Chapter 2: Constitutional Limits on Criminal Law

Question 1

constitutional democracy

Answer 1

the majority can’t make a crime out of conduct protected by the fundamental rights in the U.S. Constitution

Question 2

rule of law

Answer 2

the idea that government power should be defined and limited by laws

Question 3

principle of legality

Answer 3

“no crime without law; no punishment without a law”

states that no one can be convicted of, or punished for, a crime unless the law defined the crime and prescribed the punishment before the person engaged in the behavior that was defined as a crime

Question 4

ex post facto laws

Answer 4

a retroactive law that does one of three things:

(1) criminalizes an act that wasn’t a crime when it was committed
(2) increases the punishment for a crime after the crime was committed
(3) takes away a defense that was available to a defendant when the crime was committed

Question 5

void for vagueness

Answer 5

the principle that statutes violate due process if they don’t define a crime and its punishment clearly enough for ordinary people to know what is lawful.
(Lanzetta v. New Jersey 1939, 453)

Question 6

fair notice

Answer 6

in vague laws, isn’t whether the defendant knows there is a law against the act, but whether an ordinary, reasonable person would know that the act is a crime

Question 7

rule of lenity

Answer 7

the requirement of courts to resolve every ambiguity in a criminal statute in favor of the defendant

Question 8

narrow lenity rule

Answer 8

the requirement of courts to interpret ambiguous statutes in favor of defendants only in the core felony cases and other crimes requiring fault

Question 9

presumption of innocence

Answer 9

the prosecution has the burden of proof when it comes to proving the criminal act and intent

Question 10

burden of proof

Answer 10

to have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt “every fact necessary to constitute the crime charged”

Question 11

proof beyond a reasonable doubt

Answer 11

highest burden of proof in the U.S. Criminal Justice System reserved for criminal cases; the prosecution must prove every element of the crime charged to this standard

Question 12

affirmative defenses

Answer 12

defendants have to “start matters off by putting some evidence in support” of their defenses of justification and excuse

Question 13

burden of production

Answer 13

to make defendants responsible for presenting evidence in their own justification or excuse defense

Question 14

burden of persuasion

Answer 14

defendants have to prove their justification or excuse defenses by a preponderance of the evidence

Question 15

preponderance of the evidence

Answer 15

more than 50 percent of the evidence proves justification or excuse

Question 16

expressive conduct

Answer 16

nonverbal actions that communicate ideas and feelings

Question 17

clear and present danger doctrine

Answer 17

allows the government to punish words that “produce a clear and present danger of a serious substantive evil that rises far above public inconvenience, annoyance, or unrest”

Question 18

void-for-overbreadth doctrine

Answer 18

protects speech guaranteed by the First Amendment by invalidating laws written so broadly that the fear of prosecution creates a “chilling effect” that discourages people from exercising that freedom

Question 19

Second Amendment

Answer 19

“the right of law-abiding, responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home”

Question 20

constitutional right to privacy

Answer 20

a right that bans “all governmental invasions of the sanctity of a man’s home and the privacies of life”

Question 21

fundamental right to privacy

Answer 21

a right that requires the government to prove that a compelling interest justifies invading it

Question 22

“cruel and unusual punishemnts”

Answer 22

“barbaric” punishments and punishments that are disproportionate to the crime committed

Question 23

barbaric punishments

Answer 23

punishments considered no longer acceptable to civilized society

Question 24

principle of proportionality

Answer 24

the punishment has to fit the crime

Question 25

“evolving standards” test

Answer 25

the standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society

Question 26

three-strikes laws

Answer 26

intended to make sure that offenders who are convicted of a third felony get locked up for a very long time (sometimes for life)

Question 27

**Apprendi rule

Answer 27

other than the fact of prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury and proved beyond a reasonable doubt