criminal

Criminal is a term used for a person who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime.

Criminal also means being connected with a crime. When certain acts or people are involved in or related to a crime, they are referred to criminal. For example: “criminal conspiracy ,” “criminal taking,” a “criminal gang.”

Some common uses of the term criminal in a legal sense include:

• “ Criminal law ” is a system of law dealing with law cases involving a crime.
• “ Criminal case ” involves the government attempting on behalf of its citizens to punish a person for violating its criminal law.
• “ Criminal procedure ” is the term used for the rules used by a court as it conducts a criminal case from its inception through a trial.

[Last reviewed in November of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]

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• THE LEGAL PROCESS
• criminal law
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