Chapter 5: Defenses to Criminal Liability 1: Justifications

Question 1

criminal conduct

Answer 1

a criminal act triggered by criminal intent

Question 2

justification defenses

Answer 2

defendants admit they were responsible for their acts but claim that, under the circumstances, what they did was right (justified)

Question 3

excuse defenses

Answer 3

defendants admit what they did was wrong but claim that, under the circumstances, they weren’t responsible for what they did

Question 4

affirmative defenses

Answer 4

defendants have to “start matters off by putting in some evidence in support” of their justification or excuse defenses

Question 5

perfect defenses

Answer 5

defenses in which defendants are acquitted if they’re successful

Question 6

competency hearings

Answer 6

special hearings to determine if defendants who have used the insanity excuse defense are still insane

Question 7

imperfect defense

Answer 7

when a defendant fails in the full defense but is found guilty of a lesser offense

Question 8

mitigating circumstances

Answer 8

circumstances that convince fact finders (judges or juries) that defendants don’t deserve the maximum penalty for the crime they’re convicted of

Question 9

initial aggressor

Answer 9

someone who provokes an attack can’t then use force to defend herself against the attack she provoked

Question 10

withdrawal exception

Answer 10

if initial aggressors completely withdraw from attacks they provoke, they can defend themselves against an attack by their initial victims

Question 11

necessity

Answer 11

a defense that argues an imminent danger of attack was prevented

Question 12

imminence requirement

Answer 12

an element of self-defense requiring the danger to be “right now!”

Question 13

stand-your-ground rule

Answer 13

if you didn’t start a fight, you can stand your ground and kill to defend yourself without retreating from any place you have a right to be

Question 14

retreat rule

Answer 14

you have to retreat from an attack if you reasonably believe

(1) that you’re in danger of death or serious bodily harm
(2) that backing off won’t unreasonably put you in danger of death or serious bodily harm

Question 15

castle exception

Answer 15

when attacked in your home, you have no duty to retreat and can use deadly force to fend off an unprovoked attack, but only if you reasonably believe the attack threatens death or serious bodily injury

Question 16

cohabitant exception

Answer 16

in the jurisdictions that follow the retreat rule, people who live in the same home don’t have to retreat

Question 17

battered woman syndrome (BWS)

Answer 17

mental disorder that develops in victims of domestic violence as a result of serious, long-term abuse

Question 18

curtilage

Answer 18

the area immediately surrounding the home

Question 19

choice-of-evils defense

Answer 19

also called the general defense of necessity justifies the choice to commit a lesser crime to avoid the harm of a greater crime

Question 20

defense of consent

Answer 20

the justification that competent adults voluntarily consented to crimes against themselves and knew what they were consenting to

Question 21

voluntary consent

Answer 21

consent was the product of free will, not of force, threat of force, promise, or trickery

Question 22

knowing consent

Answer 22

the person consenting understands what she’s consenting to; she’s not too young or insane to understand

Question 23

authorized consent

Answer 23

the person consenting has the authority to give consent