Chapter 6: Criminal Law & Business Flashcards
Actus Reus
Wrongful behavior (Guilty Act)
Mens Rea
Wrongful state of mind, such as purpose knowledge recklessness, or negligence. (Guilty Mind)
Strict Liability (Liability without Fault)
A legal term that imposes responsibility for damages regardless of the existence of negligence.
White-Collar Crime
A variety on non-violent illegal acts against a society that occur most frequently in the business context.
Bribery
The offering, giving, soliciting, or receiving of money or any object of value for the purpose of influencing the judgment or conduct of a person in a position of trust.
Extortion
The making of threats for the purpose of obtaining money or property
Fraud
A variety of means by which an individual intentionally uses some sort of misrepresentation to gain advantage over another person.
Embezzlement
The wrongful conversion of another’s property by one who is lawfully in possession of that property.
Insider Trading
The illegal buying or selling of a corporation’s stock or other securities by corporate insiders, such as officers and directors, in breach of a fiduciary duty or some other relationship of trust and confidence, while in possession of material, nonpublic information about a security.
False Pretense
The illegal obtaining of another’s property by a making materially false representation of an existing fact, with knowledge of the falsity of the representation and with the intent to defraud.
Forgery
A criminal falsification by imitating, impersonating, or altering a real document with the intent to deceive.
Pretexting
using or causing other to use false pretenses, fraudulent statements, stolen documents, or other misrepresentations including posing as an account holder or employee of a telecom company to obtain phone records of another.
Computer Crime
- Directed at a computer.
- Using a computer to commit a crime.
- Involves computers.
Cyber Terrorist
a hacker whose intention is the exploitation of a target computer or network to create a serious impact, such as the crippling of a communications network or the sabotage of a business, which may have an impact on millions of citizens if successful.
Hacker
A person who illegally accesses or enters another person’s computer to obtain money or steal information.
Virus
A computer program that rearranges, damages, or destroys computer data.
Strict-Liability Offense
Offense for which no mens rea is required.
Vicarious Liability
The liability imposed on a person or party for damages caused by another. Most commonly used in relation to employment, with the employer held vicariously liable for damages caused by its employees.
Constitutional Provisions that Safeguard Defendant’s Rights
Amendments 4th: -Unreasonable search and seizure -Restrictions on Warrants 5th: -Double Jeopardy -Right to not self-incriminate -Right to Due Process 6th: -Speedy & Public Trial -Trail by impartial jury of ones peers -Right to be informed of accusations against oneself -Right to confront witness -Right to have a witness -Right to Counsel 8th: -Freedom from excessive bail -Free, from excessive fines -Free. from cruel & unusual punishment 14th: -Extension of right to Due Process in all state matters. -Extension of most constitutional rights to defendants at stake level.
Criminal Procedure: Pretrial
- Arrest
- Probable Cause
- Miranda Rights
- Booking
- First Appearance
- Bail
- Information
- Indictment
- Arraignment
- Nolo Contendore
- Petit Jury
- Plea Bargain
Probable Cause
Any essential element and/or standard by which a lawful officer may make a valid arrest.
Arraignment
The first appearance in the court by the defendant, at which the defendant is advised of the pending charges, the right to counsel, and the right to trial by jury, and he enters a plea to the charge.
Nolo Contendere
A plea in which the defendant does not admit guilt but agrees not to contest charges.
Indictment
Finding by the grand jury that there is adequate evidence to charge the defendant and bring him to trial.
Petit Jury
A group of 6 or 12 citizens summoned to render a verdict in a trial.
Affirmative Defenses to a Crime
- Infancy
- Mistake in Fact
- Intoxication
- Insanity
- Duress
- Entrapment
- Necessity
- Justifiable use of Force
Criminal Procedure: Trial
- Bench Trial
- Burden of Proof
- Burden of Persuasion
Burden of Proof
The duty of the plaintiff or prosecutor to establish a claim or allegation by admissible evidence and to prove that the defendant committed all the essential elements of a crime to the jury or court’s satisfaction beyond any reasonable doubt in order to convict.
Burden of Persuasion
The prosecution must persuade the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed a crime.
Burden of Evidence
Production of tangible evidence and testimony that prove elements of a crime that the defendant committed.
Bench Trial
A trial before a judge, with the judgement decided by the judge rather than the jury.
-Occurs when the defendant has waived his rights to a jury trial.
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)
A U.S. law that provides extended penalties for criminal acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.
False Claims Act
An act that allows employees to sue employers on behalf of the federal gov’t for fraud against the gov’t. The employee retains a share of the recovery as a reward for their participation.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act
- Criminalizes specific non-audit services when provided by a registered accounting firm to an audit client.
- Increases the punishment for a number of white-collar offenses.
- Extends the statutes of limitation regarding the discovery of fraud. (2 yrs from the date of discovery of the fraud, 5 years from the dates of the criminal act)
