Week 3 Flashcards
1
Q
What is a crime? What is a deviance?
A
- Crime: an act committed in violation of a law prohibiting it OR omitted in violation of a law ordering it (child neglect, for example)
- Deviance: an act, belief, or characteristic that violates a social nor. It may or may not be a crime.
2
Q
What is the corpus delicti? Actus reus? Mens rea?
A
- Corpus delicti (“the body of the offense”): proof that a crime has been committed
- No “body” is actually necessary
- Actus reus: guilty act
- Mens rea: guilty mind/ intent
- Not always required: “strict liability” crimes
- Parking violations
- Not always required: “strict liability” crimes
3
Q
What is Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure?
A
- Criminal law defines the rights and obligations of individuals in society.
- Examples: elements of specific crimes, punishments for these crimes, & the elements of various criminal defenses (legal excuses for committing crimes)
- Criminal procedure generally concerns the protection of individuals’ rights during the criminal process.
- Examples: individuals’ rights during law enforcement investigation, arrest, filing of charges, trial, and appeal
4
Q
What are the rules of Criminal Law Legality?
A
- The law must be passed and publicly available before it can be used against anyone (rule of legality)
- You cannot be punished using laws passed after you committed a crime (ex post facto)
- The government must have a compelling reason to make the law & the government must ensure due process rights for defendants
- Laws cannot be too vague
- Laws cannot violate a reasonable right to privacy
- Laws cannot violate established Constitutional protections
- No cruel & unusual punishment (8th Amendment Right)
5
Q
What are the clasifications of crimes?
A
- These terms are defined by the punishments outlined in law
- Infractions: punishable only by fines (traffic offenses, etc.)
- Misdemeanor: up to 1 year in jail, plus fines
- Felony: can include prison time, plus fines
- Inchoate Offenses: incomplete criminal acts (attempt, conspiracy, solicitation…)
- Violent crimes: crimes that harm people
- Property Crimes: crimes that affect property
- Crimes against the state: terrorism, espionage, treason
- “Victimless” crimes: prostitution, gambling, drug use
6
Q
Which of these Latin terms refers to the “guilty act” element of a crime
A) Corpus Delicti
B) Actus Reus
C) Men Rea
A
B) Actus Reus
7
Q
A state can pass a law making the practice of Islam a criminal offense within state borders.
A) TRUE
B) FALSE
A
B) FALSE
8
Q
What are the degrees of murder?
A
- 1st degree: intentional, planned
- 2nd degree: intentional, not necessarily planned
- Voluntary manslaughter: heat of passion, offender provoked
- Involuntary manslaughter: carelessness, negligence
9
Q
What is Burglary, Robbery,and Larceny?
A
- Robbery: taking someone’s property by force or threat of force
Ex: muggings - Burglary: illegally entering a property with intent to commit a felony
- Larceny: theft from a location without use/ threat of force against persons and without illegal entry
10
Q
What does aggravated assault result in?
A
Aggravated may involve the use of a deadly weapon, substantial harm, intent to kill/ rape, or attacks on police officers (varies by jurisdiction)
11
Q
What are sources of the law?
A
- U.S. Constitution
Each state also has a state constitution - Statutes: laws enacted by the state and Federal (United States Code) governments
- Ordinances: laws enacted by local governments
- Case law: decisions courts (especially Supreme Courts) have made in the past
- Sometimes referred to as precedent
- International Agreements
12
Q
Jim smashes a window on a home. He enters the house, steals expensive jewelry and electronics, and leaves. Jim’s has committed which crime?
A) Burglary
B) Larceny
C) Robbery
A
A) Burglary
13
Q
What does the legislative branch do?
A
Creates Laws
14
Q
What does the executive branch do?
A
Enforce Laws
15
Q
What does the judicial branch do?
A
Interprets Laws
16
Q
Which branch of our government is responsible for interpreting laws?
A) Legislative
B) Judicial
C) Executive
A
B) Judicial
17
Q
What is Civil Law and what is Criminal Law?
