Chapter 3: CJ and the Law

Question 1

Code of Hammurabi

Answer 1

The oldest known legal code, it established approx. 300 provisions for family, trade, real property, personal property and labor.

Question 2

Trial by Ordeal

Answer 2

Primitive form of trial in which the outcome rested in the hands of God to determine guilt or innocence by protecting an innocent person from some or all the consequences of the test.

Question 3

Age of Enlightenment

Answer 3

Brought about new ways of thinking including reforms arising from the outrage against the barbaric system of law and punishment just before the French Revolution in the late 18th C.

Question 4

Specific Deterrence

Answer 4

The notion that punishment serves to deter the individual from being punished from committing crime in the future.

Question 5

General Deterrence

Answer 5

The notion that the general public will be deterred from committing a crime based on the perceived negative consequences of being caught.

Question 6

Felicitous or Hedonistic Calculus

Answer 6

A measure indicating how much pleasure an individual gains from a specific act.

Question 7

Utilitarianism

Answer 7

A doctrine stating that an action is morally right as long as the behavior is a benefit for the majority of the society. This is the concept of “the greatest good for the greatest number”

Question 8

Panopticon

Answer 8

An architectural design developed by Jeremy Bentham that allows a single person to watch others in a prison setting without those incarcerated knowing they are being watched

Question 9

Rule of Law

Answer 9

A fundamental principle in the criminal justice system in the United States that all govt. officers including those in the CJ system pledge to uphold the constitution and to follow the constitution and not any particular leader.

Question 10

Retribution

Answer 10

A goal of law that states that punishment is deserved or morally right. In addition, it is a goal of sentencing that seeks to punish the offender for criminal behavior

Question 11

Lex Talionis

Answer 11

Latin for “the law of retribution” and commonly referred to as “an eye for an eye”. This philosophy calls for retaliation in which the punishment received should fit the crime committed.

Question 12

Restitution

Answer 12

Repayment as part of a punishment for injury or loss

Question 13

Rehabilitation

Answer 13

Sentencing goal that seeks to reduce chances of future offenders through education, alcohol or drug problems and other treatments

Question 14

Incapacitation

Answer 14

Sentencing goal that isolates the offender from the public and takes away one’s ability to commit a crime against those in the public.

Question 15

Common Law

Answer 15

A type of legal system developed in England, whereby the courts define the law and determine how to apply it. This is the body of law derived from judicial opinions.

Question 16

Constitutional Law

Answer 16

A major source of law that establishes the fundamental rules and relationships among the judiciary, legislative and executive branches at the level of state and federal levels.

Question 17

Procedural Law

Answer 17

Rules governing court proceedings

Question 18

Bill of Rights

Answer 18

The first 10 amendments to the US constitution, which guide procedural law pertaining to issues such as arrests, warrants, search/seizure and trials.

Question 19

Substantive Law

Answer 19

Rules that are used to determine the rights of the individuals and collective bodies.

Question 20

Preemption Doctrine

Answer 20

The idea put forth in the Constitution that federal law is the “supreme law of the land”.

Question 21

Statutes

Answer 21

Formal rules, or by law, adopted by a governing body such as a state legilature

Question 22

Ordinances

Answer 22

Municipal or city rules

Question 23

Case Law

Answer 23

Law that is based on previous court decisions or precedents.

Question 24

Precedent

Answer 24

The legal principle of stare decisis, Latin for “let the decision stand” it establishes prior case decisions as binding precedent

Question 25

Stare Decisis

Answer 25

Meaning that judges must respect precedents set in previous court cases

Question 26

Landmark Cases

Answer 26

Establish precedent that markedly changes the interpretation of a prior law or establishes new case law.

Question 27

Civil Law

Answer 27

Law that deals with disputes between individuals or organizations and typically seeks some type of compensation for the harmed conduct

Question 28

Compensatory Damages

Answer 28

Money awarded in addition to compensatory damages to punish the defendant for recklessness, malice, or deceit

Question 29

Class Action Lawsuit

Answer 29

Civil cases involving large numbers of victims in which court authorize a single individual or small faction to represent the interests of the larger group.

Question 30

Administrative Law

Answer 30

Derives from a legislative body’s delegation of authority over commissions or boards to regulate activities controlled by written statues.

Question 31

Actus Reus

Answer 31

Latin term meaning “guilty act” used to indicate the physical act of the crime. Usually paired with mens rea to show criminal liability.

Question 32

Mens Rea

Answer 32

Latin for “guilty mind” used in court to prove criminal intent

Question 33

Misdemeanor

Answer 33

A less serious crime punishable by fine, forfeiture, or short-term confinement, though in some jurisdictions gross, aggravated or serious misdemeanors may be charged.

Question 34

Wobblers

Answer 34

Crimes that can be changed as either felonies or misdemeanors.

Question 35

Felony

Answer 35

A criminal offense that is more serious and generally results in more severe punishment than a misdemeanor

Question 36

Insanity Defense

Answer 36

Defense based on the belief that a select group of people who suffer from mental illness are unable to control their actions to such an extent that they cannot be held accountable for their crimes.

Question 37

M’Naghten Standard

Answer 37

Also called the “right-wrong” test, requires a jury to consider two questions”:

• Did the defendant understand what he or she was doing wrong when the crime was committed?
• Did the defendant know that his or her actions were wrong?

Question 38

Durham Test

Answer 38

Determines if a criminal act was a product of mental disease or defect. This requires that jurors determine if a defendant had a mental disease or defect and if the condition was the reason for the criminal behavior.

Question 39

Brawner Rule

Answer 39

Also called the ALI rule, it reduced “knowing right from wrong” to the capacity to appreciate the difference between the two.
In other words, a defendant must posses an “understanding of his conduct” and be able to “control his actions”

Question 40

Irresistible Impulse Test

Answer 40

A defense that fails to find a person criminally responsible if mental disease prevents the person from controlling his or her behavior.

Question 41

Battered Woman Syndrome

Answer 41

A criminal defense developed to excuse or mitigate the actions of women who kill their abusers in cases of domestic violence despite a lack of imminent danger.

Question 42

Ex Post Facto Law

Answer 42

A law that a legislature passed after a crime was committed. At the time the person committed the action , it was legal and only later was the act deemed criminal.