- prosecution
- A criminal action; a proceeding instituted and carried on by due course of law, before a competent tribunal, for the purpose of determining the guilt or innocence of a person charged with crime. U. S. v. Reisinger, 128 U.S. 398, 9 S.Ct. 99, 32 L.Ed. 480.The continuous following up, through instrumentalities created by law, of a person accused of a public offense with a steady and fixed purpose of reaching a judicial determination of the guilt or innocence of the accused. By an extension of its meaning, "prosecution" is also used to designate the government (state or federal) as the party proceeding in a criminal action, or the prosecutor, or counsel; as when we speak of "the evidence adduced by the prosecution." The term is also used respecting civil litigation, and includes every step in action, from its commencement to its final determination. The Brazil, C.C.A.I11., 134 F.2d 929, 930.The Fifth Amendment, U.S.Const., requires that all prosecutions for infamous federal crimes (i.e. federal offenses carrying a term of imprisonment in excess of one year) be commenced by grand jury indictment. This requirement, however, does not apply to state prosecutions for such crimes, which may be prosecuted on the basis of an information. Hurtado v. California, 110 U.S. 516, 4 S.Ct. Ill, 28 L.Ed.2d 232.- malicious prosecutionProsecution historyEstoppelAn equitable tool for determining the permissible scope of patent claims. Builders Concrete Inc. v. Bremerton Concrete Products Co., 757 F.2d 255, 258.It limits the scope of patent claims based on arguments and claim amendments made during prosecution to obtain allowance of the patent. Advance Transformer Co. v. Levinson, 837 F.2d 1081, 1083.This doctrine applies both to claim amendments to overcome rejections based on prior art, and to arguments submitted to obtain the patent. Hughes Aircraft Co. v. United States, 717 F.2d 1351, 1362.See also file wrapper estoppel
Black's law dictionary. HENRY CAMPBELL BLACK, M. A.. 1990.
