Okuzeka
Criminal Law & Justice vocabulary · Charges & the Pre-Trial Stage

Drop the charges

Meaning in criminal law & justice, with examples

phraseCommon term

In criminal law & justice, drop the charges means: To decide officially not to continue with a criminal case against someone, so that they no longer face the accusation.

In Turkish: suçlamaları düşürmek, kovuşturmadan vazgeçmek, davayı düşürmek

How it is used

Prosecutors drop charges, for example when there is not enough evidence or a key witness withdraws. News reports also say 'charges were dropped against him'. Victims sometimes say they want to 'drop the charges', but in most systems the final decision belongs to the prosecutor.

Example sentences

  1. Prosecutors dropped the charges after the main witness changed her story.

  2. All the charges against the three students were dropped.

  3. She asked the police to drop the charges, but the case continued.

Common collocations

  • drop all charges
  • charges were dropped
  • drop the charges against
  • decide to drop the charges
  • chargeTo formally accuse someone of a particular crime so that the case can go to court; as a noun, a charge is the formal accusation itself.
  • press chargesTo make a formal complaint against someone so that they can be charged with a crime; used mainly about victims.
  • prosecutorA lawyer who works for the state and brings criminal cases to court, trying to prove that the defendant is guilty.
  • complainantThe person who reports a crime and says they were harmed by it, especially in court before it has been decided whether the crime took place.

More terms: Charges & the Pre-Trial Stage

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.