CHAPTER 1 and 2 Flashcards
1
Q
rule of Law
A
the law is supreme over any body of government or individual
2
Q
common law
A
- judges follow decisions or precedents made by other courts
- judge made law that sought uniformity
3
Q
stare decisis
A
- courts are bound by their prior decisions and the decisions of higher courts
- make decisions in alignment with previous courts
4
Q
precedent
A
- basing decisions about current cases on the outcomes of prior judgments
- earlier events as an example
5
Q
substantive law
A
- laws that govern how members of society have to behave
- define rights and obligations
- crimes and punishments
6
Q
procedural law
A
rules that determine the enforcement of rights or due process
7
Q
fundamental justice
A
- principle that people who act reasonably may not be punished unless there is proof they did something wrong
- laws for fairness
8
Q
habeas corpus
A
- protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment
- the right person being detained
9
Q
crime of omission
A
- an act where the accused has failed to take some action
- failure to perform legal duty when they can
- e.g. social worker failing to report child abuse
10
Q
victimless crimes
A
- acts that are legally defined as crimes even though there is no direct victim
- e.g. illegal gambling
11
Q
intent
A
- the criminal intention
- “guilty mind” in mens rea
- meant to commit harm and did not care about the outcome
12
Q
negligence
A
an act that shows disregard for the well-being of others
13
Q
entrapment
A
police lure individual into carrying out an offence they would not otherwise do
14
Q
reckless behaviour
A
when people act in a manner that they know is dangerous or risky
15
Q
stand your ground laws
A
- a law that gives U.S. residents the right to use force to protect their lives and property
- considered excessive and illegal in Canada
- aka castle doctrine
16
Q
age defence
A
considers immaturity and recognizes that youth under 12 years can’t be held criminally responsible
17
Q
automatism
A
- involuntary act committed in a state of impaired consciousness/unconsciousness and lacks the intent to commit a crime
- not capable of mens rea
18
Q
hate crime
A
prejudice motivated crime, targeting a victim based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc
19
Q
actus rea
A
- the guilty act
- must prove conduct, circumstance and consequence to be found guilty
- conduct: it was YOU that committed the crime voluntarily
- circumstance: actions were unwanted by the victim
- consequence: was damage/harm done
20
Q
mens rea
A
- the “guilty mind”
- necessary state of mind before being found guilty
- knew the crime was wrong
- had mental intent
- subjective and objective mens rea
21
Q
subjective mens rea
A
- deliberate: in your actions/intending to bring about the consequences of an act (protects people with dementia)
- realization: that your actions were wrong and/or harmful, but you did it anyway
- willfully blind: conscious avoidance, chose not to know
22
Q
objective mens rea
A
- the reasonable person test;
- would 50% or more Canadians/ a reasonable person know this is a crime and not do it
- according to the judge
- gives the corn prosector a break if they cant prove wilful blindness
23
Q
Three main defence strategies
A
- Alibis
- justification defenses
- excuse defences
24
Q
justification defences
A
when the accused admits to committing an offence but the act was justified under the circumstances
25
excuse defences
based on the argument that ones criminal conduct can be excused because the accused could not form the intent to commit a crime
26
what are the 5 justification defences?
1. self-defence
2. provocation
3. consent
4. necessity
5. duress
27
self-defence
used force to defend yourself or someone else and that force is only slightly more force than your attacker, for means of escape
28
provocation
- you were provoked into doing a crime
- only used in heinous crimes like reducing a 1st degree murder charge to manslaughter
- any reasonable person would have reacted the same way to the "insult" and committed to offence
- must be an immediate reaction
29
consent
- contend that the victim was a willing party in the offence
- most commonly used for forms of assault
30
necessity
- claim that the illegal act was committed in order to prevent more serious harm
- commit and evil to prevent an even bigger evil
- e.g. speeding to the hospital for an emergency
31
duress
- claim that their actions were not voluntary and that they acted in response to being threatened by another person
- the threat must be huge and immediate
- e.g. "go sell these drugs for me, or i'll take this knife and kill you right now"
- difficult cause people few threats differently
32
what are the 3 excuse defences?
1. age
2. mistake of fact
3. NCRMD
33
age defence
- no one under 12 can be charged with a criminal offence
- only 0.8% of crime is committed by someone under the age of 12 (typically minor thefts/petty crime)
34
mistake of fact
- HONEST mistake
- mistake of fact is not ignorance of the law
- not used often because it's difficult to prove
35
NCRMD
- AT THE MOMENT OF YOUR OFFENCE, did your mental infliction/illness restrict you from understanding what you were doing and the consequences of your behaviour
36
uniform crime reporting system (UCR)
most countries have official crime-reporting systems based on reports of crime by the police
37
Canadian centre for justice statistics
the agency responsible for gathering and analyzing the reports submitted by police forces from across the country
38
police reported crime severity index (PRCSI)
a measure where more serious crimes in canada are assigned higher weights and less serious offences lower weights
39
sexual assault
- any form of sexual contact without voluntary consent
- 3 levels
40
sexual assault level 1
acts involving the least amount of physical injury and include acts short of sexual penetration, such as unwanted sexual touching
41
sexual assault level 2
must involve a weapon, or the threat of a weapon or the result of bodily harm to the victim
42
sexual assault level 3
aggravated sexual assault, results in the wounding, maiming, disfiguring or endangering of the life oof the victim
43
youth criminal justice act (YCJA)
in 2003, this act replaced the Young Offenders Act as the legislation defining and dealing with crime committed by persons from 12-17 years of age
44
self-report surveys
- questionnaires that seek anonymous reports from respondents about offences they have committed over a elected period of time
- seek information about the demographic characteristics of participants
- explanations about causes of crime can be developed
- cant talk about murder, SA, terrorism or anything involving children
45
reliability
the extent to which a measurement procedure produces the same results on repeated trials
46
validity
the accuracy of a measure in relation to the concept that one is attempting to measure
47
general social survey (GSS)
- a large population survey ongoing in Canada since 1985
- discusses issues including family, workalike, education, criminal victimization, use of information technology, etc
48
victimization survey
- what you have been victim of
- useful in uncovering unreported crimes
- mutsbe able to accurately place the event and experience
49
observational accounts
researchers interact with individuals on a face to face basis in a natural setting to gather accounts of crime within the context where crime or victimization occurs
50
crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED)
- the premise that the proper design of the physical environment can be effective in preventing crime
- e.g. installing lighting in outdoor areas that are frequented by women during dark hours
51
homicide
the criminal code of canada classifies homicide as first-degree murder, second degree murder, manslaughter and infanticide
52
first degree murder
- refers to homicide that is planned and deliberate
- also found guilty of first degree murder for killing an on-duty police or correctional officer or murder committed during the course of other crimes like a hijacking, kidnapping or SA etc
- life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after serving 25 years
53
second degree murder
- all murder that is not first degree murder
- most likely a murder with a lower degree of intent legally attached to it
- life imprisonment with the possibility for parole after serving 10 years
54
manslaughter
a murder committed in the heat of passion or by sudden provocation
55
infanticide
- a female who by wilful act of omission causes the death of her newly born child
- the child must be under 12 months
- the mother must not have fully recovered Erin the effects of childbirth (determined by a psychiatrist)
56
democritus
all events in life are predetermined, meaning on is not responsible for their decisions
57
lucias seneca
if one is virtuous, one will find pleasure
58
thomas hobbes
- hedonism: the natural state if self-interest of a person that guides actions unless acted on by a stronger force
- social contract: the idea that to live un a society people have to give up some freedoms to society
59
descartes
specific and general deterrence
60
john locke
free will
