Chapter 4: Criminal Law

Front 1

Law

Back 1

A rule of conduct, generally found enacted in the form of a statute, that proscribes or mandates certain forms of behavior.

Front 2

Statutory Law

Back 2

Written or codified law; the "law on the books", as enacted by a government body or agency having the power to make laws.

Front 3

Penal Code

Back 3

The written, organized, and compiled form of the criminal laws of a jurisdiction.

Front 4

Case Law

Back 4

The body of judicial precedent, historically built on legal reasoning and past interpretations of statutory laws, that serves as a guide to decision making, especially in the courts.

Front 5

Common Law

Back 5

Law originating from usage and custom rather than from written statutes.

Front 6

Rule of Law

Back 6

The maxim that an orderly society must be governed by established principles and known codes that are applied uniformly and fairly to all of its members.

Front 7

Jurisprudence

Back 7

The philosophy of law; also, the science and study of the law.

Front 8

Criminal Law

Back 8

The body of rules and regulations that define and specify the nature of and punishments for offenses of a public nature or for wrongs committed against the state or society. Also called "penal law".

Front 9

Substantive Criminal Law

Back 9

The part of the law that defines crimes and specifies punishments.

Front 10

Procedural Law

Back 10

The part of the law that specifies the methods to be used in enforcing substantive law.

Front 11

Civil Law

Back 11

The branch of modern law that governs relationships between parties.

Front 12

Tort

Back 12

A wrongful act, damage, or injury not involving a breach of contract. Also, a private or civil wrong or injury.

Front 13

Precedent

Back 13

A legal principle that ensures that previous judicial decisions are authoritatively considered and incorporated into future cases.

Front 14

"Stare Decisis"

Back 14

A legal principle requiring that, in subsequent cases on similar issues of law and fact, courts be bound by their own earlier decisions and by those of higher courts having jurisdiction over them. Literally means "standing by decided matters".

Front 15

Felony

Back 15

A criminal offense punishable by death or by incarceration in a prison facility for at least one year.

Front 16

Misdemeanor

Back 16

An offense punishable by incarceration, usually in a local confinement facility, for a period whose upper limit is prescribed by statute in given jurisdiction, typically one year or less.

Front 17

Offense

Back 17

A violation of the criminal law.

Front 18

Infraction

Back 18

A minor violation of state statute or local ordinance punishable by a fine or other penalty or by a specified, usually limited, term of incarceration.

Front 19

Treason

Back 19

A U.S. citizen's actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the United States.

Front 20

Espionage

Back 20

The "gathering, transmitting, or losing" of information related to the national defense in such a manner that the information becomes available to enemies of the United States and may be used to their advantage.

Front 21

Inchoate Offense

Back 21

An offense not yet completed.

Front 22

"Actus Reus"

Back 22

An act in violation of the law; a guilty act.

Front 23

"Mens Rea"

Back 23

The state of mind that accompanies a criminal act; a guilty mind.

Front 24

Reckless Behavior

Back 24

Activity that increases the risk of harm.

Front 25

Criminal Negligence

Back 25

Behavior in which a person fails to reasonably perceive the substantial and unjustifiable risks of dangerous consequences.

Front 26

Motive

Back 26

A person's reason for committing a crime.

Front 27

Strict Liability

Back 27

Liability without fault or intention.

Front 28

Concurrence

Back 28

The coexistence of (1) an act in violation of the law, and (2) a culpable mental state.

Front 29

Legal Cause

Back 29

A legally recognizable cause; must be demonstrated in court in order to hold an individual criminally liable for causing harm.

Front 30

"Ex Post Facto"

Back 30

Latin for "after the fact".

Front 31

Attendant Circumstances

Back 31

The facts surrounding an event.

Front 32

Element (of a crime)

Back 32

In a specific crime, one of the essential features of that crime, as specified by law or statute.

Front 33

"Corpus Delicti"

Back 33

The facts that show that a crime has occurred; literally meaning "the body of the crime".

Front 34

Defense (to a criminal charge)

Back 34

Evidence and arguments offered by a defendant and his or her attorney to show why the defendant should not be held liable for a criminal charge.

Front 35

Alibi

Back 35

A statement or contention by an individual charged with a crime that he or she was so distant when the crime was committed, or so engaged in other provable activities, that his or her participation in the commission of that crime was impossible.

Front 36

Justification

Back 36

A legal defense in which the defendant admits to committing the act in question but claims it was necessary in order to avoid some greater evil.

Front 37

Excuse

Back 37

A legal defense in which the defendant claims that some personal condition or circumstance at the time of the act was such that he or she should not be held accountable under the criminal law.

Front 38

Procedural Defense

Back 38

A defense that claims that the defendant was in some significant way discriminated against in the justice process or that some important aspect of official procedure was not properly followed in the investigation or prosecution of the crime charged.

Front 39

Self-Defense

Back 39

The protection of oneself or of one's property from unlawful injury or from the immediate risk of unlawful injury.

Front 40

Reasonable Force

Back 40

A degree of force that is appropriate in a given situation and is not excessive.

Front 41

Alter Ego Rule

Back 41

In some jurisdictions, a rule of law that holds that a person can defend a third party only under circumstances and only to the degree that the third party could legally act on his or her own behalf.

Front 42

Insanity Defense

Back 42

A legal defense based on claims of mental illness or mental incapacity.

Front 43

M'Naghten Rule

Back 43

A rule for determining insanity, which asks whether the defendant knew what he or she was doing or whether the defendant knew that what he or she was doing wrong.

Front 44

Guilty But Mentally Ill (GBMI)

Back 44

A verdict, equivalent to a finding of "guilty", that establishes that the defendant, although mentally ill, was in sufficient possession of his or her faculties to be morally blameworthy for his or her acts.

Front 45

Diminished Capacity

Back 45

A defense based on claims of a mental condition that may be insufficient to exonerate the defendant of guilt but that may be relevant to specific mental elements of certain crimes or degrees of crime.

Front 46

Incompetent To Stand Trial

Back 46

In criminal proceedings, a finding by a court that, as a result of mental illness, defect, or disability, a defendant is incapable of understanding the nature of the charges and proceedings against him or her, of consulting with an attorney, and of aiding in his or her own defense.

Front 47

Entrapment

Back 47

An improper or illegal inducement to crime by agents of law enforcement.

Front 48

Double Jeopardy

Back 48

A common law and constitutional prohibition against a second trial for the same offense.