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

Pretrial detention

Meaning in criminal law & justice, with examples

/ˌpriːˈtraɪəl dɪˈtenʃn/nounCommon term

In criminal law & justice, pretrial detention means: Keeping a person accused of a crime in prison before and during their trial, when a court decides that releasing them would be too risky.

In Turkish: tutukluluk, tutuklama, tutuklu yargılama

How it is used

The standard term in American and international human rights texts: 'held in pretrial detention', 'length of pretrial detention', 'alternatives to pretrial detention'. Courts usually consider the risk of flight, of tampering with evidence and of reoffending. British English often says 'remand in custody'.

Example sentences

  1. He spent fourteen months in pretrial detention before he was acquitted.

  2. Human rights groups criticised the long periods of pretrial detention.

  3. The court ordered pretrial detention because he had no fixed address.

Common collocations

  • held in pretrial detention
  • length of pretrial detention
  • alternatives to pretrial detention
  • order pretrial detention
  • remandTo order that a defendant waiting for trial or sentence is kept in prison, or released under conditions, until the next court date.
  • bailPermission for a suspect or defendant to stay out of custody until the next stage of the case, often with conditions or a sum of money paid as a guarantee.
  • custodyThe state of being held by the police or kept in prison, for example after an arrest or while waiting for trial.
  • arrestTo take a person into police control using legal powers, usually because they are suspected of a crime; the noun 'arrest' names this act.

More terms: Charges & the Pre-Trial Stage

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