Chapter 3 - Inside Criminal Law

Question 1

constitutional law

Answer 1

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

Question 2

statutory law

Answer 2

the body of law enacted by legislative bodies

Question 3

supremacy clause

Answer 3

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 the state constitutions or statutes

Question 4

ballot initiative

Answer 4

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

Question 5

administrative law

Answer 5

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

Question 6

precedent

Answer 6

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

Question 7

case law

Answer 7

the rules of law announced in court decisions

Question 8

civil law

Answer 8

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

Question 9

plaintiff

Answer 9

the person or institution that initiates a lawsuit in civil court proceedings by filing a complaint

Question 10

defendant

Answer 10

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

Question 11

liability

Answer 11

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

Question 12

beyond a reasonable doubt

Answer 12

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

Question 13

preponderance of the evidence

Answer 13

the degree of proof required to decide in favor of one side or the other in a civil case, in general, this requirement is met when a plaintiff proves that a fact more likely than not is true

Question 14

felony

Answer 14

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

Question 15

misdemeanor

Answer 15

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

Question 16

infraction

Answer 16

in most jurisdictions, a noncriminal offense for which the penalty is a fine rather than incarceration

Question 17

mala in se

Answer 17

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

Question 18

mala prohibita

Answer 18

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

Question 19

corpus delecti

Answer 19

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

Question 20

actus reus

Answer 20

a guilty act

Question 21

attempt

Answer 21

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

Question 22

mens rea

Answer 22

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

Question 23

negligence

Answer 23

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

Question 24

recklessness

Answer 24

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

Question 25

voluntary manslaughter

Answer 25

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

Question 26

involuntary manslaughter

Answer 26

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

Question 27

strict liability crimes

Answer 27

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

Question 28

statutory rape

Answer 28

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

Question 29

felony-murder

Answer 29

an unlawful homicide that occurs during the attempted commission of a felony

Question 30

attendant circumstances

Answer 30

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

Question 31

hate crime law

Answer 31

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

Question 32

inchoate offenses

Answer 32

conduct deemed criminal without actual harm being done, provided that the harm that would have occurred is one the law tries to prevent

Question 33

conspiracy

Answer 33

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

Question 34

alibi

Answer 34

a defense offered by a person accused of a crime showing that she or he was elsewhere at the time the crime took place

Question 35

infancy

Answer 35

a condition that, under early American law, excused young wrongdoers of criminal behavior because presumably they could not understand the consequences of their actions

Question 36

insanity

Answer 36

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

Question 37

m'naghten rule

Answer 37

a common law test of criminal responsibility, derived from m'naghten's case in 1843 that relies on the defendant's inability to distinguish right from wrong

Question 38

substantial-capacity test (ALI/MPC Test)

Answer 38

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 know how to behave properly

Question 39

irresistible-impulse test

Answer 39

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

Question 40

competency hearing

Answer 40

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

Question 41

intoxication

Answer 41

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

Question 42

duress

Answer 42

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

Question 43

self-defense

Answer 43

the legally recognized privilege to protect one's self or property from injury by another

Question 44

duty to retreat

Answer 44

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

Question 45

necessity

Answer 45

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

Question 46

entrapment

Answer 46

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

Question 47

substantive criminal law

Answer 47

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

Question 48

procedural criminal law

Answer 48

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

Question 49

Bill of Rights

Answer 49

the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution

Question 50

due process clause

Answer 50

the provisions of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution that guarantee that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law

Question 51

procedural due process

Answer 51

a provision in the Constitution that states that the law must be carried out in a fair and orderly manner

Question 52

substantive due process

Answer 52

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