BLAW EXAM 2 Flashcards
what is actus reus and mens rea and what is their purpose?
These are legal criterias used in criminal law and their purpose is to determine whether someone has committed a crime and if they can be held responsible for it.
What is actus reus ?
the action or behavior that breaks the law, like stealing something or causing harm to someone.
what are the characteristics of actus reus?
voluntary action, omission, resulting harm, causation, circumstances, possession
what is the difference between voluntary action,resulting harm and causation?
voluntary action is what the person did, resulting harm is the outcome or damage caused by that action and causation is did the action directly cause the harm.
what is mens rea?
the intention or mental state a person had when committing a crime.
what does actus reus translate to in english ?
Guilty Act
what does Mens rea translate to in english ?
Guilty Mind
what are the main components under the mens rea analysis?
intentional, knowing, reckless, or negligent
what is identified intentional under Mens Rea
person deliberately or on purpose commits the crime
example of “knowing conduct” under means rea
The seller knows that the product could hurt someone, even though they don’t want to hurt a specific person, but they proceed with the sale.
example of “reckless conduct” under means rea
The driver is aware of the significant risk of causing an accident by running a red light, but they do it anyway.
what is identified as negligent conduct under the Mens Rea
didn’t mean to, but should have been more careful
what is are two classification of crimes
mala in se and mala prohibita
what is mala in se
actions that are considered inherently wrong or evil, regardless of the circumstances. these include murder, rape, theft, assault and kidnapping.
what is mala prohibita
actions considered wrong because they are prohibited by law, but they are not inhrently evil or morally wrong on their own. These include speeding, fishing without license…
what is a felony
a serious crime punishable by imprisonment for 1+ years or death
what is misdemeanor
a less serious crime punishable by up to 1 year in jail and/or fine.
examples of felony
murder, rape, roberry, drug trafficking, arson
what are inchoate Crimes
the intention and steps toward committing a crime
what are the 3 types of inchoate Crimes
criminal attempt, criminal conspiracy, criminal solicitation
explain criminal attempt
when a person INTENDS to commit a crime and takes ACTION toward completing it.
Explain criminal Conspiracy
agreement between 2 or more people to engage in crime, and one person takes action to move foward in the plan like buying supplies
explain Criminal solicitation
when a person asks, encourage or tries to convince another person to commit a crime, even if the crime is not carried out.
what is a white collar crime ?
non-violent crimes that are usually committed by people in business or government positions for financial gains.
what are the 4 main types of white colar crimes ?
embezzlement, bribery, securities fraud, insider trading
what is embezzlement ?
when someone takes money or property that they were trusted to manage or look after, and they scecretly used it for themselves
example of embezzlement
if an accountant is in charge of a company’s finances and starts moving company money into their own bank
what is bribery
when someone offers, gives, or receives something they value to influence the actions or decisions of a person in position of power
what is security fraud
when someone deceives investors or manipulates financial markets to make money illegally.
example of security fraud
promoting a stock with false information to increase its price, then selling it for profit, leaving other invenstors with losses when the price crashes
what is insider trading ?
when someone buys or sells stocks or other financial securities based on confidential, non-public information about a compnay.
what are Cybercrimes?
crimes that involve the use of internet, computers or digital tech to commit illegal activities. hacking, id theft, fraud.
what is RICO in full
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
what is RICO?
A federal law in the USA that helps government take down organized crime groups by holding them accountable for a pattern of illegal activities.
what is a tort
when someone hurts or harms another person, either on purpose or by being careless, and the harmed person can take them to court to get money for their injury.
