Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Criminal Justice > Chapter 3 > Flashcards

Chapter 3 Flashcards

(53 cards)

Start Studying
1
Q

Rule of law

A

Principle that the rules of a legal system apply equally to all persons, institutions, and entities- public or private- that make up a society

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Constitutional law

A

Law based on the U.S. Constitution and the constitutions of the various states

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Statutory law

A

The body of the law enacted by legislative bodies

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Supremacy clause

A

A clause in the U.S. Constitution establishing that federal law is the supreme law of the land and shall prevail when in conflict with state constitutions or statutes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Ballot initiative

A

A procedure in which the citizens of a state, by collecting enough signatures, can force public vote in a proposed change to state law

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Administrative law

A

The body of law created by administrative agencies( in the form of rules, regulations, orders, and decisions) in order to carry out their duties and responsibilities

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Precedent

A

A court decision that furnishes an example of authority for deciding subsequent cases involving similar facts

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Case law

A

The rules of law announced in court decisions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

State decisis

A

A legal doctrine under which judges are obligated to follow the precedents established in prior decisions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Civil law

A

The branch of law dealing with the definition and enforcement of all private or public rights, as opposed to criminal matters

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Plaintiff

A

The person or intuitions that initiates a lawsuit in civil court proceedings by filing a complaint

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Defendant

A

In a civil court, the person or institution against whom an action is brought. In a criminal court, the person or entity who has been formally accused of violating a criminal law

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Liability

A

In a civil court, legal responsibility for one’s own or another’s actions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Beyond a reasonable doubt

A

The degree of proof require to find the defendant in a criminal trial guilty of committing the crime. The defendant’s guilt must only reasonable explanation for the criminal act before the court.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Preponderance of evidence

A

The degree of prof required to decide in favor of one side or the other in a civil case. In general, this requirement is met when a plaintiff shows that a claim more likely thank not is true

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Felony

A

A serious crime, usually punishable by death or imprisonment for a year or longer

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Misdemeanor

A

A criminal offense that is not a felony; usually punishable by a fine and/or a jail term of less than one year

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Infraction

A

In most jurisdictions, a non criminal offense for which the penalty is a fine rather than incarceration

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Mala in se

A

A descriptive term for acts that are inherently wrong, regardless of whether they are prohibited by law

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Mala prohibita

A

A descriptive term for acts that are made illegal by criminal statute and are not necessarily wrong in and of themselves

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Corpus delicti

A

The body of circumstances that must exist for a criminal act to have occurred

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Actus reus

Study These Flashcards
A

A guilty (prohibited) act

23
Q

Attempt

Study These Flashcards
A

The act of taking substantial steps toward committing a crime while having the ability and the intent to commit the crime, even if the crime never takes place

24
Q

Mens rea

Study These Flashcards
A

Mental state, or intent. A wrongful mental state is usually as necessary as a wrongful act to establish criminal liability

25
Negligence
A failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in similar circumstances
26
Recklessness
The state of being aware that risk does or will exist and nevertheless acting a in a way that consciously disregards this risk
27
Voluntary manslaughter
A homicide in which the intent to kill was present in the mind of the offender, but malice was lacking
28
Involuntary manslaughter
A homicide in which the offender had no intent to kill her or his victim
29
Strict liability crimes
Certain crimes, such a traffic violations, in which the defendant is guilty regardless of her or his state of mind at the time of the act
30
Statutory rape
A strict liability crime in which an adult engages in a sexual act with a minor
31
Felony murder
An unlawful homicide at occurs during the attempted commission of a felony
32
Attendant circumstances
The facts surrounding a criminal event that must be proved to convict the defendant of the underlying crime
33
Hate crime law
A statute that provides for greater sanctions against those who commit crimes motivated by bias against an individual or a group based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or age.
34
Inchoate offense
Conduct deemed criminal without actual harm being done, provided that the harm that would have occurred is a harm the law tries to prevent.
35
Conspiracy
A plot by two or more people to carry out an illegal or harmful act
36
Infancy
The status of a person who is below the legal age of majority. Under early American law , infancy excused young wrong dos of criminal behavior because presumably they could or understand the consequences of their actions
37
Insanity
A defense for criminal liability that asserts a lack of criminal responsibility due to mental instability
38
M'Naghten rule
A common law test of criminal responsibility,derived from M'Naghten's case in1843, that relies on the defendant's inability to distinguish right from wrong
39
Substantial capacity test
A test for the insanity defense that states that a person is not responsible for criminal behavior when he or she lacks substantial capacity to understand that the behavior is wrong or to control the behavior
40
Irresistible impulse test
A test for the insanity defense under which a defendant who knew his or her action was wrong may still be found insane if he or she was unable, as a result of a mental deficiency, to control the urge to complete the act
41
Competency hearing
A court proceeding to determine whether the defendant is mentally well enough to understand the charges filed against him or her and cooperate with a lawyer in presenting a defense
42
Intoxication
A defense for criminal liability in which the defendant claims that the taking of intoxicants rendered him or her unable to form the requisite intent to commit a criminal act
43
Duress
Unlawful pressure brought to bear on a person, causing the person to perform an act that he or she would not otherwise perform.
44
Self-defense
The legally recognized privilege to protect one's self or property from injury by another
45
Duty to retreat
The requirement that a person claiming self-defense prove that she or he first took reasonable steps to avoid the conflict that resulted in the use of deadly force
46
Necessity
A defense against criminal liability in which the defendant asserts that circumstances required her or him to commit an illegal act
47
Entrapment
A defense in which the defendant claims that he or she was induced by a public official-usually an undercover agent or police officer-to commit a crime that he or she would otherwise not have committed
48
Substantive criminal law
Law that defines the rights and duties of individuals with respect to one another
49
Procedural criminal law
Rules that define the manner in which the rights and duties of individuals may be enforced
50
Bill of rights
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution
51
Due process clause
The provisions of the fifth and fourteenth admen smelt to the constitution that guarantees that no one person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law
52
Procedural due process
A provision in the constitution that states that the law must be carried out Ina fair and orderly manner
53
Substantive due process
The constitutional requirement that laws used in accusing and convicting persons of crimes must be fair

Criminal Justice (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions