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al·lo·cu·tion /ˌa-lə-'kyü-shən/ n [Latin allocutio, from alloqui to speak to, from ad to + loqui to speak]: a formal speech; esp: one made by a defendant at the time of sentencing
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
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n.A speech by a trial judge to a criminal defendant asking the defendant if he or she would like to make a statement on his or her own behalf, or asking if the defendant has any legal reason why he or she should not be sentenced if the jury’s verdict is to convict.
The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.
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n.1 The procedure during sentencing when a judge gives a convicted defendant the opportunity to make a personal statement on his own behalf to mitigate the punishment that is about to be imposed. The defendant does not have to be sworn before he makes his address, his comments are not subject to cross-examination, and the opportunity may include the right to offer evidence (such as an explanation for his conduct or a reason why severe sentence should not be imposed) beyond a request for mercy or an apology for his conduct.2 A similar procedure where the victim of a crime is given in some states the opportunity to personally speak, before punishment is imposed, about the pain and suffering suffered or about the convicted defendant.3 The procedure by which a guilty plea can be accepted in a criminal action. The process usually consists of a series of questions designed to assure the judge that the defendant understands the charges, is guilty of the crime he is accused of, understands the consequences of a guilty plea and that he is entitled to a trial, and is voluntarily entering the plea.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
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The formal inquiry by a judge of an accused person, convicted of a crime, as to whether the person has any legal cause to show why judgment should not be pronounced against him or her or as to whether the person has anything to say to the court before being sentenced.
Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.
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The formal inquiry by a judge of an accused person, convicted of a crime, as to whether the person has any legal cause to show why judgment should not be pronounced against him or her or as to whether the person has anything to say to the court before being sentenced.
Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.
