Contempt of court that results from matters outside the court, such as failure to comply with court orders

Constructive contempt

A criminal form of contempt of court that occurs in the presence of the court when a person resists the courts authority

Direct contempt

Any affirmative act or omission that obstructs justice or attempts to negate the dignity and authority of the court

Contempt of court

A crime that occurs when a person who is lawfully detained or imprisoned leaves custody before he or she is entitled to freedom by due process of law

Escape

The failure to do something ordered by the court for the benefit of another party to the proceedings

Civil contempt

An act of disrespect toward the court or its procedures, other than direct contempt that obstructs the administration of justice

Criminal contempt

The act of failing to report or prosecute a known felony and taking positive steps to conceal the crime

Misprision of a felony

An offense that occurs when someone refuses to report or prosecute a felony in exchange for a benefit or reward of some value

Compounding a felony

Physical efforts to oppose a lawful arrest

Resisting arrest

A crime that occurs when a defendant, or a person working on behalf of the defendant, suppresses (hides), destroys, or refuses to produce evidence relevant to a grand jury investigation

Suppressing evidence

The crime of procuring another person to make a false oath

Subornation of perjury

The giving of a false oath during a proceeding or matter in which an oath is required by law

False swearing

Making false statements under oath or affirmation

Perjury

An extension of the crime of bribery to include people other than public officials whose functions are considered important to the public

Quasi-bribery

Illegal conduct with the intent to influence witness testimony, such as by approaching a potential witness with threats or other means to prevent the witness from testifying

Witness Tampering

The giving, receiving, or soliciting of anything of value to influence an employee or professional in the performance of his or her duties

Commercial bribery

The act by which one or more persons attempt to or actually prevent the execution of a lawful process

Obstruction of justice

A federal act that prohibits the knowing transportation in interstate or foreign commerce of any individual, male or female, with the intent that such individual engage in prostitution or in any sexual activity

Mann act

A crime that is committed when one person agrees to engage in sexual or deviate sexual intercourse in return for something of value, usually money

Prostitution

The act of staking or risking something of value on the outcome of a contest of chance, or on a future even of chance that is not under the gambler's control or influence

Gambling

Voluntary, unlawful sexual intercourse under circumstances not constituting adultery

Fornication

Sexual relations with someone other than a spouse when the person is married

Adultery

Either procuring a prostitute for a place of prostitution or procuring a place for a prostitute to engage in prostitution

Pandering

Promoting prostitution, living off the earnings of prostitutes, and in some cases coercing individuals to work as prostitutes

Pimping

The unlawful sexual penetration of the anus by one person by the penis of another

Sodomy

The act of offering to pay another, or receive payment from another, for sex

Solicitation

Repeated intentional acts of exposing the genitals to an unsuspecting stranger or strangers for the purpose of achieving sexual excitement.

Exhibitionism

An offensive display of one's body in public, especially the genitals or the female breasts

Indecent exposure

Any weapon that can, is designed to, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; the frame or receiver of any such weapon; any firearm muffler or firearm silencer

Firearm

One of the prohibited weapons named by federal legislation, such as rifles with conspicuous pistol grips, pistols with shrouds, and shotguns with a higher ammunition capacity

Assault weapon

Causing the death of a human being by reason of operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs

DUI Manslaughter

A loosely defined offense addressing behavior that disturbs the safety, health, or morals of others, or that is intended to annoy another person

Disorderly conduct

Driving with voluntary and wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property

Reckless driving

A tumultuous disturbance of the peace by three or more persons assembling together in the execution of a lawful or unlawful act and committing it in a violent and turbulent manner

Riot

Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a substance or with a blood or breath alcohol concentration above a prohibited level

Driving under the influence (DUI)

An unlawful assembly that is escalating toward, but does not reach, the level of a riot; an attempted riot

Rout

A gathering together of three or more persons with the common intent to achieve a lawful or unlawful prupose in a tumultuous manner

Unlawful assembly

Crimes (such as rape and murder) that are inherently wrong

mala in se

Crimes defining conduct that is wrong only because the law says it is wrong, in order to protect the general public

mala prohibita

The ending or eliminating of a nuisance

Abatement

Anything that endangers life or health, gives offense to the senses, violates laws of decency, or obstructs the reasonable and comfortable use of property

Nuisance

A crime that is vaguely defined as being idle or wandering without a visible means of support; no longer a crime in most jurisdictions because of the unconstitutionality of past vagrancy laws

Vagrancy

Offenses designed to protect the general public by dealing with behavior that is not necessarily immoral, but nonetheless affects the peace and safety of the community

Public order and safety offenses

Creating a document that is not authentic

Fraudulent making

Presenting a forged writing and attempting to use it to deceive or cheat

Uttering

Making or altering a writing, with the purpose of deceiving or injuring, in such a way as to convey a false impression concerning its authenticity

Forgery

Payment by a person to a public official in order to gain an advantage that the person is not otherwise entitled to; both parties are guilty of the crime.

