Unit 1 AOS 2 Flashcards
criminal law
an area of law that defines behaviours / conduct that are prohibited and outlines sanctions for people who commit them
crime
an act or omission that is against an existing law, harmful both to an individual and to society, and punishable by law (by the state)
sanction
a penalty imposed by a court on a person guilty of a criminal offence
victimless crime
an offence that only involves the offender and where no direct harm is suffered by a victim. The offence also goes against what society considers to be acceptable and can indirectly harm individuals and the wider community
fine
a sanction that requires the offender to pay an amount of money to the state
imprisonment
a sanction that involves removing the offender from society for a stated period of time and placing them in prison
presumption of innocence
the right of a person accused of a crime to be presumed not guilty unless proven otherwise
beyond reasonable doubt
the standard of proof in criminal cases. This requires the prosecution to prove there is no reasonable doubt that the accused committed the offence
standard of proof
the degree or extent to which a case must be proved in court
prosecution
the party that institutes criminal proceedings against an accused on behalf of the state
burden of proof
the obligation of a party to prove a case. The burden of proof usually rests with the party who initiates the action
bail
the release of an accused person from custody on condition that they will attend a court hearing to answer the charges
actus reus
a Latin term meaning ‘a guilty act’: the physical element of a crime (i.e. the act itself).
mens rea
a Latin term meaning ‘a guilty mind’: the mental element of a crime (i.e. an awareness of the fact that the conduct is criminal)
strict liability
where culpability / responsibility for committing a crime can be established without having to prove there was mens rea
doli incapax
a Latin term meaning ‘incapable of evil’. Refers to the principle in Victoria that a child aged between 10 and 13 years is presumed to be incapable of forming mens rea because they do not have the intellectual / moral capacity to know the difference between right / wrong
crime statistics
info collected by authorities and analysed to track level of crime or offending in the community. Crime statistics also track types / levels of sentences given to convicted offenders
cyber-crime
a criminal offence in which the use of computers or information communication technologies (ICT) is an essential / central part of the offending
prejudice motivated crime
a criminal offence motivated by prejudice, intolerance and bias towards the victim
organised crime
a criminal offence undertaken in a planned / ongoing manner by organised syndicates or gangs
juvenile crime
a criminal offence undertaken by a young person aged between 10 and 18 years
white-collar crime
a criminal offence undertaken by people who work in gov /
business / corporate world
indictable offence
a serious offence generally heard before a judge and jury in the County Court / Supreme Court of Victoria
summary offence
a minor offence generally heard in Magistrates’ Court
indictable offence heard summarily
a serious offence that is dealt with as a summary offence if the court and the accused agree
principle offender
person who has carried out the actus reus (guilty act) and has therefore directly committed the offence
accessory
person who does an act to help another person who has committed a serious indictable offence to avoid being apprehended / prosecuted / convicted / punished
homicide
the killing of another person without legal justification.
Murder, manslaughter, infanticide
murder
the unlawful / intentional killing of a human being by a person who acted voluntarily and without any lawful justification. Murder is the most serious homicide offence
defence to a crime
a justification or lawful ‘reason’ given by an accused person as to why they are not guilty of a criminal offence
age of criminal responsibility
minimum age person must be to be charged with committing a crime
culpable driving causing death
act of causing death of another person while driving a motor vehicle in a negligent / reckless manner or while under the influence of drugs / alcohol
