Chapter 10: Criminal Law Flashcards

1
Q

crime

A
  • positive/negative act that violates a penal law.
  • it is an offense against a state or fed gov
  • punishments are determined by statutes passed by fed and state legislatures within constitution
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2
Q

civil laws

A

concerns civil and private rights and remedies

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3
Q

felony

A
  • serious crime
  • punished more than a year in prison
  • listed in class or degrees
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4
Q

misdemeanors

A
  • less serious
  • punished by fine or a year and less in prison
  • class A B C
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5
Q

victimless crime

A
  • no party is injured

- e.g: possession of illegal drugs

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6
Q

first degree murder

A
  • murder has been planned

- committed with extreme cruetly

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7
Q

second degree murder

A
  • not premeditated

- lesser punishments

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8
Q

manslaughter

A
  • voluntary - involuntary
  • unlawful killing committed recklessly or under influence of extreme mental distress
  • heat of passion
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9
Q

white-collar crimes

A
  • nonviolent crimes

- by corporations or individuals

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10
Q

to be convicted of a crime

A

gov must prove beyond a resonable doubt that

(1) the acused committed illegal act
(2) there was necessary intent or state of mind to commit the act

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11
Q

actus reus

A
  • perform act with wrongful deed (guilty act)
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12
Q

mens rea

A
  • wrongful purpose in the criminal act committed
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13
Q

criminal negligence

A
  • Not intentional

- wrongful b/c someone failed to act w reasonable care that is expected under circumstances

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14
Q

miranda rights

A

persons accused of a crime, or held in suspicion of a crime, must be informed of their right to remain silent, and statements they make can be used as evidence against them

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15
Q

statute of limitations

A

if a crime if not prosecuted within the time set by statute of limitations, state loses the right to bring duit

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16
Q

toll

A

statute of limitations may toll : the clock stops running under circumstances

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17
Q

affirmative defense

A

defendant attempt to show that even if the prosecution’s claims are true , there are other facts which prevent the claims from constituting the crime charged
e.g: intoxication, insanity, self-defense, trap

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18
Q

entrapment

A
  • legal to string straps on criminals
  • entrapment can be a successful defense
  • defendant has burden of proof
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19
Q

chain of custody

A
  • evidence must be gathered, handled, presented properly
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20
Q

exclusionary rule

A

evidence gathered improperly may not be used at trial

- the fruit of the poisonous tree

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21
Q

warrant

A
  • issued by a judge or appointed magistrate who, in the name of state, authorizes an officer to search for and seize any property, often called personal “effects”, that may be evidence of a crime
  • must have probable cause
22
Q

probable cause

A

reasonable grounds, based on their knowledge to date, believe that a person should be searched or arrested

23
Q

prosecution process

A
  • evidence would be considered by prosecuting attorney
  • determination of what kind of charges to bring
  • grand jury review potential cases
  • grand jury determines probable cause
  • grand jury issue an indictment when so requested by prosecutor
24
Q

arraignment

A
  • criminal charges filed -> accused is arrested by police based in warrant
  • suspect is booked at police station
  • arraignment: court appearance when district attorney gives accused copy of criminal charges
  • arrange time for trial, bails…
  • likely to have an attempt to obtain a plea bargain
25
Q

nolo contendere - no contest

A

defendant may plead guilty, no contest, or innocent

26
Q

discovery in civil

A
  • procedure discovery rules focus on reducing surprises
  • parties exchange relevant information before trial
  • civil verdicts can be reversed if 1 party surprises another w important evidence
  • anything must be turned over if requested
27
Q

discovery in criminal

A
  • parties do own investigations, disclosing only a subset to another
  • before, law enforcement authorities may be conducting an investigation that defendant knows nothing about
  • prosecution must disclose exculpatory evidence (evidence that might show defendant not guilty)
  • if evidence is exculpatory is made by prosecution lawyers
  • defendant has no obligation to disclose to prosecution any evidence showing him guilty
28
Q

white-collar crime

A
  • criminal activity for financial advantage

- a person dont need to be a high social status to commit such crimes

29
Q

antritrust

A

price fixing, anti-competitive practices

- prison term can be as long as 10 yrs

30
Q

bankruptcy fraud

A
  • person lies/hides assets in bankruptcy proceedings
  • creditors are given false information
  • illegal pressure applied to bankruptcy petitioners
31
Q

bribery

A

offer or taking of money to influence decisions

32
Q

counterfeiting

A

copy of genuine item w/o authorization

33
Q

credit card fraud

A

unauthorized use of credit card to obtain goods

34
Q

computer and internet fraud

A

thief goes through trash to find discarded receipts then use acc numbers illegally

35
Q

economics espionage

A

theft or misappropriation of valuable business information

36
Q

embezzlement

A

someone is in trust w money then take it for personal use

37
Q

environmental law violations

A

fed and state statutes provide for the possibilities of criminal conviction for enviromental harm

38
Q

financial fraud

A

fed regulatory agencies oversee banks and other financial institutions

39
Q

gov fraud

A

various law goven contracts w public agencies for provision of supplies and construction
- billing for good not delivered, double billing, deliver inferior good

40
Q

healthcare fraud

A

over-billing and scams

41
Q

insider trading

A

prohibit fraudulent activities of any kind in connection w the offer, purchase or sales of securities

42
Q

insurance fraud

A
  • insurance company charging higher rates than allowed

- policy holders lie abt the condition of property to get lower rates

43
Q

mail fraud

A

fraud commited through mail

44
Q

money laundering

A

hiding the truth abt the origins of money

45
Q

Racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations Act - RICO

A
  • used in wide range of action against persons, businesses, political protest group… aim primarily at Mafia
  • in action: seizing defendant’s assets, prevent the transfer of assets, require defendant to post a performance bond
46
Q

securities fraud

A

.

47
Q

tax evasion

A

-Internal revenue service tracks down persons/businesses fail to file tax returns, fail to report all income, overstate expenses

48
Q

Telephone and telemarketing fraud

A

schemes committed through phone

49
Q

wire fraud

A

electronic communication involved in illegal activities

50
Q

sentencing guildelines

A

created when congress mandated that the courts be given clear rules abt what sentences consistent across country

51
Q

Guildelines for effective compliance

A
  1. compliance standards and procedures that reasonably capable of reducing prospect of criminal conduct
  2. high-level persons within organization to have overall responsibility to oversee compliance w standards and procedures
  3. effective communication of standards and procedures to all employees and agents, such as by training
  4. reasonable steps to achieve compliance w standards by monitoring and auditing the program
  5. consistent enforcement of standards
  6. when offenses do occur, reasonable steps to respond to the problem and to prevent further such offenses