Criminal Law Midterm 1(Terms HO-1) - Yeager Flashcards
Handout 1 Terms
Action
All actions have intentions(knowing or planned), except when the action is involuntary (coercion/duress)
non-action
Involuntary movements, when what someone had done was not really done (doing so unconsciously - Decina)
Voluntary
willing; unforced
Involuntary
not done of one’s own free will; automatic; unintentional; spontaneous
Intentional
done on purpose; deliberate; planned
Unintentional
Unforeseen Incidental, Accident
Not intentional
Foreseen Incidental
Reasonable
rational, logical, sensible
Foreseeable
able to be predicted
unforeseen
not anticipated or predicted
Civil Negligence
Failure to do what a reasonable and prudent nurseI(contractual) would do and harm results
Criminal/Culpable/Gross Negligence
Reckless
Accident
An unexpected happening that may result in injury, loss, or damage.
EX: Aim at my donkey, but right before i pull the trigger, it moves and i end up shooting your donkey
Recklessness
disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk that harm will result
Omission
The act of leaving out or neglecting
Bad Samaritan Law
1) Easy Rescue: No danger to bystander
2) Failure to Report a serious crime
Policy: The bystander can create a substantial social benefit at no personal cost
Case(Massachusetts): Big Dan’s bar created this (very hard to get convicted by this law)
(FL,HI,MA,OH,RI,SD,WA)
Misprision of Felony
The concealment of a felony committed by another. A FORMAL existence, but not PRACTICAL existence
Legal Duty to Act
1) Statute: Law
2) Contract: Lifeguard Duty
3) Special relationship: Marriage, Parents (only) to child
4) Voluntary assumption of care:
Case: Jones v. US
Cross-Appeal
an appeal in which both the respondent and the petitioner file appeals
Affirm
To declare that a court ruling is valid and must stand.
Sustain
to support
Plain Error
A kind of error that warrants relief by the reviewing court even if the appellant failed to preserve the claim on the record. The attorney failed to preserve the error. The judge and/or attorney should have known better. Obvious and serious that the outcome was affected. “Miscarriage of justice”
Suspended Sentence
A prison term that is delayed while the defendant undergoes a period of community treatment. If the treatment is successful, the prison sentence is terminated.
(Flippo)
Two types:
1) Unconditional discharge of defendants penalties, but conviction remains on the public record
2) Conditional suspended sentences.
Overrule
to reverse the ruling of a lower court
Standard of Review
The amount of deference an appellate court gives to the determinations made by a lower court.
Jury Nullification
a jury’s refusal to render a verdict according to the law and fact regardless of the evidence presented
Prosecutorial Discretion
The power of a prosecutor to decide whether to charge a defendant and what the charge(s) will be, as well as to gather the evidence necessary to prosecute the defendant in a court of law
Sufficiency of the Evidence
the quantity of evidence; proper sample size
Concur
to be of the same opinion; to agree with
Double Jeopardy
the prosecution of a person twice for the same offense(limiting prosecutors opportunity to appeal and protecting D)
Probably cause
Evidence strong enough to try the case, but not necessarily up to the proof beyond a reasonable doubt needed for conviction at trial
Misdemeanor (NY law)
- Crimes punishable by a max of 1-year in municipal jail
- P makes probable cause determination and charges the defendant in a complaint
Felony (NY Law)
- MIN of 1-year in state jail
- Prosecuted by probable cause by a simple majority of a 23-person jury
- If jury finds probable cause, then there is an indictment then jury
Good Samaritan Law
Protects helpers from civil liability if they mess up the rescue
Dependence on Professional Rescuers
Professional rescuers are NOT on the hook for failing(for getting) to rescue us
-Have a general duty, NOT a specific duty (Broken promises can result in severe, but nonactionable harm to victims)
Criminal Negligence
Someone acts in a way that is an extreme departure form the way that a “reasonable” person would have acted in the same or similar situation
Flippo: If the failure to act was intentional, but W/O the intent/exception of death.
Criminal Liability
Based upon a failure to act there must be a legal duty - not simply a moral duty
Father Flippo: Voluntary assumption of care
Mistake
reckless; I pull the trigger THINKING it is my donkey, but end up shooting your donkey
Incidental
Anything out the plan
ex:
-I wa doing one thing and another thing happened
-I meant to kick the door open but i kicked the person
Foreseen incidental
Reckless outcome
- The thing i thought might happen, did happen
- The unhappy result was NOT intentional
Unforeseen Incidental
This was an accident, it came out of nowwhere
- the unhappy result was unintentional
- Accidents are either: Negligent(inexcusable) or Nonnegligent(excusable)
Credit/Debtor Scenario
Did the creditor mean to ruin the Debtor?-NO
- He did not intent to
- Not intentional
Did the creditor know that collecting the debt would ruin the debtor? -YES
Did it (collecting debt) come out of nowhere? -NO
- Not an accident
- Unintentional? NO
THUS, the creditor knew of the risk of ruining the debtor and did it anyway, so he was reckless and the result was NOT intentional.
