Criminal Law Flashcards
Behavior that the law makes punishable as a public defense
Crime
Body of law that defines criminal offenses, regulates the apprehension, charging, and trial of suspected offenders, and fixes punishment for convicted persons
Criminal Law
The set of rules governing the series of proceedings through which the government enforces substantive criminal law.
Criminal Procedure
The act or omissions that compromise the physical elements of a crime required by statute
Actus Reus
A defense in which the defendant introduces evidence, which, if found to be credible, will negate criminal or civil liability, even if it is proven that the defendant committed the alleged acts
Affirmative Defense
Purpose was to stimulate and assist legislatures in making a major effort to appraise the content of the penal law by a contemporary reasoned judgement
MPC - American Law Institute Model Penal Code
The threshold that a party seeking to prove a fact in court must reach in order to have that fact legally established
*Must establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt
Burden of Proof
A type of defense that exempts the defendant from liability because of some circumstance, but does not actually condone the result that flowed from the defendant’s actions
Excuse Defense
A person accused of a crime can acknowledge that they committed the crime, but argue they are not responsible for it because of their mental illness
Insanity
A type of defense that exempts the defendant from liability because the defendant’s actions were justified
Justification
Criminal intent, the state of mind indicating culpability which is required by statute as an elements of a crime
Mens Rea
The four mental states associated with Mens Rea
Negligence, Recklessness, Knowledge, & Purpose / Intent
A case that is a cause of action or defense that is sufficiently established by a party’s evidence to justify a verdict in his or her favor, provided such evidence is not rebutted by the other party
Prima Facie
The use of force to protect oneself from an attempted injury by another
Self-defense
Refers to the formal legal consequence associated with a conviction
Sentencing
