Definition of "prejudicial" [prej•u•di•cial]

• Detrimental; injurious. (adjective)
• Causing or tending to preconceived judgment or convictions: Jurors were told not to read the newspapers to avoid being exposed to prejudicial publicity for the defendant. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The accused man sat in the dock with his back to us, while his defense lawyer complained about what he called prejudicial behavior by the prosecution."
• "All such placeisms are rooted in prejudicial customs and flower into full distastefulness and unfairness when people hide behind the unspoken prejudice of tradition, religion, or custom and remain either unwilling or unable to judge people as individuals."
• "The Court noted that double jeopardy is generally not implicated when a defendant obtains a verdict or chooses to prevent one by successfully seeking a mistrial, but that there is an exception to that rule that applies when a prosecutor has engaged in prejudicial misconduct deliberately intended to provoke a mistrial motion."