Term
| Criminal law v. Criminal procedure |
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Definition
- Law: involves 'what' law is enforced.
- procedures: concerned w/ 'how' law is enforced.
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Term
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Definition
- The study of the behavior that society has deemed to be unacceptable.
- involves consideration of: Actus reus and Mens rea.
- Concurrence, Causation, responsibility, defenses, punishment
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Term
Actus Reus
(Criminal Act) |
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Definition
| - A crime involves an act of failure to act. You can't be punished for bad thoughts. |
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Term
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Definition
| - Criminal punishment is ordinarily directed at individuals who intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently harm other individuals or property. |
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Term
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Definition
| - Appellate courts establish precedent through case law that must be followed by all lower courts within the jurisdiction |
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Term
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Definition
Misdemeanors: relatively minor crimes and usually recieve a fine of a max of 1 yr. in prison.
Felony: more serious crimes that are punishable by something greater than just 1 yr. in prison. |
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Term
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Definition
- The branch of the law that protect the individual rather than the public interest
- Civil court: between two people, not a person and a state.
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Term
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Definition
- The branch of the law that protects the state and all who reside in the state.
- Always files by the government.
- Requires high standard of proof "beyond a reasonable doubt". |
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Term
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Definition
| - Def: inflicting pain or other unpleasant consequence on another person. |
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Term
| Hart's 5 elements of punishment |
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Definition
1. must involve a consequence normally considered unpleasant.
2. must be an offense against legal rules.
3. Must be an actual or supposed offender for his offense.
4. intentionally administered
5. must be imposed by authority constituted by a legal system. |
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Term
| Purposes of criminal punishment |
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Definition
- Retributive (eye for an eye)
- Utilitarian ( gen./indi. deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation)
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Term
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Definition
| - The idea that punishing an offender as an example will deter others from violating the law. |
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Term
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Definition
| -Imposes punishment to deter or discourage a defendant from committing a crime in the future. |
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Term
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Definition
- Nullum crimin sine lege, nulla poena sine lege
(no crime without law, no punishment without law)
- Reflects constitutional principles of governing criminal status. |
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Term
| 3 issues of the legality principle |
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Definition
- vagueness
- fair notice
- ex post facto |
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Term
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Definition
(Article I, Section 9, of the constitution)
- prohibits enforcing a law before the law was in effect.
- prohibits increasing a punishment that is greater than the crime. |
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Term
| Constitutional limits on criminal law |
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Definition
- fair notice
-prohibition against Ex Post Facto
- 'Due process of law'
- Right to privacy, equal protection, free speech, against 'cruel and unusual punishment' |
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Term
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Definition
- 1st Amendment
- Important to distinguish between speech (protected) and conduct (not protected) |
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Term
| 1st Amendment does NOT protect: |
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Definition
- Obscenity
- Defamation
- Fighting Words (breatching the peace)
- Clear and Present danger |
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Term
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Definition
| - A form of speech that expresses an idea or emotion without using words. |
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Term
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Definition
-Right of association
(Can't punish someone solely because of his association with another) |
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Term
| Equal Protection of the Laws |
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Definition
- 14th Amendment
- 3 classification: non-suspect (age occupation), quasi-suspect (gender), inherently suspect(race).
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Term
| Cruel and Unusual Punishments |
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Definition
- 8th amendement
- 4 factors: human dignity, penological purpose, prevailing social values, severity |
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Term
| 2 types of cruel and unusual punishment |
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Definition
- Barbaric
- Disproportionate to the crime |
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Term
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Definition
| The act and criminal intent must coexist or accompany one another. |
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Term
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Definition
| The defendant's act must cause the harm required for criminal guilt, death in the case of homicide,, and the burning of a home or other structures in the case of arson. |
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Term
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Definition
- Federalism
- Jurisdiction
- Precedent |
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Term
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Definition
-Dual court system
- 51 separate judicial systems
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Term
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Definition
- Courts of Limited jurisdiction
- Courts of general jurisdiction
- Appellate court
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Term
| Courts of Limited jurisdiction |
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Definition
- Handle misdemeanor criminal cases
- relatively minor crimes
- a year or less jail time
- District court
- municipal court
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Term
| Courts of general jurisdiction |
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Definition
- Handle felony criminal cases
- punishable with 1+ jail time
- Superior court
- county court |
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Term
| Intermediate Appellate Court |
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Definition
- Courts of appeal
- Lower level of apellate system
- right to trial court |
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Term
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Definition
- Legislation
- Constitution
- Judiciaol Decision |
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Term
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Definition
| - Appellate courts establish precedent through case law that must be followed by all lower courts within the jurisdiction. |
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Term
| Hart's 5 Elements of Punishment |
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Definition
1. must involve pain or other consequence normally considered unpleasant.
