Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 46 > Chapter 18 > Part 3 - Death Penalty

• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Court: means a place where justice is judicially administered and includes the judge of the court. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Judge: means a person who is vested by law with the power to perform judicial functions. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Judgment: means an adjudication by a court that the defendant is guilty or not guilty, and if the adjudication is that the defendant is guilty, it includes the sentence pronounced by the court. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Offense: means a violation of any penal statute of this state or any ordinance of its political subdivisions. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Peace officer: means any person who by virtue of the person's office or public employment is vested by law with a duty to maintain public order and make arrests for offenses while acting within the scope of the person's authority. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Persistent felony offender: means an offender who has previously been convicted of two separate felonies and who is presently being sentenced for a third felony committed on a different occasion than either of the first two felonies, except for an offender who was on conditional release, felony probation, or felony parole at the time the felony for which the offender is presently being sentenced was committed. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Sentence: means the judicial disposition of a criminal proceeding upon a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or upon a verdict or finding of guilty. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.