Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 46 > Chapter 16 > Part 4 - Order of Trial

• 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.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• 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.
• Jury instructions: A judge's directions to the jury before it begins deliberations regarding the factual questions it must answer and the legal rules that it must apply. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Prosecutor: means an elected or appointed attorney who is vested by law with the power to initiate and carry out criminal proceedings on behalf of the state or a political subdivision. See Montana Code 46-1-202
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Statement: means :

  (a)a writing signed or otherwise adopted or approved by a person;

  (b)a video or audio recording of a person's communications or a transcript of the communications; and

  (c)a writing containing a summary of a person's oral communications or admissions. See Montana Code 46-1-202

• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.