2. must be for an offense against legal rules.
3. must be an actual or supposed offender for his offense.
4. must be intentionally administered by someone.
5. must be imposed and administered by an authority constituted by a legal system. |
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Term
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Definition
- Retributive (just deserts)
- Utilitarian
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Term
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Definition
| - Attempts to reform the offender and to transform him or her into a law-abiding and productive member of society |
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Term
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Definition
| - Removes offenders from society to prevent them from continuing to menace others. |
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Term
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Definition
| - The theory that proportionate penalties are needed for the public to respect the criminal law and CJS. |
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Term
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Definition
| - focuses on the victims of the crime and requires the offender to make financial, physical, and emotional restitution. |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
- Notice and opportunity to object
- additional requirements depend on: hearing before impartial trial, confrontation of witnesses, high standard of proof. |
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Term
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Definition
- focuses on content of legislation, the rights implicated.
- fundamental v. non-fundamental rights. |
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Term
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Definition
- Court uses Compelling State Interest Test
- 1. law must serve a compelling state interest
- 2. narrowly tailored to address the problem
- 3. least restrictive alternative for addressing problem.
- 4. burdon is on the government to justify. |
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Term
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Definition
- not in the constitution or bill of rights.
- right established in 1965 in Griswold v. Conneticut |
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Term
| Considerations of the 1st Amendment |
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Definition
- statute must NOT be considered overbreadth
- important to distinguish speech from conduct
- consider if conduct is a form of symbolic speech |
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Term
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Definition
| - A statue that is unconstitutionally broad and punishes both unprotected speech or conduct and protected speech or conduct |
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Term
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Definition
| - Laws that are not clearly defined |
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Term
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Definition
- Mens Rea
- Actus Reus
- Concurrence
- Harm
- Causation |
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Term
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Definition
- require no 'guilty mind'
- committing the act is all it takes |
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Term
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Definition
| - The intent to break a law or do something that may lead to a violation of the law |
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Term
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Definition
| - A mental determination to accomplish a specific illegal result |
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Term
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Definition
| - Applies when an individual intends to attack one person but inadvertently injures another. |
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Term
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Definition
| - Individuals grossly and wantonly reckless are considered to intend the natural consequences of their actions |
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Term
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Definition
- Concurrence between mens rea and actus reus must cause a harm
- need not be tangible
- may be to an individual or to society
- Picou v. Gillum |
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Term
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Definition
| - 4 mental states: Purposely, knowingly, recklessly, negligently. |
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Term
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Definition
| - Conscious object to engage in the conduct or cause the result |
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Term
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Definition
| - A person acts knowingly with respect to a material element of an offense when it involves: nature of conduct or result of conduct |
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Term
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Definition
| - A person acts with recklessness when he: consciously disregards rules, gross deviation from the standard. |
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Term
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Definition
| - Actor is not, but SHOULD be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk. |
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Term
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Definition
- 8th Amendment prohibits punishing a person solely because of status
- state may generally only criminalize an act |
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Term
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Definition
- must be a legal duty to act
- moral duty is insufficient to establish and act of omission.
--> statutorily imposed duty, special relationship w/ victim, contractual duty established, assumption of a duty |
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Term
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Definition
| - Obligates individuals to intervene |
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Term
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Definition
| - not a legal duty to intervene, unless there is a legal duty to intervene. |
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Term
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Definition
| - requires individual to provide reasonable medical assistance and, in return, relieves individual of liability of civil damages unless their actions constitute gross negligence |
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Term
| 5 primary justification defenses |
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Definition
- Excuse Defenses
- justification Defenses
- Public Duty
- Necessity |
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Term
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Definition
| - Defendant admits committing the act, and even that the act was wrong and the ensuing harm regrettable, but claims that his conduct should be excused due to extenuating circumstances prevented him from acting by his own volition. |
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Term
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Definition
| - Defendant admits committing the act, but claims that the actions were appropriate or justified under the circumstances |
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Term
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Definition
| - Under the common law a police officer or private person is justified in using non-deadly force upon another if she reasonably believes that: |
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Term
Necessity
(Choice of Evils) |
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Definition
| - Choosing to commit a crime to prevent a greater harm. |
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