duces tecum is slightly different. It’s also a court order, but in this case for a witness to appear and provide tangible evidence. This could include documents, photographs, or any other physical item or items that could be used as evidence.
So there you have it – you’re next installment of super-useful and interesting legal terms and jargon. Because watching hours of The Good Wife is way more fun than organizing your bedroom closet like you promised yourself you would. (Don’t lie – you know you said you would, right after this next episode ends, right?) At least this way the only confusing thing is that pile of single shoes at the back of the closet, and not the dialogue in your new favorite show. You’re welcome.
Wondering about a word we haven’t got to yet? Never fear, there’s no end to the interesting legal terminology used by courts these days. Until then, if you or a loved one have been accused of a crime in Michigan, you’ll need an experienced defense attorney to search for the exculpatory evidence your case needs!. Call the experienced criminal defense attorneys at The Kronzek Firm immediately! Our team is available at: contactus@KronCron.com, or by calling 866 766 5245.