Bribery

A threat by a private citizen seeking hush money, or payment, to remain silent about a crime or shameful act

Blackmail

The requirement at common law for the crime of extortion that the action taken by the perpetrator be in his or her capacity as a public official

Under color of authority or office

A relationship between the defendant and the stolen goods such that it is reasonable to treat the extent of the defendant's dominion and control over the property as if it were actual possession

Constructive possession

The wrongful misuse or taking of another's property that has been entrusted to the accused

Misappropriation

The unlawful taking or misuse of property by persons, typically employees, who lawfully come into possession of the property and therefore do not meet the theft or larceny requirement of wrongfully obtaining the property

Embezzlement

Acquiring possession, control, or tittle, or lending on the security of, property that has been stolen

Receiving

The gaining of property by threat of physical harm to a person or property by a public official under color of his or her office

Extortion

A crime in which title or ownership of the property is passed to the defendant in reliance on the defendant's misrepresentation

False pretenses

Property over which a person voluntarily gives up permanent possession or ownership

Abandoned property

Illegal driving of someone else's automobile without permission, but with no intent to deprive the owner of it permanently

Joyriding

Vehicle proceeding on land by means of its own power plant and free of rails, tracks, or overhead wires

Motor vehicle

The taking and carrying away of the property of another, without consent, with the purpose of stealing or permanently depriving the owner of possession

Larceny

The original unlawful taker of property of another person

Thief

A crime identified by a specific theft statute to address thefts of merchandise, concealment of merchandise, altering of price tags, and retail theft

Shoplifting

Statutory offense of taking property from the person of another; the penalty is usually greater than that for simple larceny

Larceny from a person

The misdemeanor taking of property under a set monetary amount. Less serious than grand theft

Petit or petty theft

The felonious taking of property valued above a set monetary amount, or the theft of a motor vehicle. More serious than petit or petty theft

Grand Theft

A broad category of misconduct against property that includes the crimes of larceny, embezzlement, theft by false pretenses, shoplifting, robbery, and receiving stolen goods

Theft

Tools and instruments that are designed, adapted, or commonly used to commit burglaries

Burglar's tools

Simple burglary with the added elements of entering an inhabited dwelling, or any structure or vehicle, while armed with a dangerous weapon, or by committing a battery after or upon the entry

Aggravated burglary

An entry effected by using an instrumentality, such as another person, an animal, or a physical object

Constructive entry

The unauthorized entering of any dwelling, vehicle, watercraft, or other structure, with the intent to commit a felony or theft

Simple burglary

A door inside a building hat does not lead directly to the outside

Inner door

Unlawful forced entry; similar to burglary, but without the specific intent to commit a theft or felony inside the structure

Breaking and entering

Whether the dwelling is used regularly as a place to sleep determines whether a dwelling is occupied

Sleep test

At common law, the period between sunset and sunrise when there is not enough daylight to discern a man's face

Nighttime

Breaking and entering, in the nighttime, of the mansion or dwelling house or curtilage of another, with the intent to commit a felony

Common law burglary

The malicious, willful burning of, or attempted burning of, one's own or another person's property.

Modern arson

The land immediately surrounding and associated with the home, including such structures as a barn, outhouse, or milk house

Curtilage

The voluntary, intentional nature of a crime; required as a separate element of arson

Willfulness

The malicious and willful burning of another's house

Common law arson

The abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of elderly persons

Elder abuse

A felony defined as taking or carrying away a person without consent, by force or fraud, without lawful excuse, and often with a demand for ransom

Kidnapping

A defense in many jurisdictions in which the victim of abuse eventually "snaps" and kills the abuser

Battered woman syndrome

An intentional or neglectful physical or emotional injury imposed on a child, including sexual molestation

Child abuse

An exception to false imprisonment laws that gives a shopkeeper the right to restrain a person if the shopkeeper possesses a reasonable belief that the customer has not paid a bill or has shoplifted an item

Shopkeeper's rule

Long-term physical abuse by the victim's spouse or partner

Spousal abuse

The point at which a fetus can reasonably live outside its mothers womb, with or without artificial support

Viability

The artificially induced expulsion of a fetus by illegal means, such as spousal abuse

Criminal abortion

A clinical condition suffered by young children who have been the victims of prolonged serious physical abuse

Battered child syndrome

A statute that has been enacted in all 50 states that requires community notification by authorities when a convicted sex offender is released from prison

Megan's Law

Any sexual conduct by an adult with a child

Child molestation

A condition observed in some rape victims in which the victim develops phobias and physical problems as a result of having been raped.

