Prima facie Prima facie Prima facie (; ) is a Latin expression meaning "on its first encounter" or "at first sight". The literal translation would be "at first face" or "at first appearance", from the feminine forms of "primus" ("first") and "facies" ("face"), both in the ablative case. In modern, colloquial and conversational English, a common translation would be "on the face of it". The term "prima facie" is used in modern legal English (including both civil law and criminal law) to signify that upon initial examination, sufficient corroborating evidence appears to exist to support a case. In common law jurisdictions, "prima
Accessory (legal term) same liability as principals. It is now possible to be convicted as an accessory before the fact even though the principal has not been convicted or (in most jurisdictions) even if the principal was acquitted at an earlier trial. However, modern U.S. jurisdictions punish accessories after the fact for a separate criminal offense distinct from the underlying crime and having a different (and less severe) punishment. Some states still use the term "accessory after the fact"; others no longer use the term, but have comparable laws against hindering apprehension or prosecution, obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence, harboring a felon,