Advisement:   Hearing to set bond, issue No Contact Orders, and advise the defendant of his rights.

Arraignment:   Court hearing when a defendant pleads guilty, after a preliminary hearing.

Bond:    Money or property that is promised or given to the Court to make sure a defendant will come back to court after getting out of jail.

Compensation:   A program to help pay for medical or funeral expenses, mental health therapy, or lost wages for victims of violent crime. A Police report must be made. You must apply for these funds.

Continuance:   When a court hearing is delayed.

Correctional Facility: Any private or public entity providing services. Correctional facilities include, but are not limited to, a county jail, a community corrections provider, the division of youth corrections, and the department of corrections.

Defendant:   The person accused of a crime.

Disposition:   When a case is resolved without a trial.

Motions Hearing:    A hearing where the judge decides what evidence will be allowed at trial.

No Contact:    A condition of bond that means a defendant cannot have contact with a victim by phone, letter, through a third party or in person.

Plea Negotiations:   A defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge in return for a sentence that may be less than if convicted of all charges at trial.

Preliminary Hearing:   A hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to go to trial. This is the first hearing when witnesses may have to testify.

Probation:   The release, under conditions of good behavior, to a person convicted of a crime as an alternative to imprisonment.

Restitution:   After conviction, a defendant can be ordered to pay the victim for "out of pocket" financial losses.

Sentence:   The penalty that is given by a judge to a defendant upon conviction of a crime.

Subpoena:   An order to come to court, which is mailed to the witness or personally delivered.

Trial:   An examination of issues of fact and law before a judge or a jury.