Rape trauma syndrome

Nonconsensual sex between a woman and her husband, ex-husband, or partner

Spousal rape

Robbery accomplished by means of a dangerous or deadly weapon; often classified as robbery in the first degree or aggravated robbery

Armed robbery

A form of rape involving sexual intercourse between an adult and a child, usually between the ages of 13 and 17.

Statutory rape

A felony defined as "the carnal knowledge of a woman forcibly and against her will."

Rape

The taking of property by the use of force or fear, where the property is taken either from the person of the victim or in his or her immediate presence.

Robbery

A misdemeanor consisting of either an attempted battery or an intentional frightening of another person

Assault

A criminal homicide in which the perpetrator caused a death while operating a motor vehicle, either by gross negligence or while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs

Vehicular manslaughter

A criminal homicide committed by a person who has neglected to exercise the degree of care that an ordinary person would have exercised under the same circumstances

Negligent homicide

The felony of assault with intent to maim

Mayhem

Assault with intent to kill, rob, or rape, or assault with specified deadly weapons. A felony in most states

Aggravated assault

An assault in which the actor threatens harm only under certain conditions, such as the failure of the victim to act in a certain way demanded by the actor.

Conditional assault

A misdemeanor consisting of the unlawful application of force that actually and intentionally causes the touching of another person against his or her will

Battery

A partial defense that reduces a murder charge to voluntary manslaughter, where the claim of self-defense fails but it is not objectively reasonable but is honestly believed by the accused

Imperfect self-defense

When the acts or conduct of the person killed would be sufficient to cause a person of reasonable, ordinary temperament to lose self-control

Adequate provocation

The reduction, or lessening, of a penalty or punishment imposed by law

Mitigation

Felonies involving conduct that is inherently dangerous to human life, such as rape, arson, and armed robbery

Inherently dangerous felonies

An intentional, unlawful killing of a human being without malice aforethought

Voluntary manslaughter

A charge of murder with the maximum punishment of death, often called murder in the first degree

Capital murder

The rule that when the accused kills in the course of committing a felony, the mens rea for murder is present in the intent to commit a felony, and therefore murder has been committed

Felony Murder Rule

A state of mind connoting an "abandoned and malignant heart." It is not limited to the specific intent to kill, since even a wanton or reckless state of mind may constitute malice

Malice

The causation rule that requires that, in order to classify a killing as a homicide, the victim must die within a year and a day after the act causing death occurred.

Year-and-a-day rule

The killing of another without the mental element of malice aforethought

Manslaughter

The killing of another with the mental element of malice aforethought

Murder

The unlawful killing of a fetus

Feticide

The common law rule defining the beginning of life, for purposes of criminal homicide, as the birth of a live child

Born-alive rule

The required proof that a crime has been committed. In homicide cases, this usually means the corpse of the victim

Corpus Delicti

The mental state that raises second-degree murder to first-degree murder in jurisdictions that classify murder into two or more levels. It implies a cold-blooded killing

Premeditation and deliberation

Under modern law, any one of four mental states that reveal the intent to
1- Kill
2- Inflict greievous bodily injury
3- Show extreme reckless disregard for human life
4- commit a felony that results in another's death

Malice aforethought

Any act that causes the death of another person with criminal intent and without lawful justification or excuse

Criminal homicide

The killing of one human by another

Homicide

A principle that has been read into the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the 8th Amendment to measure the validity of punishment, including the death penalty

Proportionality

Laws that provide for enhanced sentencing of repeat offenders

Habitual-felon laws

A process through which all the parties with a stake in a particular offense come together to resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of the offense and its implications for the future

Restorative Justice

Laws by which the state's legislature fixes either the exact penalty for the crime or a minimum number of years that the defendant must serve

Mandatory sentencing

The release of an offender from incarceration prior to the expiration of the full term of incarceration, to carry out the rest of the sentence with conditions under the supervision of a corrections offier

Parole

The suspension of a sentence of incarceration allowing the offender to return to the community with conditions under the supervision of a probation officer

Probation

A set of standards for sentencing, set by a commission legislatively established for that purpose, that judges in a determinate sentencing system must or may follow

Sentencing guidelines

A sentencing system that abolishes parole boards and creates presumptive sentencing ranges for various classes of offenses, thereby limiting trial judges discretion; such a system typically has sentencing guidelines for judges to follow

Determinate sentencing

State and federal prison population increased ______ % since 1970

628

A sentencing system in which the trial judge has great discretion and correctional authorities have the power to release a prisoner before completion of the maximum sentence imposed by the judge if, in the view of those authorities, rehabilitative goals have been achieved.

Indeterminate sentencing

A justification for punishment based on the theory that a social practice is desirable if it promotes the greatest number of people.

