CJCENTRAL: Criminal Justice Brief, 5E: Glossary

general deterrence
A goal of criminal sentencing which seeks to prevent others from committing crimes similar to the one for which a particular offender is being sentenced by making an example of the person sentenced.

good faith
A possible legal basis for an exception to the exclusionary rule. Law enforcement officers who conduct a search, or seize evidence, on the basis of good faith (that is, where they believe they are operating according to the dictates of the law) and who later discover that a mistake was made (perhaps in the format of the application for a search warrant) may still use evidence seized as the result of such activities in court.

good time
In correctional usage, the amount of time deducted from time to be served in prison on a given sentence(s) and/or under correctional agency jurisdiction, at some point after a prisoner's admission to prison, contingent upon good behavior and/or awarded automatically by application of a statute or regulation.

grand jury
A body of persons who have been selected according to law and sworn to hear the evidence against accused persons and determine whether there is sufficient evidence to bring those persons to trial, to investigate criminal activity generally, and to investigate the conduct of public agencies and officials.

grievance procedure
Formalized arrangements, usually involving a neutral hearing board, whereby institutionalized individuals have the opportunity to register complaints about the conditions of their confinement.

Guilty But Mentally Ill (GBMI)
Equivalent to a finding of "guilty," a GBMI verdict establishes that the defendant, although mentally ill, was in sufficient possession of his faculties to be morally blameworthy for his acts.

guilty plea
A defendant's formal answer in court to the charge(s) contained in a complaint, information, or indictment, claiming that he or she did commit the offense(s) listed.

guilty verdict
See verdict.

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