A writ commanding that a person be brought before a judge. Most commonly, a writ of habeas corpus is a legal document that forces law enforcement authorities to produce a prisoner they are holding and to legally justify his or her confinement.

An error committed during a trial that was corrected or was not serious enough to affect the outcome of a trial and, therefore, was not sufficiently harmful (prejudicial) to be reversed on appeal.

Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.

A witness whose testimony is not favorable to the party who calls him or her as a witness. A hostile witness may be asked leading questions and may be cross-examined by the party who calls him or her to the stand.

A jury whose members cannot agree upon a verdict.