Utilitarian justification

A justification for punishment based on the theory that a wrongdoer deserves punishment for punishment's sake

Retributive justice

The imposition of punishment in the context of an "eye for an eye" or a "tooth for a tooth"; usually associated with retribution, though the utilitarian may see a benefit.

Vengeance

Laws that impose sentences of 25 years to life for those who have been convicted of certain serious offenses three times

Three-strikes laws

Laws that impose maximum penalties for certain crimes, such as particular sex offenses; also known as one-strike laws

Zero tolerance

When an agent of the government, using authority granted by virtue of a legal criminal conviction, intentionally inflicts pain, loss of liberty, or some other unpleasant consequence on the person who has been convicted

Punishment

The removal or restirction of freedom of those who have violated criminal laws, usually by imprisonment

Incapacitation

A justification for punishment based on the theory that if an offender is reformed, the offender will not commit any more crimes

Rehabilitative Justice

A test for insanity that permits a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity if the fact finder concludes that the accused had a mental disease that kept him or her from controlling his or her conduct

Irresistible impulse test

A test for insanity that provides that a person is not responsible for criminal conduct if he or she is found to lack substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of the conduct or to conform his or her conduct to the requirements of the law

MPC test

A term used to describe two circumstances in which a mental condition short of insanity will lead to an acquittal or lessened charges;
1-Where the accused raises the condition as a failure of proof defense, and
2-A true partial defense, whereby the crime of murder can be mitigated to manslaughter

Diminished capacity

The rule used to establish an insanity defense. Under this rule, it must be clearly proved that, at the time of the offense, the accused was laboring under such a mental illness as not to know the nature and quality of what he or she was doing or, if he or she did not know it, did not know that it was wrong

M'Naghten test

The federal statutory definition of insanity, which provides that a person is excused by reason of insanity if he or she proves by clear and convincing evidence that at the time of the offense, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, he or she was unable to appreciate the nature and quality of his or her act, or the wrongfulness of his or her conduct.

Federal test

The division of a criminal trial into two parts, the first part leading to a verdict of guilty or not guilty, and the second relating to another issue, such as the sanity of the accused (or the penalty phase of a death penalty case).

Bifurcated trial

An accused person's inability to rationally consult with an attorney or to understand the nature of the proceedings against him or her

Incompetency

A defense in which the law recognizes that the accused was suffering from mental disease when the crime occurred, and thus may be relieved of criminal responsibility

Insanity

Intoxication that occurs when the actor does not consume drugs or alcohol voluntarily or if the actor is not to blame for becoming intoxicated because, for example, he or she has an unanticipated reaction to drugs or alcohol

Involuntary intoxication

A person's self-willed act to introduce substances into the body that the person knows or should know are likely to have intoxicating effects.

Voluntary intoxication

A disturbance of mental or physical capacities resulting from the introduction of any substance into the body

Intoxication

A defense that arrises when a person commits an unlawful act because of a threat of imminent death or serious bodily injury to himself or another, unless the actor intentionally kills an innocent third person.

Duress

A defense, in certain circumstances, in which the victim agrees to the actor's conduct. It negates an element of the offense or precludes infliction of the harm to be prevented by the law defining the offense.

Consent

A defense in which a person, faced with a choice between two courses of action, chooses the lesser of evils, as long as the harm produced is less than the harm that would have occurred without the action

Necessity

Force likely or intended to cause death or great bodily harm

Deadly force

One who first employs hostile force, either by threatening or striking another, which justifies like response

Aggressor

The justified use of reasonbable force by one who is not an aggressor, when the actor reasonably believed it was necessary to defend against what he or she reasonably perceived to be an unlawful and imminent physical attack.

Self-defense

A defense in which the criminal actor has committed an unjustified crime, but there is a reason for not holding him or her personally accountable for it.

Excuse

A defense that, because of the circumstances, renders criminal conduct lawful and therefore exempts the actor from criminal sanctions

Justification

A defense in which the defendant admits to the existence of all of the necessary legal elements for criminal liability, but offers one or more legally recognized reasons why he or she should nonetheless be acquitted.

Affirmative defense

The onus of producing evidence and also of persuading the jury with the required level of proof, which in a criminal case is "beyond a reasonable doubt."

Burden of proof

A defense that, if proved, results in the acquittal of a defendant, even though the prosecutor has proved the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

True Defense

A defense in which either the defense counsel makes a motion for judgment of acquittal or the defendant introduces evidence that shows that the prosecution's case is lacking

Failure of proof

Either a failure of proof by the prosecution or a defendant's statement of a reason why the prosecutor has no valid case against him or her.

Defense

When is the "renunciation of criminal purpose" a defense according to the MPC Section 5.02(3)?

-The solicitor "completely and voluntarily renounces his criminal intent"
-The solicitor "either persuades the solicited party not to commit the offense or otherwise prevents him from committing the crime."