Give an example of a tort
if someone causes an accident by driving carelessly, or if someone physically injure another person.
what is the name of someone who commits a tort
a tortfeasor
simple difference between civil tort and criminal prosecution
civil tort is a victim suing for compesation, criminal prosecution is when government charges someone with a crime for breaking the law.
what is tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress
when someone intentionally does something really cruel or outrageous that causes another person to suffer serious emotional harm.
example of tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress
a boss fires an imployee in a cruel and public manner, by cussing her out and embarassing her, damaging emotional conditions of employee.
what questions should you ask to recognize if someone’s conduct rise to Intentional inflictionof Emotional Distress
is the behavior far beyond what society finds acceptable ?
did it involve an abuse of power or a vulnerable victim?
was it intentionally harmful and caused severe emotional distress?
what is defamation
when someone lies about another person in a way that damages their reputation, and the lie is shared with other people.
what are the 2 types of defamation
libel and slander
what is a slander?
defamation that is spoken or said out loud to others.
what is libel?
defamation that is written or published, ike in newspapers, social media, or books
what makes a statement qualify as defamation
When a FALSE statement PUBLISHED or SHARED with others that harm’s the subject’s reputation.
what is the privacy tort of appropriation
when someone uses your image, name or personal id to make money or promote something without having your permission
what is the privacy tort of intrusion (upon seclusion)
when someone snoops or spies on your private life without permission, and this behavior would be considered unacceptable or offensive.
what is the privacy tort of public disclosure of private facts
when someone reveals private information about you to the public, even though it’s true, and it’s something that should have remained private because it’s embarrassing or personal.
what is the tort of tortious interference with a contract
when someone deliberately gets in the way of a contract you have with someone else, causing them to break the contract and you suffer loss because of it.
example of tort of tortious interference with a contract
a competitor knows you have a contract with a supplier and deliberately convinces the supplier to break the contract by offering better terms, causing you to lose the deal and suffer financial loss.
what is negligence
when someone fails to take reasonable care to avoid harming others, and their carelessness causes injury or damage.
what is comparative negligence
means that if are you partially to balme for your own injury, the amount of money you can receive is reduced by how much you are at fault
example of comparative negligence
if you are in a car accident and the court finds that you are 20% at fault for driving 10mph over limit, and the other driver is 80% at fault for running the red light, your compensation will be reduced by 20%. if the total damages were 10k you would recieve 8k.
what is the tort defense of assumption of risk
if you know something is dangerous but you do it anyway, you can’t blame someone esle if you get hurt.
example of assumption of risk
if a fan gets hit by a soccer ball during a game, they likely assumed the risk of being hit, since it’s common for the ball to get kicked into the stands.
what is the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices
it allows consumers to recover demages from business that engage in a “deceptive trade practice”.
what are the antitrust laws
rules that prevent companies from becoming too powerful or working together to control prices or the market.
what is the purpose of antitrust laws
to protect consumers by promoting competition
what are the 2 angencies that are charged with enforcement of our antitrust laws?
the anitrust division of the Department of Justice, and the Federal trade commission
what is the Federal trade commission’s role within the anti-trust laws?
the FTC protects consumers from unfair competition and review mergers
what is a vertical restaint of trade?
when companies that are involved in different stages of creating or selling a product (like a supplier and retailer) agree to limit competition in some way. like controlling prices.
what is a horizontal restaint of trade?
when businesses at the same level of the supply chain (such as competitors) agree to limit compettion between themselves.
what is the Department of justice’s role within the antitrust laws.
prosecutes violations of antitrust laws and can pursue criminal penalties in addition to civil enforcement
example of horizontal restraints
two phone companies agree that one will sell only in the northern region and the other will sell only in the southern region.
what are the 2 per se illegal restraints
price fixing and market allocation
what are price fixing?
occurs when competitors agree to set or control price of goods or services instead of allowing market forces to determine prices naturally.
what is market allocation
this occurs when competitors agree to divide markets among themselves, whether by geographic area, customer type, or product line in order to avoid competing with each other
what is a monopoly
when a single company has exclusive control over a particular market on industry, meaning it is the only significant provider of a product or service.
hart-scott-rodino
Act that requires companies to tell the government about large mergers or aquisitions in advance, so regulators can check if the deal will harm competition or create monopoly.
