Glossary Spanish Legal Terms1 Latinos Unidos Pilot Study Project2
Appeal(v.) Appeal (n.) Aggravated felony Bond Criminal justice system Charge Defense attorney Evidence Felony Fine Handcuffs Judicial ruling/decision Immigration status Insurance Fingerprints Hearing Misdemeanor To plead guilty To plead not guilty Parole Prisoner Prosecutor Pull over Record (criminal) Sentence Trial Waive
Apelar Apelación Delito con factores agravantes Fianza Sistema penal Cargo/acusación Abogado defensor Prueba Delito Multa Esposas Fallo Estado migratorio Aseguranza Huellas o huellas digitales Audiencia Falta o Delito menor Declararse culpable Declararse inocente Libertad condicional Preso, Prisionero Fiscal/Abogado Acusador Parar Antecedentes Pena Juicio Renunciar
Sources: English/Spanish Glossary, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice, January 29, 2004. www.usdoj.gov/crt/genglosarry_esp.html Diccionario de Terminos Legales, Louis A. Robb, Downtown Book Center, July 2001.
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Prepared by Spring Miller, Research Assistant to Professor Fran Ansley, March 2004
Paying close attention to language is critically important in carrying out our research, but we must understand that developing a fixed set of Spanish definitions to convey U.S. legal vocabulary is impossible. As immigrants encounter the local criminal justice system, they forge their own set of terms to make sense of their experiences. This list is a work in progress. It is intended to serve a practical guide to some commonly-used Spanish terms, and to focus the attention of those of us participating in this project on the centrality and complexity of translation in our participatory research work.