Where the law does not define as criminal the goal the defendant sought to achieve. This is a valid defense to the crime of attempt

Genuine legal impossibility

An ambiguous case in which impossibility could be considered either legal or factual, as distinguished from cases of true legal impossiblity

Hybrid legal impossiblity

When the intended acts, even if completed, would not amount to a crime. Legal impossibility is a common law defense to the crime of attempt

Legal Impossiblity

The act of seeking to persuade someone else to commit a crime with the intent that the crime be committed

Solicitation (incitement)

An affirmative defense to the crime of attempt that exists only if the defendant voluntarily and completely renounces his or her criminal purpose

Abandonment

A test that determines that an attempt has occured when the perpetrator's conduct is in dangerous proximity to success, or when an act is so near to the result that the danger of its success is very great

Dangerous Proximity test

The MPC's test to determine whether the actus reus of attempt has occurred, which requires that the suspect must have done or omitted to do something that constitutes "a substantial step" in the commission of the substantive offense

Substantial step test

A test that determines that an attempt has occurred when the perpetrator's conduct, though not having advanced so far as the last act, approaches sufficiently near to the completed crime as to be a substantial step toward commission of the offense

Physical Proximity Test

A test that determines an attempt has occurred when a person has performed all of the acts that he or she believed were necessary to commit the underlying offense

Last act test

When a person's intended end result constitutes a crime, but the person fails to consummate the offense because of an attendant circumstance that is unknown or beyond his or her control, making commission of the crime impossible

Factual impossiblity

A test that determines that an attempt has occurred when a person's conduct, standing alone, unambiguously manifests his or her criminal intent

Unequivocality test

A test that determines that no attempt has occurred when a suspect has not yet gained control over an indispensable instrumentality of the criminal plan

Indispensable element test

When a person, with the intent to commit an offense, performs any act that constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of that offense

Attempt

Doctrine that holds a person associated with a conspiracy responsible for any criminal act committed by a co-conspirator if the act is within the scope of the conspiracy and is a foreseeable result of the criminal scheme

Pinkerton doctrine

The theory that all conspirators act as the agents of (and represent) their co-conspirators in a criminal scheme and are liable for all criminal acts committed by any of their co-conspirators.

Agency theory

A criminal act that is detected and punished before the ultimate or intended crime actually occurs. The principal modern inchoate crimes are attempt, conspiracy, and solicitation

Inchoate crime

A partnership in crime, defined as an agreement between two or more people to achieve a criminal purpose or to achieve a lawful purpose using unlawful means. Also called a criminal enterprise

Conspiracy

To end liability as an accomplice, the ______ and ______ must abandon agreement

aider;
abettor

A crime that can be committed only through the actor's own conduct and cannot be committed by an agent

Nonproxyable offense

A doctrine that holds an accomplice liable not only for the offense he or she intended to facilitate or encourage, but also for any natural and forseeable additional offenses committed by the principal to whom he or she is an accomplice

Natural and probable consequences doctrine

An object, animal, or person who cannot be culpable under the law, such as an insane person or a child, that is used by a principal to commit a crime

Innocent agent or instrumentality

When officers or agents of the government, for the purpose of instituting a criminal prosecution against a person, induce an otherwise innocent person to commit a crime that he or she had not contemplated

Entrapment

Someone who intends for the principal to fail in his or her illegal venture and, because of this lack of causation, is not an accomplice

Agent Provocateur

When an individual knowingly aids another, but does not truly have a separate intent to aid in the commission of the underlying offense

Criminal Facilitation

When an individual is within the vicinity of the crime and is able to assist the primary actor if necessary

Constructive presence

One who intentionally assists in the commission of a crime in his or her presence; such presence may be actual or constructive

Principle in the second degree

Usually the primary actor or perpetrator of the crime

Principle in the first degree

One who aids in the commission of a crime without being present when the crime is committed

Accessory

One who is present at and participates in the crime charged or who procures an innocent agent to commit the crime

Principal

The MPC requires person to act with purpose of promoting or facilitating a crime to be held liable as an ________ by an act of omission

accomplice

One who intentionally aids another whom he or she knows has committed a felony, in order for the person assisted to avoid criminal prosecution and punishment

Accessory after the fact

One who intentionally counsels, solicits, or commands another in the commission of a crime

Accessory before the fact

The accountability of one individual for the criminal act or acts of another

Accomplice Liability

To assist or facilitate a person in accomplishing a crime

Aid and abet

Someone who knowingly and willingly associates in the commission of a criminal offense and who intentionally assists another in the commission of a crime

Accomplice

What amendment applies the 4th Amendment to the states?

14th Amendment

Agency of the court;
Investigates defendants prior to sentencing and provides a pre sentence report to the court;
Also supervises persons after conviction

Probation

Why did congress enact criminal laws relating to civil rights, use of the mails, commerce, narcotics, extortion and robbery affecting interstate commerce and interstate travel?

