Test 1 - Ch 1 Book

Question 1

“there is no crime, there is no punishment, without law” Refers to the doctrine that one cannot be found guilty of a crime unless there is a violation of an existing provision of law defining the applicable criminal conduct.

Answer 1

nullen crimen, nulla poena, sine lege

Question 2

The branch of the criminal law that defines criminal offenses and defenses and specifies criminal punishments.

(study of statutes)

Answer 2

substantive criminal law

Question 3

The branch of the criminal law that deals with the processes by which crimes are investigated, prosecuted, and punished

Answer 3

procedural criminal law

Question 4

The doctrine that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and that all actions and policies of government must be consistent with it

Answer 4

constitutional supremacy

Question 5

the power of courts of law to review governmental acts and declare them null and void if they are found to be unconstitutional

Answer 5

judicial review

Question 6

the constitutional distribution of government power and responsibility between the national government and the states

Answer 6

federalism

Question 7

Constitutional assignment of legislative, executive, and judicial powers to different branches of government.

Answer 7

separation of powers

Question 8

A “wrongful act” which, combined with other necessary elements of crime, constitutes criminal liability.

Answer 8

actus reus

Question 9

“Guilty mind”; criminal intent

Answer 9

mens rea

Question 10

Crimes that do not require proof of the defendant’s intent; selling liquor to a minor

Answer 10

strict liability offesnes

Question 11

Serious crimes for which a person may be imprisoned for more than one year.

Answer 11

felonies

Question 12

Minor offenses, usually punishable by fine or imprisonment for less than one year.

Answer 12

misdemeanors

Question 13

Deliberate violation of a criminal law considered to be unjust or constitutional in order to dramatize one’s objection to the law.

Answer 13

civil disobedience

Question 14

Constitutional principle enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment by which law is supposed to apply equally to all persons without regard to race and other irrelevant characteristics.

Answer 14

equal protection of the laws

Question 15

A person who is the object of a crime or tort

Answer 15

victim

Question 16

Noncriminal wrongs or injuries, other than breaches of contract, for which the remedy is a civil suit for damages.

Answer 16

torts

Question 17

Violations of provisions of legally enforceable agreements that give the damaged party the right t recourse in the a court of law.

Answer 17

breaches of contract

Question 18

“Evils in themselves” Refers to crimes such as murder, rape, arson, robbery, etc, which are universally condemned

Answer 18

mala in se

Question 19

“Prohibited evils” Refers to crimes that wrong primarily because the law declares them to be wrong.

Answer 19

mala prohibita

Question 20

The body of decisional law based largely on custom as declared by English judges after the Norman Conquest of 1066

Answer 20

English common law

Question 21

The doctrine of deciding cases based on precedent; meaning previous cases.

Answer 21

stare decisis

Question 22

Generally applicable laws enacted by a legislature

Answer 22

statutes

Question 23

A massive treatise on the English common law published in 1765-1769 by Sir William Blackstone a professor at Oxford University

Answer 23

Blackstone’s Commentaries

Question 24

Laws enacted by local governing bodies such as city councils and county commissions.

Answer 24

ordinances

Question 25

The power of government to legislate to protect public health, safety, welfare, and morality.

Answer 25

police power

Question 26

Published by the American Law Institute (ALI), the MPC consists of general provisions concerning criminal liability, sentences, defenses, and definitions of specific crimes.

Answer 26

Model Penal Code (MPC)

Question 27

Rules promulgated by courts of law under constitutional or statutory authority governing procedures for trials and other judicial proceedings.

Answer 27

Rules of procedure

Question 28

The crime of making war against one's own government or giving aid and comfort to its enemies.

Answer 28

treason

Question 29

Retroactive laws that criminalize action were legal at the time they were performed or increase punishment for a criminal act after it was committed.

Answer 29

ex post facto laws

Question 30

Legislative acts (prohibited by the U.S. Constitution) imposing punishment without trial upon persons deemed guilty of reason or felonies

Answer 30

bills of attainder

Question 31

A written enumeration of basic rights, usually part of written constitution--for example, the first then amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Answer 31

Bill of Rights

Question 32

Judicial tribunals, usually presided over by one judge, which conduct proceedings and trials in civil and criminal cases with or without a jury.

Answer 32

trial courts

Question 33

Judicial tribunals that review decisions from lower tribunals.

Answer 33

appellate courts

Question 34

One of the principal functions of an appellate court; of ten referred to as the law development function

Answer 34

lawmaking function

Question 35

The function of appellate courts in reviewing routine appeals and correcting the errors of trial courts.

Answer 35

error correction function

Question 36

Law declared by appellate courts in their written decisions and opinions.

Answer 36

decisional law

Question 37

Procedural and substantive rights of citizens against government actions that threaten the denial of life, liberty, or property.

Answer 37

due process of law

Question 38

The requirement, stemming from due process, that government provide adequate notice to a person before it deprives that person of life, liberty, or property.

Answer 38

fair notice

Question 39

A hearing in which both parties have a reasonable opportunity to be heard - to present evidence and make arguments to an impartial decision maker.

Answer 39

fair hearing

Question 40

In a criminal prosecution, a person accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Answer 40

presumption of innocence

Question 41

The standard of proof used by a judge or jury to determine whether criminal charges against a defendant have been proven.

Answer 41

reasonable doubt standard

Question 42

A formal document handed down by a grand jury accusing one or more persons of the commission of a crime or crimes.

Answer 42

indictment

Question 43

A group of citizens convened either to conduct an investigation or to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant the prosecution of an accused.

Answer 43

grand jury

Question 44

A document filed by a prosecutor under oath charging one or more persons with commission of a crime.

Answer 44

information

Question 45

An appearance before a court of law for the purpose of pleading toa criminal charge.

Answer 45

arraignment

Question 46

A trial in a court of law to determine the guilt or innocence of a person charged with a crime.

Answer 46

criminal trial

Question 47

Rules promulgated by courts of law under constitutional or statutory authority governing procedures for trials and other judicial proceedings

Answer 47

rules of procedure

Question 48

Legal rules governing the admissibility of evidence at trial.

Answer 48

rules of evidence

Question 49

Negotiations between a defendant and a prosecutor whereby the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for some concession (such as reduction in the number of charges brought)

Answer 49

plea bargaining

Question 50

Capital punishment; a sentence to death for the commission of a crime.

Answer 50

death penalty

Question 51

Another term for imprisonment

Answer 51

incarceration

Question 52

Sums of money that offenders are required to pay as punishment for the commission of crimes.

Answer 52

monetary fines

Question 53

Conditional release of a convicted in lieu of incarceration

Answer 53

probation

Question 54

The act of compensating someone for losses suffered

Answer 54

restituion

Question 55

A program in which a first-time offender is afforded the opportunity to avoid criminal prosecution by participating in some specified treatment, counselling, or community service.

Answer 55

pretrial diversion

Question 56

Programs designed to rehabilitate offenders. The term is most commonly used in connection with alcohol or drug abuse rehabilitation.

Answer 56

treatment programs