Medico Legal Terms & Definitions

8/6/2019 Medico Legal Terms & Definitions

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IMPORTANT MEDICAL LEGALTERMS AND THEIR

DEFINITIONS lecture 2



FORENSIC:Derived from Latin meaning "of

the forum" or market place. Inancient Rome the forum waswhere governmental debatesand trials were held .



FORENSIC SCIENCE:Means the application of natural

and physical science to theresolution of the matter with alegal context.



JU DGE: A person who is officially

designed or empowered by lawto give, in any legal proceedingcivil or criminal, a definitive

judgment



DOC UMENT A written or printed instrument

that bears the legal form of something and can be used tofurnish evidence or conveysinformation.



OFFENCE , CRIMESThe doing that a penal law

forbids to be done or omittingto do what it commands; in thissense it is nearly synonymouswith crime.



IN JU RY A harm or hurt; a wound or

insult; usually applied todamage inflicted on the body byan external force .



ASSA ULT A n unlawful act that places

another person, without that person's consent, in fear of immediate bodily harm orbattery.



GOOD FAITHCompliance with standards of

decency and honesty or havinghonest intentions; "he acted ingood faith";



COMPLAINTThe complaint outlines the alleged

facts of the case and the basis forwhich a legal remedy is sought. A complaint is the preliminary

charge filed by the complainingparty, usually with the police or acourt.



INQ UIRYThe act of inquiring or

examination of a matter in asearch for information or truth.



INVESTIGATION A careful search or detailed

inquiry or systematicexamination in order to discoverfacts.



B AIL A n individual accused of a crimemust be held in the custody of thecourt until his or her guilt orinnocence is determined.However, the court has the option

of releasing the individual beforethat determination is made, andthis option is called bail



DEPOSITIONLaw Testimony under o a th,

especi a lly a st a tement by a w itness th a t is w ritten do w n orrecorded for use in court a t a la ter d a te



AFFIDAVIT A written statement

affirmed/sworn to be true



CIRC UMSTANTIAL

EVIDENCEEvidence from which a logical

and reasonable inference of another fact may be drawn



Expert Witness: A person whose training,

background, or experiencequalifies them to render anopinion at a trial rather than

stating facts. A

person who hasmore knowledge on a subject than the average person



AUTOPSY Autopsy: Medical examination

of a deceased body. It is alsocalled Postmortem ExaminationForensic Autopsy:

Examination of a deceasedperson to determine cause of death.



CROSS EXAMINATIONThe questioning of an opposing

party's witness about mattersbrought up during direct examination



EXPERT WITNESS A witness with a specialized

knowledge of a subject who isallowed to discuss an event incourt even though he or she

was not present.



ACC USED Accused: The person who hasbeen charged with committing theoffence, another term for thedefendant in a criminal case.Defendant: A person charged witha crime and against whom court proceedings are brought (see A ccused above).



ALLEGATION A ny statement of fact in a

pleading before a court, that the defendant committed thealleged crime



ARREST WARRANTW ritten document issued by a

judge or a magistrateauthorizing the police to arrest a specified person.



CRIMINAL LAWS tatutes and other laws that defines conduct which is prohibitedby the government because it isheld to threaten, harm or otherwiseendanger the safety and welfare of

the public, and that sets out thepunishment to be imposed onthose who breach these laws .



PRESIDING JU DGEIn jurisdictions with several judges, oneof them is usually chosen to direct themanagement of the courts.The presiding judge usually chairs thepanel of several judges hearings andsupervises the business of the court



PRIMA FACIE CASELatin term, meaning "on the

face of it", that is used in alegal context to define whetherthere is enough evidence to

warrant a case continuing totrial in the judicial process.



PRES UMPTION OF

INNOCENCE A legal concept that means that

an accused is presumedinnocent until he is provenguilty beyond reasonable doubt,

at the end of a trial and appeal.



RULES OF PROCED URE &

EVIDENCEThe rules which govern the

procedures and the introductionand admissibility of evidence inlegal proceedings.



B URDEN OF PROOFThe obligation to prove

something .



SENTENCEThe punishment imposed by a

court on a person convicted of a crime



STANDARD OF PROOFThe legal standard of proof

indicating the degree to whichthe point must be proven. Forinstance, the standard of proof

at the end of a criminal trial is beyond reasonable doubt.



OATH A promise to do something or

formal declaration, whichinvolves an appeal to God.



MENS-REAThe mental component of

criminal liability.



MURDERIntentionally and maliciously

killing of human being bysomeone .



AFFIDAVIT Affidavit : A written statement

affirmed/sworn to be true Arrest: To deprive a person of liberty or freedom of movement.



SUSPECTS omeone who is under

suspicion of having committed acrime.



WITNESS TESTIMONY

This is written or oral evidencegiven by a witness under oathat trial or in a deposition. A

witness is a person whotestifies under oath.



TRIAL A legal proceeding before a

court to examine and assessthe evidence against a personaccused of a crime



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Medico Legal Terms & Definitions