To facilitate illegal activities associated with organized crime, organized crime itself, and racketeering

In the ______ role, the criminal justice system is the official apparatus for enforcing criminal law

administrative

What are the 3 criminal justice system perspectives?

Social system;
Body of legal rules;
Administrative system

Criminal offenders under a certain age, usually 18 or 16, are death with in _____ _____ in civil, rather than criminal proceedings

Juvenile Courts

Dual judicial system consisting of the federal and state courts;
Staff includes the judge, clerks, baliffs

Courts

The power or authority of a court to act with respect to any case before it

Jurisdiction

Criminal statutes should be understandable to reasonable law abiding people;
Criminal statutues to not delegate basic policy matters to police, judges, and juries for resolution on an ad hoc and subjective basis;
Judicial interpretation of ambiguous statutes should "be biased in favor of the accused

Three Corollaries of Legality

The principle that no one can be punished for an act that was not defined as criminal before the person did the act;
Core concept of American System of Criminal Justice

Legality

_____ ______ develops and is redefined by legislative enactment, often in response to societal pressures

Criminal Law

What are the following considered:
Actus Reus
Mens Rea
Concurrence of act and intent
Occurrence of harm to a person, property and society
Casual relationship between criminal act and harm

The Elements of Crime

Guilty Mind

Mens Rea

Willful unlawful act

Actus Reus

Court preparation begins with the gathering of ______

Officer has to then _____ and _____ at any and all hearings at which he or she is needed.

evidence;
appear and testify

The American Law Institute (ALI) founded this code to clarify and improve the law;
It was presented in 1962, a majority of states adopted revised criminal codes;
Law that involves the violation of public rights and duties, creating social harm.

Moral Penal Code (MPC)

What are the three main duties of law enforcement?

Prevention;
Investigation;
Detection

In 1996 the National Police/population ration was _____ police officers per 1,000 citizens

2.3

Dictates methods and means by which the state proceeds, through the police, public administrators, and courts, to enforce rights or duties of substantive law

Procedural criminal law

This type of law identifies components required for mental and physical liability

Substantive criminal law

Law created through state and federal legislatures

Statutory Law

As U.S. formed, law separated from _____ common law tradition

English

_____ colonies established in America adopted England's common law

13

Reorganized law of crimes according to social harm in which most american states adopted

Criminal Law reform in England and U.S.

By 1800, there were more than _____ kinds of offenses punishable by death under english law

100

_____ and _____ revolutions stimulated legislative movement in criminal law

American;
French

Focus on violation of Kings Peace rather than on harm done to the victim

English and Common Law

Law created by judicial opinion;
Historically, law from America's colonial and english past which has set precedents that are still sometimes followed today

Common Law

William of Normandy established court with Judges who travelled throughout the kingdom once every seven years

English and American common law

First written law in Ur about 5,000 years ago;
Most extensive set of laws established by King Hammurabi of Babylonia from 1792 to 1750 BC

Ancient Law

A civil violation;
Civil laws equivalent of a crime

Tort

Law that deals with matters considered private concerns between individuals

Civil Law

Criminal Law seeks to regulate acts that are _____ to the community interest of the social or governmental unit

Contrary

Law that involves a violation of public rights and duties, creating social harm

Criminal Law

What are two types of law with regards to the nature and origins of law

Religious and Moral

The federal, state, or local enactments of legislative bodies;
Known decisions of courts of the federal and state governments;
Rules and regulations proclaimed by government bodies

The law

Deemed separate enough from the defendant's actions that it would be unfair to hold him or her responsible for its results

Independent intervening cause

Intervening causes that are largely foreseeable or related to the defendant's conduct

Dependent intervening cause

A cause other than defendant's conduct that contributes to social harm

Intervening Cause

That cause, from among all of the causes-in-fact that may exist, is legal cause of social harm

Proximate cause

Aware that one's actions are criminal, or that attendant circumstances make an otherwise legal act a criminal one

Knowingly with respect to conduct and attendant circumstances

Commits an act in the awareness that one's conduct will almost certainly cause this result

Knowingly causes a result

When the actor has a voluntary wish to act in a certain way or produce a certain result

Purposely with respect to result or conduct OR;
Purposely with respect to attendant circumstances

The accused person's act must be ____ __ ____ of the result

If it was, accused person's actions must also be proximate cause of the result

Cause-in-fact

The test that asks whether the result would have occurred if the defendant had not acted

But-for test

The cause of the social harm in a criminal act, as determined by the but-for test.