What does IP stands for and what is
IP stands for intellectual property. this is anything that someone creates with their mind like an invention, a book, a quote, a song or a brand logo.
what does IP laws do
they protect creations from a mind and give their creators exclusive rights to use, sell, and benefit from them for a certain period of time.
what are the 4 basics types of IP
Patents, Trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets
what are patents
these protects rights in useful inventions and discoveries
what are trademarks
these protect product, services, and company identifiers, like brands, logos, and package designs
what are copyrights
these protects creative and expressive works, like art, music, dance and literature, as well as software
what are trade secrets
these protects commeracially valuable confidential information, like business and financial plans, formulas, recipes, and client information.
what are the requirement for copyrights to be enforced
the content must be orginal, fixed tangible medium meaning written down or recorded.
what is the “work made for hire doctrine”
the employer or commissioning party owns the copyright when a work is created by an employee as part of their job.
what are the 3 major types of patents
utily patents, design patents,plant patent
what are utility patents
other companies can’t copy your EXACT invention or process.
what are design patents
this one protects the look or apperance of a product, not how it works. other companies can’t copy the specific design or style of your product.
describe the difference between trademark and design patent
trademark protect the companies identity like logos, and slogans while design patent protects specific products
what are plant patents
a way to protect a new type of plant that someone creates or discovers, so no one else can sell that exact plant without permission. only for 20 years.
what the basic trademark infringement?
when someone copies or uses a name, logo, or symbol that’s too similar to a company’s brand, making people think that their product come from that OG company.
what is trademark tarnishment (dilution)
when somone uses a well-know brand’s name or logo in a way that hurts its reputation, wvhn if people aren’t confused about who made the product.
what are the two requirements for a mark to be registered as a trademark?
must be DINSTINCTIVE and USED IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE
explain the distinctive component of trademark
unique and recognizable
explain the “used in interstate commerce” component of trademark
product or services must be sold or offered across state lines
what is the Lanham Act
this act protects trademarks and gives trademark owners the right to enforce their trademarks and service marks.
what are the 2 most important factors for selection a business form ?
Liability limitation and taxation
what does limited liability refers to ?
this refers to how much personal liability the business owner(s) will have for the company’s debts or obligations.
what are the 2 main types of taxation consideration?
pass through taxation and double taxation
what does pass through taxation means
the business itself does not pay taxes on its profits. instead the profits are passed through to the owners who report them on their on personal income tax returns.
what does double taxation means
when the same income is taxed twice. the corperation’s profits are taxed then the dividends to shareholders are also taxed as personal income taxes.
what is meant by non-filling entities
business or organization that are not requires to file tax return with the IRS. either because they have no taxable income or they fall under certain tax-exempt categories.
what is meant by filling entities
business and corp that required to report income, expense and other tax info to determine their tax liability.
what are the primary business forms
general partenership, limited liability, corporation for profit, limited liability
what is general partnership
two or more individulas agree to share ownership, along with the profits and losses of the business.
who manages general partnership
all partners who own the comany
do the owners have personal or limited liabilities in general partnership
yes.
are general partnership pass through or double taxed
pass through taxation
what is limited partnership
a form where there are general partners and limited partners. the limited parterns are only liable for the amount of investment put into the business and also is not involved in running the business.
is limited partnership a filing entity?
yes
do owners in a limited partnership have personal liability
yes, but only general partners not limited ones
is limited partnership pass through or double treament
pass through
what is a corporation (for profit)
a legal entity that is sperate from it’s owner. many owners who come together to create one entity.
is corporation (for profit) filing entities, limited or personal liability, pass-through or double taxed
is filling entities, limited liability, double taxed
what is the Texas orginaztions code
it is a law that governs the formation, governance, operation and dissolution of business entities formed in texas.
what is security
an investement in a common enterpise with profits to come from efforts of others
what are the types securities
equity such as stocks, limited partneship intersts, etc…
debt such as bonds, certificates of deposit, etc.
two principles of security
truthful disclosure
fairness
what is securities act of 1933 also know as
33 Act
what is securities act of 1933
requires company to provide full and truthfull information about companies.
what is securities excahnge act of 1934 also know as
34 act
what is securities excahnge act of 1934
set up rules for trading securities to make market fair.
when does a company has an
obligation to file a registration statement and provide a prospectus
when offering securities to the public
who is required do the 34 act report
public companies
what rule targets security frauds?
Rule 10b-5
