Chapter 4

Question 1

Civil law

Answer 1

Law regulating the relationships between or among individuals, usually involving property, contract, or business disputes. Centers on fixing the blame for the damage or harm.

Question 2

Civil forfeiture

Answer 2

Allows for government to take privately owned property, and it has been frequently been applied in drug law enforcement.

Question 3

Criminal law

Answer 3

A violation of criminal law is an offense against society as a whole. Focuses on the intent of the wrongdoer.

Question 4

Negligence

Answer 4

Bus driver acquitted of criminal charges but faced civil lawsuits for negligence after he struck a guardrail resulting in 15 deaths.

manslaughter is considered negligent that result from nonpremeditated angry actions.

Question 5

The 7 principles of criminal law

Answer 5

1) Legality: U.S. Constitution forbids ex post facto laws, or laws written and applied after the fact. So when a legislature defines a new crime, ppl can be prosecuted only for violations that occur after the new law has been passed.
2) Actus reus: Act committed, crime has to occur. For example, states can prosecute ppl for the selling or buying of drugs but not for status addiction.
3) Causation: For a crime to have been committed, there must be an active relationship between an act and the harm suffered.
4) Harm: To be a crime, an act must cause ‘damaged’ to some legally protected value. The damage can be to a person, property, or some other object that a legislature deems valuable enough to deserve protection through the government’s power to punish.
5) Concurrence: For an act to be considered a crime, the intent and the act must be present at the same time. Professors example of wife lol.
6) Mens rea: Guilty mind or blameworthy state of mind, necessary for legal responsibility for a criminal offense; criminal intent, as distinguished from innocent intent.
7) Punishment: Enforced by govt. and can result in a loss of freedom.

Question 6

Murder aka reckless homicide

Answer 6

Killing is a deliberate, premeditated, and willful killing of another human being when defendants knew their behavior had a strong chance of causing death, showed indifference to life and recklessly engaged in conduct that caused death or caused death while committing a felony.

Question 7

Strict liability

Answer 7

An obligation or duty that when broken is an offense that can be judged criminal without a showing of mens rea, or criminal intent; usually applied to regulatory offenses involving health and safety.