Criminal Justice 200 Chapter 4

Front 1

Law

Back 1

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

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 its members.

Front 7

Jurisprudence

Back 7

The philosophy of law; science and study of law.

Front 8

Criminal (Penal) Law

Back 8

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.

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; private civil wrong or injury.

Front 13

Precedent

Back 13

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

Front 14

Stare Decisis

Back 14

Legal principle that, in subsequent cases on similar issues of law and fact, courts be bound by their own earlier.

Front 15

Felony

Back 15

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

Front 16

Misdemeanors

Back 16

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

Front 17

Offense

Back 17

A violation of the criminal law. (J-walking.)

Front 18

Infraction

Back 18

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.

Front 23

Mens Rea

Back 23

The state of a guilty mind following a criminal act.

Front 24

Reckless Behavior

Back 24

An activity that increases the risk of harm.

Front 25

Criminal Negligence

Back 25

Behavior in which a person fails to reasonably perceive 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. Doesn't require mens rea.

Front 28

Concurrence

Back 28

The coexistence of an act in violation of the law and a culpable mental state.

Front 29

Legal Cause

Back 29

A legally recognizable cause that holds an offender criminally liable for harm.

Front 30

Ex Post Facto

Back 30

"After the fact." Crimes committed before laws passed can't be charged.

Front 31

Attendant Circumstances

Back 31

The facts surrounding an event.

Front 32

Element (Of a Crime)

Back 32

One of the essential features of a crime, as specified by law or statute.

Front 33

Corpus Delicti

Back 33

The facts that shoe that a crime has occured; "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 how they shouldn't be liable for a criminal charge.

Front 35

Alibi

Back 35

Statement or contention by an individual charged with a crime that she or he was so distant when the crime occured or so engaged in provable activities that their participation in the crime is impossible.

Front 36

Justification

Back 36

Legal defense in which the defendant admits that they did it but that they had to.

Front 37

Excuse

Back 37

Defensenin which the defendant claims that a personal conditon or circumstance keeps them fro. being held accountable.

Front 38

Procedural Defense

Back 38

Defense that claims that the defendant was discriminated against in the justice process or that procedure wasn't followed.

Front 39

Self-Defense

Back 39

Protecting yourself or your property from the immediate risk of unlawful injury.

Front 40

Reasonable Force

Back 40

Degree of force that is appropriate in a given situation to defend yourself.

Front 41

Alter Ego Rule

Back 41

The 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 act.

Front 42

Insanity defense

Back 42

Legal defense based on claims of mental illness or mental incapacity.

Front 43

M'Naghten Rule

Back 43

Rule dor determining insanity which asks the defendant whether thwy knew what they were doing and whether they knew it was wrong.

Front 44

Durham Rule

Back 44

States that a person is not criminally responsible for his or her behavior if the persons illegal actions were the result of some mental disease or defect.

Front 45

Guilty But Mentally Ill Verdict

Back 45

Verdict equivalent of guilty that finds the defendant in charge of their actions even though they're mentally ill.

Front 46

Diminished Capacity

Back 46

Defense based on claims of mental condition that may be insufficient to exonerate of guilt but may be relevant to specific mental elements of certain crimes or degrees of crime.

Front 47

Incompetent to Stand Trial

Back 47

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 them.

Front 48

Entrapment

Back 48

Improper or illegal inducement to crine by agebts of law enforcement.

Front 49

Double Jeopardy

Back 49

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