Cause-in-fact

When a person can be convicted of a crime without having any requisite mental state or intention to commit the crime

Most common examples involve mistake as to age of victim or, in case of liquor sales, of the purchaser

Strict liability

____ ____ must have been present at the same moment the accused did the act (or omission) that caused social harm. ________ must be motivational

Mens Rea;
Concurrence

Requirement for criminal liability that the accused performed a voluntary act accompanied by the required mental state that actually and proximately caused the prohibited social harm

Concurrence of elements

Acting in a manner that ignores a substantial and unjustified risk which one should have been aware.

Negligently

Acting in a manner that voluntarily ignores a substantial and unjustified risk that a certain circumstance exists or will result from one's actions.

Recklessly

A doctrine that holds a person criminally liable even when the consequence of his or her action is not what the actor actually intended.

Transferred intent

The intent only to do the actus reuse of the crime, without any of the elements of specific intent

General intent

The intention to commit an act for the purpose of doing some additional future act, to achieve some further consequences, or with the awareness of a statutory attendant circumstance

Specific intent

Can words that are offensive enough to constitute threat or cause further physical actions that society views as a social harm be considered Actus Reus?

Can conflict with the 1st Amendment

Yes

Narrowly defined circumstances in which a failure to act is viewed as a criminal act

Omissions

What are the 5 elements of criminal responsibility?

Actus Reus
Mens Rea
Unity of actus reus and mens rea
Causation
Resulting social harm

The emotion that prompts a person to act. It is not an element of a crime that is required to prove criminal liability, but it is often shown in order to identify the perpetrator of a crime or explain his or her reason for acting.

Motive

Criminal offenses in which the law defines possession as an act

Possessory offenses

Latin term meaning "guilty mind"

Mens Rea

Latin term meaning "guilty act"

Actus Reus

Mental _____ or extreme ______ can diminish a person's criminal responsibility

infirmity;
youth

For an act to be voluntary, the defendant must possess sufficient ____ ____ to exercise choice and be responsible for his conduct.

free will

A minor or insignificant crime, also known as a violation or infraction

Petty offense

A crime that is less serious than a felony and is usually punishable by fine, penalty, forfeiture, or confinement in a jail for less than one year

Misdemeanor

US Supreme Court case that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. The case led to a de facto moratorium on capital punishment throughout the United States

Furman v. Georgia

The US Supreme Court has placed limits on circumstances where the ______ ______ may be imposed

death penalty

Only _____ can result in loss of liberty through incarceration

crimes

A serious crime that is usually punishable by imprisonment for more than one year or by death

Felony

Criminal law does not seek to punish thoughts or ______________

moral character

Not all ______ wrongful conduct is classified as criminally or civilly wrong

morally

What amendment guarantees no excessive bail and fines, prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishment."

8th Amendment

What amendment guarantees a speedy and public trial, impartial jury of the state and district where crime occurred, notice of nature and cause of accusation, confront opposing witnesses, compulsory process for obtaining favorable witnesses, and a right to counsel

6th Amendment

What amendment guarantees a grand jury in felony cases, no double jeopardy, no compelled self-incrimination

5th Amendment

What amendment prohibits infliction of "cruel and unusual punishments"

8th Amendment

The constitutional principle that the punishment should fit the crime, expressed in the 8th Amendment's cruel and unusual punishment clause

Proportionality

A wrongful act that results in injury and leaves the injured party entitled to compensation

Consequences are less than criminal liability

Tort

An act or omission that the law makes punishable, generally by fine, penalty, forfeiture, or confinement

Crime

What is the significance of Lawrence v. Texas?

A Texas law classifying consensual, adult homosexual intercourse as illegal sodomy violated the privacy and liberty of adults to engage in private intimate conduct under the 14th Amendment. Texas state courts reversed and charges dismissed.

In Roe v. Wade, the _____ ___ _____ extended to woman's right to abortion

right of privacy

What constitutional provisions did the US Supreme Court hold to imply a right to privacy

-1st amendment right of free association
-3rd amendment dealing with quatering soldiers
-4th amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures
Includes the right to be left alone, right to be free from unwanted publicity, and right to live without unwarranted interference

Typical federal and state gun control statutes impose _________ __________

licensing requirements

What amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms?

2nd Amendment

What amendment guarantees free speech, free exercise of religion, and freedom of assembly

1st Amendment

A test to determine whether a defendant's words pose an immediate danger of bringing about substantive evils that Congress has the right (and duty) to prevent

Clear and present danger test

The law defining acts that are criminal

Substantive criminal law

No state or federal agency can legally enact or enforce criminal statutes that unnecessarily inhibit ________ _________ identified in the amendments

substantive rights

State statutes can prohibit _______, which directly correlates with Freedom of Assembly

loitering

What are some of the examples why religious freedom claims were rejected by the American Courts?