A
- Civil Law largely deals with disputes between individuals and companies
- Torts: where one person sues another for civil damages (monetary losses)
- Civil cases may revolve around violation of criminal law!
- Example: someone might sue for the cost of repairs needed because of a break-in, or for lost wages from assault
- Criminal Law deals with actions violating state or Federal criminal law
18
Q
What happens in Civil Court?
A
- The accusing individual/ organization is termed the plaintiff
- The accused is still called a defendant
- The defendant must pay for his/ her own attorney– there is no right to free representation if he/ she cannot afford an attorney
- Goal of civil litigation is to compensate the plaintiff for any injuries and to put the plaintiff back in the position that person held before the injury occurred
- We find defendants liable, rather than guilty
- The plaintiff must be able to demonstrate harm in order to have a case
- The plaintiff may be awarded damages: money or property to compensate for loss
- Punitive damages are above and beyond the amount of harm and are intended as punishment
- Compensatory damages compensate the plaintiff for harm
19
Q
What is Burden of Proof and what does it have to do with Civil and Criminal Court?
A
- Definition: what a party at trial must establish in order to prove an argument/ case
- Civil Court: “preponderance of the evidence”
- enough evidence to make it more likely than not that the fact the claimant seeks to prove is true
- Plaintiff has burden to prove his/ her complaint
- Criminal Court: “beyond a reasonable doubt”
- evidence establishes a particular point to a moral certainty and that it is beyond dispute that any reasonable alternative is possible
- Prosecution must establish these facts
20
Q
In Civil Court, the accuser is called the ____________.
A) Defendant
B) Plaintiff
C) Prosecutor
D) Adjudicator
A
B) Plaintiff
21
Q
What is the Criminal Defense?
A
- In some cases, a defendant will make an affirmative defense. In other words, rather than simply arguing he/ she is not guilty, the defendant argues that he/ she is guilty but should not be punished because of a legally recognized reason
- The legal excuse for criminal behavior is called a criminal or affirmative defense
- In these cases, the burden or proof is on the defendant to establish the facts of his defense
- A defense may excuse a defendant from all guilt, or may reduce punishment
22
Q
What are 8 examples of Criminal Defenses?
A
- Mistake of fact: woman marries again believing her husband to be dead
- Intoxication (varies by state)
- Duress/ Coercion: forced to commit a crime
- Immunity: diplomats, legislative officials
- Infancy: too young to be treated as an adult
- Necessity: avoiding lesser of two evils
- Self-defense– many changes to this one recently
- Entrapment: when law enforcement officials trick someone into committing a crime they otherwise had no intention of committing
23
Q
What is the M’Naghten Rule?
A
Rule: a person must not know what they are doing, or not know that what they are doing is wrong
24
Q
What is the Durham rule?
A
Criminal act the result of mental disease/ defect
25
What is the Substantial Capacity Test?
Person must lack substantial capacity to understand the wrongfulness of the action or to follow the law even if they do understand that the act is wrong
26
What is the Guilty but Mentally Ill rule?
Mentally ill but still criminally responsible
27
What is the Insanity Defense Reform Act?
at the time of the commission of the acts constituting the offense, the defendant, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, was unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts
28
Being forced to commit a crime by someone outside of law enforcement is which criminal defense?
A) Entrapment
B) Duress/ Coercion
C) Immunity
D) Self-Defense
B) Duress/Coercion
29
What is the Justinians Code?
- Corpus Iuris Civlis (Body of Civil Law)
- Roman emperor Justinian pushed to have all current laws collected into one source
- Inspired legal systems across Europe
30
What is the English System of Law?
- The primary origin of our modern criminal law in the U.S.
| - Judges would travel from town to town to deliver rulings on cases brought before them in each area
31
What is common law?
When a particular ruling was given in several cases, it became a standard by which later cases would be judged
32
What is mala prohibitum?
- mala prohibitum: law that reflects ever-changing social conditions
- needed to supplement common law
33
Who was Sir William Black Stone?
He is a British judge and politician
34
The primary origin of modern criminal law in the U.S. is derived from the _________ Common Law System.
A) French
B) German
C) English
D) Roman
C) English
