right to confront accusers
- noun
- Formal
:
derecho a confrontar a los acusadores
- The right to confront accusers ensures that witnesses must testify in court before the defendant.
Examples
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In a criminal trial, the defendant exercised their right to confront accusers during cross-examination.
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See also 18 USC 242, and the right to confront accusers.
Blog text (9) -
As part of their defense, they invoked the right to confront accusers to challenge the testimonies against them.
Surface Forms
Morphology
right + to + confront + accuser
The phrase's meaning — a legal entitlement to face or challenge those who accuse you — is directly composed from the known parts 'right' + 'to' + 'confront' + 'accusers', so a B1 learner who knows each word can infer the basic sense. Although the term has a specific legal / constitutional nuance (cross-examination in court), that specialized detail does not block general comprehension from the constituents.
Etymology
Right to confront accusers comes from the idea that someone on trial should stand face-to-face with the person who says they did wrong so they can 'question' them. That image of a person facing an accuser and being able to confront them explains why the phrase means the legal right to meet and ask witnesses in court.
