Chapter 3: CJ and the Law Flashcards
Code of Hammurabi
The oldest known legal code, it established approx. 300 provisions for family, trade, real property, personal property and labor.
Trial by Ordeal
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.
Age of Enlightenment
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.
Specific Deterrence
The notion that punishment serves to deter the individual from being punished from committing crime in the future.
General Deterrence
The notion that the general public will be deterred from committing a crime based on the perceived negative consequences of being caught.
Felicitous or Hedonistic Calculus
A measure indicating how much pleasure an individual gains from a specific act.
Utilitarianism
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”
Panopticon
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
Rule of Law
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.
Retribution
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
Lex Talionis
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.
Restitution
Repayment as part of a punishment for injury or loss
Rehabilitation
Sentencing goal that seeks to reduce chances of future offenders through education, alcohol or drug problems and other treatments
Incapacitation
Sentencing goal that isolates the offender from the public and takes away one’s ability to commit a crime against those in the public.
Common Law
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.
Constitutional Law
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.
Procedural Law
Rules governing court proceedings
Bill of Rights
The first 10 amendments to the US constitution, which guide procedural law pertaining to issues such as arrests, warrants, search/seizure and trials.
Substantive Law
Rules that are used to determine the rights of the individuals and collective bodies.
Preemption Doctrine
The idea put forth in the Constitution that federal law is the “supreme law of the land”.
Statutes
Formal rules, or by law, adopted by a governing body such as a state legilature
Ordinances
Municipal or city rules
Case Law
Law that is based on previous court decisions or precedents.
Precedent
The legal principle of stare decisis, Latin for “let the decision stand” it establishes prior case decisions as binding precedent
Stare Decisis
Meaning that judges must respect precedents set in previous court cases
Landmark Cases
Establish precedent that markedly changes the interpretation of a prior law or establishes new case law.
Civil Law
Law that deals with disputes between individuals or organizations and typically seeks some type of compensation for the harmed conduct
Compensatory Damages
Money awarded in addition to compensatory damages to punish the defendant for recklessness, malice, or deceit
Class Action Lawsuit
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.
Administrative Law
Derives from a legislative body’s delegation of authority over commissions or boards to regulate activities controlled by written statues.
Actus Reus
Latin term meaning “guilty act” used to indicate the physical act of the crime. Usually paired with mens rea to show criminal liability.
Mens Rea
Latin for “guilty mind” used in court to prove criminal intent
Misdemeanor
A less serious crime punishable by fine, forfeiture, or short-term confinement, though in some jurisdictions gross, aggravated or serious misdemeanors may be charged.
Wobblers
Crimes that can be changed as either felonies or misdemeanors.
Felony
A criminal offense that is more serious and generally results in more severe punishment than a misdemeanor
Insanity Defense
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.
M’Naghten Standard
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?
Durham Test
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.
Brawner Rule
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”
Irresistible Impulse Test
A defense that fails to find a person criminally responsible if mental disease prevents the person from controlling his or her behavior.
Battered Woman Syndrome
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.
Ex Post Facto Law
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.
