crim. law. The means adopted to bring a supposed offender to justice and punishment by due course of law. 2. Prosecutions are carried on in the name of the government, and have for their principal object the security and happiness of the people in general.
Law Dictionary – Alternative Legal Definition
In criminal law. 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. By an easy extension of its meaning “prosecution” is sometimes used to designate the state as the party proceeding in a crimina) action, or the prosecutor, or counsel; as when we speak of “the evidence adduced by the prosecution.” Malicious prosecution. See MALICIOUS.