Chapter 1

Front 1

corpus delicti

Back 1

the Latin name for “body of the crime.”

Front 2

administrative crimes

Back 2

violations of federal and state agency rules.

Front 3

affirmative defenses

Back 3

defenses in which the defendant bears the burden of production.

Front 4

analysis of criminal liability

Back 4

Conduct that unjustifiably and inexcusably inflicts or threatens substantial harm to individual or public interests.

Front 5

bench trial

Back 5

trials without juries, in which judges find the facts.

Front 6

burden of persuasion

Back 6

the responsibility to convince the fact finder of the truth of the defense.

Front 7

burden of production

Back 7

the responsibility to introduce initial evidence to support a defense.

Front 8

burden of proof

Back 8

the affirmative duty to prove a point in dispute; the responsibility to produce the evidence to persuade the fact finder.

Front 9

case citation

Back 9

source reference to a case or other legal authority.

Front 10

code states

Back 10

states that have abolished the common law.

Front 11

codified (criminal law)

Back 11

written definitions of crimes and punishments enacted by legislatures and published.

Front 12

common law crimes

Back 12

crimes originating in the English common law.

Front 13

concurring opinion

Back 13

statements in which justices agree with the decision but not the reasoning of a court’s opinion.

Front 14

crimes of moral turpitude

Back 14

conduct that is contrary to justice, honesty, or morality.

Front 15

criminal liability

Back 15

actus reus, mens rea, concurrence, causation, and harmful result, which are the basis for the elements of crime the prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

Front 16

criminal punishment

Back 16

punishments prescribed by legislatures.

Front 17

determinate (fixed) sentences

Back 17

sentences that fit the punishment to the crime.

Front 18

determinism (and criminal punishment)

Back 18

actions beyond the control of individual free will.

Front 19

deterrence theory

Back 19

the theory that excluding evidence obtained in violation of the Constitution prevents illegal law enforcement.

Front 20

discretionary decision making

Back 20

judicial criminal lawmaking power that leaves judges lots of leeway for making decisions based on their professional training and experience

Front 21

federal system

Back 21

structure of U.S. government divided into federal and state governments.

Front 22

felonies

Back 22

serious crimes that are generally punishable by one year or more in prison.

Front 23

fixed (determinate) sentences

Back 23

sentences that fit the punishment to the crime.

Front 24

general deterrence (also called general prevention)

Back 24

aims by threat of punishment to deter criminal behavior in the general population.

Front 25

general part of the criminal law

Back 25

principles that apply to all crimes.

Front 26

guilty verdict

Back 26

decision of the fact finder that the prosecution has proven guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Front 27

hedonism (and criminal punishment)

Back 27

the theory that the validity of a law should be measured by the extent to which it promotes the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Front 28

incapacitation

Back 28

punishment by imprisonment, mutilation, and even death.

Front 29

indeterminate sentencing laws

Back 29

legislatures set only the outer limits of possible penalties, and judges and corrections professionals decide actual sentence lengths.

Front 30

judgment (in criminal cases)

Back 30

court’s decision in a case.

Front 31

medical model of crime

Back 31

the medical model is based on the idea that crime is a disease that experts can diagnose, treat, and cure (“medical model” of criminal law).

Front 32

misdemeanors

Back 32

minor crimes for which the penalty is usually less than one year in jail or a fine.

Front 33

Model Penal Code

Back 33

the code developed by the American Law Institute to guide reform in criminal law.

Front 34

not guilty verdict

Back 34

fact finder decides the prosecution has not proven guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Front 35

opinion (in criminal cases)

Back 35

part of an appellate court case that explains the court’s reasons for its decision.

Front 36

plaintiffs

Back 36

those who sue for wrongs in tort cases.

Front 37

plurality opinion (in criminal cases)

Back 37

a statement in which the greatest number, but not a majority, of the justices favor a court’s decision.

Front 38

precedent

Back 38

prior court decision that guides judges in deciding future cases.

Front 39

preponderance of the evidence

Back 39

more than 50 percent of the evidence proves justification or excuse.

Front 40

presumption of innocence

Back 40

the government always has the burden to justify its use of power even against people who turn out to be guilty.

Front 41

prevention

Back 41

punishing offenders to prevent crimes in the future.

Front 42

principle of utility

Back 42

permitting only the minimum amount of pain necessary to prevent the crime as punishment.

Front 43

principles of criminal liability

Back 43

the principles of actus reus, mens rea, concurrence, causation, and harmful result, which are the basis for the elements of crime the prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

Front 44

proof beyond a reasonable doubt

Back 44

proof that overcomes the doubt that prevents one from being firmly convinced of a defendant’s guilt, or the belief that there is a real possibility that a defendant is not guilty.

Front 45

punishment

Back 45

intentional infliction of pain on a person convicted of a crime.

Front 46

punitive damages

Back 46

damages that make an example of defendants and punish them for their behavior.

Front 47

rates of imprisonment

Back 47

number of prisoners per 100,000 people in the population.

Front 48

rationalism (and criminal punishment)

Back 48

proportionality of the punishment to the crime.

Front 49

reasonable doubt

Back 49

the doubt that prevents one from being firmly convinced of a defendant’s guilt, or the belief that there is a real possibility that a defendant is not guilty.

Front 50

reasonable doubt standard

Back 50

due process requires both federal and state prosecutors to prove every element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

Front 51

rehabilitation

Back 51

prevention of crime by treatment.

Front 52

retribution

Back 52

punishment based on just deserts.

Front 53

rule of lenity

Back 53

when judges apply a criminal statute to the defendant in the case before them, they have to stick “clearly within the letter of the statute,” resolving all ambiguities in favor of defendants and against the application of the statute.

Front 54

special deterrence

Back 54

the threat of punishment aimed at individual offenders in the hope of deterring future criminal conduct.

Front 55

special part of the criminal law

Back 55

defines the elements of specific crimes.

Front 56

torts

Back 56

private wrongs for which you can sue the party who wronged you and recover money.