Criminal Law Chapter 4/5

Question 1

Law

Answer 1

a rule of conduct, generally found enacted in the form of a statue, that proscribes or mandates certain forms of behavior

Question 2

Statutory law

Answer 2

Written or codified law; the “law on the books”, as enacted by a government body or agency having the power to make laws

Question 3

penal code

Answer 3

the written, organized, and complied form of the criminal laws of jurisdiction

Question 4

case law

Answer 4

the body of judicial precedent, historically built on legal reasoning and past interpretations of statutory laws, serves as a guide to decision making

Question 5

common law

Answer 5

• law originating from usage and customs rather than from written statutes
• refers to an unwritten body of judical opinion

Question 6

rule of law

Answer 6

the maxism that an orderly society must be governed by established principles and known codes that are applied uniformly and fairly to all of its members`

Question 7

jurisprudence

Answer 7

• the philosophy of law
• the science and study of the law

Question 8

substantive criminal law

Answer 8

part of law that defines crimes and specifies punishments

Question 9

procedural law

Answer 9

the part of the law that specifies the methods to be used in enforcing substantive law

Question 10

tort

Answer 10

• a wrongful act, damage, or injury not involving a breach of contract
• a private or civil wrong or injury

Question 11

stare decisis

Answer 11

• a legal principle requiring that, in subsequent cases on similar issues of law and fact, courts be bound by their own earlier decisions and by those of higher courts having jurisdiction over them
• literally means “standing by decided matters”

Question 12

felony

Answer 12

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

Question 13

misdemeanor

Answer 13

an offense punishable by incarceration, usually in a local confinement facility, for a period whose upper limit is prescribed by statue in a given jurisdiction

Question 14

What does a crime require?

Answer 14

• actus reus
• mens rea
• concurrence

Question 15

actus reus

Answer 15

• an act in violation of the law; guilty act

Question 16

mens rea

Answer 16

the state of mind that accompanies a criminal act; guilty mind

Question 17

What are the four elements of first degree murder?

Answer 17

• an unlawful killing
• a human being
• intentionally
• with planning

Question 18

ex post factor

Answer 18

• literally means “after the fact”
• consitution prohibits the enactment of ex post facto laws; makes acts committed before the laws in question were passed as punishable crimes

Question 19

procedural defense

Answer 19

a defense that claims that the defendant was in some significant way discriminate against in the justice process or that some important aspect of official procedure was not properly followed in the investigation or prosecution of the crime charged

Question 20

What are the four broad categories of defense?

Answer 20

• alibi
• justifications
• excuses
• procedural defense

Question 21

M’Naghten Rule

Answer 21

a rule for determing insanity, which asks whether the defendant knew that he or she was doing was wrong

Question 22

diminished capcacity

Answer 22

a defense based on claims of a mental condition that may be insufficient to exonerate the defendant of guilt but that may be relevant to specific mental elements of certain crimes or degrees of crime

Question 23

Kansas City Experiment

Answer 23

• experiment that took place in 1973 to show how patrolling effects crime. To everyone’s surprise there was no differnces in crime in areas with high patrolling versus those with no patrolling.