Polygamy
Christian scientist parent's withholding medical treatment for a child
Handling poisonous snakes in religious ceremonies
Use of peyote as part of religious practice

What case held that the "separate but equal" provision of private services mandated by state government is constitutional under the Equal Protection Clause

Plessy v. Ferguson

The due process requirement that people are entitled to know what they are forbidden to do so that they may shape their conduct accordingly.

Fair notice

Criminal statues cannot be vague, ambiguous, or ________ ________

overly broad

Due process clauses of the _____ and _____ amendments require that the law provide fair notice

5th;
14th

The constitutional provision that all people should be treated equally with respect to the practice dealt with by the law

Equal Protection

The multiple criminal justice procedures and processes that must be followed before a person can be legally deprived of his or her life, liberty, or property.

Due process

A law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions that were committed, or relationships that existed, before the enactment of the law. It may criminalize actions that were legal when committed, may aggravate a crime by putting it in a more severe category, may change the punishment for a crime by adding new penalties, or may alter the rules of evidence to make a conviction for a crime likelier than it would have been

Expost facto law

A special legislative enactment that declares a person guilty of a crime and subject to punishment without a trial.

Bill of attainder

What amendments pertain to procedural criminal law?

4th, 5th, 6th, 14th

The rules governing how the criminal law is administered

Procedural criminal law

States that "no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause"
Said to guarantee the right of privacy
Major source of much of the procedural criminal law dealing with law enforcement activities in crime investigation.

4th Amendment

Prohibits "unreasonable searches and seizures of persons, houses, papers, and effects.

4th Amendment

The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, especially those portions that guarantee fundamental individual rights vis a vis the government

Bill of Rights

What are the 4 possibilities for appeal and discretionary review?

-The charge is not a crime
-Evidence was insufficient to support finding of fact beyond reasonable doubt
-Did not meet the necessary elements of the crime
-Jury was improperly instructed

True or False

Unless the charge carries a mandatory sentence, the judge will hold sentencing hearing

True

When the prosecution seeks the death penalty, the _________ is the second trial before a judge or jury.

Sentencing hearing

What are the reasons for a court to dismiss criminal charges?

-Crime charged is not a violation of jurisdictions law
-Facts asserted in indictment or information do not constitute the crime charged
-No reasonable jury could find the facts alleged on the basis of evidence presented at hearing

The ________ has the final authority to interpret federal constitution

U.S. Supreme Court

______ ______ determine constitutionality of state laws and can enforce federal constitutional principles.

Federal Courts

True or False

State courts determine constitutionality of state laws and can enforce federal constitutional principles

True

How can laws be declared unconstitutional?

-Any dictate of the main body of the Federal Constitution
-Any federal constitutional amendments
-Any provision of the constitution of individual states

Content and implementation of criminal laws must be consistent with _________ and _________ of the state in which the law is enacted

Federal constitution;
constitution

What are the steps of a trial?

1-Jury selection
2-Opening statements
3-Prosecution presents case with defense cross examination
4-Defense requests judgement for acquittal
5-Defense can rest or present evidence
6-Rebuttal of evidence
7-Closing arguments

The defendant's appearance to respond formally to charges

Arraignment and Plea

After formal charges, defendant appears in court at a proceeding called an ________ and _______

arraignment;
plea

The accused in a criminal case has a constitutional right to ____ ___ ____ for any crime for which the possible sentence is more than six months in jail.

trial by jury

The paper issued by a prosecutor that charges an accused of a felony

Used in jurisdictions that do not follow the grand jury procedure

Information

A panel of persons chosen through strict court procedures to review criminal investigations and, in some instances, to conduct criminal investigations.
Decide whether to charge crimes in the cases presented to them or investigated by them

Grand Jury

_____ maintain custody of persons arrested pending prosecution and those sentenced to short periods of confinement.

Jails

True or False

The overwhelming majority of reported crimes are not solved

True

If the prosecution establishes probable cause, the defendant is required to enter a plea of _______ or _______

guilty;
not-guilty

At a preliminary hearing, who has the first opportunity to present evidence against the defendant?

The arresting officer

The prosecutor files a charge if evidence is ________ and _________ of prosecution.

sufficient;
worthy

A post-arrest, pretrial judicial proceeding at which the judge decides whether there is probable cause to prosecute the accused. In some jurisdictions, it is minimal; in others, it is a mini-trial

Preliminary Hearing

A written promise to pay the bail sum, posted by a financially responsible person, usually a professional bail bond agent

Bond

A promise to appear in court

Recognizance

A deposit of cash, other property, or a bond, guaranteeing the accused will appear in court

Bail

Law Enforcement agents learn about most criminal acts through reports of ______ or ________

Victims;
Witnesses

Since the 1930's, U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted ___________ of the _______ to incorporate constitutional criminal procedure requirements that apply to the states

Due Process Clause;
14th Amendment

The system of government of the U.S. whereby all power resides in the state governments unless specifically granted to the federal government

Federalism