Definitions

Question 1

Criminal conduct

Answer 1

Under the law, conduct that falls outside of an accepted norm.

Question 2

subjective phenomenon

Answer 2

can be directly known, if at all, only by persons themselves, although a person’s intimate associates or a skilled observer may be able to surmise from indirect evidence what is going on ‘inside.

Question 3

motive

Answer 3

the reason a person may have committed a crime.

Question 4

felony

Answer 4

major crimes such as; homicide, arson, treason.

Question 5

misdemeanor

Answer 5

petty transgressions such as; trespassing, nuisance.

Question 6

indictable offense

Answer 6

serious offenses historically called felonies.

Question 7

summary conviction offense

Answer 7

Less serious offenses

Question 8

hybrid offense

Answer 8

(aka crown electable or dual procedure.) offenses are stated to be punishable on either indictment or summary conviction.

Question 9

crime

Answer 9

any act or omission the doing of which is an offense under federal legislation.

Question 10

omissions

Answer 10

a failure to act. ex) not paying taxes

Question 11

federal statutes

Answer 11

the criminal code, the youth criminal justice act, the narcotic control act, the food and drug act, the income tax act

Question 12

provincial statutes

Answer 12

regulate certain offenses but not true criminal offenses. they are called quasi criminal or regulatory offenses. ex) highway traffic act, liquor license act

Question 13

actus reus

Answer 13

‘the guilty act’ An act by which a crime is committed. It is the physical component of criminal conduct.

Question 14

mens rea

Answer 14

“Where a person intentionally does the forbidden act with the knowledge of all the wrongful circumstances which the statute seeks to prohibit.”
‘the guilty mind’ it is not sufficient for someone to merely do the prohibited act, he or she must also have the necessary mental element to make the act punishable. The mental component of criminal conduct is the mens rea.

Question 15

willful blindness

Answer 15

A conscious closing of one’s mind to the consequences of one’s act.This in no way negates criminal intent. It does not take away the mens rea.

Question 16

negligence

Answer 16

the failure to act with reasonable care

Question 17

strict liability

Answer 17

unnecessary to prove mens rea. Doing the prohibited act is sufficient for guilt. However, the accused is open to demonstrate that they took all reasonable care to avoid committing the offense. (done for public welfare offenses such as regulating health and environment).

Question 18

absolute liability

Answer 18

No possibility for the accused to exonerate themselves by showing they are free from fault. These are offenses in which its clear that guilt would follow the mere doing of the prohibited act. ex) treason

Question 19

criminal attempt

Answer 19

an act related to carrying out a crime performed with a guilty intention whether or not the crime was completed

Question 20

truth

Answer 20

arriving at an accurate picture of what actually happened in a situation given the natural limitations on human ability to perceive reality.

Question 21

adversarial system

Answer 21

an attempt to determine truth by the confrontation of the accused and prosecution, both represented by attorneys. This system is based on the assumption that the search for truth is best served by the parties themselves and not through a judge

Question 22

arrest

Answer 22

To restrain someone’s liberty indicating they are not free so that they may answer a charge against them.

Question 23

warrant

Answer 23

authority to arrest a person or produce evidence

Question 24

writ of habeas corpus

Answer 24

Compelling the person to be brought before the court allowing their detention to be adjudicated upon on a timely basis. (allows you to test the legality of the arrest right away and exercise your right to freedom if you are not deemed a danger).

Question 25

search warrant

Answer 25

a document issued form the court empowering the police to search places

Question 26

information

Answer 26

when a police officer swears an oath before the court that the search is on reasonable grounds to gather evidence.

Question 27

gunshot residue

Answer 27

trace substances left on surfaces including the hand of the shooter, after the discharge of a firearm.

Question 28

appearance notice

Answer 28

a legal document that informs the accused of the offense of which they are charged, the date upon which they may appear at the police station, and date of their court appearance.

Question 29

recognizance

Answer 29

an accused will pay a sum of money if they fail to appear for court.

Question 30

bail

Answer 30

the temporary release of an accused person awaiting trial on the condition that a sum of money be lodged to guarantee their appearance in court

Question 31

burden of proof

Answer 31

In criminal cases the onus of proof lies on the prosecution to prove the accused person’s guilt.
Guilt must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
The accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Question 32

charge to the jury

Answer 32

judge informs jury informs of the appropriate law and of what they must do to reach a verdict.

Question 33

evidence

Answer 33

Evidence provides a way for the Crown and the defense to reconstruct the legally relevant aspects of a criminal act.
Its Intended to tell a story so the facts of the case can be determined by the trier of fact and a judgment can be rendered

Question 34

hearsay

Answer 34

evidence consisting of matters that a witness was told. a witness cannot testify about anything that is not within their own knowledge and which they did not observe personally.

Question 35

trier of fact

Answer 35

the determin-er, whether judge or jury, of the facts on the basis of admissible evidence

Question 36

examination in chief

Answer 36

oral examination of a witness by the lawyer who summoned the witness to testify

Question 37

cross examination

Answer 37

oral examination of a witness by a lawyer who did not summons the witness to testify, designed to challenge the witness’s evidence

Question 38

voir dire

Answer 38

trial within a trial to determine whether evidence is admissible

Question 39

operating mind

Answer 39

the accused must possess a limited degree of cognitive ability to understand what he or she is saying and what is said, including the ability to understand a caution that the utterance can be used against him or her

Question 40

automatism

Answer 40

Involuntary, unconscious behavior when the mind does not go with what is being done. A state in which a person is not aware of what he or she is doing and may commit a crime unknowingly.

Question 41

mental disorder

Answer 41

One cannot understand the nature of his or her acts and is incapable of forming criminal intent.

Question 42

fit to stand trial

Answer 42

the ability of an accused person to understand the nature of the charges against them and to participate in their defense. This involves an investigation of an accused’s mental capacity at the time of trial.

Question 43

intoxication

Answer 43

similar to automatism and mental disorder because they are concerned with the accused’s state of mind. It is possible for an individual to be so intoxicated that they have no idea what their body is doing yet physically capable of harming someone. Thus, the voluntary nature of the accused’s actions come into question.

Question 44

manslaughter

Answer 44

the killing of another person without intent to cause death but with general intent to do the unlawful act and cause the victims death.

Question 45

mistake of law

Answer 45

Sec 19 of the criminal code states that mistakes of law are not an excuse for committing a criminal act.

Question 46

doctrine of the colour of right

Answer 46

a defense against the charges of theft or damage when the accused has a reasonable and honest belief that he or she has a right to the property in question. This exception occurs because the purpose of criminal law is to punish moral blameworthy conduct.

Question 47

mistake of fact

Answer 47

defense based on a lack of mens rea. The knowledge of both the consequences of one’s actions and the surrounding circumstances that makes one’s action a crime is not present.

Question 48

self defense

Answer 48

type of defense that exists out of the recognition that while there may have been a guilty act and guilty mind present in a person’s conduct, thereby technically making the conduct criminal, there may have also been an overriding purpose served by the conduct that would excuse it or justify it.

Question 49

compulsion/ duress

Answer 49

a threat that makes people commit a crime they would not have otherwise done. It is similar to self defense because it involves excusing otherwise criminal conduct on the basis of an overriding social good.

Question 50

disclosure

Answer 50

requires parties to automatically share routine evidentiary information that would otherwise be available during discovery.