Chapter 8 Flashcards
A wrong against society proclaimed in a statute and, if committed, punishable by society through fines, imprisonment, or death.
Crime
The standard of proof used in criminal cases.
Beyond Reasonable Doubt
A crime - such as arson, murder, rape, or robbery - that carries the most severe sanctions, ranging from more than one year in a state or federal prison to the death penalty.
Felony
A lesser crime than a felony, punishable by a fine or incarceration in jail for up to one year.
Misdemeanor
The least serious kind of criminal offense, such as a traffic or building code violation.
Petty Offense
A guilty (prohibited) act; one of the two essential elements required to establish criminal liability.
Actus Reus
A wrongful mental state (guilty mind) or intent; one of the two essential elements required to establish criminal liability.
Mens Rea
The act of forcefully and unlawfully taking personal property of any value from another.
Robbery
The unlawful entry or breaking into a building with the intent to commit a felony.
Burglary
The wrongful taking and carrying away of another person’s personal property with the intent to permanently deprive the over of the property.
Larceny
The intentional burning of building.
Arson
The fraudulent making or altering of any writing in a way that changes the legal rights and liabilities of another.
Forgery
Nonviolent crime committed by individuals or corporations to obtain a personal or business advantage.
White Collar Crime
The fraudulent appropriation of funds or other property by a person who was entrusted with the funds or property.
Embezzlement
The purchase or sale of securities on the basis of information that has not been made available to the public.
Insider Trading
Engaging in financial transactions to conceal the identity, source, or destination of illegally gained funds.
Money Laundering
The legally recognized privilege to do what is reasonably necessary to protect oneself, one’s property, or someone else against injury by another.
Self Defense
Unlawful pressure brought to bear on a person, causing the person to perform an act that she or he would not otherwise perform.
Duress
A defense in which a defendant claims that they were induced by a public official to commit a crime that they would otherwise not have committed.
Entrapment
Giving testimony in a trial or other legal proceeding that could expose the person testifying to criminal prosecution.
Self Incrimination
The process by which a criminal defendant and the prosecutor work out an agreement to dispose of the criminal case, subject to court approval.
Plea Bargaining
An order granted by a public authority, such as a judge, that authorizes law enforcement personnel to search particular premises or property.
Search Warrent
Reasonable grounds for believing that a search should be conducted or that a person should be arrested.
Probable Cause
The 5th Amendment requirement that prohibits a person from being tried twice for the same criminal offense.
Double Jeopardy
A rule that prevents evidence that is obtained illegally or without a proper search warrant from being admissible in court.
Exclusionary Rule
A formal charge by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that a named person has committed a crime.
Indictment
A group of citizens who decide, after hearing the state’s evidence, whether a reasonable basis exists for believing that a crime has been committed and that a trial ought to be held.
Information
Any violation of criminal law that involves knowledge of computer technology for its perpetration, investigation, or prosecution.
Computer Crime
A crime that occurs in the online environment.
Cyber Crime
Any misrepresentation knowingly made over the internet with the intention of deceiving another for the purpose of obtaining property of funds.
Cyber Fraud
The illegal use of someone else’s personal information to access the victim’s financial resources.
Identity Theft
A form of identity theft in which the perpetrator sends emails purporting to induce recipients to reveal their personal financial data, passwords, or other information.
Phishing
A person who uses computers to gain unauthorized access.
Hacker
A network of compromised computers connected to the internet that can be used to generate spam, relay viruses or cause servers to fail.
Botnet
Malicious software programs, such a viruses and worms, that are designed to cause harm to a computer, network, or other device.
Malware
A software program that automatically replicates itself over a network but does not alter files and is usually invisible to the user until it has consumed system resources.
Worm
A software program that can replicate itself over a network and spread from one device to another altering files and interfering with normal operations.
Virus
