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Criminal Justice > Chapter 3 > Flashcards

Chapter 3 Flashcards

1
Q

Rule of law

A

Principle that the rules of a legal system apply equally to all persons, institutions, and entities- public or private- that make up a society

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2
Q

Constitutional law

A

Law based on the U.S. Constitution and the constitutions of the various states

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3
Q

Statutory law

A

The body of the law enacted by legislative bodies

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4
Q

Supremacy clause

A

A clause in the U.S. Constitution establishing that federal law is the supreme law of the land and shall prevail when in conflict with state constitutions or statutes

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5
Q

Ballot initiative

A

A procedure in which the citizens of a state, by collecting enough signatures, can force public vote in a proposed change to state law

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6
Q

Administrative law

A

The body of law created by administrative agencies( in the form of rules, regulations, orders, and decisions) in order to carry out their duties and responsibilities

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7
Q

Precedent

A

A court decision that furnishes an example of authority for deciding subsequent cases involving similar facts

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8
Q

Case law

A

The rules of law announced in court decisions

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9
Q

State decisis

A

A legal doctrine under which judges are obligated to follow the precedents established in prior decisions

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10
Q

Civil law

A

The branch of law dealing with the definition and enforcement of all private or public rights, as opposed to criminal matters

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11
Q

Plaintiff

A

The person or intuitions that initiates a lawsuit in civil court proceedings by filing a complaint

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12
Q

Defendant

A

In a civil court, the person or institution against whom an action is brought. In a criminal court, the person or entity who has been formally accused of violating a criminal law

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13
Q

Liability

A

In a civil court, legal responsibility for one’s own or another’s actions

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14
Q

Beyond a reasonable doubt

A

The degree of proof require to find the defendant in a criminal trial guilty of committing the crime. The defendant’s guilt must only reasonable explanation for the criminal act before the court.

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15
Q

Preponderance of evidence

A

The degree of prof required to decide in favor of one side or the other in a civil case. In general, this requirement is met when a plaintiff shows that a claim more likely thank not is true

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16
Q

Felony

A

A serious crime, usually punishable by death or imprisonment for a year or longer

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17
Q

Misdemeanor

A

A criminal offense that is not a felony; usually punishable by a fine and/or a jail term of less than one year

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18
Q

Infraction

A

In most jurisdictions, a non criminal offense for which the penalty is a fine rather than incarceration

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19
Q

Mala in se

A

A descriptive term for acts that are inherently wrong, regardless of whether they are prohibited by law

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20
Q

Mala prohibita

A

A descriptive term for acts that are made illegal by criminal statute and are not necessarily wrong in and of themselves

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21
Q

Corpus delicti

A

The body of circumstances that must exist for a criminal act to have occurred

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22
Q

Actus reus

A

A guilty (prohibited) act

23
Q

Attempt

A

The act of taking substantial steps toward committing a crime while having the ability and the intent to commit the crime, even if the crime never takes place

24
Q

Mens rea

A

Mental state, or intent. A wrongful mental state is usually as necessary as a wrongful act to establish criminal liability

25
Q

Negligence

A

A failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances

26
Q

Recklessness

A

The state of being aware that risk does or will exist and nevertheless acting a in a way that consciously disregards this risk

27
Q

Voluntary manslaughter

A

A homicide in which the intent to kill was present in the mind of the offender, but malice was lacking

28
Q

Involuntary manslaughter

A

A homicide in which the offender had no intent to kill her or his victim

29
Q

Strict liability crimes

A

Certain crimes, such a traffic violations, in which the defendant is guilty regardless of her or his state of mind at the time of the act

30
Q

Statutory rape

A

A strict liability crime in which an adult engages in a sexual act with a minor

31
Q

Felony murder

A

An unlawful homicide at occurs during the attempted commission of a felony

32
Q

Attendant circumstances

A

The facts surrounding a criminal event that must be proved to convict the defendant of the underlying crime

33
Q

Hate crime law

A

A statute that provides for greater sanctions against those who commit crimes motivated by bias against an individual or a group based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or age.

34
Q

Inchoate offense

A

Conduct deemed criminal without actual harm being done, provided that the harm that would have occurred is a harm the law tries to prevent.

35
Q

Conspiracy

A

A plot by two or more people to carry out an illegal or harmful act

36
Q

Infancy

A

The status of a person who is below the legal age of majority. Under early American law , infancy excused young wrong dos of criminal behavior because presumably they could or understand the consequences of their actions

37
Q

Insanity

A

A defense for criminal liability that asserts a lack of criminal responsibility due to mental instability

38
Q

M’Naghten rule

A

A common law test of criminal responsibility,derived from M’Naghten’s case in1843, that relies on the defendant’s inability to distinguish right from wrong

39
Q

Substantial capacity test

A

A test for the insanity defense that states that a person is not responsible for criminal behavior when he or she lacks substantial capacity to understand that the behavior is wrong or to control the behavior

40
Q

Irresistible impulse test

A

A test for the insanity defense under which a defendant who knew his or her action was wrong may still be found insane if he or she was unable, as a result of a mental deficiency, to control the urge to complete the act

41
Q

Competency hearing

A

A court proceeding to determine whether the defendant is mentally well enough to understand the charges filed against him or her and cooperate with a lawyer in presenting a defense

42
Q

Intoxication

A

A defense for criminal liability in which the defendant claims that the taking of intoxicants rendered him or her unable to form the requisite intent to commit a criminal act

43
Q

Duress

A

Unlawful pressure brought to bear on a person, causing the person to perform an act that he or she would not otherwise perform.

44
Q

Self-defense

A

The legally recognized privilege to protect one’s self or property from injury by another

45
Q

Duty to retreat

A

The requirement that a person claiming self-defense prove that she or he first took reasonable steps to avoid the conflict that resulted in the use of deadly force

46
Q

Necessity

A

A defense against criminal liability in which the defendant asserts that circumstances required her or him to commit an illegal act

47
Q

Entrapment

A

A defense in which the defendant claims that he or she was induced by a public official-usually an undercover agent or police officer-to commit a crime that he or she would otherwise not have committed

48
Q

Substantive criminal law

A

Law that defines the rights and duties of individuals with respect to one another

49
Q

Procedural criminal law

A

Rules that define the manner in which the rights and duties of individuals may be enforced

50
Q

Bill of rights

A

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution

51
Q

Due process clause

A

The provisions of the fifth and fourteenth admen smelt to the constitution that guarantees that no one person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law

52
Q

Procedural due process

A

A provision in the constitution that states that the law must be carried out Ina fair and orderly manner

53
Q

Substantive due process

A

The constitutional requirement that laws used in accusing and convicting persons of crimes must be fair

Criminal Justice (2 decks)

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