Spanish law & justice vocabulary

44 words at level B2, with English translations and example sentences. Spain's words come first, with Latin American alternatives where they differ.

Spanish	English	Example
la ley	law	Es una ley muy polémica. It's a very controversial law.
el derecho	right; law; (adj.) right, straight	Estudia Derecho en Salamanca. She's studying law in Salamanca.
legal	legal; (Spain, colloq.) decent, trustworthy	Es totalmente legal. It's completely legal.
ilegal	illegal	Aparcar aquí es ilegal. Parking here is illegal.
la justicia	justice	La justicia es lenta. Justice is slow.
el juzgado	court, courthouse	Tiene que presentarse en el juzgado. He has to appear in court.
el tribunal	court; tribunal	El tribunal dictó sentencia. The court gave its ruling.
el/la juez	judge (also la jueza)	La jueza escuchó a los testigos. The judge heard the witnesses.
el abogado / la abogada	lawyer	Necesitas un buen abogado. You need a good lawyer.
el/la fiscal	prosecutor, public prosecutor	El fiscal pide cinco años de cárcel. The prosecutor is asking for five years in prison.
el juicio	trial; judgement; sanity	El juicio empieza la semana que viene. The trial starts next week.
la sentencia	sentence (legal), ruling	La sentencia es firme. The ruling is final.
el delito	crime, offence	Robar es un delito. Stealing is a crime.
el crimen	crime (serious), murder	Fue un crimen terrible. It was a terrible crime.
el/la delincuente	criminal, offender	La policía detuvo a los delincuentes. The police arrested the criminals.
el acusado / la acusada	the accused, defendant; acusar = to accuse	El acusado dice que es inocente. The defendant says he's innocent.
acusar	to accuse (de = of)	Lo acusan de fraude. He's accused of fraud.
culpable	guilty; el/la culpable = culprit	El jurado lo declaró culpable. The jury found him guilty.
inocente	innocent	Es inocente hasta que se demuestre lo contrario. He's innocent until proven otherwise.
el/la testigo	witness	Hay dos testigos del accidente. There are two witnesses to the accident.
declarar	to declare; to testify	Mañana declara ante el juez. Tomorrow she gives evidence before the judge.
la prueba	test; proof, evidence	No hay pruebas suficientes. There isn't enough evidence.
la denuncia	(police) report, complaint; denunciation	Puse una denuncia en comisaría. I reported it at the police station.
denunciar	to report (to the police); to denounce	Denunció el robo de su bici. She reported her bike stolen.
la comisaría	police station	Lo llevaron a comisaría. They took him to the police station.
detener	to stop, to arrest (irreg. like tener); detenerse = to stop	Detuvieron al ladrón en el metro. They arrested the thief on the metro.
la detención	arrest, detention; stopping	La detención fue en su casa. The arrest took place at his home.
la cárcel	prison, jail	Pasó tres años en la cárcel. He spent three years in prison.
la condena	sentence (prison); condemnation	Cumple una condena de dos años. He's serving a two-year sentence.
condenar	to condemn; to sentence	La condenaron a pagar una multa. She was ordered to pay a fine.
la multa	fine; ticket (parking, speeding)	Me han puesto una multa por exceso de velocidad. I got a speeding fine.
el robo	robbery, theft	Ha habido varios robos en el barrio. There have been several thefts in the area.
robar	to steal, to rob	Me robaron la cartera en el autobús. My wallet was stolen on the bus.
el ladrón / la ladrona	thief, burglar	El ladrón entró por la ventana. The thief got in through the window.
la estafa	scam, swindle, fraud	Esa oferta es una estafa. That offer is a scam.
el fraude	fraud	Investigan un fraude fiscal. They're investigating tax fraud.
demandar	to sue; to demand	Lo demandaron por daños. They sued him for damages.
el recurso	resource; recourse; appeal	Van a presentar un recurso. They're going to lodge an appeal.
recurrir	to turn to, resort to; to appeal	La empresa recurrirá la sentencia. The company will appeal against the ruling.
la fianza	bail; deposit	El juez fijó una fianza de diez mil euros. The judge set bail at ten thousand euros.
el jurado	jury; panel of judges	El jurado tardó dos días en decidir. The jury took two days to decide.
la víctima	victim (always feminine)	La víctima era un hombre de cuarenta años. The victim was a forty-year-old man.
cometer	to commit; to make (a mistake)	No cometió ningún delito. He didn't commit any crime.
cumplir la ley	to obey the law	Todos tenemos que cumplir la ley. We all have to obey the law.

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