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45 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Common Law |
the body of law developed from custom or judicial decisions in english and us courts and not attributable to a legislature |
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precedent |
a court decision that furnishes an example of authority for deciding subsequent cases involving similar facts |
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rule of law |
the principle that the rules of a legal system apply equally to all persons, institutions, and entities-public or private-that make up a society |
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constitutional law |
law based on the us constitution and the constitutions of the various states |
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statutory law |
the body of law enacted by legislative bodies |
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model penal code |
a statutory text created by the american law institute that sets forth general principles of criminal responsibility and defines specific offenses |
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supremacy clause |
a clause in the us constitution establishing that federal law is the "supreme law of the land" and shall prevail when in conflict with state constitutions or statutes |
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ballot initiative |
a procedure in which the citizens of a state, by collecting enough signatures, can force a public vote on a proposed change to state law |
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administrative law |
the body of law created by administrative agencies (in the form of rules, regulations, orders, and decisions) in order to carry out their duties and responsibilities |
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case law |
the rules of law announced in court decisions |
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stare decisis |
(pronounced ster-ay dih-si-ses) a legal doctrine under which judges are obligated to follow the procedures established under prior decisions |
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corpus delicti |
the body of circumstances that must exist for a criminal act to have occurred |
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actus reus |
a guilty (prohibited) act |
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attempt |
the act of taking substantial steps toward committing a crime while having the ability and the intent to commit the crime, even if the crime never takes place |
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mens rea |
mental state, or intent. a wrongful mental state usually as necessary as a wrongful act to establish criminal liabilty |
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negligence |
a failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances |
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recklessness |
the state of being aware that a risk does or will exist and nevertheless acting in a way that consciously disregards this risk |
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voluntary manslaughter |
a homicide in which the intent to kill was present in the mind of the offender, but malice was lacking (bar fight gone bad) |
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involuntary manslaughter |
a homicide in which the offender had no intent to kill her or his victim (DUI) |
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strict liability crimes |
certain crimes, such as traffic violations, in which the defendant is guilty regardless of her or his state of mind at the time of the act |
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statutory rape |
a strict liability crime in which an adult engages in a sexual act with a minor |
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felony-murder |
an unlawful homicide that occurs during the attempted commission of a felony |
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attendant circumstances |
the facts surrounding a criminal event that must be proved to convict the defendant of the underlying crime |
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hate crime law |
a statute that provides for greater sanctions against those who commit crimes motivated by bias against an individual or a group based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or age |
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inchoate offenses |
conduct deemed criminal without actual harm being done, provided that the harm that would have occurred is one the law tries to prevent (not as evident in California we just have a lesser crime) |
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conspiracy |
a plot by two or more people to carry out an illegal or harmful act |
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alibi |
a defense offered by a person accused of a crime showing that she or he was elsewhere at the time the crime took place |
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Infancy |
a condition that, under early american law, excused young wrongdoers of criminal behavior because presumably they could not understand the consequences of their actions |
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insanity |
a defense for criminal liability that asserts a lack of criminal responsibility due to mental instability |
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M'Naghten Rule |
a common law test of criminal responsibility, derived from M'Naghten's case in 1843, that relies on the defendant's inability to distinguish right from wrong |
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Substantial-capacity test (ALI/MPC Test) |
A test for the insanity defense that states that a person is not responsible for criminal behavior when he or she "lacks substantial capacity" to understand that the behavior is wrong or to know how to behave properly |
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irresistible-impulse Test |
a test for the insanity defense under which a defendant who knew his or her action was wrong may still be found insane if he or she was unable, as a result of a mental deficiency, to control the urge to complete the act |
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competency hearing |
a court proceeding to determine whether the defendant is mentally well enough to understand the charges filed against him or her and cooperate with a lawyer in presenting a defense |
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intoxication |
a defense for criminal liability in which the defendant claims that the taking of intoxicants rendered him or her unable to for the requisite intent to commit a criminal act |
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duress |
unlawful pressure brought to bear on a person, causing the person to perform an act that he or she would not otherwise perform |
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self-defense |
the legally recognized privilege to protect one's self or property from injury by another |
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duty to retreat |
the requirement that a person claiming self-defense prove that she or he first took reasonable steps to avoid the conflict that resulted in the use of deadly force |
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necessity |
a defense against criminal liability in which the defendant asserts that circumstances required her or him to commit an illegal act |
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entrapment |
a defense in which the defendant claims that he or she was induced by a public official-usually an undercover agent or police officer-to commit a crime that he or she would otherwise not have committed |
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substantive criminal law |
law that defines the rights and duties of individuals with respect to one another |
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procedural criminal law |
rules that define the manner in which the rights and duties of individuals may be enforced |
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bill of rights |
the first ten amendments to the us constitution |
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due process clause |
the provisions of the 5th and 14th amendments to the constitution that guarantee that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law |
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procedural due process |
a provision in the constitution that states that the law must be carried out in a fair and orderly manner |
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substantive due process |
the constitutional requirement that laws used in accusing and convicting persons of crimes must be fair |
