Chapter 4 Terms in Bold

Question 1

An ancient code instituted by a ruler of Babylonia dealing with criminal and civil matters.

Answer 1

Code of Hammurabi

Question 2

“Great Charter”; a guarantee of liberties signed by King John of England in 1215 that influenced many modern legal and constitutional principles.

Answer 2

Magna Carta

Question 3

A writ issued to bring a party before the court.

Answer 3

Habeas Corpus

Question 4

Laws that are based on customs and general principles and that may be used as precedent or for matters not addressed by statute.

Answer 4

Common Law

Question 5

The type of law that is enacted by legislatures, as opposed to common law.

Answer 5

Statutory Law

Question 6

A prior legal decision used as basis for deciding a later, similar case.

Answer 6

Precedent

Question 7

The doctrine under which courts adhere to legal precedent.

Answer 7

Stare Decisis

Question 8

A law enacted by legislature.

Answer 8

Statute

Question 9

A code of laws that deals with crimes and the punishments for them.

Answer 9

Penal Code

Question 10

The published decisions of courts that create new interpretations of the law and can be cited as precedent.

Answer 10

Case Law

Question 11

This specifies the prosecution by the government of a person or people for an act that has been classified as a criminal offense.

Answer 11

Criminal Law

Question 12

The law that governs private rights as opposed to the law that governs criminal issues.

Answer 12

Civil Law

Question 13

Area of the law that deals with civil acts that cause harm or injury, including libel, assault, slander, trespass, or negligence.

Answer 13

Tort Law

Question 14

Prosecution in the same jurisdiction of a defendant for an offense for which the defendant has already been prosecuted and convicted or acquitted.

Answer 14

Double Jeopardy

Question 15

Law that tells us which behaviors have been defined as criminal offenses.

Answer 15

Substantive Law

Question 16

Law that specifies how the criminal justice system is allowed to deal with those who break the law.

Answer 16

Procedural Law

Question 17

An offense composed of acts necessary to commit another offense.

Answer 17

Inchoate Offense

Question 18

The physical action of a criminal offense – “Guilty Deed”

Answer 18

Actus Reus

Question 19

Intent or knowledge to break the law – “Guilty Mind”

Answer 19

Mens Rea

Question 20

The coexistence of actus reus and mens rea

Answer 20

Concurrence

Question 21

The criminal offense – “Body of the Crime”

Answer 21

Corpus Delicti

Question 22

Responsibility for a criminal offense without intention to break the law.

Answer 22

Strict Liability

Question 23

Defense that involves the defendant(s) claiming not to have been at the scene of a criminal offense when it was committed.

Answer 23

Alibi

Question 24

A defense that attempts to give physical or psychological reasons that a defendant cannot comprehend his or her criminal actions, their harm(s), or their punishment.

Answer 24

Insanity Defense

Question 25

In legal terminology, the state of a child who has not yet reached a specific age, almost all states end infancy at age 18.

Answer 25

Infancy

Question 26

Sexual activity conducted with a person who is younger than a specified age or incapable of valid consent because of mental handicap, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception.

Answer 26

Statutory Rape